Category: Trip Report (Page 13 of 18)

I only took over stewardship of the sanctuary in September. It was a very pleasant fall. Jay Kaplan and a few others participated in the Big Sit in October from the platform. I mowed the path into the platform a few times before the hard frost and cut back the brush along the path and around the platform.

I am thinking of having a work party day after the floods in the spring. Some of the members and have asked about the wet areas along the path to the platform and if we could build something over them. I am willing to hear any suggestions, but I think with the nature of the flooding, it will be hard to do anything permanent.

We still have a fair number of visitors to the sanctuary and the birding has been good this fall.  I am hoping the birding continues to be productive through the winter and we have a good showing for the Christmas Count.

Blair Wlochowski, 12-3-19

Report contributed by Christopher Fisher

We had a great work party Monday at Greenstone Hollow. We arrived to the two truckloads of mulch which the town of East Granby kindly delivered to the entrance.

Four of us showed up to work.  It was a great day.

Cathy Lescoe, the president of the East Granby Land Trust kindly came to help.  She was our #1 shoveler and kept filling the wheel-barrows and cart as Drew Smith and I pushed them back and forth along the trail to where……

….Larry Lunden was spreading the mulch over the trail.  The purpose of all this was to smooth out a section of trail through the woods that had lots and lots of roots – making the walking hard and making it almost impossible to bring a wheel-barrow through that section.

Diane (my wife) kindly brought some cider and cheese to give us a bit more energy.

We were making good progress, and at 11:30 – after 2-½ hours of hard steady work, I suggested we call it quits.  Drew and Cathy both said they thought we should keep going, so we did – until 12:15.

Here’s how far we got along the path.

The woods were beautiful and there were lots of birds around.

By the time we stopped we were about ⅔ of the way through the pile! We picked up an eggplant grinder at Drew’s suggestion and came back to our house for lunch.  Hopefully one more session will let us finish this part of the path.

On Saturday, Oct 12, we had a beautiful morning for our Fall walk at Greenstone Hollow, the HAS nature preserve in East Granby.

Seventeen hardy souls showed up by 8 am. and we both looked for birds and toured the sanctuary. We spent some time near the North and South Beaver Ponds before heading back to the Willow Wander at the back of the property. At Paradise Meadow Overlook we had pretty good looks at both a Swamp Sparrow and a pair of Palm Warblers. It’s hard with 17 people for everyone to see everything, but between all of us, we saw 30 bird species, some with very good looks and others more fleeting.

There are still lots of birds around, so please treat yourself to a walk at Greenstone one of these days.

Chris Fisher

Here is the list as compiled by Annette Pasek and Larry Lunden.
Canada Goose 9
duck sp. 1
Mourning Dove 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Green Heron 1 Audio
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 9
American Crow 3
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Carolina Wren 2
European Starling 10
Northern Mockingbird 1
American Robin 15
Cedar Waxwing 60
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 4
Dark-eyed Junco 2
White-throated Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Swamp Sparrow 2
Eastern Towhee 1
Common Grackle 1
Palm Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 18
Northern Cardinal 2

On Saturday, Oct. 5, the HAS field trip to Glastonbury Meadows began with thoughts of a banner day, often the case in early October after the passage of a cold front. The sky was pure blue and temps started in the 30s, with some patches of frost showing. Sure enough, soon after our 12-person group left the parking lot, we encountered an active sparrow flock, including our first-of-fall White-throated Sparrow and a Field Sparrow.

We headed out to the Meadows through the woods along the river, where not a lot was going on, and continued down the edge of the fields, encountering a smattering of Yellow-rumps, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and a close fly-by of an adult Bald Eagle. A Red-tailed Hawk flew over carrying its breakfast to a nearby perch, and consumed it unfazed by us, finishing its meal with a swallow of the legs and feet of the small rodent. One of the leaders made a promise at the start of the walk (backed by a full money-back guarantee) of Lincoln’s Sparrow, a lifer for some. However, our vast sparrow field – acres of weed-choked rows of tomatoes, peppers, and other vegetables – was abnormally quiet, producing only numerous Savannahs and Songs, a handful of Swamps, plus a couple of White-crowned. A dark blob in a tree on the horizon, probably a half-mile away, was only identifiable as a Pileated Woodpecker because one of us happened to see it land. A fine looking Merlin flew over, and one solitary Tree Swallow was spotted, the only one for the day.

A bit later on, we saw a Peregrine over the tree line. We continued to the wetlands on the west edge of the meadows. Our first stop, near the site of last year’s Big Sit, finally produced a couple of promised Lincoln’s Sparrows! Good looks by all, a lifer for a couple (and reputation intact). We reached the large marsh, and one lucky person picked out a Sora, hidden by cattails and only visible from just the right angle. With a little patience, everyone got to see it (or part of it). A few Marsh Wrens chattered, and Wood Ducks and Green-winged Teal were found. On the way back, we flushed two more Soras from an isolated field, and picked up a single Blackpoll at our last stop.

We ended with 63 species.

Respectfully submitted, Andrew Dasinger and Bill Asteriades

HAS’s Trails Day birdwalk at the Greenstone Hollow Nature Preserve, led by Larry Lunden and Sarah Faulkner, was attended by 12 people on the gorgeous morning of Saturday, June 1st.  Highlights included hearing a blue-winged warbler, watching lots of red-winged blackbirds over the marshes, and being serenaded by many catbirds. Huge thanks to Chris Fisher and Doug Beach who constructed a gorgeous new bridge over the stream in time for the walk.  Recent rains made the trail muddy, but we persevered and enjoyed the hike.

Respectfully submitted, Sarah Faulkner

The day was clear and sunny.  The previous night was rainy, so we had some mud to walk through.  The leaves were out, so we practiced birding by ear.  Six of us gathered for the Greenstone trip.

The roadside started us off with a variety of birds.  A Great Blue Heron flew over.  We heard a Black and white Warbler and our first Baltimore Oriole.

In the shrubby field we found a scattering of Common Yellowthroats and Blue-winged Warblers.  We are trying to improve the habitat for such shrub nesting species.  Some of the trails were covered with water, so we omitted part of the loop.

In the marsh we heard a couple of Wood Thrush singing in the distance.

We had a total of 21 species, including 3 warblers.

Respectfully submitted,  Larry Lunden,  trip guide

Species:

Canada Goose  3, Mourning Dove  9, Great Blue Heron  3, Eastern Phoebe  1, Blue Jay  1, Tree Swallow  1, Tufted Titmouse  2, Wood Thrush  2, American Robin  6, Gray Catbird  6, Cedar Waxwing  6, American Goldfinch  4, Song Sparrow  3, Baltimore Oriole  4, Red-winged Blackbird  11, Common Grackle  1, Blue-winged Warbler  3, Black-and-white Warbler  1, Common Yellowthroat  3, Northern Cardinal  5, House Sparrow  2