Trip Highlights

After meeting at the usual spot for our September morning walks, we immediately drove to the parking area for the Longmeadow Sandbar.  Two unusual species had been reported to be there.  With the aid of scopes, everyone was able to see the Red Phalarope and the Red-necked Phalarope as they walked along the far side of the sandbar.  Our timing was good, as by late morning, the Red Phalarope had continued on its migratory journey.  There was also a Great Egret, several Ring-billed Gulls and three very distant peeps too far away for identification.

With the phalaropes on the morning's list, we moved on to walk the field edges off West Road, finding several Song Sparrows and two Swamp sparrows.  Warblers stayed high and silent, and mostly unidentifiable among the leaves, but we did manage to see Northern Parulas and several Common Yellowthroats.  There were also three species of woodpeckers - Downy, Red-bellied, and Pileated.

Checking out the mudflats further south on the river, we had Semipalmated Plovers and Least Sandpipers running around close to us.  As we moved on to see what was around on Pondside we added the expected species of Great Blue Herons, Mallards, Wood Ducks, and one migrant - DC Cormorant.  The 9 participants ended the morning walk with 27 species.

Ten people met up at Bark Haul Road for a 3-hour walk on a cool Saturday morning. We started on the left trail headed towards the boardwalk. It was a slow start until the sun started to warm things up. Along the way we sighted many Song Sparrows and a few Red-eyed Vireos and Eastern Phoebes. As we made our way to the Boardwalk the 20 or so Wood Ducks could be heard and seen making their way to the other side of the marsh. We had an Ovenbird seen along the boardwalk. A Kingfisher was also more than willing to pose for pictures.

As we made our way into ‘Warbler Corner’ we were greeted with Warbling Vireo, Northern Parula, Redstarts, (F) Oriole, Solitary Sandpiper, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers. After returning to the parking lot, a few of us decided to go over to the sandbar off West Road. A Merlin was observed Pondside preening in a tree in the middle of the marsh. We were rewarded at the sandbar with scope views of a Black-bellied Plover that had been reported for the past few days. A nice ending to the Saturday morning walk.

Nine birding enthusiasts participated in a 3-hour walk on a cool (49º F) bluebird sky morning.

On our walk, the eager group experienced the beginnings of the fall migratory cycle which provides a variety of birds that may not be typical during the Spring/Summer nesting and rearing phase of the local bird cycle. We were privileged to identify 35 different species which consisted of both local and migrating bird species.

As we walked the trail that led us across the rail lines to "warbler corner" we started to see and hear many birds high in the trees beginning to feast on the insects that were coming active due to the brilliant sunlight that rapidly was warming the day.

Among the species espied by the observant team the commonly seen male Wood Ducks in their final stages of their eclipse transition to their nuptial feathering phase were easily observed. There was one instance of the Solitary Sandpiper heard as well as a brief sighing of a Green Heron. Among the passerines seen there were the Common Yellowthroat, Northern Parula, American Redstart and the Black-and-white Warblers. A male Scarlet Tanager sporting its yellow body and black wing fall plumage presented itself for a view.

All appeared to enjoy the outing looking forward to more avians friends to grace them on future adventures.

Eleven members of the Allen Bird Club gathered at Pynchon Point Park to scan the confluence of the Connecticut and Westfield River.  At this first stop we found a Spotted Sandpiper, a Great Blue Heron, and a Great Egret.  There were also a couple of Carolina Wrens belting out their morning songs.  A perched up Bald Eagle to the north, four Mallards, and the expected robins, starlings, mourning doves, and two young cardinals were added to the list.

We moved on along River Road to the parking area for the bike path, seeing a mockingbird along the way.  Scoping the river and the Longmeadow Sandbar, we a spotted a Belted Kingfisher and another Great Blue Heron.  Only four Ring-billed Gulls were counted.

Our next stop was the dike off Circuit Rd near the Big E grounds.  Two Least Sandpipers were the only migrating shore birds we found for the trip.  A Fish Crow was heard as we passed by McDonald's on our way to the dike.  Once there, we had 10 American Crows fly over.  Here we added a Red-tailed Hawk and another Great Blue Heron, and heard the only Black-capped Chickadee of the morning.  Other new species seen here were Downy Woodpecker, House Finch, House Sparrow, and many pigeons.

We then moved on to Longmeadow and birded along Pondside Road for the remainder of the time.  The recently reported Northern Shovelers eluded us, but we did have several Wood Ducks - the males starting to regain their colorful attire.  A Warbling Vireo sang over our heads, and catbirds were complaining in the thickets.  Red-bellied Woodpeckers announced their presence several times as we moved along.  It was exciting to find five Scarlet Tanagers moving about in the higher foliage.  There must have been good berries or grapes nearby.

When we reached the viewing platform, we found 3 more Great Blue Herons, another Spotted Sandpiper, a Double-crested Cormorant, another Great Egret, and a Mute Swan.  An Osprey circled overhead while a female Red-winged Blackbird walked on lily pads seeking insects.  Cedar Waxwings were also seeking insects over the water.

Perhaps our most memorable sighting for the morning was four juvenile Green Herons perched in a line on the narrow branch of a dead tree midway down the pond.  A short time later an adult Green Heron flew in almost in front of us allowing a much closer view of this species.

Near the end of the trip, a Piliated Woodpecker flew across the water in front of us, much to the delight of Maryann, one of our new members.  As we were getting into our cars at the end of the walk, a Goldfinch sang a goodbye and a phoebe sat on a post bobbing its tail.   So we did see shorebirds, herons, and egrets - and totaled 40 species.

Twenty-two Allen Bird Club members spent a perfect late summer evening watching the sky for migrating Common Nighthawks.  Some of these birds flew over early (lucky Bill P. was there before 6:30 to catch them) and more after many people had left, but come they did, for a total of 20.

While we watched and waited, there was other bird activity to see.  What seemed like nearly a hundred Chimney Swifts and a few Tree Swallows swirled around over the viewing platform where we stood.  We watched huge flocks of blackbirds (starlings, grackles, and Red-winged Blackbirds) rise up and settle back down in the treetops, while Cedar Waxwings sallied out for insects in the lower bushes.

Wood Ducks and Mallards flew over, and we picked out a couple of Double-crested Cormorants and Great Blue Herons.  Northern Flickers and a Belted Kingfisher called out to get our attention.

It was a very pleasant evening toward the end of our club birding season to meet new club members as well as greet long time birding friends.