Author: Mona Cavallero (Page 5 of 17)

Great Pond South Glastonbury Trip Report

September 14, 2024

Trip Leader: Annette Pasek

15 Attendees in all. Weather was pleasant with low lighting during our walk in the woods. 24 Species Observed with 2 unidentified, one a duck in flight and one a new world warbler sp. Northern parula and American redstarts graced our presence. Per usual after our round circle introductions, the parking area and entrance produced the most active area. A Barred owl called out early on in the walk. The most challenging view was Brown creeper. The group stayed on trail and avoided the fields. The path in the tall grasses had not been mowed.

A sunny and chilly day greeted us for the exploratory walk.  This is the first HAS walk at this location.  Eight of us turned out to see what was in the park.  Some GPS’s sent people on the scenic route, as the street is off the main drag.  We made note of the donation HAS made for native plantings.

The trail led along the river, where we got Wood Ducks and Yellow-rumped Warblers.  We also heard a Hairy Woodpecker.  We stopped several places to search in detail, and we got many common species.

We checked out an open field where a house used to be and found several species high in the trees.  We checked out a pipeline cut where we found a Turkey Vulture circling overhead.

Most of us agreed that the area has potential, and we should return in the spring.

Overall, we had 18 species, and one warbler.

Larry Lunden

Species found:

Wood Duck  4,  Turkey Vulture  1,  Red-bellied Woodpecker  4,  Downy Woodpecker  1,  Hairy Woodpecker  1,  Northern Flicker  3,  Eastern Phoebe  2,  Blue Jay  3,  American Crow  1,  Black-capped Chickadee  3,  Tufted Titmouse  3,  White-breasted Nuthatch  3,  Carolina Wren  1,  American Robin  3,  House Sparrow  1,  White-throated Sparrow  1,  Yellow-rumped Warbler  4,  Northern Cardinal  4

At 7:30am on October 5th, 2024, eleven birders met at the Church Street parking of Raymond Brook Preserve in Hebron. The group was compromised of 8 HAS members (including 2 leaders), plus 3 brand new birders.

Glastonbury Meadows Trip Report
September 28, 2024

12 birders met on a beautiful morning for a walk-through of Glastonbury Meadows. Habitat conditions were not ideal since the farmer opted to turn the fields earlier than usual, eliminating much of the weedy areas that are often quite productive for birds. (Many of the crops were ruined with the rainy summer weather.)

We started our walk in the adjacent Riverfront Park, which provided a nice patch of warblers, including Yellow, American Redstart, Magnolia, Common Yellowthroat and Northern Parula. A Merlin flew quickly over the treetops providing limited views. Two striking adult Bald Eagles were perched high in a treetop across the river near a Peregrine Falcon, while a pair of Common Ravens croaked above the trees. In the distance we noticed a white blob, which a few birders confirmed to be an Osprey with the aid of long telephoto lenses.

Upon entering the Meadows, we birded the pond area first, which produced a nice group of birds including a Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Blue-headed Vireo and several White-throated Sparrows. An alert birder heard a Rusty Blackbird, which we were able to see singing high in a tree.

From the pond, we birded the only weedy areas in the north end of the Meadows, which produced 3 Lincoln’s Sparrows, a Field Sparrow, several Palm Warblers and many Savannah, Song and Swamp Sparrows. An American Kestrel flew by and provided great views. A thick cover of tall weeds blocked our path to the marsh area, which would have offered us additional species.

We saw a total of 69 species, walked about 4 miles and enjoyed a beautiful morning!

Leaders:  Joan Lupacchino & Rich Nieman

Friday, September 20, 2024 9:00am to 2:00pm

1 Cooper’s

3 Broad-winged

1 Red-tailed

1 American Kestrel

Saturday, September 21, 2024 9:00am to 2:00pm

2 Osprey

1 Bald Eagle

8 Broad-winged

2 Red-tailed

1 American Kestrel

Sunday, September 22, 2024 9:00am to 2:00pm

1 Bald Eagle

1 Northern Harrier

2 Sharp-shinned

Unfortunately, this year’s hawk watch was disappointing.  We have never had such low numbers. Cloudy skies and unfavorable wind direction (predominately from the northeast) each day contributed to such low numbers. We feel that the broad-winged hawks migrated west of our location.  Other hawk watch sites throughout New England also had low numbers this year.

Bird Walk Trip Report at Hilltop Farm   9/4/24

Written and submitted by Trip Leader Joan Heffernan

Cliff Notes: 

Setting: Hilltop Farm, Sunny 55°-65°

Main Characters: 7 Birders (a few from NYC!) & 23 Bird Species (56 individuals)

Plot: A small group of birders are led through the woods, fields and by a beaver pond to enjoy the crisp morning, the beauty of Hilltop Farm and see as many birds as possible on this cool September day.

Conflict: “What was that?” The trip leader seeks the help of her colleagues to “Name That Bird!”

Theme: You don’t have to be an expert birder to conduct a bird walk for the Hartford Audubon Society. You just need to have a love of nature, respect for others’ expertise, and be excited to escort birders through the land you love to create a fun birding excursion for all participants.

The Full Story:

I vacillated this summer when asked if I would lead a walk at Hilltop again this year. I considered responding “no” after the brutally hot and buggy trip last year but then I came to my senses and responded “yes”. I spend so much time on this property and wanted to share what makes it so meaningful to me. I landscape the property’s plentiful gardens and also maintain a plot at the community garden, so a lot of my time is spent looking DOWN. I was ready to spend the morning looking OUT and UP to sight birds.

After taking attendance, sharing some tidbits about the historic property, and pleading my case for everyone’s collective input so we could get a respectable number of bird species recorded today, we headed down the hill.  My hiking and birding colleague, Abby, agreed to record our findings using the eBird app. That allowed me to focus on looking, pointing out where we usually see birds and providing commentary on the property. Besides, I needed both hands to juggle bug spray, binoculars and my camera- ready to be freed from its harness on my chest should a photo opportunity present. I had had a great photo shoot with some Green Herons on 8/25 and was hoping we’d spot them today when we got to the beaver pond. I also find my camera is a handy tool for identification if I’m unsure of what I’ve seen in the field.

We began by visiting the community garden where many birds like to hang out at harvest time.  The American Goldfinches were busy at work eating the sunflower seeds and the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were sighted near some canna lilies.

We were in awe of the beauty of the goldenrod which is one of the best plants for our native bees and is the top-ranked genus in terms of hosting caterpillars that feed our breeding and migrating birds (Nature’s Best Hope A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in your Yard by Douglas Tallamy.) When we entered the woodland path, it was rather quiet, so we hastily made our way to the beaver pond. The Green Herons were there along with a male Wood Duck. As we headed back to the trail, some Common Yellowthroats caught our attention.

We walked a trail parallel to the Connecticut River and then headed to the boardwalk. Hartford Audubon Society grant money allowed us to buy and plant native species for the wetlands along the eastern side of the path approaching the boardwalk. The Joe Pye Weed was a standout. The mounted binoculars on the boardwalk were installed for viewing the American Bald Eagle nest. For many years, they’ve nested here, but not anymore. We occasionally see some flying, but their nest has been unused for two seasons.

As we climbed the gentle hill, I reminded the birders that in the spring they are likely to see Bobolinks and Eastern Meadowlarks here. On this day, Eastern Bluebirds and Eastern Phoebes led us towards the historical white barn. We finished our walk by visiting the hummingbird garden, the butterfly garden (in the base of an old silo), and the pollinator and bird garden near an old corn crib. I cautioned the birders never to park under the mulberry tree (AKA the bird cafeteria) during the month of July unless they are partial to having a red car.

Collectively we were able to see a fair number of birds. Hopefully we convinced our one new birder that birders are a friendly and helpful bunch, and she will join a birding group again.

eBird Checklist below:

We had an amazing turnout and beautiful weather for yesterday’s walk.  Twenty people (including Jim and myself) showed up and we spent nearly 3 hours wandering about 1.6 miles over flat, mostly open grassland and low shrubs.  The map of where we walked is shown below.