We had hoped that the previous day’s rains would usher in new migrants, but alas, Sunday, April 27th dawned cold and gray with a stiff northwest breeze. Not ideal for spring songbird migrants. Nevertheless, 20 members and friends of the Hartford Audubon Society met trip leader Jay Kaplan in the Roaring Brook Nature Center parking lot at 7 am to see what might be found.
The parking lot provided the usual residents including chickadees, titmice, white-throated sparrows and cardinals. The nesting red-shouldered hawks made their presence known by calling, and then, flying overhead. We headed for the trails and up to the fields, where the cool breeze made it a much quieter day than we had hoped. We heard yellow-bellied sapsucker and got a brief glimpse of a song sparrow. Across the road, at the forest edge, it became more active with a few warblers. One would expect that yellow-rumped warbler would be the warbler we would hear and see, but that would not be the case. In spite of poor lighting as we were looking into a sun that was attempting to break through the clouds, many in our group were able to see the field marks of a northern parula that was identified at first from its ascending, buzzy song. We were not as lucky with the singing black-throated green warbler, the blue-headed vireo or the Louisiana waterthrush. A trip highlight was an ovenbird singing conspicuously from an exposed hemlock branch. This was the first sighting of ovenbird for 2025 on the property, and two others could be heard singing in the woods. A short time later, we viewed another highlight, as a pair of pileated woodpeckers were seen at relatively close range and low to the ground as they hunted for insects on tree trunks.
Returning to the parking lot, we had a nice look at a brown creeper spiraling up a tree, saw a black vulture high in the sky, and heard a barred owl, one of several pair that nest on the property. Total species was 31, and that was probably ten below what was anticipated, but not bad, considering weather conditions. At the conclusion of the walk, several of the participants remained for a short tour of the Nature Center’s permanent birds.
Respectfully submitted,
Jay Kaplan, Trip Leader
Species List
Canada Goose Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Mallard House Wren
Black Vulture American Robin
Osprey American Goldfinch
Red-shouldered Hawk Chipping Sparrow
Barred Owl White-throated Sparrow
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Song Sparrow
Red-bellied Woodpecker Brown-headed Cowbird
Downy Woodpecker Ovenbird
Pileated Woodpecker Louisiana Waterthrush
Blue-headed Vireo Black-and-white Warbler
Blue Jay Northern Parula
American Crow Black throated green Warbler
Black-capped Chickadee Northern Cardinal
Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
