Cerulean Warbler nest at Skinner SP with cooperative breeding occurring

Cerulean Warbler female with nestlings, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 17, 2026

Cerulean Warbler nestlings, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 17, 2026

Cerulean Warbler male with leg bands and female with nestlings, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 17, 2026

Cerulean Warbler male with leg bands and female with nestlings, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 17, 2026

Cerulean Warbler adult male without bands with nestlings, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 17, 2026

Cerulean Warbler nestlings, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 17, 2026

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 17, 2026

American Redstart carrying food, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 17, 2026

I got a text from jack yesterday letting me know he found a Cerulean Warbler nest at Skinner State Park and the nestlings looked about ready to fledge.  I was in the middle of a project at home yesterday so could not break free to make the trip over to see them.  I hoped they would still be around this morning when I had some free time.  Armed with the rough location of the nest I arrived at Skinner SP before sunrise and made the hike up the mountain.  On the hike up I ran across a number of warblers with a few carrying food to unseen nestlings or fledglings.  Once I arrived near the site of the nest I had a male carrying food and then disappearing into the trees toward the yet unseen nest.  The male I saw appeared to have bands (white bands meaning it was the individual banded this year).  As I continued my search for the nest Jack arrived and with his directions I was able to finally find the nest.  Initially the nestlings stayed hunkered down low in the nest and it was tough to even see if there anything in the nest but as the morning wore on the nestlings became more active and the adults increased their trips to the nest with food.  We got to see the adult female arrive on multiple occasions and spend a little time around the nest before disappearing to get more food for the nestlings.  We had the banded male show up briefly on multiple occasions and even had an unbanded adult male show up to assist with feeding the nestlings.  Jack mentioned he observed this behavior yesterday too and from a bit of research this type of cooperative breeding is quite rare with the species.  Having a banded male around was the only thing that made this observation possible and the two males never were at the nest at the same time.  Another great reason to color band individuals so you can see this behavior.  After about an hour and a half of observing the nest and talking with Jack I headed back down and once again had a number of warblers.  Jack stayed and after a few more hours all three nestlings fledged from the nest and started their lives outside the nest and out in the big world.  Eventually they will make the long migration down to South America for the winter before making a return trip north to breed.

Another species captured on camera at water feature with a Northern Yellow Warbler

Northern Yellow Warbler and House Wren, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 12, 2026

 

Northern Yellow Warbler and House Wren, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 12, 2026

 

Northern Yellow Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 12, 2026

A check of the camera at the water feature today found that a new species was captured a couple days ago with the arrival of a Northern Yellow Warbler, making seven species captured this year (although at least one species, a Wilson's Warbler, visited while I was watching but the camera never caught it).

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 14, 2026

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 14, 2026

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 14, 2026

Brewster's Warbler carrying food, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 14, 2026

I had some time free this morning so took a walk at the rail trail in Amherst to start the day and then headed over to Skinner SP and hiked up to the top and back down.  Bird song continues to slowly decrease among a number of warblers but there was still song.  Highlights for the morning included the continued Brewster's Warbler (once again seen carrying food) in Amherst, at least half a dozen Worm eating Warblers and just a single Cerulean Warbler singing at Skinner SP.

Four male Cerulean Warblers today at Quabbin Park

Cerulean Warbler (first unbanded individual), Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 11, 2026

Cerulean Warbler (first unbanded individual), Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 11, 2026

Cerulean Warbler (second unbanded individual), Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 11, 2026

 

Cerulean Warbler (third unbanded individual), Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 11, 2026

 After getting a little birding done in Ware I headed into Quabbin Park to follow up on the Cerulean Warblers there.  I'm determined to find conclusive evidence of breeding once again this year and I hoped today would finally reward me with evidence (it did not).  I spent a couple hours looking and listening for Cerulean Warbler and was rewarded with four singing males...the most so far this year.  With much effort I was able to get at least brief looks at each of them and three were unbanded with the banded individual being the one banded in mid May.  Although I found no definitive evidence of breeding I'm certain I will eventually find it and I suspect the banded bird might have found a mate as he has been less vocal recently and is still staying in the same territory since he arrived in early May.  Having a fourth male show up this late in the breeding season raises several questions...where was he before?  What attracted him to here?  Are the presence of other singing males attracting wandering individuals?  This species is at the limit of its range here and behavior is somewhat atypical compared to behavior in its core breeding range.  Would be great to be able to track these individuals over the course of the year (or years) and see where they come from and how they travel around during the breeding season.  More questions than answers sometimes.

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 11, 2026

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 11, 2026

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 11, 2026

As I looked for the Cerulean Warblers I had a bunch of other breeding warbler species around and I got photos of a few of them...Quabbin Park always produces.

Warblers along the west side of Quabbin the last three days (well mostly from there)

Chestnut sided Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 8, 2026

Moose, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 8, 2026

Black throated Blue Warbler, Bright Water Bog, Shutesbury, MA, Jun 9, 2026

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Gate 12, Pelham, MA, Jun 9, 2026

Chestnut sided Warbler carrying food, Quabbin Gate 12, Pelham, MA, Jun 9, 2026

 

Brewster's Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 10, 2026

I have spent the last three morning largely exploring areas along the west side of Quabbin and the Prescott Peninsula as well as some nearby areas.  These days have been mainly looking for breeding species (both common and unusual) and I have found a decent selection as breeding season is in full swing now.  I also followed up on reports of a few slightly unusual warblers without finding any although I did find the continued Brewster's Warbler when I swung through Amherst to run some errands.

Warblers on my annual breeding bird survey route yesterday

Northern Yellow Warbler, Breeding bird survey stop #40, Monson, MA, Jun 6, 2026

Prairie Warbler, Breeding bird survey stop #34, Monson, MA, Jun 6, 2026

Yesterday I completed my annual breeding bird survey route that runs from Belchertown down to the Connecticut line.  It is part of a large number of survey routes that have been run for many years (my particular route has been conducted since 1967) looking at changes over time of breeding species.  All breeding bird survey routes consist of 50 three minute stops every 1/2 miles.  Given the time limits built into the route there is little time for photo ops but I managed a few snaps of some birds including some warblers.  Overall for the route this year I found 14 species of warbler with the three most common warbler species being Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat and American Redstart.  Several species only occurred at one or two stops along the route and I got one later migrant with a Blackpoll Warbler.  A full link to the trip list on eBird can be found at the following link: BBS 2026 trip report. and more on the overall survey at the following: breeding bird survey 2026.

Warblers on field surveys

Prairie Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

Prairie Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

Prairie Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

Common Yellowthroat, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

I got my first field bird surveys complete on the restricted access Prescott Peninsula today on a beautiful morning with wall to wall sunshine, calm conditions and low humidity.  I started a little before five and then conducted surveys for the next two and half hours before I headed home to check on Wilson and take him for his first real walk since his surgery last Saturday.  Warblers of course figured prominently during the surveys as multiple species can be found in the habitat of fields and edges.  Most species seemed to be around in expected numbers with all present being breeding species.  Beyond the warblers a very interesting bright yellow Scarlet Tanager was found during the survey and more on that can be found at the following post: bright yellow Scarlet Tanager.

Three Cerulean Warblers continue at Quabbin Park

Cerulean Warbler (male #1), Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 3, 2026

Cerulean Warbler (male #1), Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 3, 2026

Cerulean Warbler (male #1), Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 3, 2026

Cerulean Warbler with leg bands (male #2), Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 3, 2026

Cerulean Warbler (male #3), Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 3, 2026

I stuck close to home again today as I wanted to make sure I was home to watch Wilson as he continues to recover from surgery he had on Saturday.  I started off before dawn at Quabbin Gate 5 before eventually moving on to Quabbin Park.  After getting most of the expected warbler species over the previous two days I decided to concentrate on the Cerulean Warblers at Quabbin Park.  I have consistently had at least one there since early May and many times have had two.  I even had three singing males on a couple occasions.  I have been working with some DCR biologists in keeping tabs on the Cerulean Warblers in the park and today was a great day with three singing males once again.  Two of the individuals are not banded and if the biologist can fit it into their busy schedule they may try to capture and band the remaining unbanded birds.  I will do a more in depth post on the Cerulean Warblers once the breeding season is over in regards to site fidelity and the return of previously banded birds.  

 

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 3, 2026

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 3, 2026

Ovenbird, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 3, 2026

There were other warblers around with all on breeding territory and I got photos of a few among a lucky 13 species of warblers.

Wilson sleeping, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 3, 2026

My boy is slowly recovering and is doing fairly well given his age...hopefully he will be up for a real walk tomorrow.