Lewis Farm Trip Report – 5/1/2024

By Abby Wolcott

On this overcast morning 8 local birders took a break from their work or household chores and headed to Lewis Farm to look for birds.

The birds would not be silenced and sang as we headed down the trail.  Fortunately, two members of the group had clearly spent hours listening to tapes of bird calls and were able to help us ID what we heard from the treetops.

By the time we crossed the Billy Goat Gruff bridge, the birds became more of a reality and one lone yellow warbler sat on a branch long enough for all of us to get a good look.  We heard northern parulas, black –throated blue warblers, black and white warblers and a tanager in the distance.

But we continued on hoping to come face to face with more of the birds that serenaded us.  A black and white warbler  scrambled up and down a tree truck for all to admire.  Several oven birds and wood thrushes called from  the forest floor but were reticent.

We all admired the burst of green as spring has come to life and the wildflowers adorned the trail as we headed on. Of course, we had a chance to learn more about our fellow birders swapping stories of sightings we had shared, places we had visited, as well as life lessons we had learned as we meandered back over the bridge.

An elusive silhouette of a warbler appeared and flitted in the canopy, all eyes on him.  After much deliberation, and research in the field on various apps, we were able to confirm the black- throated green warbler thanks to his tell-tale yellow markings on his head.

We headed up the hill and the oven bird called again asking us to come back and stroll this lovely property soon as one never knows what other birds would be unveiled.