Crown of Maine - June 18-22

Crown of Maine- Hampshire Bird Club Trip

On June 18Th, roughly 15 birders from the Hampshire Bird Club made the ten hour trek to Caribou, Maine for what would turn out to be a wonderful, although extremely soggy weekend in Aroostook County. We were greeted Early Friday morning (5am) by our exceptionally talented and enthusiastic leader-Bill Sheehan. Over the next three days, Bill led us through Aroostook N.W.R. ( old Loring A.F.B.), Lake Josephine in Easton area and to wilderness areas in the North Country. Despite the weather- we totaled over 118 species and we really were exposed too some really beautiful regions of Northern Maine. The list below may differ slightly from member to member, but it gives a pretty good idea of what we had. (Above photo-Bill Sheehan)

Moose!

Closer View

(Loring Airforce base-OLD) The old bunkers where Nuclear Warheads were stored.

Another Bunker

Wood Duck-female

Upland Sandpiper- Aroostook N.W.R. (Loring Base)

Upland sandpiper

Wetlands around Lake Josephine

Young Great Horned Owl- Nice spotting by David Peak-Jones!

Club Members- listening....

Val-Holding Jaw bone of a Moose .

Osprey

Common loon

Gray Jay- Juv & Adult

Gray Jay-Adult

Swainson's Thrush- Singing away

Western Tailed-Blue. Currently, only a handful of records for Maine.

American Bittern- The entire group watched this American bittern put on a roadside show like none of us has ever witnessed before. For over 25 minutes this bird preyed on Tadpoles, Dobsonfly larvae (nasty little things) and several adult Dragonflies!

Bay-breasted Warbler- Almost the last bird we had coming out of the North Woods.

Waterfowl-16 species.

Canada Goose

Wood Duck (5)

Gadwal (5)

Am.Wigeon (8)

Am. Black Duck (15)

Mallard (60+)

Blue-winged Teal (2)

Northern Shoveler (6)

Green-winged Teal (12+)

REDHEAD (1m)

Ring-necked Duck (20+)

Common Goldeneye (9)

Hooded Merganser (5)

Common Merganser (1)

Ruddy Duck (2)

Common Loons (8)

Pied-billed Grebe (1)

EARED GREBE (1-Sanford Sewer Plant-on way up to Caribou)

D.C.Cormorant (52+)

American Bittern (1- see photos)

Great Blue Heron (2)

Turkey Vulture

Osprey (4)

Bald Eagle (4)

Northern Harrier (3)

Broad-winged Hawk (2)

Red-tailed Hawk

Am.Kestrel (6)

Virginia Rail (2)

Common Moorhen (2)

Killdeer (4)

Spotted Sandpiper (8)

Upland Sandpiper (4)

Common Snipe (4)

Ring-billed Gull (57+)

Herring Gull (2)

Common Tern (35)

Rock Pigeon (10)

Mourning Dove

Great Horned Owl (2-1 young/1-adult)

Common Nighthawk (3)

Chimney Swift (4)

R.T. Hummingbird (3)

Belted Kingfisher (4)

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (5+)

Hairy Woodpecker (4)

No.Flicker (8)

Olive-sided Flycatcher (1)

Eastern-Wood-Pewee (6)

Yellow-bellied flycatcher (5)

Alder Flycatcher (7)

Least Flycatcher (6)

Eastern Phoebe (2)

Great-crested Flycatcher (1)

Eastern Kingbird (5)

Blue-headed Vireo (12+)

Warbling Vireo (1)

Red-eyed Vireo (37+)

Gray Jay (7)

Blue Jay (14)

American Crow (30+)

Common Raven (8)

Tree Swallow (many)

Cliff Swallow (20)

Barn Swallow (12+)

Black-capped Chickadee

Boreal Chickadee (2)

Red-breasted Nuthatch (1)
White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper (4)

Winter Wren (10)

Marsh Wren (1)

Golden-Cr. Kinglet (5)

Ruby-cr.Kinglet ((10)

Eastern bluebird (1)

Veery (4)

Swainson's Thrush (11)

Hermit Thrush (5)

Am.Robin

Gray Catbird (4)

Northern Mockingbird (1)

E.Starling

Cedar Waxwing (30+)

Warblers

Nashville (29)

Northern Parula (15)

Yellow (22)

Chestnut-sided ((7)

Magnolia (16)

Cape May (2)

Yellow-rumped (12)

B.T.G. (4)

Palm (3)

Bay-breasted (1)

Black & White (3)

Am.Redstart (7)

Ovebird (17+)

Northern Waterthrush (8)

Mourning (3)

Common Yellowthroat (19)

Canada (1)

Chipping sparrow (11)

Savannah Sparrow (25+)

Fox Sparrow (4)

Song Sparrow

Lincoln's Sparrow (4)

Swamp Sparrow (10)

White-throated sparrow (25+)

D.E.Junco (10+)

Boblink (2)

R.W.Blackbird

Common Grackle (100+)

Brown-head Cowbird (2)

Baltimore Oriole (1)

Purple Finch (6)

Pine Siskin (3)

Am.Goldfinch (25)

Evening grosbeak (3)

House sparrow

A nice surprise on June 1st - While checking on the family homestead around noontime I heard this bird calling from the adjacent woods. As of this date the Kentucky is still calling consistently and as set up a territory, but the big question is...will he find a mate!

This bird has been very accommodating to most birders looking for him, in fact- he has been seen most of the time calling from a 25-35 ft perch.

Interestingly- This is the second Kentucky Warbler I've had on the family homestead, the first one was May 28th, 1983.


Kentucky Warbler- Amherst 6-7-09

Kentucky Warbler- Singing from high perch.

Kentucky Warbler- Nice close view, just missed the killer shot!

Hitchcock Center Trip- Quabbin Res. 5-10-09

Hitchcock Birding Class- May 10th.

Met the group at the Hitchcock Center in Amherst around 7AM for our trip to the Quabbin Reservoir. Upon arrival, I immediately had a Great Blue Heron and Common Loon moving high overhead-heading northeast. I thought this was fairly interesting considering the wind was already blowing pretty well out of the northwest.

Before leaving the Center, I heard a Wilson's Warbler and a White-Cr. Sparrow singing from the thicket near the center. Unfortunately, the Warbler was not as cooperative as I would have liked, but most folks had an adequate view., but the White-crowned just disappeared.

We arrived at Windsor Dam around 7:45am and the wind was even stronger! A couple of Eastern Kingbirds in the parking lot put on a nice show, but we started seeing Common Loons moving north. At the end of the morning, we had 11 Common Loons and 10 Double-crested Cormorants migrating north. This perhaps doesn't seem like a lot, especially D.C. Cormorants, but for Common Loons migrating inland- this was the highest number I've encountered in years.

Despite the strong winds, the rest of the day proved to be pretty good. We finished the day with over 75 species and sixteen species of Warblers. Partial trip list below.....

Good birding,

Scott



Wilson's Warbler- Larch Hill, Amherst

Veery- Quabbin Park

Enfield Lookout -Quabbin

Black & White Warbler- Quabbin Park

Baltimore Oriole- Goodell Street Feeder

Location: Quabbin Park/H.Q.

Wild Turkey 1

Common Loon 10

Double-crested Cormorant 10

Turkey Vulture 4

Bald Eagle 1

Red-tailed Hawk 3

Spotted Sandpiper 4

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1

Least Flycatcher 3

Eastern Phoebe 2

Great Crested Flycatcher 1

Eastern Kingbird 2

Yellow-throated Vireo 5

Red-eyed Vireo 6
Warbling Vireo 2

Barn Swallow 1

Brown Creeper 1

House Wren 2

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2

Veery 2

Gray Catbird 8

Blue-winged Warbler 2

Northern Parula 3

Yellow Warbler 1

Chestnut-sided Warbler 12

Magnolia Warbler 1

Black-throated Blue Warbler 11

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 5

Black-throated Green Warbler 11

Blackburnian Warbler 3

Pine Warbler 3

Prairie Warbler 3

Black-and-white Warbler 7

American Redstart 6

Ovenbird 9

Common Yellowthroat 2

Scarlet Tanager 5

Eastern Towhee 7

Chipping Sparrow 8

Field Sparrow 2

Lincoln's Sparrow 1

Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1

Indigo Bunting 2

Baltimore Oriole 11

House Finch 1

American Goldfinch 12

LARCH HILL CONSERVATION AREA-AMHERST

Common Loon 1

Great Blue Heron 1

Turkey Vulture 1

Chimney Swift 2

Red-bellied Woodpecker 1

Eastern Phoebe 1

Carolina Wren 1

House Wren 2

Veery 1

Gray Catbird 5

Northern Mockingbird 2

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 5

Pine Warbler 2

American Redstart 2

Common Yellowthroat 2

Wilson's Warbler 1

Chipping Sparrow 2

White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern) 2

Baltimore Oriole 2

Pine Siskin 2

American Goldfinch 4

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