I went in search of a White eyed Vireo at the Southampton WMA late yesterday morning and not long after seeing the vireo I noticed a Blue winged Warbler singing and when I got my binoculars on it I noticed it had a partial mask reminiscent of a Golden winged Warbler. The bird flew off down the path not long after I got a look but before I could get photos. I walked a bit down the path to try to catch up with it and then heard some rustling in the thickets and quickly noticed a very large Black Bear. I retreated down the path about twenty feet and the bear came out and stayed in the path, blocking any access to the warbler and an easy exit. After waiting awhile and trying to scare the bear off he seemed totally uninterested in moving so I had to make a detour around him to leave the area. I definitely wanted to get photos of the warbler but figured I would have to wait for a few days before I made it back over. However the sighting of very rare Wilson's Phalaropes in the East Meadows in the evening had me rethinking my morning plans for today and I decided to try for the phalaropes (and succeeded). Since I was already in Northampton I decided to head back to the Southampton WMA to try to relocate the warbler and after a bit of effort I succeeded. It is a unique individual with a partial mask of a Golden winged Warbler but otherwise looking like a typical Blue winged Warbler. I had a very similar individual along the rail trail in Amherst for a couple years running (2019 and 2020)...I have added a few photos of that bird too. The bird sang a typical Blue winged Warbler song and appeared to be paired up with a 'pure' looking Blue winged Warbler. It is probably some backcross of one of the more typical hybrids but who knows.
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