After our biggest snow storm of the year so far with around 6" of snow I spent some time cleaning up the yard before I decided to try again for a Palm Warbler that is somehow surviving in a series of farm fields well away from any homes. It was originally reported on New Years Eve and then not seen again until yesterday. I had made a few checks of the area over the last couple weeks with no luck in finding it. I made a quick trip over to the area yesterday just before the snow arrived and struck out. Although it was sunny today it was darn cold with temps that were in the teens and stayed there all day with a wind that eventually kicked up a bit. I lucked out when I went over to Hadley in mid morning as the winds were not too strong at all. I looked through many areas in the general area where the warbler has been reported but came up empty. With cold and windy weather through most of the week coming up I don't hold out a lot of hope that the bird survives but birds can certainly surprise you and I will be out looking when I can.
Monday, January 20, 2025
Friday, January 17, 2025
Pine Warbler in Franklin County
I found myself having to make a trip up toward Greenfield and since I was so close I figured I would make a stop by the power canal to see if I could locate a Pine Warbler that has been seen with some regularity since December. It was by no means a certainty as many have missed it when they have visited the area. Pine Warbler is a rare warbler around here in the winter and this individual is one of the only ones to be reported in Franklin County ever for the month of January. I arrived to find the canal fairly full of waterfowl under sunny and calm conditions. I walked the road a bit over 2/3rd of the way down and back and finally caught up with the stunning male feeding along the road and occasionally into nearby trees. It looked to feeding on stink bugs and spiders. It seemed to be at least somewhat attached to a mix species flock moving around the area...safety in numbers. It will be interesting to see how he fairs with some snow and then bitter cold conditions in the next several days. Pine Warblers that do show in the winter here usually show up at feeders but after last years epic showing of the species in double digit numbers away from any feeders the species certainly can overwinter away from feeders. Just as I was leaving I noticed the warbler head deeper into the woods fast and then a tiny Sharp shinned came swooping in and landed across from me briefly before speeding away. Thankfully the warbler was able to escape and became my third warbler species of the year...hopefully Hampshire County will get a Pine Warbler soon as there are others in nearby areas.
Before heading up to Franklin County I checked another large area of the East Meadows looking for overwintering Yellow rumped Warblers and came up empty again. This is one of the slowest winters I have had for the species in the area with just a single flyover for me earlier in the month. I will keep looking as there are certainly others out there just waiting to be found. The Cape May Warbler in South Hadley had now been missing from the location for several days and likely moved on or finally succumbed to the weather or a predator. There is always the chance it resurfaces at some point, perhaps when our upcoming snow and cold arrives....conditions like that can certainly move a warbler or two into (or back to) a feeder area.
Sunday, January 5, 2025
Flyover Yellow rumped Warbler today
After lots of looking the last several days I finally had a brief interaction with a Yellow rumped Warbler as it flew over calling as I was walking along the Connecticut River in Hadley (Overwintering Yellow rumped Warblers here always seem to hang near the river if they are around). I spent a lot of time trying to track down the bird to get a photo but no luck today. At least I know there is at least one still around. I will try the spot again soon plus will scour more areas to try to find more as the month moves along. This now adds to my streak of having at least two warbler species in the county per month to 34 months!
Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Cape May Warbler to start the new year
Once I got out of work on New Years Day I headed out looking for warblers to start out 2025. The continued drizzle in the morning after a night of heavy rain curtailed my plans a bit. I decided I would make my first stop the Honey Pot to try to catch up with a very late Palm Warbler reported at the location yesterday. Not surprisingly I did not relocate it but did have a number of other notable species around. The rain largely stopped by around 8:30 so I tried my luck in tracking down some Yellow rumped Warblers along the river and I only managed to get muddy with no warblers heard or seen. I then headed to South Hadley to try to see the overwintering Cape May Warbler that I initially saw there on December 14th when I returned from my trip down to Peru and Bolivia and then saw again on Christmas Eve during a bit of snow. The homeowner said it has disappeared for long periods lately so it was far from a sure thing. A text before I arrived initially reported the bird as not present but it showed up right before I arrived. It seemed a bit more skittish than prior visits with more time spent in a dense thicket than on the feeders. It teed up nicely once away from the feeders but a car horn scared the bird before I could get a photo. Eventually it showed itself long enough for me to snap off a few photos before I headed for home. Really amazing the bird continues to survive. Some upcoming cold weather is not good news for it but it has survived some bitter cold already so hopefully it pulls through.
Monday, December 30, 2024
2024 wrap up
Now that 2024 has come to an end I will once again look at the past year of warblers. I made a number of trips away from the area including the Bahamas and Florida in January, Costa Rica in March, western Canada in June into early July, a short trip to Florida in November and a long overdue trip to Peru and Bolivia in early December to mid December. I ended the year with 56 species of warblers with five of those new for me (this is also the highest total warblers I have seen in a single year so far). I'm now down to just eight species I have not yet seen and all of those are in either the remote area of the Darian on the Panama/Colombia border and those in Venezuela.
I started off 2024 heading out in search of any lingering warbler species and happily I found a few Yellow rumped Warblers and extended my unbroken streak of having at least one warbler species in Hampshire County to 81 months.
After many failed attempts I was finally able track down a few Pine Warblers at Winsor Dam to add another warbler species for the year and extends my streak of having not one but two warbler species in the county to 22 months.
In the middle of January I headed south again with my first stop being Abaco Island in the Bahamas. I have never been to this island before but have been to other islands in the Bahamas with my last time being a trip to Grand Bahama in 2017. I had the goal of getting photos of Bahama Yellowthroats and possibly an overwintering Kirtland's Warbler and I happily reached both of those goals.
After my time in the Bahamas I headed to southern Florida with some time in the keys and then a few days on Key Biscayne. Although many areas were fairly quiet for warblers I still found a few pockets of birds in a few spots.
Once back in the cold I started off the month of February with finding two species of warbler in the county with both Yellow rumped Warbler and Pine Warblers.
The Pine Warblers continued in the early part of February and maxed out at least seven individuals on the 6th. I finally managed to get photos of a Yellow rumped Warbler for the month on the 8th when I had one at Arcadia and then had more Pine Warblers at the dam making for another two warbler day.
I continued to follow up on the Pine Warblers most days through the third week of February and at least half a dozen continued through the period. In addition I found another Pine Warbler at a cemetery in Belchertown on the 19th. The Pine Warblers continued in varying numbers on multiple subsequent visits plus I added some more Yellow rumped Warblers for the year at Arcadia with two individuals.
The unprecedented numbers of overwintering Pine Warblers peaked for me on the 26th when I had at least eleven individuals at three different spots in Belchertown...really crazy when there is typically several years between winter sightings of the species in the area.
During the doldrums typical of mid winter here I had some extra time and did a post on where I stand on seeing all the new world warblers...link here.
To start off the month of March I was lucky enough to find two species of warbler and thereby extended my unbroken streak of finding at least one warbler in the county to 83 months (and two species for 24 months).
In early March we finally made a long overdue trip back to Costa Rica with a visit to the Arenal area. Due to a flight delay we ended up spending an unplanned night in Florida before finally making down to Costa Rica. I added one new warbler species to my Costa Rica list with a Cape May Warbler.
As I recovered from a cold/flu after getting back from the tropics I updated my list of early and late dates for all the warbler species I have seen in the county. I tried my best at end of the month of March to find an early Palm Warbler but the weather was not cooperative for early arrivals and I had to be content with Pine Warbler and Yellow rumped Warblers.
April started off slow with less than ideal migration conditions and a bit of a snow/sleet storm (Wilson at least enjoyed it!). I didn't get my first Palm Warbler until the 6th (some years I can get them as early as the very end of March). Migration was a bit slow through mid month with a total of four species with my first Louisiana Waterthrush on the 10th. Another bit of excitement during the beginning of the month was a nearly complete solar eclipse.
By the middle of the month I still had just four species of warblers and the less than stellar migration continued through the third week of the month.
The first rare warbler of the season was a record early arrival of a Hooded Warbler on April 23rd. Although it stuck around for just one day many people got to see it. Beyond the Hooded Warbler it was quite slow as the month of April wore on although it was fun sorting through hordes of Yellow rumped Warblers trying to find something else among them.
I ended the month of April with a flurry of warblers and ended the month with 20 species in Hampshire County. The end of April also had me hurt my back at work which would curtail some of my birding plans going forward for spring migration.
As expected with the biggest warbler month around here the beginning of the month was productive with 23 species in the first three days.
The rest of the first week(and just into the second week) of the month produced a number of great sightings with two Orange crowned Warblers with one of the 5th and the second on the 6th and then had a variety of hybrids as I spent lots of time trying to find a Golden winged Warbler. I had a Brewster's Warbler and a couple others including a likely Brewster's backcross. Other notables included a Cerulean Warbler at Quabbin Park and a dull Nashville Warbler.
Just past mid month the warbler of the spring showed up with a Prothonotary Warbler in South Hadley. This was only the second one I have ever had in the county and showed up in a spot that looked perfect for breeding and it stayed in the same spot through the end of the month.
I ventured out of the county a bit late on the month with a visit to Franklin County to get Lawrence's Warbler and then down to Hampden County to get a Hooded Warbler in Ludlow.
By the end of the month I had reached a total of 31 species of warblers in the county, something I have never been able to achieve before in a single month. The big surprise for the migration this May was the lack of Mourning Warblers compared to usual...nearly non existent.
With the arrival of June comes the end of migration and the peak of breeding for warblers in the area and with it a number of breeding bird checks that I do including my breeding bird survey. I had a decent first week of the month as I finally got back to work after an injury in late April. I was finally able to hike into more hilly terrain.
The second week brought lots of breeding species in the area and the continued presence of multiple hybrid warblers as well as the Cerulean Warbler still singing a Northern Parula song at Quabbin Park and then a Cerulean Warbler in the Mount Holyoke Range singing both Black and White Warbler and Black throated Blue Warbler songs! Crazy!
I got out as much as I could between work and other commitments through the third week of the month and until we left for our trip out to western Canada. I made yet another trip out of the county with a trip up to Franklin County again to see a pair of Hooded Warblers in Sunderland.
At the end of June and into the beginning of July we took a trip out to western Canada including the Canadian Rockies and Vancouver Island for our 20th wedding anniversary. During the trip there I had eleven species of warblers with a few new ones for the year as well as new ones for my Canada list.
Once I was back from out west I caught up with a number of warblers through my several days back despite hot and humid conditions. There were lots of adults carrying food and some fledglings around. Through the end of the third week of the month the hot weather continued and I got out as much as I could with the weather and work commitments.
By the end of July I had caught up with all the expected breeders in the area. Once again I had lots of evidence of successful breeding as well as some post breeding dispersals.
I started August tracking down most of the local breeders despite work and continued hot conditions. By just past the end of the first week I had tracked down 18 species, including early Tennessee Warblers.
By the middle of the month more mixed flocks continued to show up and fall migration really seemed to be underway. To end out the third week of August I had a number of early arriving migrants from the north thanks to some great migration conditions.
As the end of the month neared I had even more early arriving warblers and by the end of the month I had managed my highest ever total for the month of August in Hampshire County with an amazing 26 species.
The first week of September brought in warblers with multiple nights of great migration. Some mornings were a bit slow thanks to migration conditions that were probably too good as birds right on past. Another big push came in before the end of the second week and ended up being the end of the peak of warbler migration (which seemed a bit earlier than previous years but migration conditions were very good overall from later August through mid/later September). I finally my first Connecticut Warbler of the year on the 19th (no photo) after a lot of looking in normally productive areas (sadly this ended up being my only Connecticut Warbler of the year). By the end of the third week of the month the weather started to change a bit to cooler temps and less warblers.
As the month rapidly came to a close I had a decent morning of warblers on the 23rd with eleven species...fairly good for later in the month during this slow September migration season. I ended the month with 26 species
I had a very good start to October with 14 species on the first. I continued to find a few late warblers through the end of the first week of the month.
I continued to get warblers through the second week of October as we had some cooler conditions. It then warmed up and stayed that way for several days and I had a few late warblers during that time. By the end of October I had a tallied a total of 18 species in the county.
To kick off November I found two species in the first couple days of the month and despite lots of looking for the first week I still managed just two species despite mainly above normal temps. I did find a third species with a brief look at a Common Yellowthroat on the 12th.
I finally made the trip down to Peru and Bolivia in early December with the goal of tracking down five more new species of warbler for me. My first stop would be Peru where I spent time in the Cuzco area and found three new species including Pale legged Warbler, Two banded Warbler and Cuzco Warbler (as well as other warbler species).
My next stop was to Bolivia for a brief visit in search of two more species. The first species was Yungas Warbler which I got quite easily. The rest of the time was spent tracking down a Brown capped Redstart and I only managed a quick view of what was certainly the species but I didn't get any photos or recordings so not as satisfying as I hoped.
Once back home after an epic journey I managed to catch up with a Cape May Warbler that is trying to overwinter at a private residence in South Hadley...a truly crazy species to have in the area in December! This extended my streak of two warbler species in Hampshire County to 33 months. The Cape May Warbler continued into the end of December despite cold and snow.
If one needs even more warblers, then check out previous year end reviews at the following links:
Below are a few tallies for the year with overall warblers seen, warblers per month overall and warblers per month in Hampshire County.
Warblers (running tally for year)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
20 20 33 36 43 46 46 46 47 47 47 56
Warblers overall per month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
20 2 21 20 31 28 24 26 26 17 18 15
Hampshire County warblers by month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2 2 2 20 31 22 19 26 26 17 3 2