MA - Chuck-wills-widows - early May

Chuck-wills-widow - Williams' residence, Pharr, TX. April, 2005.

It's looking like my May 4th observation of a daytime Chuck-wills-widow in New Salem may be a less freakish sighting than I first thought. The very same day, John Galluzo reported a bird that gave a brief, but loud burst of song in the middle of the day at Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary in Marshfield, and a day later Kristen Lindquist received a report of a pre-dawn singing bird from Camden, Maine on May 5th. The most recent concerns of report from Peter Trull of another singing bird in East Orleans on May 7th. Interestingly all of these records are earlier than any report given in the Birds of Massachusetts (Veit and and Petersen), where the species is described as "Rare but regular visitor, primarily in spring", with spring records beginning from May 9th.

MA - more arrivals

05/03 - A Wood Thrush sang in our yard at first light after fairly heavy overnight rain. Gray Catbird and Nashville Warbler could be heard too. Bobolinks were fresh back in the hay fields off Strong Street and an Indigo Bunting sang its strident song from trees in Groff Park, Amherst. About three Northern Parulas singing along North Whitney Street.

05/04 - Visited a site in New Salem inside the Quabbin restricted area. What a difference a week makes! I was greeted by a wall of sound with several more local year firsts : Solitary Sandpiper, Great Crested Flycatcher, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Least Flycatcher (6+), Field Sparrow and Purple Finch. In addition species such as Wood Thrush, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Kingbird, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Blue-winged and Prairie Warblers appeared to have arrived in numbers. Most intriguing sight of the day was a Chuck-wills-widow that flew across the track in front of my car!! It took a little while to register but I'm certain that's what it was. I had a brief search for it where I thought it landed but came up empty and it must have continued and landed in much denser cover away from the track.

05/05 - No birding as such today but there was at least one Bobolink displaying high over Groff Park, and a Great Crested Flycatcher calling in the Wildwood Conservation area, both in Amherst. Yet another yard first, and a complete surprise - a female Orchard Oriole which appeared in the trees off the rear balcony in mid-afternoon. Wow, what a month is May!