Under near perfect
weather conditions, Fifteen Hampshire Bird Club members set out last Sunday
morning to beat the weed patches of the Honey Pot in search of Sparrows. Of
course, being October-it is prime time to encounter those elusive….LBJ’S. (Little
Brown Jobs) We ended the day with nine species of Sparrows, the most notable
were Vesper & Grasshopper Sparrow. However, we were afforded terrific looks
at Song, Savannah, Swamp, White-Crowned, White-throated, and lesser looks at
Field and Chipping Sparrows. However….sparrows weren’t the only entertainment-
We had great looks at a Merlin harassing a Northern Harrier, Yellow-rumped
& Palm Warblers (Eastern & Western) Cooper ’s hawk, a late bobolink and
up to 10 Fish Crows at the Donut man in Hadley.
Below are lists and photos of the birds encountered
during Sunday’s trip, however some of the photos were taken the week
before.
Scott
Northern Harrier & Merlin. Merlins just go out of their way to make the lives of other birds miserable . |
Northern Harrier- A more peaceful moment |
Vesper Sparrow- on the powerline in the Honey Pot. I generally see Vesper Sparrows sitting & calling from the Powerlines in the Springtime, not so much in the fall. |
Swamp Sparrow- early October is primetime for these guys here in the valley. |
Chipping Sparrow- |
Palm Warbler-Eastern. We also had decent looks at a Western Palm. |
White-crowned Sparrow-Adult. |
Lincoln's Sparrow- of the expected sparrows...we missed this one. Honey Pot- Hadley |
American Black Duck 4
Northern Harrier 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Killdeer 1
Mourning Dove 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Merlin 1
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 80
Carolina Wren 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Eastern Bluebird 8
American Robin 5
European Starling 20
American Pipit 8
Palm Warbler (Western) 1
Palm Warbler (Yellow) 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 12
Field Sparrow 2
Vesper Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 70
Grasshopper Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 45
Swamp Sparrow 12
White-throated Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern) 6
Bobolink 1
Red-winged Blackbird 22
Rusty Blackbird 2
American Goldfinch 5
Canada Goose 30
Turkey Vulture 2
Northern Harrier 2
Accipiter sp. 1
Killdeer 9
Merlin 1
American Crow 6
Horned Lark 12
Northern Mockingbird 1
American Pipit 15
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 17
Chipping Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 5
Red-winged Blackbird 2
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch 8
House Sparrow 6