The weather for our bird walk at Rosedale Farms could not have been more perfect!    The temperature at the start of our trip was around 50 F with a gentle South Westerly breeze and a clear sunny sky.  There were 13 participants altogether with 6 newer birders. Our trip lasted 2.5 hours and a few people stayed longer.  The terrain was flat and easy to walk.
We started at the end of the main sandy trail from the car park, at the compost area to the left of the main trail, which is a great area for sparrows.  We were delighted to find a Lincoln’s sparrow and several Song Sparrows as well as a couple of Savannah sparrows in that area.  A couple of Palm warblers were found in this area too.
We then continued to walk along the trail next the woods to the right of the main trail.  This stretch of Rosedale farms is very lucrative in the Spring and Fall for warblers, songbirds as well as sparrows.   We had very rewarding looks at two Blue Headed Vireos and were even able to hear one of them singing.
Warblers that were seen on this trail were a Blackpoll, Black throated Blue, Black throated Green and many Yellow Rumped Warblers.  Interestingly, no Common Yellowthroats were living up to their name, and we did not see or hear one either of them.
At the end of this section of the trail, we crossed over the bridge to the other side of the farm.  Ruby crowned kinglets were seen and heard in the area around the pond.  We then walked the trail behind the barn which was very birdy where we saw many Chipping Sparrows, Song Sparrows and Swamp Sparrows, White throated sparrow, House finches, Catbirds and a Mockingbird mimicking the sounds of a Carolina wren, Great Crested flycatcher and even a Killdeer!  Two Flickers were also seen in this section.
At the end of this trail, we turned left and followed the trail to the Farmington River.  As we walked past the dirt fields, we found a flock of twelve Pipits, and a couple of Killdeer.
A Coopers Hawk and Red-Tailed hawk were notable for hawk species seen, and a Turkey Vulture was seen at the very end of the walk.  A White Crowned sparrow was spotted along the small trail that leads past the first pond at the bottom of the main trail, and out to the back fields. A couple more Ruby Crowned Kinglets were found there too.
Altogether we saw 44 species which is a great number for one place during Fall Migration!  Here is the list:
20 Canada Geese
13 Mourning Dove
3 Killdeer
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Cooper’s Hawk
1 Red-Tailed Hawk
6 Red-bellied Woodpecker
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Hairy Woodpecker
1 Pileated Woodpecker
4 Northern Flicker
2 Eastern Phoebe
2 Blue-headed Vireo
20 Blue Jay
6 American Crow
9 Black-capped Chickadee
4 Tufted Titmouse
4 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
3 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Carolina Wren
4 European Starling
4 Gray Catbird
1 Northern Mockingbird
6 Eastern Bluebird
3 American Robin
1 Cedar Waxwing
12 American Pipit
6 House Finch
3 American Goldfinch
12 Chipping Sparrow
1 White-crowned Sparrow
3 White-throated Sparrow
4 Savannah Sparrow
10 Song Sparrow
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow
4 Swamp Sparrow
6 Red-winged Blackbirds
4 Common Grackle
1 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
3 Palm Warbler
20 Yellow-rumped Warbler
2 Black-throated Green Warbler
4 Northern Cardinal
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Red-tailed Hawk
Gillian Smits