The Pursuit of Warblers

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Pine Warbler at the end of the month and an update on a few overwintering warblers in the area

Pine Warbler, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Mar 31, 2021

Pine Warblers finally showed up around here starting a few days ago but I have been out of the area on a short trip down to Florida (more on that trip in a later post). I spent quite a bit of time on Monday and Tuesday last week before I left looking for them without success despite what appeared to be great early season migration conditions. I arrived home in the mid afternoon today and made a couple quick stops and turned up a singing male at Covey WMA just a few minutes away from the house. I have seen a few reports of Palm Warblers in the area too as well as a possible Louisiana Waterthrush.

A quick update on the status of the overwintering warblers in the immediate area. The Tennessee Warbler in Athol amazingly made it through the entire winter (thanks to Jeff and Sherry feeding it a steady diet of crickets, split up sunflower hearts and bananas). It is truly incredible for this species to make it through a winter in the interior of New England. The Common Yellowthroat at a greenhouse in Deerfield left the greenhouse late in February and has not been seen since. The Yellow throated Warbler in Lancaster was last reported in mid February.

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Yellow rumped Warbler continues into March

I finally had some free time and the weather was somewhat cooperative for me to try to catch up with the over wintering Yellow rumped Warbler that has been seen on and off in Hadley. Oddly this has been the only somewhat regular overwintering warbler in Hampshire County this year unlike the last couple years which has featured multiple birds at multiple locations. It has mainly been in the area near a small wastewater treatment plant but has not been nearly as regular as the overwintering Eastern Phoebe that has been at the same location. I walked for quite a bit before I had the warbler flyover calling and heading into an area that I could not get close to and I was never able to see it beyond the flyover so no luck with getting a photo this morning. I will certainly try again at some point over the next several days but without a lot of extra time due to work I probably won't get a long opportunity until the weekend or sometime next week.

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

A Common Yellowthroat in Deerfield in February

Common Yellowthroat, Deerfield, MA, Feb 3, 2021

I recently heard about a warbler overwintering at a private greenhouse in Deerfield and followed up with one of the workers at the location to get some details. He described the bird as a Common Yellowthroat. I secured permission to stop by at some point and document the occurrence of the bird. I decided to take a ride up to the location after getting out of work this morning. Once I arrived I caught up with Trystan and he led me right away to the greenhouse. The greenhouse is used to grow a variety of plants and they cannot use insecticides so the presence of an insectivore bird has been very welcome addition to the staff and Trystan stated the numbers of insects causing issues for the plants is way down this winter thanks to the bird. Apparently the bird first appeared in the greenhouse late in the fall and has stayed put ever since. It took several minutes of looking but eventually the bird popped in to view on occasion as it fed quite actively and hardly ever stayed still for long. I managed to get a few photos of the bird as it worked its way through the jungle like tangle of plants. The bird is free to leave via a louvered area that is opened occasionally but seems quite content to ride out the winter in the warmth of the greenhouse with a ready supply of insects, water, cover and a lack of predators (not to mention the warmth of the greenhouse during the cold New England winter). The species typically winters in the southern part of the United States but can occasionally linger a bit into early winter (I have had a single record of the species in mid January in Amherst in 2019) but otherwise have never had the species in the heart of the winter around here.

Monday, February 1, 2021

Yellow rumped Warbler to start a snowy February

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley DPW, Hadley, MA, Feb 1, 2021

With the forecast for snow starting mid to late morning and continuing overnight into Tuesday with perhaps a foot of snow I had plans to head out at daybreak today to try to locate a warbler for February in Hampshire County (usually the toughest month to find any warbler species in the area). I was surprised to wake up to a couple of inches of snow on the ground already. Thankfully the snow slowed down to just flurries a bit after eight so I took the opportunity to head over to Hadley to try to find the Yellow rumped Warbler that has been around intermittently in the area of the DPW. I arrived in the area a little after 8:30 and found the wind picking up and the prospect of finding the warbler diminishing. Nonetheless I figured I would give it a try before the snow picked back up once again. I walked the area nearby and thought I heard a call a few times but the wind made it difficult to be certain. On my way out I got lucky and heard the warbler calling nearby. I could hear it but could not see it initially but it popped out of a dense hedge and flew over my head into a large tree before disappearing into the DPW yard (which is strictly off limits). I managed to get a couple marginal photos of the bird before it disappeared. Seeing the warbler today added to my streak of seeing at least one warbler species every month in Hampshire County to an amazing 46th months.

Monday, January 25, 2021

A trip to the east part of the state to pick up some rare January warblers

Townsend's Warbler, Sagamore Beach, MA, Jan 25, 2021

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Sagamore Beach, MA, Jan 25, 2021

Without my ability to make my usual trips down to the tropics during the winter due to the pandemic I have been trying to fill the void by trying to find warblers in the area. The pickings are quite slim in the immediate area with just a couple Yellow rumped Warbler around and those have not been consistent at all this year. Outside the local area but still within the state have been a few rare warblers and for the last couple weeks I have toyed with the idea of trying for them all in a day. I initially was going to make the trip a bit over a week ago but some stuff came up which prevented it and then I planned on possibly trying this last weekend as it would allow me to make the trip east without the typical weekday traffic but the weather conditions with strong northwest winds and cold temperatures made the prospect of finding warblers in those conditions low. After seeing positive reports of a few of my targets over the weekend despite the cold weather I decided I would make the trip today. After a less than restful nights sleep I headed out well before dawn and made the long drive down to southeast Massachusetts going after my first (and most sought after) target bird for the day...a long staying Townsend's Warbler. The bird has been around for weeks in the same neighborhood coming to various different feeders at different houses. I arrived before dawn and the weather conditions initially didn't look too good with continued winds out of the northwest but at least it was warmer than the weekend with morning temps there around 20 (warmer than home where it was around 10 when I left before five). I walked through the area where the bird has been seen coming to various feeders in a built up neighborhood. Not my favorite type of birding but this time of year if you want to see a variety of warblers in Massachusetts you will end up stalking them at feeders. After reading multiple reports of people who had seen the warbler on previous visits as well as some messages from a few birders, I finally set myself up across the street from the yards with the most recent reports. I could view just a small portion of a backyard but there seemed to be a decent amount of bird activity so I just continually scanned the bushes and trees and eventually I had the bird pop into view. I got a number of distant photos as it moved through some small bushes before disappearing yet again. It was very satisfying to find the bird without spending the entire morning looking. The Townsend's Warbler became my 37th warbler species for the state...hopefully I will eventually find one in Hampshire County (which has just a single record ever with that individual being the only record of the species in all of western Massachusetts). As I walked back to my car I also added a couple Yellow rumped Warblers for the day.

My next stop was back to the west into southern Worcester County to a private home in Northbridge where a Pine Warbler has been coming into feeders for weeks. I added this stop at the last minute after contacting the homeowner (Mary) to get permission to come by to check it out and possibly add another warbler species for the day. I got a message from her that the bird showed up that morning so I had high hopes I would get to see it. I was running a bit ahead of schedule when I arrived there around nine and immediately started looking for it. I talked to Mary briefly and got info on the best spots to check (a feeder in the front yard featuring meal worms). Unfortunately after nearly an hour of waiting the bird was a no show. In fact no birds at all came into the feeders the entire time I was there. I decided to move on to Lancaster to check out the Yellow throated Warbler before it got too late in the morning.

Yellow throated Warbler, Lancaster, MA, Jan 25, 2021

I arrived to the private residence that I first visited back on Christmas Eve to see the Yellow throated Warbler. On my first visit there in December I was there at dawn and there was a decent amount of snow on the ground and it was cold. This time I arrived a bit before eleven to a snow free yard and much more comfortable temperatures. I was initially the only birder present but was quickly joined by a few other birders. I kept scanning the feeders in both the front and back yards from a vantage point that allowed one to see both sets of feeders. After about a fifteen minute wait the bird arrived at the front feeders and fed from some of the peanut butter coated pine cones before it disappeared again. I was able to get the few other birders on the bird and all got to see it. I was happy it showed up quickly and gave some great views.

Tennessee Warbler, Athol, MA, Jan 25, 2021

My final stop for my morning warbler search was to Athol to see the Tennessee Warbler once again (I first made a trip to see this extremely rare in winter species in early January As mentioned in that post this bird should be in southern Mexico or Central America and this individual is one of the northern most records for this species in winter. This one proved to be the easiest to see and was very visible almost as soon as I arrived. The bird was coming in constantly to the window feeders the entire time I was there and was very bold and lorded over its well maintained feeders, which is probably what has kept this bird alive so long so far north from where it should be.

Overall for the morning I found a total of four species of warblers with one being a new one for me in the state. I'm sure I could have got more if I journeyed even further east on to the cape but I was not up for even more driving (Pine Warbler could have been added rather easily as well as other possibilities such as Orange crowned Warbler and Palm Warbler).

If anyone has any interest in trying for any of these birds just drop me a message and I can provide contact info for the various homeowners. A thank you to Aaron, Peter and Joe for info on the Townsend's Warbler and a special thanks to the homeowners that allowed me to visit (Mary, Jeff P, and Jeff and Sherry J.).

A summary of the day beyond the warblers can be found at the following link.

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Tennessee Warbler in January in Athol

Tennessee Warbler, Athol, MA, Jan 6, 2021

I had a bit of extra time late this morning after work so I decided to head up to Athol to check out a Tennessee Warbler that has been coming to feeders at a private residence since late November. I normally wouldn't have gone up to see it as I will certainly see this species once migration brings them back north again but a winter record of the species anywhere in Massachusetts is exceedingly rare. In fact there are just a handful of records with almost all of those coming from December and not true winter. The species typically winters in southern Mexico through Central America and into the northwest part of South America and is a species I commonly see when I travel down to Costa Rica so having one in Massachusetts in January is very rare. In fact this individual is the northern second most member of the species being reported this year (beat out by a single individual at the southwest corner of Newfoundland at a migrant trap) and one of the most northern records ever for the species in the January-March time frame. The species is hard to find anywhere in the United States in the winter. I made the drive up after checking with the homeowners about making a visit and arrived a bit after eleven and almost immediately had the bird coming in to visit the feeders on the house. The bird seemed very bold and would chase any other species away when it was feeding. Not long after I had seen the bird one of the homeowners (Jeff) came out and we talked for quite awhile about the bird. The entire time we were perhaps 30-40 feet away from the bird and he was nearly constantly in view at the feeders or in one of the nearby scrubs. According to the homeowner the bird arrived in late November and has been present every day since. It initially came into a feeder on the side of the house that held sunflower hearts but now favors the feeders at the front of the house and feeds on crickets (usually detaching the legs and then eating the body), sunflower hearts (ground into small pieces by the homeowners) and bananas. The bird apparently shows up as soon as it gets light and stays all day feeding before heading to roost (which the homeowner thinks is under a tarp covered tractor in the front yard). It will be interesting to see how long this species can hang on...so far it seems to be doing quite well. Thanks to the homeowners (Jeff and Sherry) for letting me stop by and for providing a great home for a very wayward Tennessee Warbler. More photos with the eBird list at the following link.

Friday, January 1, 2021

New Years Day Yellow rumped Warblers

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Jan 1, 2021

I headed out before dawn this morning to begin another year of birding and among my big targets was a warbler to continue my streak of warblers in Hampshire County. There has been a single Yellow rumped Warbler hanging out in Hadley that I was hopeful would still be around when I finally got to that area after birding some other areas. I was surprised to run across another Yellow rumped Warbler before even making it to the spot in Hadley when I stopped off at Lower Mill Pond in Easthampton. As soon as I got there I heard a Yellow rumped Warbler chipping and got a brief glimpse as it headed downstream from the pond but a search failed to turn it back up. I eventually made it over to the spot in Hadley and after a bit of looking I found the Yellow rumped Warbler and got some distant photos. My streak has now been expanded to 45 months straight of finding a warbler in the county. January and February are usually the toughest month to find them so I will certainly be keeping tabs on the lingering warblers in the hopes they stay through February.