Pine Warbler at Winsor Dam again

Pine Warbler, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 6, 2026

Pine Warbler, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 6, 2026

Pine Warbler, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 6, 2026

After seeing a male Pine Warbler at Winsor Dam on October 27th (plus Jack seeing a duller individual the same day at the dam)  I spent multiple days covering areas around the dam and was never able to relocate it until today.  I went to the dam late in the morning just as the rain was coming to an end and after about a half an hour I had a group of Eastern Bluebirds flying in and at the end of the group was a smaller yellow bird that flew to the top of an Eastern White Pine...a male Pine Warbler.  After a few minutes of looking I was able to get looks at the warbler at the top of one of the pines.  I had hopes back in late October that a Pine Warbler (or hopefully several) would attempt to overwinter again among the Eastern Bluebirds.  This occurred once before in 2024 when up to seven individuals made it through winter at the dam (plus a few other elsewhere in the local area).  This was without precedent that I could find in western Massachusetts and occurred during a great cone crop of Eastern White Pine (which is taking place again this year).  The warblers were usually found in the company of Eastern Bluebirds so one should keep an eye out within bluebird flocks this upcoming winter.  It will be very interesting to see if this does indeed happen again this year.

Annual taxonomy update...no new species but whitestarts have arrived

Painted Whitestart, Madera Canyon, AZ, Apr 14, 2026

Slate throated Whitethroat, Refugio San Antonio, Costa Rica, Jan 31, 2025

Collared Whitestart, Paraiso Quetzal Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 23, 2013

Yellow crowned Whitestart, Cuchilla San Lorenzo, Magdalena, Colombia, Feb 5, 2020

Golden fronted Whitestart (Yellow fronted), Junin, Cundinamarca, Colombia, Mar 16, 2022 

Spectacled Whitestart, The Death Road, La Paz, Bolivia, Dec 10, 2024

The latest taxonomy update did not add new warbler species but it did change the vast majority of 'redstarts' to the more appropriate 'whitestarts'.  American Redstart remains unchanged but all the other former redstarts become whitestarts.  This change impacts eleven warbler species with all occurring in the tropics and I have seen seven of those (the ones I have not seen are all in Venezuela).  

First three days of November featured four species of warblers as we continue to enjoy warmer weather

Common Yellowthroat, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Nov 3, 2026

Common Yellowthroat, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Nov 3, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Belchertown, MA, Nov 2, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 1, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 1, 2026

During the first three days of November I have found a total of four species of warblers, with three of those species being late. I started off the month on a frosty morning on the first with some fog along the river as I visited various locations in Hadley, Northampton and Amherst. I had multiple Yellow rumped Warblers plus a single late Palm Warbler.  On the second it was a bit warmer and still sunny and I stayed a bit closer to home with the bird of the day for sure being a late male Black throated Blue Warbler along the Jabish Canal...sadly unable to get a photo of it.  The only other warbler for the day were a couple of Yellow rumped Warblers.  Today I headed over to Amherst before slowly working my way back toward home.  I had two Common Yellowthroats at separate locations plus a single Yellow rumped Warbler.  Although today was not as sunny as many other days lately it was still warm with highs in the mid 60's despite the clouds.

End of October

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 29, 2026

Yellow rumped Warblers 'myrtle', Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 28, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Jabish Canal Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 26, 2026

The end of October brings with it the tail end of warbler migration with just two species left that do not trigger the filters on eBird (Yellow rumped Warbler and Orange crowned Warbler).  Even those species rapidly become harder to find within the next week as fall rapidly moves on.  I have spent a lot of time during the end of the month tracking down late species (especially around Quabbin) and have had a few species but not as many as I expected to have given the warmer weather overall.  I think the overall great migration conditions moved lots of warblers to points south.  

Very late Northern Parula today and other lingering species as our stretch of sunny days continues

Northern Parula, Belchertown, MA, Oct 24, 2026

Northern Parula, Belchertown, MA, Oct 24, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 24, 2026

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 24, 2026

Orange crowned Warbler, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 23, 2026

Orange crowned Warbler, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 23, 2026

Orange crowned Warbler, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 23, 2026

Orange crowned Warbler, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 23, 2026

Orange crowned Warbler, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 23, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 23, 2026

I had my latest fall record for Hampshire County ever for Northern Parula today in Belchertown with a stunning male in among some Ruby crowned Kinglets.  It beats my previous record late date for the species by an amazing ten days (previous late date October 14..in both 2017 and 2020).  Always fun to set a new late date for a warbler.  We are now at the point where the number of expected warblers are down to just four species and even those are rapidly becoming less common.  We have continued with sunny days and the breezy conditions finally let up for this morning, although that meant even colder temps to start the day (upper 20's today).  I have been out mainly trying to track down warblers and the reward today was the parula.  Yesterday I had a slightly late Common Yellowthroat as well as two Orange crowned Warblers travelling together (Orange crowned Warblers can be tough to find sometimes so getting two and having one being very cooperative for photos was very nice and made up for not getting any photos of the yellowthroat).  Our sunny and seasonable (to slightly warmer than seasonal) weather looks to continue through most of the next week and with any luck I will add more late season warblers.

Late Cape May with odd bicolored bill

Cape May Warbler with unusual bicolored bill, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2026

Cape May Warbler with unusual bicolored bill, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2026

Cape May Warbler with unusual bicolored bill, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2026

Cape May Warbler with unusual bicolored bill, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2026

Cape May Warbler with unusual bicolored bill, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2026

Cape May Warbler with unusual bicolored bill, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2026

Cape May Warbler with unusual bicolored bill, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2026

Cape May Warbler with unusual bicolored bill, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2026

Cape May Warbler with unusual bicolored bill, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2026

 

Cape May Warbler with unusual bicolored bill, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2026

While out this morning on another cold, calm morning I ran across a very unique Cape May Warbler in Belchertown with a bicolored (yellow and black) bill.  It is not something I have seen before with the species and I was unable to locate anything online regarding this abnormality.  Any Cape May Warbler still around now is late but having an individual with some unique characteristic made the sighting even better.

Terrible year for Connecticut Warblers here

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2026

Cape May Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 14, 2026

Blackpoll Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 14, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Belchertown, MA, Oct 14, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Belchertown, MA, Oct 14, 2026

Black throated Green Warbler, Amherst, MA, Oct 14, 2026

Now that mid October has arrived the chances of finding any more Connecticut Warblers is extremely low (my latest date ever for the species is October 15th back in 2021, which is also the late date overall for the area...most have moved through by the very beginning of October).  This year is probably one of the worst years I have ever had for the species in western Massachusetts and there are probably a few reasons for the dismal showing of the species this year.  First of all during the typical peak of migration for the species through the area (mid September onward through the third week of the month) we had a sustained period of strong northeast winds that lasted over a week with rain on multiple days at the end of the period.  The winds certainly pushed the warblers through and trying to find any of these skulking birds when the wind is strong is tough to say the least.  I also did not have the drive to be out as much as usually with the loss of my best buddy Wilson right before the typical arrival of Connecticut Warblers into the area.  I managed to have a fleeting glimpse of just one individual on the 21st and didn't find another one.  There were very few reports from others in western Massachusetts so I think overall it was just a bad year for finding them in the area.  Fall migration continues to wind down and warbler diversity continues to drop.  At least we have had some fairly comfortable weather lately with the high yesterday making it into the mid 70's...very nice for the middle of October!  Today was a bit cooler and much breezier so not as much luck with warblers today.  This coming weekend looks to bring a big cool down with a few frosty mornings.   I also presented my latest program with the Hampshire Bird Club on Tuesday evening with the topic being "Warblers of Mexico"...eventually I will put up a link to a recording of the program.