Penwood State Park, Bloomfield. May 10th, 2025
On Saturday, May 10th nine bird watchers gathered at Penwood State Park in Bloomfield for a three-hour walk, in search of warblers, thrushes and vireos. Prior to the trip, Hartford County was experiencing a string of cool, rainy days. The weather conditions for our walk saw no rain, but it was still cloudy, dreary and a tad bit cool with temperatures around 50 degrees.
As birders greeted each other at the start of the walk, a number of species were noted around the entrance pond including Warbling and Yellow-throated Vireos, Baltimore Oriole, Pine Warbler and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Our only Eastern Wood-Pewee was also heard in the same general area. The Wood-Pewee was a first-of-the-year species for many of us.
The newly paved entrance road into the park made walking more enjoyable, but it was also a good place to spot hungry thrushes looking for an easy meal. It wasn’t long before we discovered several Wood Thrush and Veery feeding in clear view. Unfortunately, the rainy conditions during the past couple days may have delayed the arrival of the much-anticipated Swainson’s Thrush into the forest.
Our journey into the heart of Penwood’s beautiful woodlands was quite spectacular, but it also presented us with the daunting task of finding tiny warblers high among its sprawling canopy. Birders patience, and sore necks were finally rewarded with views of Northern Parula, Black-throated Blue and Black-throated Green Warblers, Black-and-white Warbler and American Redstart. A singing Tennessee Warbler was also an exciting find.
Even more exciting were the sights and sounds of a territorial Worm-eating Warbler, a target bird for the trip. Nearby, a Least Flycatcher sang its emphatic, dry “CHEbek”!
Other familiar birds that were recorded during our walk down to the park’s picnic area included Great Crested Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Scarlet Tanager and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
The park-like setting, and its fringes at the far end of the path offered different species not found in any other parts of Penwood. Here we added Tree Swallow, Eastern Towhee, White-throated Sparrow, Indigo Bunting and Northern Flicker. A few lucky birders in our group had brief looks at a singing Cape May Warbler feeding high within a large oak tree. A Barred Owl calling in the near distance was a nice way to end our visit to this beautiful Connecticut State Park!
Our trip produced a total of 62 bird species.
Respectfully submitted, Paul Cianfaglione, trip leader
