Glastonbury Meadows Trip Report, September 27, 2025
Ten birders joined us for the HAS walk in Glastonbury Meadows on Saturday, September 27, from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. Walking the riverside trail leading south from behind town hall was relatively uneventful, though we all paused to admire an adult Bald Eagle perched across the river. As we entered the expansive farm fields, an early morning mist hung over the landscape and dew droplets defined the many spider webs in the grass. The sun quickly burned off the mist, followed by rising temperatures that had many of us shedding layers later to avoid overheating! Soon after seeing our first Lincoln’s Sparrow in the roadside brush (total of 5 for the day) we came upon a pocket of birds in the tall trees along the river. Getting good views was difficult, but our persistence was rewarded with glimpses of several warbler species, a Warbling Vireo, and an Eastern Wood Pewee. We spent the bulk of our time walking slowly up and down the weedy vegetable fields, flushing numerous sparrows (dominated by Savannahs), Bobolinks, Indigo Buntings, Palm Warblers, and Common Yellowthroats. An Orange-crowned Warbler was an exciting find, appearing briefly in the weeds right in front of the group. Another nice surprise was a flock of 8 Brant flying southbound high overhead. We’ve found this species on only 6 occasions in the Meadows (post 2002; all flyovers). Overall, it was a relatively quiet morning in the Meadows for late September, but we recorded a nice variety of birds, with over 50 species for the trip.
Andrew Dasinger and Bill Asteriades, Co-leaders
