More mixed flocks as we near the end of August

Black and White Warbler, Robbins Rd, Ware, MA, Aug 24, 2020

Ovenbird, Robbins Rd, Ware, MA, Aug 24, 2020

Prairie Warbler, Robbins Rd, Ware, MA, Aug 24, 2020

Common Yellowthroat, Robbins Rd, Ware, MA, Aug 24, 2020

Warbler migration is starting to pick up a bit as we enter in toward the end of August.  Mixed species flocks are becoming more common as breeding is complete and birds start wandering a bit.  Nothing too unusual for the last few days but a decent selection of species.  It will only get busier from here on through September.

American Redstart, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 20, 2020

A check of the camera at the water feature found a nice capture of an American Redstart.

Blue winged Warbler finally shows up in the yard!

Blue winged Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 8, 2020

Blue winged Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 8, 2020

Around midday today I finally managed to find a Blue winged Warbler in the yard after looking for one for the roughly 15 years we have lived here.  I was doing some work around the yard and noticed a small mixed flock moving through so I grabbed some binoculars and the third bird I looked at was a Blue winged Warbler.  I quickly made it back into the house and grabbed my camera and thankfully the bird was somewhat cooperative and hung around long enough for me to at least get some record shots in bad light.  This is the last common warbler species around the area that I had not yet tracked down in the yard despite a lot of looking.  In fact I have had several rarer warblers in the yard before I finally found a Blue winged Warbler.  Among the rarer warblers that the yard has produced include two Orange crowned Warblers, a Connecticut Warbler, two Mourning Warblers and rarest of all, a Kentucky Warbler.  I have now had a very impressive (in my book anyway) 29 species of warblers on our two acres of land...amazing what you can find if you look and have a decent selection of habitat diversity.

Canada Warbler, Pelham, MA, Aug 8, 2020

Northern Waterthrush, Belchertown, MA, Aug 8, 2020

Earlier today I hit a few spots around the local area and turned up a total of 16 species for the morning including a slightly late Louisiana Waterthrush and a few singing Canada Warblers.  Fall migration for warblers is certainly underway.

Warblers on the Prescott Peninsula

Common Yellowthroat, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 18, 2020

Common Yellowthroat, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 18, 2020

Pine Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 18, 2020

Ovenbird, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 18, 2020

Common Yellowthroat, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 18, 2020

Blackburnian Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 18, 2020

Yellow Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 18, 2020

Chestnut sided Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 18, 2020

American Redstart, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 18, 2020

I finally made it back onto the restricted access Prescott Peninsula to conduct some field surveys this morning and found some warblers along the way.  As we push into the third week of July the amount of song has been drastically reduced and the number of juvenile birds around has increased substantially.  I had a total of eleven species of warbler over the course of about two hours as I checked several fields and nearby areas.  No big surprises but that is not unexpected for this time of year.  There even seemed to be the beginnings of some mixed species flocks in a few areas as the post breeding dispersal and early fall migration begins.

Big warbler day to start July

Canada Warbler, Pelham, MA, Jul 1, 2020

Canada Warbler, Pelham, MA, Jul 1, 2020

Northern Waterthrush, Pelham, MA, Jul 1, 2020

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Cadwell Memorial Forest, Pelham, MA, Jul 1, 2020

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 1, 202

With some rare days off to begin the month of July I decided to concentrate on finding as many species of warblers as I could to kick off the month.  Normally July is the slow period between the busy periods of spring and fall as migrants have all passed through, rarities are less likely and the birds that remain are busy feeding young.  In addition the numbers of birds singing drops off quite a bit as the month moves along.  I started off my morning by hiking up to the top of the mountain at Skinner SP in search of both Cerulean Warbler and Worm eating Warbler (which I found easily with multiple birds still singing).  I then hit several other spots as I worked my way up through Hadley and Amherst and then up to Pelham before dropping back down to Quabbin Park and a couple other spots in Belchertown.  I managed to find a total of 19 species of warblers over the course of the morning plus a continuing hybrid.  These species are all the breeding warblers one is likely to find during a typical year in Hamspshire County so I was happy to find all of them over the course of a single morning without too much effort.  

Mid June warblers

Yellow Warbler, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 16, 2020

Yellow Warbler, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 16, 2020

Yellow Warbler, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 16, 2020

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Jun 16, 2020

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Jun 16, 2020

The migrant warblers have now all moved through and the remaining warblers are here to breed and raise another generation.  Lots of birds actively feeding young or still sitting on nests with the first fledglings expected any day now.  I spent part of the morning looking for any remaining unusual warblers, which this year means the Hooded Warbler in Hadley and the Lawrence's Warbler in Belchertown.  I searched for the Hooded Warbler at first light with no luck at all so it appears it was just around for a couple days (June 7 and 8) and has not been reported since.  My best guess is that it moved on to another area in search of a mate....a tough proposition at the northern extreme of their breeding range around here.   I had better luck with the Lawrence's Warbler, finding it in the same area where I first found it on May 5th.  Still no indication it has found a mate but I will keep looking.

American Redstart, Ware, MA, Jun 14, 2020

I recently completed my annual breeding bird survey route on Sunday and as always there were warblers along the route with a dozen species found.  The most abundant warblers were Ovenbird (present at 64% of stops) and Common Yellowthroat (present at 52% of stops). 

Hooded Warbler in Hadley and a continued Lawrence's Warbler

Hooded Warbler, Mount Holyoke Range SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 7, 2020

Hooded Warbler, Mount Holyoke Range SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 7, 2020

Hooded Warbler, Mount Holyoke Range SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 7, 2020

Hooded Warbler, Mount Holyoke Range SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 7, 2020

Chestnut sided Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 7, 2020

Yellow Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 7, 2020

Today was a good early June day for warblers in the area.  I started off my morning by conducting some field surveys on the restricted access Prescott Peninsula at Quabbin (although not Hampshire County it is a special place that I love going into).  Nothing too unusual as far as warblers go but lots of birds on territory in the areas I covered.  I hoped to repeat my luck in finding a Hooded Warbler there like I did almost exactly a year ago today but no luck on this year.  The breezy morning just kept getting windier so I cut my time short on the peninsula and headed back toward home with a few stops along the way including a few spots to add warblers including Canada, Magnolia and Yellow rumped Warblers for the month as well as a stop to check on the continuing Lawrence's Warbler (more on that below).  After getting home and then taking Wilson for a walk I was getting ready to do some yard work when I noticed a post from Ted saying he had a Hooded Warbler in Hadley.  I had yet to catch up with this species for the spring in the county so I decided to head over that way and see if I could find it.  Following Ted's perfect directions I quickly located the bird that was singing quite a bit in what looked to be perfect breeding habitat.  There were a few others there and all got some good looks as it played hide and seek among the foliage.  The windy conditions made finding the bird a bit tough at times but with patience good looks could be had.  The Hooded Warbler became warbler species #30 for the year in Hampshire County.

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Jun 7, 2020

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Jun 7, 2020

The Lawrence's Warbler I first discovered on May 5th continues at the same location in Belchertown.  This is by far the longest I have ever had a Lawrence's Warbler stick around after initial discovery.  I didn't see any evidence yet that it has found a mate but if the bird has stuck around this long perhaps he already has found a female.

Warblers for the month of May

Northern Parula, Sweet Alice Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, May 4, 2020

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, May 5, 2020

Nashville Warbler, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2020

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2020

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2020

Cape May Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 15, 2020

Bay breasted Warbler, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, May 16, 2020

Canada Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 17, 2020

Ovenbird, Reed Conservation Area, Belchertown, MA, May 18, 2020

Wilson's Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 19, 2020

The month of May has now come to an end and with it the big push of warblers.  I managed to find a total of 29 species of warbler plus a few hybrids for the month (including a Lawrence's Warbler that continued until the end of the month).  The big miss for the month was not finding any Hooded Warblers but hopefully I will find one in June.  Overall the migration was a bit slow to start the month with cooler than normal conditions and less than optimal conditions for migration.  The pattern finally changed around mid month and the flood gates were opened.  Conditions after that were great for migration and many species moved through rather quickly. 

The last few Mays have produced the following totals for warblers:
2019: 29 species
2018: 30 species
2017: 30 species

Yellow rumped Warbler with white head, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 16, 2020

Yellow rumped Warbler with white head, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 16, 2020

 Black and White Warbler with unusual plumage, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 19, 2020

Black and White Warbler with unusual plumage, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 19, 2020

I had a couple of interestingly plumaged warblers this month including a Yellow rumped Warbler with a white head at home and an odd looking male Black and White Warbler along the rail trail in Amherst.

Ovenbird, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 13, 2020

Wilson's Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 16, 2020

Black throated Blue Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 11, 2020

In the yard for May I had 23 species of warbler for the month.   Yet again I failed to find a Blue winged Warbler for the yard list despite a lot of looking.  The water feature captured a number of warblers including two new species (Ovenbird and Wilson's Warbler) bringing the total number of warblers captured at the water feature to 16.