Sunday, April 21, 2013

Glossy Ibis- Amherst

Glossy Ibis- Rail Trail- Amherst
It's been a while since the last post . We certainly had a more typical New England winter this past season , and I finely caught up to the Gray Ghost in January & February. Valerie and I were able to get away in March to Costa Rica & Panama for a week and now spring migration is in full swing.

The Hitchcock Center Spring birding class is also in full swing.....Today's trip brought us down the Rail Trail in Amherst. We started out at Larch Hill conservation Area, an area adjacent to the Hitchcock Center. We had a great encounter with 9 Ruby-crowned Kinglets. All interacting with one another and several showing their brilliant red crowns. We also had several Palm Warblers, 2 Pine and a couple Yellow-rumped Warblers. We then headed to Southeast Street for a quick walk down the Rail Trail to visit an area that recently had three Glossy Ibis?  Although they hadn't been reported in a couple of days, we thought we'd give it a quick scan of the area. As most of us were looking over the main Beaver Pond, Jim & Kim   Athern were looking on the other side of the trail and BINGO! they spotted a large iridescent bird sleeping in the grass....Glossy Ibis was still around, and not just one but all three. The Glossy Ibis is a rare bird in western Massachusetts...reported just about each year, but most keep moving through. Once in a while they'll stay put for a couple of days and give everyone a chance for a look. I've had less than 10 sightings over thirty-five years, so they can be tough to come by.  The Ibis put on a wonderful show, we observed a couple of them eating crayfish several times. The trial also had several Palm Warblers (Eastern) and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. A nice way to spend a Sunday morning....complete lists below.


Glossy Ibis- Rail  Trail. 4-21-13

Glossy Ibis- Amherst Rail Trail.

Palm Warbler- Amherst.

Palm Warbler- Amherst 4-21-13

Pine Warbler-Amherst. Larch Hill

Ruby-crowned Kinglet-Amherst 4-21-13

Yellow-rumped Warbler- Larch Hill -Amherst.

Amherst-Hop Brook-Beaver Pond.Rail Trail, Hampshire, US-MA
Apr 21, 2013 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.5 mile(s)
32 species

Canada Goose 8
Mallard 6
Common Merganser 1
Pied-billed Grebe 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Glossy Ibis 3 continuing since Wednesday afternoon-photos
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Killdeer 1
Mourning Dove 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
American Crow 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Tree Swallow 9
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 7
American Robin 2
European Starling 2
Palm Warbler (Yellow) 12
Pine Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1
Eastern Towhee 1
Song Sparrow 4
Swamp Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 12
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
American Goldfinch 2

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13826633

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (
http://ebird.org)

LARCH HILL CONSERVATION AREA-AMHERST, Hampshire, US-MA
Apr 21, 2013 7:10 AM - 8:10 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.3 mile(s)
22 species

Mourning Dove 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 4
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 9
American Robin 3
Palm Warbler (Yellow) 3
Pine Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 2
Song Sparrow 4
White-throated Sparrow 12
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 2
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 4
Common Grackle 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 11

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13826390