Palm Warbler at Lake Wallace

Palm Warbler 'western', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 25, 2018

Palm Warbler 'western', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 25, 2018

Palm Warbler 'western', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 25, 2018

I got a message from Dawn Winkler this afternoon that she had a very early Palm Warbler at nearby Lake Wallace.  I initially was not going to try for it today but decided I was feeling up to it so I took a quick drive over and found the bird right away late in the afternoon.  I typically don't find this species around here until the end of the first week of April into mid April.  I have only had the species in the county in March once before and that was back in 2012 on March 24.  It is even more unusual given that the weather lately has not been conducive for early migrants as we have had snowstorms, colder than average conditions and a major lack of southerly winds.  The Palm Warbler becomes the third warbler species for March for me in Hampshire County, something I have only managed once before (also in 2012).