The first week of July has featured lots of fledgling warblers around and it has been great seeing them (as well as the hard working parents trying to keep them fed). A bit bittersweet as it means the breeding season is rapidly moving along and then the prospect of cooler weather to follow. However we are not there yet and I will continue to enjoy the warmth and birds here before taking a trip out west to track down more warblers (and others).
I also added a new species at the water feature for the year with the appearance of an Ovenbird (warbler species #8 so far).
Today was a great day away from my home area and I managed to track down two more warbler species for the year in the United States in my ongoing quest for a warbler big year in the US. Despite my distaste for the traffic and sprawl of the eastern part of this state I decided to make the trip as I will be stuck closer to home after this weekend for a bit. My two target species for the day were Kentucky Warbler and Prothonotary Warbler. I headed out well before dawn to head to Rockport to try to find a Kentucky Warbler that initially showed up just over a week ago. I had to head out way before dawn for the two hour drive out in the hopes of avoiding some of the traffic chronic for the area. I avoided any traffic issues the entire way out and made it to Rockport Town Forest with no issues at all. I almost didn't bother making the trip out to the location as the bird was last reported a couple days before with no sightings since. Nonetheless I gave it a shot and was certainly glad I did. I arrived just after five with sunny skies, cool temps and a slight to at times moderate breeze, which was enough to make it hard to see movement among the leaves but not enough to keep the plentiful mosquitoes away. I started hearing warblers as soon as I got out of the car and added multiple species as I made the short walk into the area where the Kentucky Warbler had been reported. I did not hear it as I approached the area and continued to not hear it as I endured some mosquito bites. I decided to find a sunny spot just west of the area of the water tank and had multiple warblers feeding on the ample supply of caterpillars. As I watched a Blackburnian Warbler near the top of an oak a bird shot in from the northwest and chased it. They chased each other through the trees and then one bird landed half obscured by leaves and it was the Kentucky Warbler! It stayed put for a few seconds and then took off in the direction from which it came, chasing another bird again. Although the views were brief I saw the bird well enough to be absolutely certain as all the field marks pointed squarely at Kentucky Warbler as the ID...warbler species #47 for me this year in the US. I headed into the woods after the warbler and thought I might have heard it sing once distantly but if it was indeed it, the bird was very far away. I continued to look around for another half hour before deciding to give up and move on to Concord to look for my second target and hopefully beat the traffic mess that is a typical day in eastern Massachusetts. As I headed toward Concord I thought I was doing well and then boom...traffic jam that just grew as I watched it on my map. At least the traffic mainly kept moving slowly with only a few instances of it coming to a dead stop. Eventually I got to Great Meadows NWR-Concord Unit only to find the small parking lot jammed full. I drove around a few times with no cars leaving so I spent a little time trying to find a place I could park nearby and make a longer walk in and finally found a spot. A little longer walk was just fine as being cooped up in the car was not my style on a spring day. As I walked the Dike Trail out I ran across a large group of birders and they mentioned they had seen the Prothonotary Warbler so I was confident I would find it too. As I approached the area I could hear it singing repeatedly and got some recordings of it. I scanned through the trees from the trail to where I thought it might be but had no luck finding it from that vantage point. I walked up to the area of the twin benches and started scanning from there and after a few minutes the bird sounded much closer and after just a little time looking I found the Prothonotary Warbler singing vigorously about 30 feet up in a tree along the river bank....warbler species #48 down! I got a few photos and then assisted a couple other birders present who had not yet seen it. Eventually everyone got on it and we all enjoyed great looks at it and got photos and videos. Although the chances of this guy finding a mate is quite low, there is no chance if a female happens to come by that she will miss him as he sang constantly. At this point I started the walk back to the car to make the drive back west to rescue Wilson from an appointment earlier in the day. I would have loved to have gotten photos of the Kentucky Warbler too but I had to be satisfied with brief looks for now. With any luck another one will show up closer to home (although the chances of that are quite slim as I have only had the species twice before in Hampshire County but one can hope). I also may make a trip further south where the species is more common if I can possible make it happen. Once I picked up Wilson we headed out for a tick filled walk and then made a stop for a celebratory ice cream.
