Late warblers including Tennessee Warbler

Tennessee Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 21, 2012

Tennessee Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 21, 2012

Palm Warbler (yellow), Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 21, 2012

I spent a few hours this morning at Arcadia and managed to find four species of warblers among the other birds around.  Besides the more common Yellow rumped and Palm Warblers I found two late species including Tennessee Warbler and Common Yellowthroat. 

Cape May Warbler and late Yellow Warblers

Cape May Warbler, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sept 21, 2012

Cape May Warbler, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sept 21, 2012

Cape May Warbler, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sept 21, 2012

Yellow Warbler, Honeypot-Hadley, Sept 21, 2012

Yet another great day birding in mid September with stops at Orchard Hill and the Honeypot.  Highlights were many and included Cape May Warbler at Orchard Hill as well as two Yellow Warblers there and four more at the Honeypot.  Lots of other warblers around although a little less than yesterday.  See my other blog for more details on the day.

http://quabbinbirdingandbeyond.blogspot.com/2012/09/orchard-hill-and-honeypotanother-cape.html

Orchard Hill warblers

American Redstart, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sept 16, 2012

Tennessee Warbler (best shot I could get of three present),Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sept 16, 2012

Nashville Warbler, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sept 16, 2012

Common Yellowthroat, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sept 16, 2012

After a large migration of birds last night I birded Orchard Hill at UMASS with Ian Davies and part of the time with Scott Surner.  Not as many birds as I thought would be around but some good diversity with 12 species of warbler including three Tennessee Warblers, two Cape May Warblers, Nashville, Blackburnian and others.  The eBird list is here:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11593088

More warblers....

Northern Parula, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sept 12, 2012

Black throated Green Warbler, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sept 12, 2012

Magnolia Warbler, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sept 12, 2012

Yellow Warbler, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sept 12, 2012

Blackburnian Warbler, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sept 12, 2012

More warblers around today during my time at Orchard Hill and at home.  Highlights at Orchard Hill included Connecticut Warbler, 50+ Black throated Green Warblers, several Yellow Warblers, Blackburnian Warbler and others.  Here is the eBird list for the day:

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11565870

At home I had a few mixed species flocks move through with the highlight being a Cape May Warbler.

More photos from today (and the last few days) at my Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/sets/72157631355936860/

Totals for fall so far

Northern Parula, Quabbin Park, MA, Sept 11, 2012

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sept 11, 2012

Pine Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sept 11, 2012

Northern Parula, Quabbin Park, MA, Sept 11, 2012

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sept 11, 2012

The last few days has seen a steady and impressive influx of warblers into western Massachusetts.  So far in September I have found 25 species of warbler with highlights including Connecticut, Cape May, Mourning, Bay breasted and several Tennessee Warblers.  It has been a very good fall so far and there are still a few weeks left to add additional species. 

More fall warblers

Prairie Warbler, Arcadia, Sept 9, 2012

Yellow Warbler, Arcadia, Sept 9, 2012

Common Yellowthroat, Honeypot, Sept 9, 2012

Birded the East Meadows and Arcadia in Northampton and the Honeypot in Hadley and found a nice selection of warblers including Tennessee, Prairie, Yellow and others.  A few photos from the day.

Tonight should see a good influx of birds and tomorrow should be good birding...time will tell.

Early fall warblers at UMASS and honeypot

Common Yellowthroat, honeypot section, Hadley, MA, Sept 7, 2012

I spent the morning birding with Ian Davies and Jacob Drucker at both Orchard Hill at UMASS and the Honeypot in Hadley.  Lots of good warblers around although overall numbers were low for most species except Common Yellowthroats that seemed to be everywhere.  Other species seen included Northern Parula, American Redstart, Black and White, Chestnut sided and Black throated Green Warbler at Orchard Hill and Yellow, Prairie, Nashville, Magnolia Warbler and American Redstart at the honeypot.

Early September warblers

Pine Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, MA, Sep 1, 2012

On September 1st I headed into Prescott Peninsula to check on several field complexes there to set up some survey points for next season.  During my time in there I had a great morning birding and ran across several mixed species flocks with a total of 14 warbler species with highlights including my first of year Cape May Warbler, a Bay-breasted Warbler, 3 Canada Warblers, and 4 Northern Parula's.  Other warblers seen on Prescott included Magnolia, Black throated Green, Black throated Blue, Blackburnian, Black and White, Chestnut-sided and Pine Warblers as well as American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, and Ovenbird.The next day at Quabbin Park I added Prairie Warbler for the month and today I added Northern Waterthrush at Arcadia. 

Migrant warblers start moving through

Common Yellowthroat, Orchard Hill, Amherst, MA, Aug 29, 2012

Common Yellowthroat, Orchard Hill, Amherst, MA, Aug 29, 2012

Yesterday I took a trip over to Orchard Hill at UMASS to see what the night of migration brought in.  Some warblers were around and I found a total of ten warbler species with the highlights being Wilson’s, Tennessee, Yellow, Nashville Warblers and at least five Northern Parula’s.  Other species seen included Black and White, Magnolia and Chestnut sided Warblers, American Redstarts and Common Yellowthroats.  The Louisiana Waterthrush that had been lingering around the house was not seen or heard yesterday or today so it may have finally started its migration south.

Louisiana Waterthrush continues at home

This morning I heard a lingering Louisiana Waterthrush here at home.  It sang just once but chipped constantly right around 5:45am.  I was able to get some audio of the chipping.

Yellow-breasted Chat in Plymouth



Yellow-breasted Chat, Manomet bird banding station, Aug 23, 2012

I took a trip down to Plymouth on Thursday to meet up with Ian Davies. We spent a few hours in the morning at Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences observing the bird banding occuring there. One of the birds caught that day was a Yellow breasted Chat. This was by far the best look from so close I have ever gotten of this species. This species is caught several times a year at this location but is quite rare inland in Massachusetts.

Louisiana Waterthrush singing again

After an absence of several weeks of no singing a Louisiana Waterthrush was singing loudly this morning here at home.  I had seen a few of them over the last few weeks and had them chipping at me but this is the first singing for quite some time.  Reminds me of spring all over again!

Hooded Warbler back

Hooded Warbler, Quabbin, July 1, 2012

Hooded Warbler, Quabbin, July 1, 2012

On Sunday I decided to try again for the Hooded Warbler on the west side of Quabbin. After an absense of a few weeks the male was back singing in the same spot he had been in all spring this year as well as last year. Although difficult to get a good view of I did manage a few marginal photos. There was still no sign of sucessful nesting but I certainly hope he was successful this year.  Lots of other warblers this morning too.

Nest building

American Redstart building nest, Quabbin Gate 12, June 16,2012

A few photos from this weekend of birding.  Most (if not all) warblers around now are breeders and are various stages of raising the next generation.  Some are on nests, others are bringing food to the nest while others are still building nests.  I tried unsuccessfully to refind the Hooded Warbler that has been present at Quabbin for several weeks.  This is the first time I missed finding the bird.  Hopefully it has found a mate and settled in.  Overall I managed to find a total of 16 species of warbler without too much effort.

American Redstart building nest, Quabbin Gate 12, June 16, 2012

Odd sounding Common Yellowthroat

During a breeding bird survey route I completed today I came across this odd sounding Common Yellowthroat at Conant Brook Reservoir in Monson, MA.  There were a fair number of warblers along the route today with the most numerous being Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart and Ovenbird.  Other warblers included Blue-winged, Black-throated Green, Chestnut-sided, Prairie, Yellow, Pine and Yellow-rumped Warblers and Louisiana Waterthrush.

Mourning Warbler and others

Chestnut-sided Warbler, Gate 12, Quabbin, May 18, 2012

Chestnut-sided Warbler, Gate 12, Quabbin, May 18, 2012

Chestnut-sided Warbler, Gate 12, Quabbin, May 18, 2012

Blue-winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, May 18, 2012

Hooded Warbler, Quabbin, May 18, 2012

The warblers continue to show well.  I added Mourning Warbler this afternoon at Quabbin Park as well as many other species around Quabbin Park and the west side of Quabbin including Hooded, Worm-eating, and Tennessee Warbler among the more common species.  I also had a very cooperative Chestnut-sided warbler that posed nicely for several photos.  More photos at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/

Brewster's Warbler continues and another odd Blue-winged Warbler

Brewster's Warbler, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 17, 2012

Brewster's Warbler, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 17, 2012

Blue-winged Warbler (this individual was singing a Golden-winged song), Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 17, 2012

Common Yellowthroat, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 17, 2012

Another day out and about catching up with migrants and resident warblers around the area.  I headed over to UMASS then over to Larch Hill Conservation area, then to the rail trail and Wentworth Farm Conservation Area in Amherst and then back to Belchertown with stops at Covey WMA and the Belchertown land trust trail.  There seemed to be less overall migrants around but a good number of resident species.  There was however a noticeable increase in the number of Blackpoll Warblers with singles noted in most spots I stopped today.  The other obvious migrants were a couple of Tennessee Warblers and a few Northern Parula's.  The remaining birds appeared to be residents.  The Brewster's Warbler at UMASS continues but the Lawrence's Warbler and Golden-winged Warbler seem to have moved on.  I did run across a Blue-winged Warbler on the rail trail that was singing a typical Golden-winged Warbler song.  A very pleasant day with sunny skies, low humidity and temperatures eventually making it up to 70.

Lawrence's Warbler

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown, MA, May 14, 2012

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown, MA, May 14, 2012

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown, MA, May 14, 2012

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown, MA, May 14, 2012

I had another great find this morning as I ran across a Lawrence's Warbler (hybrid) in Belchertown.  I have now seen a pure Golden-winged and pure Blue-winged and both of the hybrids produced by them-Brewster's and Lawrence's.  It has been a great spring so far for these various warblers.  Within about a week I have seen two separate Brewster's, a Golden-winged and a Lawrence's as well as several Blue-winged Warblers.  Until this spring I had only seen one of each in western Massachusetts of all but Blue-winged.  Yet again it was another example of being in the right spot at the right time.  I had previously gone through Covey WMA and Quabbin Park in the rain and then headed for home as the activity was fairly light and the rain had gotten heavier.  Once the rain stopped I headed out with Wilson for a walk along the Belchertown Land Trust trail off Route 181.  After about 3/4 of a mile of walking I heard a Blue-winged Warbler song .  As I have done in the past I tracked the bird down to confirm it was a Blue-winged.  The light was terrible and the bird stayed high, singing over and over.  I finally got a fairly good look and could see a dark throat.  After several more minutes of trying to get a better angle I got a great view of a Lawrence's Warbler.  As I was out for a walk with the dog the only camera I had was my phone and the bird was too distant and active to get anything with that so I quickly headed out toward the car to head home and grab the camera and hope when I returned the bird was still there.  I made it out and back in a little over a half hour and the bird was thankfully still there.  Although it stayed mainly high in the trees I managed several photos of the bird.  I have included several here but more can be found on my Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/sets/72157629727252568/

This record of Lawrence's Warbler occurred within a half a mile of where I had one several years ago but was never able to refind.  Luckily this bird stayed around for me to get back and get some photos and video.

Golden-winged Warbler and others

Golden-winged Warbler, Rail trail-Amherst, MA, May 13, 2012

Golden-winged Warbler, Rail trail-Amherst, MA, May 13, 2012

Golden-winged Warbler, Rail trail-Amherst, MA, May 13, 2012

Yet another day in May and another set of good birds.  Leading the list of great birds was a male Golden-winged Warbler.  Although the species did nest in western Massachusetts in the past they have been driven out by their closely related cousins, the Blue-winged Warbler.  They have become quite rare anywhere in Massachusetts so seeing an adult male was very nice.  I ran across the bird by a bit of luck.  I happened to end my morning on the rail trail and almost left after a short time as it seemed quiet and there was a lot of activity (nice day on a weekend, not unexpected).  I checked the western mass birders facebook paged and noticed someone had posted that they chased a reported Golden-winged off station road but only found a Blue-winged singing a Golden-winged song.  I decided to try to get some photos and video of another odd Blue-winged Warbler.  After a bit of searching I heard a Golden-winged like song near Hop Brook.  The call was repeated only a few times.  I searched the area and came up empty for quite awhile.  I decided to head further up the trail toward Amherst and heard the bird again.  I squeaked a couple times and a bird flew in.  Instead of an odd Blue-winged I had a male Golden-winged!  I fired off several photos and got a short video of the bird giving an odd Golden-winged song.  I posted the sighting back to the facebook page and gave Tom Gagnon a call to get the word out for anyone that would be interested.  I watched the bird for several minutes and then lost track of it.  Not sure if others re found the bird or not. 

Tennessee Warbler, UMASS Amherst, MA, May 13, 2012

Yellow Warbler, UMASS Amherst, MA, May 13, 2012

Other stops this morning included UMASS and Lake Warner Conservation Area.  Highlights included three Tennessee Warblers feeding together at UMASS and my first of year Blackpoll Warbler at Lake Warner.