I found myself having to make a trip up toward Greenfield and since I was so close I figured I would make a stop by the power canal to see if I could locate a Pine Warbler that has been seen with some regularity since December. It was by no means a certainty as many have missed it when they have visited the area. Pine Warbler is a rare warbler around here in the winter and this individual is one of the only ones to be reported in Franklin County ever for the month of January. I arrived to find the canal fairly full of waterfowl under sunny and calm conditions. I walked the road a bit over 2/3rd of the way down and back and finally caught up with the stunning male feeding along the road and occasionally into nearby trees. It looked to feeding on stink bugs and spiders. It seemed to be at least somewhat attached to a mix species flock moving around the area...safety in numbers. It will be interesting to see how he fairs with some snow and then bitter cold conditions in the next several days. Pine Warblers that do show in the winter here usually show up at feeders but after last years epic showing of the species in double digit numbers away from any feeders the species certainly can overwinter away from feeders. Just as I was leaving I noticed the warbler head deeper into the woods fast and then a tiny Sharp shinned came swooping in and landed across from me briefly before speeding away. Thankfully the warbler was able to escape and became my third warbler species of the year...hopefully Hampshire County will get a Pine Warbler soon as there are others in nearby areas.
Before heading up to Franklin County I checked another large area of the East Meadows looking for overwintering Yellow rumped Warblers and came up empty again. This is one of the slowest winters I have had for the species in the area with just a single flyover for me earlier in the month. I will keep looking as there are certainly others out there just waiting to be found. The Cape May Warbler in South Hadley had now been missing from the location for several days and likely moved on or finally succumbed to the weather or a predator. There is always the chance it resurfaces at some point, perhaps when our upcoming snow and cold arrives....conditions like that can certainly move a warbler or two into (or back to) a feeder area.
No comments:
Post a Comment