Tyringham, Stockbridge, Lenox

Eleven people and 3 cars arrived in Lenox at Post Farm to find other birders led by Mass Audubon from the Worcester area.  The most unusual sighting there was a pair of Virginia Rails, copulating while 3-4 young were nearby.  There was no sign of Gallinule or Sora or Bittern, but Marsh Wrens and Alder Flycatchers were vocal.  A chickadee was busy and noisy around its nest in a dead birch stub a few feet away from the bridge.  Hummingbird and Kingbirds were also there.  We stopped briefly at Woods Pond on the way out, getting Wood Ducks, a Kingfisher and many swallows.  A Great Blue Heron flew over during the ride to Ice Glen in Stockbridge, where the Cliff Swallows were busy feeding young under the eaves of a large, red barn.  In the marsh there were two Willow Flycatchers and an Alder calling constantly.  We drove up the hill to look down on the main part of the marsh, but no Bittern caught our eye.  Instead, an Olive-sided Flycatcher perched for perfect views in the top of a tree in front of a gated mansion.  From the precarious side of a busy Route 7 we had another Marsh Wren and a Kingfisher.  The first bird on Meadow Street in Tyringham was a flyby accipiter with prey in its clutches. At Breakneck Road and the Appalachian Trail we found three Willow Flycatchers, swallows and Bobolinks before the rain ended the trip just as we found another Chickadee nest with babies.