Author: Webmaster (Page 7 of 12)

The day was clear and sunny.  Six of us gathered for the Greenstone trip, including a couple from Puerto Rico who wanted to see what their birds are doing during the summer.

The day was especially good for warblers.  We had six species.  Common Yellowthroats  were abundant with 12 of them scattered over the preserve.  Yellow and Blue-winged Warblers were well represented with five each.  Also Black-and-white, and American Redstarts (called Candelita in Spanish), were seen.  The highlight was a Canada Warbler, Which was a new species for the preserve.

In various places we found nine Wood Thrush singing.  We got good looks at a Rose-breasted Grosbeak in a tree.  We did get a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.  We finally found just one American Robin.  I don’t know where the others were.

We had a total of 24 species, including 6 warblers.

Larry Lunden

Species:

Mallard  3,  Mourning Dove  2,  Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1,  Red-bellied Woodpecker  3,  Downy Woodpecker  1,  Blue Jay  3,  Black-capped Chickadee  3,  Tufted Titmouse  4,  Tree Swallow  2,  Gray Catbird  1,  Wood Thrush  9,  American Robin  1,  White-throated Sparrow  6,  Song Sparrow  2,  Red-winged Blackbird  6,  Common Grackle  1,  Blue-winged Warbler  5,  Black-and-white Warbler  1,  Common Yellowthroat  12,  American Redstart  3,  Yellow Warbler  5,  Canada Warbler  1,  Northern Cardinal  6,  Rose-breasted Grosbeak  3

Lewis Farm Sanctuary Trip Report – May 5, 2021

Trip report submitted by trip leader Abby Wolcott

On a damp spring morning, 13 local birders met at Lewis Farm to explore the trails and look for birds. Bluebirds greeted us in the parking area and off we went down the hill with binoculars in hand looking for warblers and other birds.  We meandered around a small pond nestled in the verdant woods before heading to a pine grove where we were dwarfed by the towering evergreens.   We turned down the volume as we scanned the understory.  The group continued on admiring the wildflowers near the path including Jack in the Pulpits, Trillium and Dutchman’s Breeches. Along the way we were accompanied by white breasted nuthatches and white throated sparrows with their striking white cravats. A rose breasted grosbeak serenaded us to encourage the group to move deeper into the sanctuary.  We craned our necks to look at the treetops and were rewarded with cedar waxwings and yellow- rumped warblers, and black and white warblers scrambling up and down the tree trunk. Those in our group with an ear for bird songs identified a Northern Parula warbler and a Pine warbler.

We lingered by the rushing brook watching two great blue herons fly over in their prehistoric fashion.  Our next stop was a pair of vernal pools and the oven bird called as we put one foot in front of the other.  He finally showed himself by flitting to a lower branch briefly before taking cover deeper in the woods.  Always a treat, we heard the pileated woodpeckers conversing and one rose up from the lowest branch of a tree to thrill us with his undulating flight as he headed off.

We finished our walk trudging up the hill as catbirds serenaded us with their repertoire and the group shared what birds they have been seeing locally. Our fellowship in the woods this morning proved that some unsettled New England weather could not damped the spirits of local birders and their ever present quest.

Tanager Hill Trip Report – Weatogue/Simsbury –May 6, 2021

Trip Leader: John Weeks

Hartford Audubon Society held its annual spring bird walk on Tanager

Hill today. https://simsburylandtrust.org/slt/tanager-hill-the-ellsworth-property/

Forty-seven species were observed, highlighted by two Hooded Warblers and a Common Loon that flew over before the start of the walk.

Full eBird list is at https://ebird.org/checklist/S87276514.

Four members and friends of the Hartford Audubon Society met field trip leader, Jay Kaplan, in the Roaring Brook Nature Center parking lot on Sunday, May 2, 2021 at the bright and early hour of 6:30 am.  The 2.5 hour itinerary included a leisurely walk along the Nature Center trails, and those on the adjacent Werner’s Woods, state-owned property for which the Nature Center serves as steward.  It was immediately apparent that the morning would be an improvement over the previous day, as scarlet tanager and veery were heard from the parking lot for the first time this year.  The strong northwest wind that had begun Friday night and carried through much of Saturday had abated, allowing for an influx of spring migrants the night prior to our walk.  A flowering crabapple adjacent to the Nature Center building provided a good site for warblers with yellow-rumped and northern parula feeding in the blossoms.  The fields around the old barn were especially productive with three singing Baltimore orioles, eastern towhees and gray catbirds easy to see.  The wind, having shifted to the south, was ideal for migrants, and looking up offered views of migrating double-crested cormorants, as well as common merganser and Canada goose going somewhere.  The fields also served up tree and barn swallows, eastern bluebird, and a couple of brief looks at a Cooper’s hawk; a pileated woodpecker flying across the field was an added bonus. We headed back into the woods in search of both migrants and resident songbirds.  One bird of note that seemed very interested in a particular dead hemlock tree was a female, red-breasted nuthatch, and we wondered if there might be a nest nearby.  Red-breasted nuthatch is not a common breeder in these woods, but following an irruption of these birds last winter, it is more likely that some will remain to nest.  Perhaps the most interesting sighting was a pair of purple finches feeding on catkins high in a black birch tree.  Purple finch is now an uncommon breeder in our area.  The calls and songs of winter wren, wood thrush, blue-headed vireo, and several warblers including the uncommon worm-eating warbler, serenaded us we headed back to the Nature Center.  We ended our trip with a barred owl calling from the woods near the building and a ruby-throated hummingbird zoomed over our heads while we compiled our lists.  The total for the morning was 53 species including 9 warblers.   A trip list is found below.

Jay Kaplan, Trip Leader

Trip Birds

1. Canada Goose
2. Common Merganser
3. Double-crested Cormorant
4. Great Blue Heron
5. Black Vulture
6. Cooper’s Hawk
7. Red-shouldered Hawk
8. Mourning Dove
9. Barred Owl
10. Red-bellied Woodpecker
11. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
12. Downy Woodpecker
13. Hairy Woodpecker
14. Pileated Woodpecker
15. Eastern Phoebe
16. Blue-headed Vireo
17. Blue Jay
18. American Crow
19. Tree Swallow
20. Barn Swallow
21. Black-capped Chickadee
22. Tufted Titmouse
23. Red-breasted Nuthatch
24. White-breasted Nuthatch
25. House Wren
26. Winter Wren
27. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
28. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
29. Eastern Bluebird
30. Veery
31. Wood Thrush
32. American Robin
33. Gray Catbird
34. Ovenbird
35. Worm-eating Warbler
36. Louisiana Waterthrush
37. Black-and-white Warbler
38. Common Yellowthroat
39. Northern Parula
40. Palm Warbler
41. Yellow-rumped Warbler
42. Black-throated Green Warbler
43. Eastern Towhee
44. Chipping Sparrow
45. Song Sparrow
46. White-throated Sparrow
47. Scarlet Tanager
48. Northern Cardinal
49. Common Grackle
50. Brown-headed Cowbird
51. Baltimore Oriole
52. Purple Finch
53. American Goldfinch

Quarry Park and Connecticut River Floodplain

Trip Report, May 1, 2021

A sunny but windy day greeted us as we started out the walk.  There was a noticeable chill in the air as we had an unusual cold snap.   Three of us turned out to see what was in the park.

The upper level had the usual birds. The wooded portion rewarded us with one warbler, an American Redstart.  Both Dark-eyed Junco and White-throated Sparrows were still around.  On the lower level one Gray Catbird was singing, but did not come out in view.  Probably because of the wind we saw no flyovers or any of the common aerial species.

We were tired on return from the park, so we skipped the meadows.

Overall we had 17 species, including 1 warbler.

Larry Lunden

Species at Quarry Park:

Mourning Dove  8,  Red-bellied Woodpecker  4,  Downy Woodpecker  1,  Blue Jay  4,  Black-capped Chickadee  3,  Tufted Titmouse  10,  Gray Catbird  1,  American Robin  11,  House Sparrow  1,  American Goldfinch  2,  Dark-eyed Junco  2,  White-throated Sparrow  2,  Song Sparrow  4,  Red-winged Blackbird  3,  Brown-headed Cowbird  5,  American Redstart  1,  Northern Cardinal  3

2021 4 28 Great Pond walk in South Glastonbury CT

There were a total of Eight attendees for what was a lovely morning but not so birdy walk.

We totaled 25 species, warblers, sparrows, towhee and more, the best being a Brown Thrasher singing his heart out within the treetops at the meadows edge.

Waterfowl was non-existent.

The group also enjoyed a little bit of history of the land that includes a long standing and living  Cedar which has a bit of notoriety within our state.  Many  cedars stand dead within the preserve.

The morning weather was pleasant and sunny with no breeze to speak of.

Leader:  Annette Pasek

Greenstone Hollow Walk – April 17, 2021 – 8am to about 10:30am.
Submitted by Chris Fisher

Number of participants – 21

We walked 1.5 miles covering most of the trails of the preserve. The temperature started at about 43ºF and ended at about 46ºF. The wind was calm. We found 30 species. Our best guess at numbers of each are below.

2 Wood Duck
4 Mallard
6 Mourning Dove
1 Killdeer
1 Great Blue Heron
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Red-tailed Hawk
3 Red-bellied Woodpeckers
2 Downy Woodpeckers
1 Hairy Woodpecker
7 Blue Jay
2 American Crow
1 Fish Crow
8 Black-capped Chickadee
6 Tufted Titmouse
4 Tree Swallow
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
40+ European Starlings
5 American Robins
1 House Sparrow
6 House Finch
3 American Goldfinch
3 Chipping Sparrow
1 Field Sparrow
7 Song Sparrow
30+ Red-winged Blackbird
9 Brown-headed Cowbird
3 Common Grackle
5 Northern Cardinal

CHECKLIST S74079930

Date Sat 26 Sep 2020 7:09 AM

Location: Glastonbury Meadows (restricted access)

Bill Asteriades – 8 total on trip – 6 hours – 5.4 miles

• Denise Jernigan
• Jannie Shapiro
• Jason Rieger

Totals :   66 species / 2096 individual birds 

Observations

1. Wood Duck Aix sponsa

Number observed:8

1. Mourning DoveZenaida macroura

Number observed:20

1. KilldeerCharadrius vociferus

Number observed:7

1. Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis

Number observed:5

1. Great Blue HeronArdea herodias

Number observed:2

1. Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura

Number observed:1

1. Osprey Pandion haliaetus

Number observed:1

1. Northern HarrierCircus hudsonius

Number observed:4

1. Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus

Number observed:2

1. Cooper’s HawkAccipiter cooperii

Number observed:3

1. Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus

Number observed:2

1. Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus

Number observed:1

1. Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis

Number observed:7

1. Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon

Number observed:4

1. Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus

Number observed:8

1. Downy WoodpeckerDryobates pubescens

Number observed:7

1. Hairy WoodpeckerDryobates villosus

Number observed:3

1. Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus

Number observed:1

1. Northern FlickerColaptes auratus

Number observed:14

1. American KestrelFalco sparverius Number observed:2
2. Eastern Wood-PeweeContopus virens Number observed:2
3. Eastern PhoebeSayornis phoebe Number observed:7
4. Red-eyed VireoVireo olivaceus Number observed:1
5. Blue JayCyanocitta cristata Number observed:35
6. American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos Number observed:12
7. Common RavenCorvus corax Number observed:1
8. Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillus Number observed:3
9. Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor Number observed:2
10. Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor Number observed:1200
11. White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis Number observed:5
12. House WrenTroglodytes aedon Number observed:3
13. Marsh WrenCistothorus palustris Number observed:2
14. Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus Number observed:6
15. European StarlingSturnus vulgaris Number observed:65
16. Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis Number observed:10
17. Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos Number observed:2
18. Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis Number observed:6
19. American RobinTurdus migratorius Number observed:20
20. House SparrowPasser domesticus Number observed:5
21. American PipitAnthus rubescens Number observed:20
22. House FinchHaemorhous mexicanus Number observed:2
23. Purple FinchHaemorhous purpureus Number observed:2
24. American GoldfinchSpinus tristis Number observed:15
25. Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina Number observed:1
26. Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis Number observed:2
27. White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis Number observed:8
28. Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis Number observed:50
29. Song SparrowMelospiza melodia Number observed:30
30. Lincoln’s SparrowMelospiza lincolnii Number observed:4
31. Swamp Sparrow Melospiza georgiana Number observed:10
32. Bobolink Dolichonyx oryzivorus Number observed:6
33. Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus Number observed:300
34. Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater Number observed:12
35. Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia Number observed:1
36. Tennessee Warbler Leiothlypis peregrina Number observed:5
37. Nashville Warbler Leiothlypis ruficapilla Number observed:1
38. Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas Number observed:9
39. American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla Number observed:3
40. Northern Parula Setophaga americana Number observed:5
41. Magnolia Warbler Setophaga magnolia Number observed:2
42. Blackpoll Warbler Setophaga striata Number observed:2
43. Palm Warbler Setophaga palmarum Number observed:40
44. Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata Number observed:65
45. Scarlet Tanager Piranga olivacea Number observed:4
46. Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis Number observed:5
47. Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea Number observed:3

Five birders joined me for a trip to the Connecticut Audubon Society’s Smith Richardson Preserve in Westport, an excellent place to see sparrows and other migrants particularly in fall migration.    The trip lasted for about 3.5 hours and we walked 2.73 miles.

The birds were quite skittish today and some folks had trouble getting on the birds before they ducked into cover, and some birds were only seen by 1-2 participants.

Highlights included:  Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Blue-headed Vireo, Red-breasted Nuthatches, a Marsh Wren, Grasshopper Sparrow (only seen by leader), Clay-colored Sparrow (only seen by two), Field Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrows, Lincoln’s Sparrows, Tennessee Warbler, lots of Indigo Buntings and two Blue Grosbeaks, seen only by a few.

Patrick

Patrick Comins

Executive Director

(203) 259 0416 x107

Woodcock walk, March 21, 2020

Ten of us gathered at Nod Brook WMA to see the Timberdoodles do their spring mating dance.

The sky was clear and the wind was calm.  Unfortunately the fields had been mowed, eliminating the low brush that is their favored habitat.

As dusk approached, we started hearing the faint peents.  Gradually more of them came from several directions.  We could not get a fix on the location, as one would be heard and then another from a different place.  Occasionally a very loud peent was heard, but no others.  At times we could hear the winnowing of the wings as they took off.

And as one of our group returned to the parking lot, a woodcock flew by her into the woods.

We probably heard at least five woodcock.

Larry Lunden, substitute leader.