Four hearty souls came out on what is turning out to be a rare chilly morning this winter for our monthly wildlife walk at Otter View Park and the Hurd Grassland. Birds must have also been feeling the chill as they were very hard to come by, but we did manage a few sightings. A flock of American Robins were seen flying high over the park likely on a search for food. Down on the boardwalk we enjoyed the way a light dusting of snow, and the wind had worked together to make the names on the boards really stand out. Also in that area we were a bit sad to see one of the most prominent Ash trees, which has been one of the best perches for birds to pose for pictures on, had been felled by the very active beavers. There was no activity on the open river while we were down there, but as we were walking back up onto the main trail, a flock of sixty Canada Geese flew in to take advantage.

Over at the Hurd Grassland, there were more birds to be seen, but most of them were around the houses on Meadow Ln. where the feeders are. Thirty or so American Goldfinches were seen in that area, along with Chickadees and a White-breasted Nuthatch. Walking around the big field didn’t profit us much except a lone Eastern Bluebird seen on the other side of Weybridge Rd. spotted when we were looking for Pigeons that weren’t there. A Common Raven flew over as we were entering the shrubby area, and we were just talking about how it is unusual to see just one alone, when a second one came along trailing behind. The most activity we had was when we came back up through the hedgerow and found Dark-eyed Juncos, House Sparrows, and Blue Jays, again near the feeders. And then we spooked a flock of eight Mourning Doves out of the bushes a little further on.

All our bird sightings have been submitted to eBird and the full checklists can be viewed at the following links:

Otter View Park

Hurd Grassland

Other wildlife sightings are submitted to the Vermont Atlas of Life.

Our Next walk will take place Saturday, Feb. 11, at 8:00 AM. Meet at the parking area of Otter View Park at the intersection of Weybridge St. and Pulp Mill Bridge Rd. We hope to see you there.