Quabbin Park-Belchertown Areas. May 3rd.

Spent a few hours Sunday, birding around Quabbin Park on an overcast morning. The park was fairly active, but no noticeable waves of migrants. If fact, most birds observed were probably breeders. From Quabbin- Headed to the Small Farms Institute on Jackson street and then to Warren Wright Rd. both locations in Belchertown. Again, nice birding, but no noticeable waves of new migrants. Trip list below....

Location: Quabbin Park/H.Q.
Observation date: 5/3/09
Number of species: 53
Wild Turkey 9
Common Loon 5
Mourning Dove X
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3
Downy Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Least Flycatcher 1
Eastern Phoebe 3
Great Crested Flycatcher 2
Eastern Kingbird 1
Yellow-throated Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Warbling Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Tree Swallow 4
Barn Swallow 3
Black-capped Chickadee X
Tufted Titmouse X
House Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4
Wood Thrush 1
American Robin X
Gray Catbird 3
European Starling X
Nashville Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 4
Chestnut-sided Warbler 8
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Pine Warbler 10
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Ovenbird 6
Common Yellowthroat 1
Scarlet Tanager 2
Eastern Towhee 3
Chipping Sparrow 15
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow X
White-throated Sparrow X
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird 8
Baltimore Oriole 4
Purple Finch 1
American Goldfinch 10






Spillway-Quabbin Reservoir

Enfield Lookout-Quabbin

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher- Quabbin Park

Wild Turkey- Front lawn, Quabbin H.Q.

Wild Turkey

Location: Belchertown

Observation date: 5/3/09

Notes: Areas covered-Small Farms Ins & Warren Wright Rd.

Number of species: 45

Canada Goose 3

Wild Turkey 1

Red-tailed Hawk 1

Killdeer 1

Rock Pigeon 4

Mourning Dove X

Red-bellied Woodpecker 2

Downy Woodpecker 1

Northern Flicker 3

Great Crested Flycatcher 1

Blue Jay X

American Crow X

Northern Rough-winged Swallow 3

Barn Swallow 4

Black-capped Chickadee X

Tufted Titmouse X

House Wren 1

Eastern Bluebird 1

Wood Thrush 1

American Robin X

Gray Catbird 2

Northern Mockingbird 3

Brown Thrasher 1

European Starling X

Blue-winged Warbler 2

Nashville Warbler 1

Northern Parula 1

Yellow Warbler 3

Chestnut-sided Warbler 2

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 5

Black-throated Green Warbler 2

Pine Warbler 2

Black-and-white Warbler 2

Ovenbird 3

Common Yellowthroat 1

Eastern Towhee 1

Chipping Sparrow X

Savannah Sparrow 2

Song Sparrow X

Northern Cardinal X

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1

Red-winged Blackbird X

Common Grackle X

Baltimore Oriole 2

American Goldfinch X

Good birding,

Scott

Yellow Warbler- Small Farms Institute, Belchertown

Sorry- Breeding location can not be disclosed at this time.

Hitchcock Center Birding Class- 5-2-09

We left the Hitchcock Center and headed straight to West Whately in hopes of finding the Painted Bunting at the home of Bill Benner & Joe Wicinski. Not long after we arrived the Bunting made an appearance- to the delight of all. After our fill of the Painted Bunting, we headed to various birding locations around the valley. .


Rose-breasted Grosbeak-female. Whately Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- Uncommon Migrant in Amherst.

Y.B. Sapsucker-Amherst

House wren-Larch Hill, Amherst.

Location: LARCH HILL CONSERVATION AREA-AMHERST

Observation date: 5/2/09

Number of species: 32

Rock Pigeon X

Mourning Dove X

Chimney Swift 3

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1

Downy Woodpecker 1

Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1

Blue Jay X

American Crow X

Tree Swallow 3

Barn Swallow 1

Black-capped Chickadee X

Tufted Titmouse 3

Carolina Wren 1

House Wren 2

American Robin X

Gray Catbird 1

European Starling X

Nashville Warbler 1

Yellow-rumped Warbler 35

Black-and-white Warbler 2

Northern Waterthrush 1

Common Yellowthroat 1

Chipping Sparrow 3

Song Sparrow X

Northern Cardinal 2

Red-winged Blackbird X

Common Grackle X

Brown-headed Cowbird X

House Finch 1

Pine Siskin 5

American Goldfinch 7

House Sparrow X

Good birding,

Scott

Painted Bunting-Whately, Mass

Within a few days of the Varied Thrush in Palmer, another rarity is found at a western Massachusetts feeding station- a Painted Bunting showed up at the home of Bill Benner & Joe Wicinski. Bill called me at work to report his latest addition to his yard list and gave me the OK to start the Hampshire Bird Club R.B.A.

Painted Buntings are rare visitors to Massachusetts, and even harder to come by in the western part of the state. In 35 years of birding, this is only my second Painted Bunting in western Mass, my first one was about five years ago in Huntington.

Over the next few days Bill & Joe opened their home to over 40+ birders throughout the state to observe their southern visitor.

The Painted Bunting was not the only show stopper at their feeding station- A beautiful male Indigo Bunting was simply stunning! Also observed...Eastern Towhee, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Evening Grosbeaks, and Pine Siskins- to name just a few.

A good week for rare encounters at western mass feeders...



Good Birding,

Scott




Painted Bunting-West Whately

Painted Bunting

Indigo Bunting

Varied Thrush-Palmer

A late season surprise in Palmer! A female Varied Thrush appeared at the feeder of Jim & Kim Athearn on April 24th. Not completely sure what they had, they took photos and sent them to Seth Kellogg for conformation. The Athearn's were very gracious hosts, but due to the location of the home and feeder, word of the western visitor was released sparingly.

With information provided by Seth Kellogg and Jeremiah Trimble - this appears to be the latest record for Varied Thrush in Massachusetts. The Thrush was last seen on the evening of May 1st.

The Athearn's feeder not only hosted the Varied Thrush, but a real nice group of Purple Finches, Pine Siskins and other typical feeder birds. A walk around there yard and property was also productive- Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird, Blue-winged Warbler and a very cooperative Northern Waterthrush.

A nice morning of birding.

Scott


Northern Waterthrush

Purple Finches at Athearn's feeding station.

Varied Thrush-Female

Glossy Ibis-Longmeadow

The Hitchcock Center birding class headed down to Pondside & Fannie Stebbins Refuge in Longmeadow this morning. A fair amount of bird activity around the refuge, the highlight was the Glossy Ibis- which to my surprise was still hanging in, after being reported over a week ago. Complete list below......

Glossy Ibis-Pondside-Longmeadow.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Palm Warbler

Mourning Dove

Mourning Cloak

Location: Fannie Stebbins Wildlife RefugeObservation date: 4/25/09

Number of species: 52

Canada Goose 6

Mute Swan 1

Wood Duck 7

Mallard X

Blue-winged Teal 3

Green-winged Teal (American) 4

Double-crested Cormorant 3Great Blue Heron 3

Green Heron 1

Glossy Ibis 1

Turkey Vulture 2

Osprey 1

Broad-winged Hawk 3

Red-tailed Hawk 2

Virginia Rail 1

Belted Kingfisher 2

Red-bellied Woodpecker 3

Downy Woodpecker 3

hairy Woodpecker 2

Northern Flicker 3

Eastern Phoebe 1

Blue-headed Vireo 3

Blue Jay 2

American Crow X

Tree Swallow 40

Black-capped Chickadee 4

Tufted Titmouse 2

White-breasted Nuthatch 2

House Wren 1

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 7

Hermit Thrush 2

American Robin X

Eropean Starling X

Yellow Warbler 3

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 45

Pine Warbler 1

Palm Warbler (Yellow) 9

Black-and-white Warbler 2

Northern Waterthrush 3

Chipping Sparrow 1

Savannah Sparrow 6

Song Sparrow XSwamp Sparrow 3

White-throated Sparrow 3

Northern Cardinal X

Red-winged Blackbird X

Common Grackle X

Brown-headed Cowbird X

House Finch X

Pine Siskin 1

American Goldfinch 10

Good birding,

Scott

Caspian Tern-April 21, 2009

Headed up to Turners Falls (Barton's Cove) after work hoping the Caspian Tern that Mark Fairbrother found earlier in the day would still be around- I was not disappointed. When I arrived Dennis McKenna was already on the Tern, (still sitting on the docks) along with the two Bonaparte’s Gulls that Mark also reported. The Caspian Tern was in beautiful breeding plumage and although the weather was still overcast and raining, I was still a little surprised it hung around. The bad weather also forced down...

Ring-necked Duck 1- Male
Common Merganser 40
Red-breasted Merganser 4- females
Red-throated Loon 1 Winter Plumage. (Located by Dennis)
Horned Grebe 1-Breeding Plumage
Red-necked Grebe 11-mixed plumages
Ring-billed Gull 9
Herring Gull 4
Great Black-backed Gull 2
Tree Swallow 60
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (1)



Caspian Tern- Turners Falls

Caspian Tern coming in above the Bonaparte's Gulls

Bonaparte's Gulls- Turners Falls

Caspian Tern-Bonaparte's Gulls-Ring-billed Gull

Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Mergansers- Three of the four birds.

Good Birding,

Scott

Saturday, the Hitchcock Center birding class and I birded areas in Hadley. The first stop was a little flooded field on Farm Lane. This stop offered great looks at Green-winged Teal and Killdeer. From there we spent a good amount of time in the Honey Pot- The main Highlight was the Vesper Sparrows. We were able to observe them singing from the power lines and everyone was afforded terrific looks through the scope. Later- we ended the day at the Hichcock Center, (Larch Hill-Amherst) we did have a few migrating Sharp-shinned Hawks, but overall bird activity had died down.

Sunday- April 19, 2009.

Headed to Longmeadow this morning to try and track down a Glossy Ibis that was reported yesterday, and to do a little scouting for next weeks field trip. Couldn't find the Ibis, but had great looks at Blue-winged Teal, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers.

Trip lists can be seen after last photo .

To enlarge photos- click on photo.


Snow Goose- Hadley 4-18-09



Hichcock Class- Focusing on Am. Kestrels
Vesper Sparrow- Honey Pot/ Hadley

Belted Kingfisher- Farm Lane, Hadley

Blue-winged Teal

Blue-winged Teal- Pondside

Something Hatched out!

Double-crested Cormorant-Pondside

Wood Duck @ Mud puddle

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Palm Warbler- (Yellow Palm)

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Location: LARCH HILL CONSERVATION AREA-AMHERST

Observation date: 4/18/09

Turkey Vulture 2

Sharp-shinned Hawk 3

Broad-winged Hawk 1

Killdeer 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker 1

Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 3

Carolina Wren 1

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2

Pine Warbler 2

Chipping Sparrow 1

Savannah Sparrow 1

White-throated Sparrow 12

Eastern Meadowlark 1

House Finch 1

Pine Siskin 5

American Goldfinch

Hadley- Mill Valley Rd/Farm Lane/Honey Pot

Snow Goose 1- Mill Valley Rd
Canada Goose 28

American Black Duck 2

Mallard X

Green-winged Teal (American) 48- Farm LaneAmerican

Kestrel 3- Honey Pot

Belted Kingfisher 1

Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 2

Eastern Phoebe 1

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1- Farm Lane

Vesper Sparrow 2 Honey Pot

Savannah Sparrow 3

Song Sparrow 3

White-throated Sparrow 3

Eastern Meadowlark 1-Mill Valley Rd

Location: - Fannie Stebbins Wildlife Refuge

Observation date: 4/19/09

Canada Goose 6 Mute Swan 1 Wood Duck 5 Mallard 6 Blue-winged Teal 5 Green-winged Teal (American) 23 Double-crested Cormorant 14 Great Blue Heron 1 Turkey Vulture 1 American Kestrel 1 Killdeer 2 Wilson's Snipe 4 Mourning Dove 14 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Downy Woodpecker 4 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 3 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Eastern Phoebe 1 Tree Swallow 45 Black-capped Chickadee 2 Tufted Titmouse 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 8 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 8 Pine Warbler 2 Palm Warbler (Yellow) 12 Swamp Sparrow 2 White-throated Sparrow 6

Around the Yard....Sunday

Turkey Vulture 1

Bald Eagle 1

Sharp-shinned Hawk 1

Broad-winged Hawk 1

Red-tailed Hawk 1

Tree Swallow 2

Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2

Brown Creeper 1

Pine Warbler 1

Chipping Sparrow 1

White-throated Sparrow 2

Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 2

Pine Siskin 2

Good Birding

Scott