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!

MA - 05/02 - lots going on!

Lincoln's Sparrow - Amherst, Hampshire Co., MA. May 2nd, 2010.

Well, the floodgates really have opened! Most of the expected migrant breeders have shown up locally, and even one or two that might not have been expected. Sunday May 2nd was a scorching day with temperatures close to the 90s with relatively high humidity. During the course of a six mile run from home I heard/saw lots of local firsts - Ovenbird and Black-throated Green Warbler on Redgate Lane, Blue-winged Warbler and Eastern Kingbird on North-east Street, Prairie Warbler and 2 Northern Waterthrushes near Cushman Market, North Amherst. Despite the heat of the day, a walk on the Amherst bike path was equally productive with many Baltimore Orioles, Scarlet Tanagers and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, though few warblers with only Nashville and Black-throated Green amongst the more numerous Yellow-rumped Warblers. Slightly more surprising was Lincoln's Sparrow with a handful of migrant White-throateds, and back home on North Whitney Street, Amherst a female Eastern Towhee was an unexpected yard first.

MA - High Ledges - 05/01

Nashville Warbler - High Ledges MAS, Franklin Co., MA. May 1st, 2010.

This morning we took a very enjoyable family hike around High Ledges Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary over looking Shelburne Falls. As we stepped out of the door of our apartment in Amherst, the songs of Northern Parula, Grey Catbird and Yellow-rumped Warblers greeted us and several Chimney Swifts cruised overhead. The warm air and the volume of bird song had further increased from yesterday. The drive included singing Louisiana Waterthrush and Yellow Warbler just north of the Mohawk Trail and at High Ledges MAS many woodland songsters could be heard and seen with Ovenbird and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at the parking area, followed by many Black-throated Green and a few Black-throated Blue Warblers around the sanctuary. Indeed, Ovenbirds and sapsuckers could be heard throughout our 2.5 mile loop. We also heard and saw a Nashville Warbler along with several Black-and-white Warblers and there was a single Winter Wren near the parking area.

A handful of Broad-winged Hawks appeared to be migrating, as did an Osprey, all seen from the ledges. Around stands of Eastern Hemlocks Hermit Thrushes seemed to be everywhere and we must have tallied 18 during the walk, along with a single Swainson's Thrush. The afternoon was positively balmy which, combined with a nice southern breeze, will doubtless ensure more migrant arrivals over the next few days. For the birds already here, they don't seem to be wasting any time at all - we saw a Blue-headed Vireo nest building at High Ledges today!

Shelburne Falls seen from High Ledges, MAS.

MA - Broad-winged Hawk - 04/30

Yellow-rumped Warbler - male, Amherst, Hampshire Co., MA. April 30th, 2010.

Lots of activity in the neighborhood this morning, presumably a result of the warm airflow and light southern winds. Yellow-rumped Warblers were the most obvious with about 40 along North Whitney Street and Redgate Lane, Amherst. With them a single singing Nashville Warbler, my first local Black-and-White Warblers of the year, and a couple of Ruby-crowned Kinglets.

In mid-morning, a migrant Broad-winged Hawk cruised north over Redgate Lane.

Broad-winged Hawk - Amherst, Hampshire Co., MA. April 30th, 2010.

MA - Black-throated Blue Warbler - 04/29

Black-throated Blue Warbler - New Salem, Franklin Co., MA. April 29th, 2010.

Overnight frost didn't seem to deter the song of a few newly arrived migrants this morning. A singing House Wren greeted me as soon as I stepped out the door, and numerous Yellow-rumped Warblers could be heard on Redgate Lane and Hills Road, Amherst.

This handsome Black-throated Blue Warbler was singing just inside the Quabbin restricted area in New Salem. Certainly my first local bird of the year and, on reflection, I think my first April observation. I usually see the first arrivals around May 5th/6th.


JPS

TX - White-tailed Hawk - 04/21

White-tailed Hawk - sub-adult type, Anahuac NWR, Chambers Co., TX. April 21st, 2010.

White-tailed Hawk is very much one of the target species for our Texas trips but this bird soaring high over Anahuac NWR struck me as interesting. On reflection, I couldn't remember seeing a White-tailed Hawk east of Houston and found out, courtesy of the refuge staff, that the species is only listed as 'accidental' for Anahuac in spring.

The credit for the find should really go to this Willet who interrupted his song to gaze skyward putting us straight onto to this exceptionally high soaring hawk. It was barely visible with the naked eye as these poor quality digibin shots illustrate.

JPS

TX - Swainson's Warblers - 04/20

Swainson's Warbler - Jasper area, TX. April 20th, 2010.

Swainson's Warbler - Sabine Woods, TX. April 20th, 2010.

April 20th gave our group not one but two Swainson's Warblers! The first was a singing bird seen well but fleetingly at Jasper in the morning, followed by the late evening discovery of a migrant at Sabine Woods during a tremendous fall-out which included many tens of Wood and Swainson's Thrushes.

This species holds a special fascination for me having heard them so many more times than I've actually seen them. To be presented with two sightings in one day was way beyond my expectation.

JPS

Back in town - 04/24

Apologies for such a long pause between posts. No excuses, just two major tours (Israel and Texas) since my last update in early March. I'm hoping to have more frequent updates in the forthcoming weeks as spring migration gather momentum.

Saturday, April 24th, saw a few birds of interest in our local area including 3 Blue-headed Vireos, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and plenty of Yellow-rumped Warblers on North Whitney Street, Amherst. At Quabbin Park, Gate 52, an early-ish Veery, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and several Pine Warblers, plus soaring Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk and Common Raven were the highlights of a family walk.

Sunday/Monday has seen large numbers of American Goldfinches, perhaps 100+, along North Whitney Street/Redgate Lane in Amherst.

More to follow, including highlights from both Israel and Texas.

JPS

MA - Merlin and RB Merg - 03/04

Kumlien's Gull - first-cycle. Barton Cove, Franklin Co., MA, March 3rd, 2010.

Recent visits to Barton Cove in Turner's Fall/Gill have seen a few changes taking place perhaps hinting at some spring migration? Gull roost numbers have increased to over 1000 birds which may have some exciting potential, but the last two visits have been frustrated by Bald Eagle activity resulting in near constant flushing of the gulls. The few periods when gulls were actually present on the water or the ice, I did manage to pick out the regulars - 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 1-2 first-cycle Kumlien's Gulls. A second-cycle Glaucous Gull was present on 3rd and 4th, and a nice 2nd-cycle Kumlien's Gull appeared briefly on 4th as well. No major rarities so far this winter but it's encouraging to detect some fresh birds, perhaps on return migration. Tom Pirro had an excellent gull session here on Saturday February 27th, and you can view his blog entry here.

Also of note on the 4th, a nice male Red-breasted Merganser with Common and Hooded Mergansers, and about 8 Common Goldeneye. Plus terrific views of a female Merlin from the public boat ramp on the Gill side of Barton Cove.

Of note today, March 5th, a Turkey Vulture over our apartment on North Whitney Street, Amherst - our first local bird of the year, plus a nice visual of a Barred Owl in the Wildwood Conservation area. Last week I saw the same Barred Owl in the same area with an Eastern Chipmunk in its bill, and I've had a few chipmunk sightings since that time. A real highlight today was a Fisher crossing Rt 63 in Montague as Matan and I headed North. It was Matan's first and only my second, my first being on the bike path in South Amherst about four years ago.

Red-breasted Merganser - adult male. Barton Cove, Franklin Co., MA, March 4th, 2010.

Hooded Merganser - adult male. Barton Cove, Franklin Co., MA, March 4th, 2010.

Glaucous Gull - 2nd-cycle. Barton Cove, Franklin Co., MA, March 4th, 2010.

Merlin - female. Barton Cove, Franklin Co., MA, March 4th, 2010.

Ring-billed Gull - adults in summer plumage. Barton Cove, Franklin Co., MA, March 4th, 2010.

FL - Sunshine birds - Part III - La Sagra's Flycatcher 02/16

La Sagra's Flycatcher - Bill Baggs/Cape Florida State Park, Key Biscayne, Miami-Dade Co., February 16th, 2010.

Of all the birds encountered during our two week tour of Central and Southern Florida with Birdfinders, it's perhaps the La Sagra's Flycatcher that stands out as being the most memorable. Far from being easy, we needed to return to Bill Baggs/Cape Florida State Park three times before finally catching up with this beauty. Was it worth it? Most certainly yes! All of these images were taken during 0954-1000hrs on February 16th, 2010 using a Swarovski HD telescope and a Canon Powershot A590 digital camera.