OH - Warblers in Spring Part I

Connecticut Warbler - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 15th, 2019.

The Lake Erie shore has proven to be a massive draw for me every year since 2012. The central two weeks of May provide a unique opportunity to observe a huge diversity of North American wood-warblers up close, often singing and often in abundance. It's fantastic place to learn and celebrate some of the most colorful passerines on the continent. The focal point of the trip, quite naturally, is the World famous Magee Marsh and it's boardwalk but there's so much more to do and see along the Erie shore and plenty of scope for finding pockets of birds without having the Magee crowds in tow. That much said, it's those very crowds that contribute to some impressive bird finding meaning that little, if anything, gets missed at Magee Marsh. This year I traveled with my friend John Barkham. We engaged on a ten day avian adventure starting on May 10th with six consecutive nights in Port Clinton before heading north into Michigan for the remaining three nights. Highlights were many, too many to list here in fact, but certainly prolonged views of a migrant Connecticut Warbler at Magee Marsh would have to be up there!

Connecticut Warbler - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 15th, 2019.

Connecticut Warbler  'twitch' - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 15th, 2019.

A showy Connecticut Warbler (ABA Code 2) caused quite a stir along the edge of the East parking lot. 

Here's John (in black) trying to get more views having just seen it reasonably well a few minutes earlier.

Blue-winged Warbler - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 13th, 2019.

Bay-breasted Warbler - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 13th, 2019.

Blackburnian Warbler - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 12th, 2019.

Canada Warbler - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 12th, 2019.

Canada Warbler - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 12th, 2019.

Black-throated Blue Warbler - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 13th, 2019.

Cape May Warbler - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 12th, 2019.

Cape May Warbler - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 13th, 2019.

Hooded Warbler - Pearson Metropark, Lucas Co. , OH. May 11th, 2019.

Hooded Warbler - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 15th, 2019.

Northern Parula - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 13th, 2019. 

Ovenbird - Oak Openings, Lucas Co., OH. May 14th, 2019.

And a few species other than warblers;

Racoon family - Oak Openings, Lucas Co., OH. May 14th, 2019.

Summer Tanager - Oak Openings, Lucas Co., OH. May 14th, 2019.

Baltimore Oriole - Maumee Bay State Park, Lucas Co., OH. May 11th, 2019.

Eastern Screech-Owl - Maumee Bay State Park, Lucas Co., OH. May 13th, 2019.

Black-billed Cuckoo - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 13th, 2019.

Dunlin - Howard Marsh, Lucas Co., OH. May 11th, 2019.

Great Horned Owl - Pearson Metropark, Lucas Co. , OH. May 11th, 2019.

Eastern Whip-poor-will - Magee Marsh, Ottawa Co., OH. May 12th, 2019.

Entrance to Pipe Creek Wildlife Area, Sandusky, Erie Co., OH. May 12th, 2019. 

We experienced a lot of flooding in the first few days of the trip but we still managed to get to our birding sites

by using rubber boots which came in really handy for our days along the Erie shore. 

Henslow's Sparrow - Ottawa Co., OH. May 14th, 2019.

Marsh Wren - Maumee Bay State Park, Lucas Co., OH. May 13th, 2019.

Trumpeter Swan - Maumee Bay State Park, Lucas Co., OH. May 13th, 2019.

Sandhill Cranes - Maumee Bay State Park, Lucas Co., OH. May 11th, 2019.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak - Oak Openings, Lucas Co., OH. May 14th, 2019.

MA - early June, and still plenty to see in Franklin County!

American Bittern - New Salem, Franklin Co., MA. June 5th, 2019.

Migration started to wind down rather abruptly in early June and many local summer residents already settled well into their respective breeding cycles. Even so,  a few migrant passerines were still fairly evident on the 1st with a Canada Warbler on North Cross  Road, Gill and a Nashville Warbler in our yard in Northfield neither of which would be expected breeding locations for those species. Additional migrants on the 1st included Olive-side Flycatcher (Deerfield), Blackpoll Warbler (Warwick), Tennessee Warbler (Turner's Falls) and Northern Parula (Gill).

Green Heron - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. June 3rd, 2019.

Loggerhead Shrike - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. June 3rd, 2019.

Pride of place would have to be the Loggerhead Shrike at Turner's Falls Airport found by Peter Garagin on June 3rd, a local 'mega' and a state documentation species. Considering it was a major rarity, the bird couldn't have been more obliging and entertained tens of birders but disappointed those who could only make it the following day. Despite looking settled and comfortable on the 3rd, the shrike would ultimately prove to be a one-day-wonder. The Loggerhead Shrike could well have been the last 'trump from the horn' of spring but four Semi-palmated Plovers at the Caldwell Road sod fields on the 6th showed that northbound migrants were still passing through.

Semi-palmated Plovers (4) - Caldwell Road fields, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. June 6th, 2019.

Red-headed Woodpecker - Montague, Franklin Co., MA. June 6th, 2019.

Red-headed Woodpecker - Montague, Franklin Co., MA. May 29th, 2019.

Grasshopper Sparrow - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. June 2nd, 2019.

With so many species settling down for breeding in Franklin County it's a little difficult to pick out some of the highlights but last month's Red-headed Woodpecker continued trying attract a mate in the Montague Plains until the 6th at least. The sandplains also hosted 11 singing Eastern Whip-poor-wills on June 1st with the nearby Turner's Falls Airfield hosting 3 - 5 Grasshopper Sparrows throughout the period, and an Eastern Meadowlark on the 2nd.  And a 'singing' American Bittern in New Salem on the 5th gave me as much pleasure as any of the above primarily because I've found it an exceptionally difficult bird to see well in Franklin County over the years.

Worm-eating Warblers - Deerfield, Franklin Co., MA. June 3rd, 2019.

MA - Loggerhead Shrike in Turner's Falls!!

Loggerhead Shrike - Turner's Falls Airport, Franklin Co., MA. June 3rd, 2019.

Well I wasn't expect this - a Loggerhead Shrike at Turner's Falls Airfield! Found by Peter Gagarin just before 9am right at the exact spot where the previous evening I'd been watching an Eastern Meadowlark and some Grasshopper Sparrows with Matan. With spring migration tapering I wasn't expecting any new arrivals today, least of all in the form of a Loggerhead Shrike! An incredibly rare bird in Massachusetts nowadays, I think this is only the fourth that I've heard about in the state over the last ten years or so and of those, the first to be found in the interior. Thanks to Peter's prompt post I was able to join him at the site for 35 minutes or so, along with a guest appearance from Beth Finney who just happened to be working locally and couldn't have timed it better! A fabulous find for Peter - thanks to him for sharing his news in such a timely manner.

MA - Kentucky Warbler and much more in late May.

Kentucky Warbler - Montague, Franklin Co., MA. May 31st, 2019. 

After traveling and leading trips for much of the first three weeks of the month I've finally been in a position to relax a little and get down to some local birding. I must say that the last ten days of the month have been fantastic from a Franklin County perspective bringing several waves of late 'boreal' migrants. Impressive numbers of Northern Parula, Blackpoll, Bay-breasted, Cape May and Tennessee Warblers and to a lesser extent Canada Warblers livened up the yards, woods and field edges throughout northern Franklin County.

Kentucky Warbler - Montague, Franklin Co., MA. May 31st, 2019. 

Mourning Warbler - Montague, Franklin Co., MA. May 29th-30th, 2019. 

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - New Salem, Franklin Co., MA. May 24th, 2019. 

Scarcer migrants have included an excellent showing of Mourning Warblers with multiple birds turning up from the 27th-30th in Deerfield (2), Gill (2) and Montague (1), and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers appeared in Gill on the 23rd, New Salem on the 24th and Montague on the 30th. But the pick of the warblers would have to be the Kentucky Warbler found singing in Montague on the 31st - only my second ever in the county (and the Pioneer Valley) and strongly recalling this singing male in Gill in 2015; https://pioneerbirding.blogspot.com/2015/05/ma-kentucky-warblerin-gill.html
The bird in Gill stayed for over a week and it will certainly be interesting to keep an eye on the Montague individual. The latter bird sand vigorously for over an hour and appeared to be holding a territory.

Eastern Meadowlark - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. May 31st, 2019. 

Other unusual passerines included a singing Eastern Meadowlark at Tuner's Falls Airfield on the 27th and a Red-headed Woodpecker in Montague on the 29th, the latter being quite territorial, drumming and excavating cavities.

Red-headed Woodpecker - Montague, Franklin Co., MA. May 29th, 2019. 

Black-billed Cuckoo - Montague, Franklin Co., MA. May 29th, 2019. 

The 29th also produced a small shorebird 'event' at Turner's Falls after overnight rain and a significant drop in temperature with 54 Semi-palmated Sandpipers, 5 Semi-palmated Plovers, and single Least Sandpiper and Greater Yellowlegs.

Semi-palmated Sandpipers - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. May 29th, 2019.