After losing one fledgling Red-tailed Hawk from this year’s nest on High Street to traffic and seeing a second taken into ‘protective custody’ after it was mistaken as injured, I spent the summer wondering if the third member of the brood was still somewhere in the city. It’s impossible to be sure — there are a lot of Red-tailed Hawk…
Little Blue Heron at Springfield Plaza
A tip of the hat to Springfield photographer and birder Joe Oliverio, who spotted this juvenile Little Blue Heron this morning at a small pond outside the cinema complex at Springfield Plaza off St. James Avenue. Joe reported the bird earlier today, and it was still hanging around when I finally had a few moments to spare around 5 p.m.
Updates on this year’s Red-tailed Hawk brood
It has been a difficult few weeks for downtown Holyoke’s resident Red-tailed Hawks: one of this year’s brood was killed in traffic days after leaving the nest, and another was picked up by animal control after well-meaning folks seeing it struggle during its early flights reported that it was injured. The third may still be somewhere in the neighborhood, but…
First flights at downtown Holyoke Red-tailed Hawk nest
[portfolio_slideshow id=1326] The brood of three young Red-tailed Hawks is running about 12 days behind last year’s fledge date and over two weeks behind the 2012 brood, but I finally got to witness one of the first flights this morning. Two of the three nestlings have been extensively exploring the building right around the nest for the past several days,…
Three nestlings head toward fledging at downtown Holyoke’s Red-tailed Hawk nest
I haven’t written much about our resident Red-tailed Hawk pair much this spring, so we’re overdue for an update. After nesting on a fire escape at Dwight and Race streets for several years and then moving to a nest at Open Square in 2013, the hawks moved again this year — to another fire escape, at Dwight and High streets.…
Black-billed Cuckoo in Pulaski Park
A Black-billed Cuckoo that turned up in Pulaski Park this week makes bird species #79 for me in downtown Holyoke. Is 100 possible? I think so, but I’ll have to get out more often — especially during the spring and fall migrations. This year’s spring migration already feels like it’s slipping away from me, despite several interesting sightings so far.
Black-throated Blue Warbler in Pulaski Park
Pulaski Park is still offering plenty of warbler-watching opportunities. Today I saw more Yellow-rumped Warblers, a few American Redstarts, a Black-and-white Warbler in the same spot as earlier this week and — hanging out in the same area as the Black-and-white — the Black-throated Blue Warbler above. In addition to the warblers, I had a nice look at a Wood…
Spring migration 2014: Warblers in Holyoke’s Pulaski Park
As I left the gym in Northampton Monday morning I noticed a number of small birds flitting about in the woods at the edge of the parking lot; they were Yellow-rumped Warblers, reminding me that it was time to start making more regular visits to Holyoke’s Pulaski Park.
Killdeer at Parsons Paper Mill
I saw my very first Killdeer on Water Street in Holyoke last may, and haven’t seen another since — until today. The bird in these photos made one loop around the Parsons Paper Mill site on Sargeant Street before disappearing into a patch of large grass on the property. Could there be a nest here? If so, that’d give downtown…
