October ends with some warmth and then cold

Pine Warbler, UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 22, 2023

Pine Warblers, UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 22, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 22, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Rail trail, Ware, MA, Oct 23, 2023

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 25, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 25, 2023

Palm Warbler 'yellow', UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 27, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Rail trail, Ware, MA, Oct 28, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 29, 2023

Common Yellowthroat, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 31, 2023

Common Yellowthroat, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 31, 2023

The last week or so of October has been a bit of a roller-coaster of weather with seasonal conditions followed by record setting warmth for multiple days and then a big cool down to end out the month (of course I caught a bit of a cold when the temps changed!).  I continued to concentrate on tracking down warblers when I had a chance to get out.  Although mainly Yellow rumped Warblers I found a few others including multiple Palm Warblers at a few spots as well as some late Pine Warblers and a Common Yellowthroat today.  Overall I found 16 species for the month with the big diversity early on.  With the arrival of November the diversity will dwindle to perhaps just a few species but the off chance of a big rarity showing up keeps it interesting and keeps me looking.

Wilson on his first walk after surgery, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 27, 2023

A quick update on my boy Wilson.  We finally got to get out and take walks again starting on the 27th as we reached the three week marks since his surgery.  It was nice to be out with him again on the trails.