Magnolia Warbler in downtown Northampton

While working today I walked up Pleasant St in Northampton and at the bike path I noticed a small bird hopping around on the ground just off the trail.  I took a few more steps and then backtracked to see what it was as it stuck me as odd.  It was a Magnolia Warbler feeding just off the road.  A beautiful naked eye bird that seemed so out of place here.  Certainly a nice bird on this chilly morning and getting late for around here.  My last one was on October 1 until this morning

More October warblers

Despite the windy weather of the last few days I have managed to find some lingering warblers.  Today was quite good with Yellow-rumped, Palm, Black-throated Green, Blackpoll and Pine Warblers.  Most of these were in one small area at Quabbin Park.  Nothing too unusual but a nice selection for mid October.

early October warblers

Cape May Warbler, Quabbin, MA, Oct 9, 2011

Cape May Warbler, Quabbin, MA, Oct 9, 2011

The days of double digits warbler species counts are all finished here in Massachusetts.  Soon it will be tough to find any warblers beyond the late staying yellow rumps.  With that said I had a very nice day for warblers today.  I spent the morning in the central part of Quabbin and found a nice collection of warblers for the 9th day of October.  The weather started cool in the upper 40's but quickly warmed to a record setting mid 80's high.  The surprise warbler of the day was an adult male Cape May in a mixed species flock.  There were a total of  eight species with the vast majority being Yellow-rumped Warblers.  The other species seen included Northern Parula, Common Yellowthroat, Palm, Blackpoll, Pine and Black throated Blue Warblers.

California trip warblers

Orange-crowned Warbler, Elkhorn Slough, CA, Sep 21, 2011

Chestnut sided Warbler, Julia Pheiffer Burns SP, CA, Sep 23, 2011

Black-throated Gray Warbler, Drakes Beach, Point Reyes NS, CA, Sep 19, 2011

I have added up my numbers and started going through my photos from my recent California trip (Sept 17-25).  I managed a total of nine species of warbler with the most unusual being an adult Chestnut sided Warbler, which is a rare vagrant in California.  Other species included Orange-crowned, Yellow, Palm, Yellow-rumped (Audubon's), Black-throated Gray, Townsend's and Wilson's Warblers as well as Common Yellowthroat.

California trip

I just returned very late last night from trip out to California spending four days around Point Reyes, a day in Monterey and three days in Big Sur. A fabulous trip with several life birds and lots of photos. A few good warblers around with the most unusual sighting for the area being a Chestnut sided Warbler.  I will download the photos today and perhaps get some up as soon as I can. I still need to total up all my sightings for the trip and that may take awhile. Stay tuned.

Arcadia meadows warblers

Wilson's Warbler, Arcadia, Sept 16, 2011

Northern Waterthrush, Arcadia, Sept 16, 2011

Palm Warbler, Arcadia, Sept 16, 2011

I ran across a few nice warblers down in the meadows of Arcadia.  The recent floods were still in evidence but most areas can be accessed.  The highlights were a Northern Waterthursh, Yellow, Wilson's and Palm Warbler.

Tennessee Warbler

Tennessee Warbler, Quabbin, Sept 10, 2011

Tennessee Warbler, Quabbin, Sept 10, 2011

I came across this very brightly colored individual in central Quabbin on September 10.  It had me guessing initially as it was so brightly colored.  This was the second Tennessee Warbler I have seen in the last week.  The warbler migration is nearing its peak and I have managed to see 17 species so far this month and I'm sure to add several more.  Some of the early migrants have largely left such as Yellow Warblers and Louisiana Waterthrush.  Connecticut Warblers could show up at any time but I have not had any luck so far.