Category: Trip Report (Page 7 of 18)

Starting down the trail, we made a brief stop at the new bird and pollinator garden that has been planted thanks to a HAS grant. Our Pollinator Pathway friends spoke about the variety of native plants including expansion and maintenance plans for the future, and the ongoing work to reduce the invasive plants growing nearby.
From there we trekked through marshy, wooded/ brushy, and field habitats, tallying 28 species, and covering about 2.5 miles in just over 2 hours.
Highlights included Black and White Warbler, Palm Warbler, 2 Red Shouldered Hawks, many Eastern Phoebes and Eastern Bluebirds, and a nearly- constant presence of Blue Jays, Carolina Wrens, and Gray Catbirds.

Trip Leader Annette Pasek

Attending: 0

Total species: 17

The rain held off during my 1-hour jaunt into Great Pond Preserve. Temperate weather at 70 degrees, little to no winds. The very downcast cloudy skies made it difficult to see warbler groups clearly. This was a solo walk; the promise of rain may have kept others at bay. Many chickadees and titmouse accompanied me on my way down the main entry path. Most of my time was spent at the pond on the south side short trail and entrance near the great cedar tree. Surprisingly there was not a mosquito to be seen. Highlights included 12 Wood Duck lazing on the opposite side of the water. A steadfast Eastern Phoebe kept me company by wagging its tail while I stood by the water’s edge. Across the way a perched Belted Kingfisher called out it’s rat-a-tat-tat ricochet a few times. As I was departing the pond, a group of warblers moved in overhead, blackpoll and redstart to name a few, this group included a noisy set of titmice. On my way out I was treated to the calls of a Veery. It was a nice morning all in all, though I did miss the Red-shouldered that was picked up by Merlin’s sound app;  but pleasantly met up with an Osprey on my way in and out.

Written and submitted by Trip Leader: Joan Heffernan

Why do people gather at 8:30 AM, on a late, hot summer day with the temperature at 68° and predicted to reach 93° but feel like 99° before the day’s end?  Add in the humidity and bothersome mosquitoes to boot, one may wonder!  Well, it’s because birding is fun!  Enjoying nature, seeing familiar species, perhaps new ones, (and maybe a migrating warbler) defines our purpose. My motivation includes meeting birders and sharing a bit of history about this farm originally owned by George Hendee (Indian Motorcycle fame).   Many bird sightings have been documented on this property which is maintained by volunteers.  Today we welcomed two birders, members of the Hartford Audubon Society, who were first time visitors to Hilltop Farm and they left with the intention of coming back, preferably in cooler conditions! It was hot this morning!!!

Along with spotting 16 species, (a few LBJs escaped us) we conversed on the trail, talked about favorite birding encounters and saw where wetland plants, purchased with HAS grant money, were planted along the boardwalk to replace invasive species.  After a short jaunt into the woods we approached an inland pond where two very cooperative green herons were perched on the opposite side. We walked uphill and passed through the community garden where hummingbirds and swallowtails were seen.  It was a rather quiet morning for birds but the blue jays, goldfinches, woodpeckers, catbirds, mockingbirds and carolina wrens made their presence known.  I did find myself pointing out “this is where we see Bob-o-Links, this is where we see wood ducks, northern harriers, swamp sparrows…   The Bird Garden, host to several native plants granted from HAS, was our last bird viewing point.  As we gazed at the giant mulberry tree near the garden, I heard myself saying, when this tree is fruiting, we see cedar waxwings, orioles …

I guess our new visitors will just have to return again in another season!

The morning started out with overcast skies and a smaller group than usual. Walk start time 8:08 a.m.

There were seven attendees in total counting the trip leader, myself.

We walked a clockwise route starting at the golf course parking lot moving west to south to east through a wooded trail and then north past the cricket fields to make a full circle back to our cars. This standard takes approximately 2.5 hours and our walk did go on for a typical 2 hours and 37 minutes. We had 46 species substantially less than last year’s 66 on Mother’s day.

The bird that caused the group the most difficulty to find, yet the most reward was a fun sighting of a single Scarlet Tanager. High up in a canopy it took some as long as ten minutes to locate the male tanager.

There were ten warbler species in all, including Blackburnian and Cape May. Seeing 2 Swainson’s thrushes in the pathway were a delight as well.

The most unexpected bird was a Grasshopper sparrow across from the parking lot when we first started out. It was under some shrubs and next to the adjacent golf course hole, and it flew up to a nearby branch during our approach.

Trip Leader, Annette Pasek

Elizabeth Park Trails Day Birdwalk
On Saturday, June 3rd HAS sponsored a beginner’s birdwalk in Elizabeth Park, West Hartford as part of CT Trails Day.

Leader Sarah Faulkner was joined by 22 beginning birders of all ages.  While it was a quiet morning, cloudy, damp and cool, the group did see or hear 24 species including a green heron, flicker, red-bellied woodpecker, wild turkey, Carolina wren, a pair of red-tailed hawks, and a Blackpoll warbler.

Sarah taught everyone how to use binoculars and the Merlin app.

Station 43 Wetland Birds, South Windsor

On Saturday May ^27th, three birders gathered at Station 43 for a walk focused primarily on wetland nesting birds. Our small group size and enthusiasm allowed us to successfully bird the entrance road to the marsh by discovering hard-to-spot species such as Canada Warbler, Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Warbling Vireo. A beautifully teed up male Orchard Oriole on a dead tree branch allowed the trip leader to place the bird in the scope for all to enjoy. A Great Crested Flycatcher and a myriad of singing Yellow Warblers accompanied us the remainder of trail until we finally reached the marsh. Once there, the sounds of Swamp Sparrows, Marsh Wrens and Red-winged Blackbirds let us know that we were in the right place! As we scanned the wetlands, a female Wood Duck was anticipatedly logged on our trip list. Moments later, the first of two Virginia Rail sightings surprised us all as it darted quickly across the pathway. Our only encounter with a Least Bittern was a good one as it flew directly in front of us before dropping into dense vegetation. A visit to the Hartford Audubon Observation Platform turned into an unexpected wet adventure thanks to a busy beaver and his impressive handiwork. From the elevated platform, birders were able to observe Eastern Kingbirds and Willow Flycatchers as well as a Green and Great Blue Herons. An Osprey was also spotted circling over the Station 43 preserve. As we splashed our way back along the road, a Virginia Rail was discovered cleaning and preening itself right out in the open! What a nice way to conclude a wetland bird walk!  We ended our day with 42 bird species.

Respectively submitted,
Paul Cianflaglione
Trip Leader

Machimoodus State Park Birding Trip

Submitted by:  Rob Mirer,  Field trip leader

Ten birders met at Machimoodus State Park in East Haddam on the mostly sunny morning of May 13.

In 4 hours of birding, we accumulated a list of 53 species. Some of the highlights were 2 Hummers, 3 Bald Eagles, Brown Thrasher, lots of Orchard Orioles, Prairie Warblers and a Wilson’ Warbler.

If you want to do a deeper dive, our list can be found in Ebird (go to hot spots, zoom in on CT, find Machimoodus in East Haddam, and open Steven Saunders checklist dated May 13.

We concluded our Fisher Meadows walk just before the rain started, but not before getting swarmed by mosquitoes. It felt like a relatively quiet morning (with a general dearth of warblers) but we manage to see Magnolia and Blackpoll Warblers and log 53 species, including a half dozen Orchard Orioles. Cedar Waxwings have finally returned in decent numbers, and we enjoyed seeing a mother Wood Duck with 12 newly hatched ducklings in tow in the Farmington River.

Penwood State Park, Bloomfield – 5/13/2023

 On Saturday May 13^th, five birders gathered at Penwood State Park in Bloomfield on what proved to be a very birdy morning walk. The newly paved parking lot area offered gatherers the opportunity to study the sounds of Yellow-throated Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Pine Warblers. Baltimore Orioles, American Redstarts and Warbling Vireos found the tall deciduous trees along the entrance road pond inviting for both gorging on insects and potential nest sites.

As our group got farther down the path, the songs of Ovenbirds, Red-eyed Vireos, Eastern Wood-Pewees and Black-throated Green Warblers rang unbroken. With our sights set far into the treetops, I found it good time to remind birders the benefits of keeping a close eye on the road itself since many of our brown-backed thrushes find fallen caterpillars that way.

At least six Swainson’s Thrush, five Wood Thrush and a few Veery didn’t disappoint. As our focus reverted back to the canopy, three Broad-winged Hawks were observed heading north. Of the seventeen species of wood warblers that we discovered, sightings of a male Blackpoll Warbler, a male Black-throated Blue and hard-fought looks at a stunning Canada Warbler were truly satisfying.

Before reaching the picnic area, a pair of Yellow-billed Cuckoo flew across the road before disappearing into dense foliage. The picnic grounds offered us some thicket-loving species including Indigo Bunting, Common Yellowthroat and Gray Catbird.

Our slow-paced walk back to our cars allowed us the chance to see Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Great Crested Flycatchers, and beautiful Rose-breasted Grosbeaks!

We ended our bird walk with 66 species.

 Respectively submitted,

Paul Cianflaglione, Trip Leader