Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrids this spring

 

Brewster's Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2025

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Quabbin Park, MA, May 8, 2025

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Rail trail, Ware, MA, May 9, 2025

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 11, 2025

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Quabbin Park, MA, May 21, 2025

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Quabbin Park, MA, May 23, 2025

Brewster's Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 25, 2025

As I typically do I tracked down as many Blue winged Warbler songs as I could for the spring and was rewarded with a number of hybrids.  I found a single Brewster's Warbler returning to the same spot along the rail trail in Amherst on May 2nd.  It was singing a typical Blue winged Warbler song and it continued through today when I saw it once again.  Despite a lot of looking I was unable to find any rare Lawrence's Warblers for the spring.  I also had a number of other hybrids which consisted of birds that mainly looked like typical Blue winged Warblers but with yellow wing bars/wing patches.  Some of these same typical Blue winged Warbler songs and others sang unusual songs.  I also ran across a number of what appeared to be typically Blue winged Warbler singing odd songs including a returning individual along the rail trail in Amherst that sang a Golden winged Warbler like song.  I did have one bird that got away on a windy and cold day at Quabbin when I heard a warbler that sounded a lot like a Golden winged Warbler I found in almost the exact same area back in late May 2017.  I tried my best to find it both that day and on subsequent days without any luck.

Two color banded Cerulean Warblers at Skinner State Park

 

Cerulean Warbler with leg bands, Skinner SP, South Hadley, MA, May 20, 2025

Cerulean Warbler with leg bands, Skinner SP, South Hadley, MA, May 20, 2025

Cerulean Warbler with leg bands, Skinner SP, South Hadley, MA, May 20, 2025

Cerulean Warbler with leg bands, Skinner SP, South Hadley, MA, May 20, 2025

Cerulean Warbler with leg bands, Skinner SP, South Hadley, MA, May 20, 2025

With the forecast calling for another cool day with windy conditions I didn't hold out a lot of hope for getting much birding in.  After getting some stuff done at the house I noticed it was not nearly as breezy as I expected it to be.  With this in mind I decided I would try the couple hours I had free to bird in the Hadley area.  After a short walk along the river the wind was still not bad so I made the hike up the mountain at Skinner SP with the main goal being trying to track down a color banded Cerulean Warbler that was photographed at the location a few days ago.  Although there was some wind on the walk up once I got through the gap of the mountain at Taylor's Notch the conditions were much better.  Once I made it up near the top I spent some time trying to get looks at the few singing Cerulean Warblers among the nearly fully leafed out oaks.  Eventually I found one and got on it and could see bands but to my surprise the colors of the bands were not the same as the one photographed earlier (that bird had two yellow bands and my bird had two blue bands).  I got several photos of the bird before it disappeared further downslope.  Eventually I got looks at another singing bird and found the previously reported individual with two yellow bands.  Having two color banded Cerulean Warblers at the same spot certainly is exciting and makes me wonder who is conducting research on what is a declining species and one that breeds in only a few spots in the area (the unique color bands let researchers keep track of individuals without having to capture them again).  I reported the bands to the federal band birding laboratory and hopefully the information submitted will be enough to track down the who, why, when on the banding (no chance to read the very small aluminum federal band).  I will update if I hear anything back.  

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, South Hadley, MA, May 20, 2025

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, South Hadley, MA, May 20, 2025

Blackpoll Warbler, Hadley, MA, May 20, 2025

Common Yellowthroat, Quabbin Park, MA, May 20, 2025

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, May 20, 2025

With some great luck with warblers (although no Mourning Warbler unfortunately) I decided to try to see as many species as I could with the rather limited time I had.  There was certainly an influx of Blackpoll Warblers and Canada Warblers as I had the species at multiple spots in numbers.  The wind became a factor and cut down on the ability to hear any distant birds and movement was near impossible to detect.  Nonetheless it was still a decent morning with 22 species...far from a record and not even my best day for the spring so far.  Given the date, other commitments and the upcoming weather featuring more wind and rain the chances of getting a really big warbler day this spring is rapidly dwindling.

Hooded Warbler this morning

Magnolia Warbler, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 16, 2025

No photos of the Hooded Warbler unfortunately... 

While I was on my way to run some errands I saw a post from Aaron from UMASS saying the birding group of students had a Hooded Warbler on the northwest side of campus so I made sure I had a bit of time to try for it and headed in the direction of the campus.  I knew it was graduation weekend and the doctoral degrees were being awarded during the morning but I figured I was early enough to beat the crowds and came in the backside of the campus.  I arrived on campus and started the short walk out to the area where the bird was reported and arrived to find a Magnolia Warbler singing strongly and sounding a lot like a Hooded Warbler (I even tried an experiment with the often fallible Merlin app and it suggested both species as possibly making the song).  I thought perhaps the original observers had mistaken the Magnolia Warbler for a Hooded Warbler but given that they usually get their identifications correct I was still hopeful.  Steve arrived and we discussed the bird and decided to give it another try.  After awhile of listening to the Magnolia Warbler (as well as lots of other birds) we started walking out and then heard the Hooded Warbler fairly close.  Despite being so close we could never get a look at it as it moved through the woods.  It would go silent for periods and then start singing again.  I at least was able to get some recordings.  More birders arrived (including the original observers) and we continued to intermittently hear the bird singing.  After trying multiple vantage points I finally got a few second view of the bird in the upper part of a 75 foot tree and then it promptly disappeared.  A very frustrating bird to try to see for sure.  Nonetheless it was very nice to see the species in the county again.  This was my third UMASS record for the species, with the other records on the once very productive Orchard Hill on May 4, 2015 and May 16, 2018.  The species is slightly less than annual in county and I suspect they have bred a few times.  It was a decent warbler day overall even without being able to be out as much as usual and I finished with 23 species.  The Hooded Warbler becomes warbler species #29 for the county so far this year.

Another Orange crowned Warbler today

 

Orange crowned Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2025

Orange crowned Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2025

Orange crowned Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2025

Orange crowned Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2025

Orange crowned Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2025

After another great night of migration I decided to focus my time at Quabbin Park and I was able to find a second Orange crowned Warbler for the spring (my first was at UMASS on May 4th).  The individual today was singing a bit and showed better than the last one and I was able to get some photos and a crappy recording.  My previous post on the species in the fall shows just how unusual it is to find them during the northbound migration.  Besides the Orange crowned Warbler I had 22 other species of warblers within the park and is probably my highest species total for the spring so far.  I got some good counts of a number of species as the peak of migration is upon us.  Thought about trying to maximize warbler species for the day but just didn't have the time to spend visiting other areas due to other commitments.  

Canada Warbler and Tufted Titmouse, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 12, 2025

American Redstart, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 12, 2025

Black throated Green Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 12, 2025

Canada Warbler and Northern Cardinal, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 12, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Home, Belchertown, MA, May 12, 2025

The camera at the water feature had an epic day with five species of warblers that visited including a Canada Warbler (that stayed around all day and was only the second time capturing the species on the camera, Yellow rumped Warbler, Pine Warbler (I accidentally deleted that image unfortunately), Black throated Green Warbler and American Redstart.

Cerulean Warbler back at Quabbin Park

Cerulean Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2025

Cerulean Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2025

Cerulean Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2025

Despite weather that was far from perfect with on and off rain (mainly on) and cooler temps with a slight breeze I still had a good warbler with a Cerulean Warbler back at Quabbin Park for another year.  I first had one there last year starting on May 6 and continuing through June with possibly up to three singing males (one of which sang a Northern Parula song...a topic I will be writing a paper about when I get around to it).  I highly suspect breeding is occurring at the location but have not been able to verify yet...perhaps this year will be the year? 

A quick review of the occurrence of Cerulean Warblers at Quabbin Park.  They once bred here somewhat consistently in the 1990's into the early 2000's and then disappeared.  The members of the small colony probably died out or were predated on either the wintering or breeding grounds or met an end during the long migration....impossible to say.  I have now had them on and off within the park for 15 years with them becoming more common for the last three years now in the same area (as mentioned above).  I have also had them in the area in years before now but never for more than a year in the same spot (and sometimes seen for just a day and likely moving through).  My records for the species within Quabbin Park are listed below.

May 22-June 4, 2010 in same area (one individual)

May 9-May 13, 2014 in same area (one individual)

May 13, 2016 single day occurrence not near suspected breeding area

May 17, 2017 single day occurrence not near suspected breeding area

May 2, 2021 single day occurrence in suspected breeding area

May 22-June 23, 2023 in same area (two individuals)

May 6-June 19, 2024 in same area (two individuals and possibly three)

May 5, 2025 in same area (one individual)

Northern Parula, Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2025

Blue winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2025

Common Yellowthroat, Ware, MA, May 5, 2025

Besides the Cerulean Warbler I had a few warblers out and about in the rain.  Not a lot of variety given the weather and my limited time but still some good stuff.

Orange crowned Warbler this morning

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 4, 2025

Prairie Warbler, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 4, 2025

Magnolia Warbler, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 4, 2025

Brewster's Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 4, 2025

Blue winged Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 4, 2025

Migration conditions were good again last night and although the overall number of migrants were down from previous nights there was still a noticeable influx.  We thankfully just missed being impacted by some severe weather yesterday afternoon.  After the severe weather with lots of heavy rain, today dawned with fog and some low clouds and a little drizzle.  Although I could not stray too far from home for a few reasons I did get some birding in the Amherst area and this proved to be a good pick.  I started along the rail trail where I turned up the Brewster's Warbler I first found there a couple days ago as well as a ten other species of warbler.  I then decided to try my luck at UMASS with my remaining time before I had to head home.  Once I arrived I immediately had a large mixed species flock with the predominate species being Yellow rumped Warbler with other species of warblers among them with the biggest surprise being an Orange crowned Warbler that I got great views of as it fed in large mature oak tree.  After seeing the bird for about ten seconds one of the hordes of Yellow rumped Warblers flew at it and they both chased each other around and I was never able to relocate the Orange crowned Warbler again despite a lot of effort so no photo unfortunately.  Despite not being able to stay out as long as I would have liked I still managed  twenty species of warblers for the day.  Now for a little more about Orange crowned Warblers in the county in spring.  It is a fairly rare species in the area in the spring and I have had a total of eleven records ever for the spring with the dates ranging from April 29-May 16, with most in the early May timeframe.  UMASS is certainly a hotspot for the species for me with seven of my eleven records occurring within the confines of the campus including two at the same time last year.

Brewster's Warbler returns to Amherst

Brewster's Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2025

Brewster's Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2025

Brewster's Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2025

Brewster's Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2025

Brewster's Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2025

Black and White Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2025

After getting awakened at 3:20 by thunderstorms and worrying Wilson would be freaking out I got up and waited to deal with his anxiety.  He never got bothered at all and eventually got up around 4:30 and seemed totally unaffected by the ongoing flashes and rumbling thunder...one advantage of his near deafness now I guess.  After waiting around a bit to make sure all was well at home for awhile I headed out to track down some more warblers.  Although it was a bit foggy and eventually even a little bit drizzly I still managed a total of 19 species of warblers plus the highlight of a Brewster's Warbler.  It appears to be a returning individual to the same area of the rail trail in Amherst I had it last year (it showed up on May 7th last year and stayed through at least mid June) and may indeed be the same bird I first saw for a single day in 2023 along the rail trail on May 17th.  This is my earliest date ever for this hybrid and is not too surprising as many birds are a bit on the early side thanks to great migration conditions.  The Blue winged Warbler singing a Golden winged Warbler song also continued in the area after first showing up in late April.  We now look to be heading into an unsettled period as a cutoff low in Ohio will pinwheel in bouts of rain through at least next Wednesday.  I will try to get out as much as circumstances and weather allow and with any luck I will find something unusual.