An odd thing happened with the May 29 Sounds of Spring nature walk: it grew into three walks, none of which took place on May 29.(That turned out to be lucky since 5/29 was cold, windy and rainy.)
Several people called early in May to say they wanted to come along but couldn’t make it on the designated day. So on 5/12 and 5/14, leader Maeve Kim walked at Woodside Natural Area in Essex Junction, the first time with five participants and the second time with two more. On 6/4, a group of three walked the Ti-Haul Trail in Shelburne.
Many GMC hikers would be astonished at our pace. On one walk, it took three hours for a group of healthy adults to complete the mile-long loop at Woodside. That’s good birding! Fifty species of birds were seen and/or heard, with many long looks at birds as they went about their all-important spring tasks. Some highlights:
- Baltimore Oriole weaving grass into a partially-completed nest right over our heads, at Woodside
- Alder Flycatchers along the Ti-Haul Trail repeatedly saying “free BEER” – and the jogger who overheard us talking and stopped to look for the beer
- The resident pair of Red-Shouldered Hawks chasing away a Red-Tailed Hawk, with much screaming, wheeling in mid-air, and striking with extended talons
- Two male Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks engaged in a loud territorial dispute
Here’s the full list from the three walks:
- Alder Flycatcher
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Redstart
- American Robin
- Baltimore Oriole
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Blue-headed Vireo
- Brown-headed
- Cowbird
- Canada Goose
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Grackle
- Common Raven
- Common Yellowthroat
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Phoebe
- Eastern Wood-Pewee
- European Starling
- Gray Catbird
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Egret
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Mallard
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Osprey
- Ovenbird
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-shouldered Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ring-billed Gull
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Savannah Sparrow
- Solitary Sandpiper
- Song Sparrow
- Tree Swallow
- Tufted Titmouse
- Veery
- Warbling Vireo
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- White-crowned Sparrow
- White-throated Sparrow
- Willow Flycatcher
- Wood Duck
- Yellow Warbler
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Yellow-throated Vireo
On all three walks, we got great views of American Redstarts. Like most warblers, redstarts are small and active birds. We were lucky to see two males right in the sun, singing over and over to announce ownership of their territory.
