Blue-winged & Yellow Warblers - Massachusetts, Jul / Aug '25

And so our four-plus weeks of New England summer are coming to end once again. As ever we've based ourselves here at the in-laws place in rural Western Mass, the Mrs' childhood home, and although we've spent plenty of that time elsewhere, we've been here for multiple several-day stretches.

Which means there's been decent opportunities for both running and birding. Both involve navigating the single-track road just around the corner up Bragg Hill - my arch nemesis for the former, but just a brief inconvenience when walking to Deer Meadow Farm, the aformentioned abandoned, overgrown orchard, for the latter.

Of which: after seeing a U-Haul van and a dumpster in the driveway there the other day, I assumed my happy-tresspassing-summer-local-patch days were over. Happily, not so; as I emerged from the orchard for what I thought might be the last time, I bumped into the owner - who turns out to be a lovely guy who's into his birds, who (without prompting) offered access for me anytime I wanted. Thanks, Todd - I'll be back back next summer!

The garden here on Cronin Road is often quality, too, with lots of species in the line of scrub and woods at the back - indeed, these close-up Blue-winged Warbler shots were taken ten paces from our bedroom - and like everywhere here, it's gonna be a lot more productive in a couple of weeks time when migration kicks in properly.

But I'll be back in Yorkshire, doing plenty of birding, guiding and boast trips. Doesn't sound too awful to be absolutely honest.

Roscoe, NY - August '25

As is tradition, as part of our summer trip out here we usually spend at least a few days with the folks, brothers and nieces out in the sticks, usually in the Catskills (well west and inland of Mass, in NY state), and this year was happily no exception.

Belted Kingfisher (above), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (below)

Our accommodation was nestled in a deep, wooded valley - the main habitat / geographical feature and theme of the area - and our time was spent doing family things, from hiking to waterfalls, swimming in the intense heat of the day, to a State Fair (not sure quite where to start with that one, but it was... interesting).

Birding time was limited to odd hours within striking distance with brother Ned, our favourite spot being Corbett Road Outlook, an open riverbank surrounded by woods and scrub about twenty minutes away on the way to Downsville. Nothing particularly special, but a nice range of species, from Belted Kingfishers, Bald Eagles and Spotted Sandpiper to lots of warblers, woodpeckers and other entertaining stuff.

Common Yellowthroat - one of the most, er, common warblers of the trip

Raven

Cedar Waxwings are ubiquitous, everywhere and all the time this trip, often in numbers - it's hard to stop anywhere without their silvery trills as a soundtrack. We were surprised to see this pair collecting nesting material so late, but then we've seen the same with several species (see e.g. forthcoming Cabot Woods post).

Bald Eagles

Black-and-white Warblers, Maine - Aug '25

Worthy of their own post, I'm sure you'd agree - Black-and-white Warblers were pleasingly widespread in Maine (as they have been throughout the trip), with the added bonuses of being both utterly beautiful and easy to pish out of the vegetation.

Pemaquid Point, Maine - Aug '25

An afternoon at Pemaquid Point with Kat and the Mrs was a pleasure - a beautiful spot with stunning geology at the sharp end of a gradually narrowing peninsula.

Eiders entertained just beneath the rocks, catching crabs in the riptide and flocking close inshore, while other species included Laughing, Ring-billed and Bonaparte's Gulls, Black Guillemots, Black Scoter, Common Terns and the usual bucketloads of Double-crested Cormorants.

Pointing due south into the Atlantic, it's doubtless a great spot for both seawatching and passerine migration in the right conditions and seasons - here's hoping we make it back here under such circumstances.

Eiders (and snacks)

Laughing Gull

Double-crested Cormorant

Common Tern

Ring-billed Gull

American Herring Gull, Black Guillemot