Fall Migration 2024 Was Fantastic!

Hi everyone! Fall is officially over. My Eastern Bluebirds have returned and I am watching 20 Dark-eyed Juncos hop all over my snow-covered yard as I write this. It must be time to share the birds I saw this fall! Some cool birds visited Western MA this year. A Black-bellied Whistling Duck was hanging out in Hadley recently! I didn’t chase him because I see lots of those at my Florida house. I AM still on the hunt for a Cackling Goose, Iceland Gull and a Rough-shinned Hawk. They were all reported on eBird recently! I think I heard a few Cackling Geese in our area, but it is SO hard to ONE in a group of 300 Canada Geese! Listen to the audio below. Do YOU hear a Cackling Goose!? So, what DID I see locally and during my own fall migrations to Florida and to see Bestie in Pennsylvania!? I am glad you asked LOL!

I love seeing the raptors and other birds of prey during fall migration if they aren’t in my yard! I saw Northern Harriers in Longmeadow and Hatfield. I also saw a Merlin, a Cooper’s Hawk and many Red-shouldered Hawks hunting in Fannie Stebbins. Red-tailed Hawks flew over my house alongside Broad-winged Hawks and a Bald Eagle. A Cooper’s Hawk and 2 Red-shouldered Hawks also lurked around in Wilbraham yard. I love how Bald Eagles are so plentiful everywhere I bird now! I shared the mated pair from the Quabbin on my sites, and 2 pairs were on the VERY windy sandbar near Fannie at the same time. There were 9 eagles circling over Bestie and me in Middle Creek in Pennsylvania! I enjoyed a close-up view of both a Merlin and a Belted Kingfisher hunting in Oceanside Park in Jenson Beach in Florida.

Fall is the best time to see the different waterfowl as they migrate. I love photographing the ducks’ reflections in the water! The males’ colorful plumage mixed with fall foliage creates some beautiful scenery. The Green-winged Teals, American Coots, and Northern Pintails were bountiful in Fannie Stebbins. I also saw tons of Wood Ducks, a group of American Wigeons, a few Gadwalls and a rare Barrow’s Goldeneye hanging out with some Common Goldeneyes there. Lots of Ring-necked Ducks and Hooded Mergansers tooled around in Whiting Street Reservoir along with 2 rare Redheads! The Common Loons called out in the Quabbin and the Ludlow Reservoir. I also saw both Hooded and Common Mergansers in Ludlow and on a foggy morning in Ashley Reservoir in Holyoke. I logged 1 Northern Shovelers in Fannie and lots of them in Middle Creek! I saw Muscovy Ducks as well as my first Egyptian Geese in Stuart, Florida this fall too!

Shorebirds and songbirds are more of my fall-viewing favorites! A rare Great Cormorant caused quite a stir in Hatfield! Elegant Great Egrets stopped by Bondi’s Island. I saw some Pectoral Sandpipers, rare White-rumped Sandpipers, American Pipits, a rare Sanderling, and Killdeer at the sandbar in Longmeadow. I watched a beautiful group of Sanderlings play in the waves at Shuckers restaurant in Florida. My Wilbraham yard was a hotspot this fall for the quiet songbirds, though I did have a singing Warbling Vireo. Lots of female Scarlet Tanagers stopped by. (Check out my spring blog to see the males that migrated through my yard.) I also saw both Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets, and both Red-eyed and Blue-headed Vireos stop to eat bugs and rest in my trees.

My favorites, the warblers, are always the main event during migration for me! I had Tennessee, Nashville, Chestnut-sided, Blackpoll, Black-throated Blue, Magnolia, and other warblers in my Wilbraham trees! A big group of warblers landed close to me in Oceanside Park in October. There were many Cape May and Black-throated Blues! Pine, Magnolia, and Palm Warblers were common in many areas in Florida. I saw Common Yellowthroats, Magnolia Warblers and Canada Warblers close-up in Pennsylvania. American Redstarts and Northern Parulas were everywhere I birded.

Don’t forget to check the fields in the fall! I saw a Field Sparrow and my first Snow Buntings in fields in Hatfield, MA. Then, another group of Snow Buntings flew right over my head and disappeared into the Fannie flats! They hide VERY well, but I could still hear them, so I got some audio for you. Savannah Sparrows were singing in the fields near the cemetery in Monson. I saw lots of Flycatchers this fall including a Yellow-bellied in my yard. On my first visit to the Angora Fruit Farm in PA, I scored an Olive-sided Flycatcher-lifer!  Look in the treetops to see migrating birds too. My Pileated Woodpecker visited my yard again but the highlight of my fall had to be the Red-headed Woodpecker I saw in Southwick Wildlife Management Area in MA-another lifer. A birder just reported a few some recently in case you want to check it out for yourself!

Well, that wraps up my fall report. It is time to enjoy the winter birds here in Western MA. You can still find the Snow Buntings now. The White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos will stay through the cold months-unlike me! I will be migrating south for the winter very soon! There is a slideshow on my site’s welcome page you can view to see the birds that are common in Western MA during the winter months. Be sure to follow me on my site and on my social media pages to share in my adventures. I will be going to COSTA RICO in January and hope to share some amazing birds with you! A thank you to my followers and as always, I appreciate ALL your feedback! Please share this blog with friends and family. You can find my links to my social media pages on the Contact Me page. Happy Holidays! Robin 😊