Pioneer Birding

Northern Lapwing - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 12th, 2025.
Spring birding in the Pioneer Valley is generally pretty special but 2025 seemed to be well above the norm as far as I could tell. I was leading a trip for Naturalist Journeys LLC in Belize in early March but as reports from home filtered through, it...

Smith's Longspur - Hadley Honey Pot, Hampshire Co., MA. December 14th, 2022.
A fabulous find for hard working local birder Scott Surner. Fifth state record and the first documented in the Pioneer Valley.
Discovered on Dec 12th delighting hundreds throughout its stay and still present on the last day of the year!...

Rufous Hummingbird - Millers Falls, Franklin Co. MA. November 11th, 2022.
Found by Bruce Kanash at his home, ID ultimately verified by Master bander Anthony Hill.
November 10th was warm and breezy with winds in the southern quarter. Since I hadn't been out to the Quabbin for a few weeks and thought I'd give it a try and, on arrival at Gate 35 a chance encounter with Jeff Johnstone ultimately led to a chance encounter...

Purple Gallinule (juvenile) - Longmeadow Flats. Hampden Co., MA. October 25th, 2022.
Late October often brings a really good, memorable bird to the Pioneer Valley and this year was no exception gifting a Purple Gallinule to the Fannie Stebbins Refuge at Longmeadow Flats. This fascinating record first came to light when Jean Langevin...