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Participants of the May Wildlife Walk at Otter View Park and the Hurd Grassland really got to experience the best these two properties have to offer in the spring. Most of the action at the park happened down on the boardwalk where we had very active Yellow Warblers, a singing Common Yellowthroat, and Warbling Vireos all back on their nesting territories. Baltimore Orioles were also conspicuous singing their lovely song, as well as chasing each other around, and collecting nesting material. A Green Heron was seen hanging out on a log down the river with both Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers nearby. I have often heard people lament that they have never seen Otters at Otter View Park, but I am hear to tell you that it is possible, and that we didn’t just see one, we saw three! And if that wasn’t good enough, as we were walking back out the boardwalk, a Virginia Rail, which we had been hearing from the cattails, popped up in front of us flying to what it thought was a safer place.
Over at the Hurd Grassland, as soon as we got out of our cars, I noted that I was hearing a White-crowned Sparrow singing, only to be told to turn around a look at the one on the ground behind me. As we walked in a Tree Swallow perched at the sign at the entrance as if to let us know it was enjoying the “Bird and Wildlife Habitat.” In a tree overlooking the field we saw an American Kestrel, and later saw it flying around with a second one. No Bobolinks were seen in the big field for our walk, but I can report that one did show up a few days later. In the shrub-land section of the property, we were treated to almost the full suite of birds that we manage this section for. Field Sparrows were giving their “bouncing ball” song from several locations, an Eastern Towhee gave us both the “drink-your-tea” and “towhee” sounds, a Brown Thrasher was going through its repeating repertoire of tweets and buzzes. But the big news of the day was that we had not one, but two singing male Blue-winged Warblers.
All our bird sightings have been submitted to eBird and the full checklists can be viewed at the following links:
Other wildlife sightings are submitted to the Vermont Atlas of Life.
Our Next walk will take place Saturday, June 3, at 7:00 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.
Blessed with lovely weather, nine people set out for April’s wildlife walk at Otter View park and the Hurd Grassland to survey birds and other wildlife at these two properties. Being early in migration season, we were hoping to see some new birds arrivals at both places and we weren’t entirely disappointed.
At the park we started off with some lingering winter species with a group of Dark-eye Juncos near the parking lot. Red-winged Blackbirds and Song Sparrows were busy singing away working out the boundaries of their territories. Eastern Phoebes and Carolina Wrens were similarly vocal. Down at the end of the boardwalk we spotted a Great Blue Heron looking quite a bit warmer than one did the previous month. Some Canada Goose were seen paring up on the creek while others were seen dropping in for a rest on their way North. One of the most interesting things during our walk was hearing American Tree Sparrows doing their full breeding song, something there is just a brief window to hear before they head to their breeding grounds further north.
A quick carpool took us over to the Hurd Grassland where we immediately saw newly arrived Tree Swallows staking claims to the birdhouses on the property. Also making use of one of the boxes was a pair of Bluebirds, which this author discovered later in the day while cleaning birdhouses, were already sitting on eggs. As we walked the perimeter of the field, we had a great view of a Norther Harrier hunting low over the grasses. A Red-tailed Hawk was twice sighted kiting—parked seemingly motionless in a headwind—very high up in the sky. Also of interest were a group of four handsome, if vilified Brown-headed Cowbirds visiting a feeder.
All our bird sightings have been submitted to eBird and the full checklists can be viewed at the following links:
Other wildlife sightings are submitted to the Vermont Atlas of Life.
Our Next walk will take place Saturday, May. 13, at 7:00 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.
The March monthly walk at Otter View park happened on a bitterly cold, windy morning, and yet three hearty souls came out to search for birds and other wildlife. Being March, we were expecting the return of Red-winged Blackbirds, as the males rush in as early as possible to set up their territories. We were not disappointed on that front, though they did seem rather subdued given the weather conditions. Also at the start of the walk,we got a brief glimpse of a Cooper’s Hawk which was swooping down in the vicinity of one of the neighborhood bird feeders. Down at the end of the boardwalk, a cycle of warming and cooling had managed to open up the river, and downstream from us we spotted a very cold looking Great Blue Heron, head feathers blown about by the wind, and a pair of Canada Goose. Across the river I saw a dark, robin-sized bird flying up to a patch of Oriental Bittersweet berries. Would you believe it was a Gray Catbird? Well, I’m not sure I believed it, and without a better look, or other observers corroborating the sighting, I had to put it down as a “passerine sp.” in our eBird checklist.
Over at the Hurd Grassland, the wind started out being no better, and that kept our bird numbers down. We did have a good flock of Goldfinches in the birches near the start of the trail, and a group of Mourning Doves hanging out near a feeder. A small flock of Chickadees were found in some dogwood bushes along the edge of the big field. And as we turned back North a good flock of American Robins were seen flying overhead. As we made our way around the shurbland the sun started coming out, and tha picked up the bird activity. Blue Jays started making a racket, and Red-winged Blackbirds were seen again, this time doing some tentative singing of their territorial song. Working our way back through the hedgerow, we found a large flock of House Sparrows, and a Dark-eyed Junco nearby. And as we came to the end of the walk, we spotted both a male and female Eastern Bluebirds visiting a suet feeder.
All our bird sightings have been submitted to eBird and the full checklists can be viewed at the following links:
Other wildlife sightings are submitted to the Vermont Atlas of Life.
Our Next walk will take place Saturday, Apr. 8, 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.
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Nine people came together on a cold February morning for this month’s wildlife walk at Otter View Park and The Hurd Grassland. Besides the squeaking of our boots on freshly fallen snow, things were quite as we walked down the trail to the end of the boardwalk at Otter View Park, but when we got down there, as the sun started to come out, the birds came out too. First was a Tufted Titmouse loudly tooting away. Then light squeaking alerted us to the presence of American Tree Sparrows which had the consideration to pose for us in bushes. A pair of House Finches were spotted in a tree engaged in some pair-bonding activities. As we walked out Dark-eyed Juncos flew across our path into the marsh, and a couple of Carolina Wrens started singing and calling loudly.
A quick carpool later over at the Hurd Grassland, we were greeted by a good number of American Goldfinches. Down in the fields we paused to look at Pigeons perched on the silo across the road, and discussed how most of the local ones have darker plumage which helps them absorb heat from the sun on cold winter days. A bit further around the trail, three Eastern Bluebirds were seen and heard making their distinctive call. Blue Jays noisily made their presence known moving through the trees above a hedgerow. More Juncos and Tree Sparrows were found in bushes here as well, and we spooked a flock of seven Mourning Doves from a thicket at the end of our walk.
All our bird sightings have been submitted to eBird and the full checklists can be viewed at the following links:
Other wildlife sightings are submitted to the Vermont Atlas of Life.
Our Next walk will take place Saturday, Mar. 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.
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:
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.
The remnants of Hurricane Nicole must have kept most people away from our November wildlife walk at Otter View Park and The Hurd Grassland, but the three who came out were rewarded with rapidly clearing skies, warming temperatures, and some interesting sightings.
At the park Carolina Wrens were being their noisy selves, loudly calling as is their tendency for this time of year. The recently brush-hogged fields were relatively quiet, but down at the end of the boardwalk we observed some similar recent cutting done by Beavers, clipped Red Osier Dogwood stems cached for winter eating in the river at the edge of the bank. We seemed to run into talkative flocks of Tufted Titmice everywhere we went that morning. One of our best finds of the day came as we came back off the boardwalk and spotted a Winter Wren crossing the trail into the bushes. These small birds have become regular winter visitors to the marsh at the park for the past several years. Much less likely to be seen here in November though, were the pair of Gray Catbirds foraging in the grass along the trail back around to the sidewalk. To cap it off, nearby, we also found a pair of White-throated Sparrows who defied multiple attempts to get pictures of them.
Over at the Hurd Grassland, we were greeted by the sight of a Mosquito, likely one of the overwintering species tricked by the warm weather into leaving its hiding spot. Other unseasonal insect sightings on our walk included still a extant grasshopper, and a couple of Fall Crickets attempting to make it into winter. Six Eastern Bluebirds were seen around the edges of the fields. In a large tree at the north end of the shrubby section, a couple of Red-tailed Hawks were seen hanging their wings attempting to dry themselves out. The hedgerows were filled with Black-capped Chickadees, of which we estimated fifteen, but that was likely an undercount. A boldly patterned Song Sparrow was also seen in the bushes, as was a Dark-eyed Junco, a sure sign of winter. But on a day filled with mixed messages, we also heard two Spring Peeper Frogs calling from trees.
All our bird sightings have been submitted to eBird and the full checklists can be viewed at the following links:
Other wildlife sightings are submitted to the Vermont Atlas of Life.
Our Next walk will take place Saturday, Nov. 10 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.
Seven people came out on a spectacular fall morning for this month’s walk at Otter View Park and the Hurd Grassland. Action picked up right away in the parking lot with birds taking advantage of the fruiting shrubs and seeding forbs. Chipping Sparrows, Song Sparrows and House Sparrows were all busily foraging in that area. Blue Jays were also very active, some seeking food, and some higher up migrating south. Down on the boardwalk a lone Red-winged Blackbird male was singing as if it was spring. He was briefly joined by a large flock of females and juveniles, they soon headed out and left him to his solo performance. There was not much activity at all on the river itself, but in the nearby bushes we heard a lingering Gray Catbird, and had a close encounter with a group of Tufted Titmice. Back on the trail out, we spotted a flock of White-throated Sparrows busily eating dogwood berries in the bushes along the trail, and up above them, there was a flock of Purple Finches feeding on ash seeds. An Eastern Phoebe was maybe the last notable sighting at the park.
Over at the Hurd Grassland, we caught sight of some of the water birds we were missing on the river at the park, spotting flocks of Canada Geese all headed in that direction from fields in the West. As usual we counted the Pigeons who hang around the Silos across the road from the property. But this time we notices an all white one, likely a bird released at a wedding or some other celebration, hanging out with them. Around the trails it seemed like every patch of goldenrod had groups of Yellow-rumped Warblers looking for food among the foliage. Eastern Bluebirds were seen also in dogwood bushes, and using one of our birdhouses as a perch. The most exciting sighting we had in this portion of the walk was a passing Cooper’s Hawk which circled enough for us to go through all the field marks to be sure of our ID.
All our bird sightings have been submitted to eBird and the full checklists can be viewed at the following links:
Other wildlife sightings are submitted to the Vermont Atlas of Life.
Our Next walk will take place Saturday, Nov. 12 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.
Five people came out for this month’s wildlife walk at Otter View Park and the Hurd Grassland. Things at the park started out with a rather dire looking sunrise, the sky turned orange by the smoke from western wildfires. In the fields we saw a large number of dew-covered spider webs almost all of them with a Banded Garden Spider sitting in the center of them. Down on the boardwalk we had brief lesson in one of the most challenging fall warbler identification problems when we saw both Blackpoll Warbler and Bay Breasted Warbler in their non-breeding plumage. We also saw several unidentified warblers flying up high which we speculated were at the tail end of the previous nights migration. A flock of immature Cedar Waxwings perched in a spot to give us a look at their incomplete masks and orang tail tips. Maybe the best sighting of the day happened on the trail back out when we spotted a Rose-breasted Grosbeak browsing for food in a tree.
Bird activity was significantly less over at the Hurd Grassland, but we still managed to see some nice things. Gray Catbirds were still well spread around the property and being very vocal. A couple of Eastern Phoebes were seen, one of them using one of our birdhouses as a perch to hunt for bugs from. Much like last month, we spotted a Field Sparrow embedded with a flock of Song Sparrows which of course led us to wonder if it was the same bird. And on our way out we peered into Gale Hurd’s backyard to spot a Ruby-throated Hummingbird which was visiting her feeders.
All our bird sightings have been submitted to eBird and the full checklists can be viewed at the following links:
Other wildlife sightings are submitted to the Vermont Atlas of Life.
Our Next walk will take place Saturday, Oct. 8 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.
Birding in August means a mix of late breeding, post-breeding, and early migration behavior, and we found all three during this month’s wildlife walk at Otter View Park and the Hurd Grassland. Most of the activity at the park was seen down along the boardwalk. We saw Red-winged Blackbird carrying food, indicating it was still feeding chicks or fledglings. An immature Northern flicker was seen on its own foraging and feeding itself. We spotted a male Scarlet Tanager in non-breeding plumage which at the very least had dispersed from its woodland breeding territory, and was possibly already making its way South. Similarly we also saw a male Purple Finch, though it might be hardy enough to spend the winter locally. Another bird which is unusual to see at the park during breeding season was a Veery which briefly popped in some bushes. On our way out we got good looks at rambling flocks of Cedar Waxwings searching for food in the flower meadow.
Over at the Hurd Grassland we were greeted by an Eastern Cottontail Rabbit which was hanging out near the cover of a hedgerow. Since the fields had recently been mowed, we didn’t expect to see many birds there, but we did have Goldfinches attacking thistle plants for their seeds in the fringes. Eastern Wood Peewees were heard calling from the trees surrounding the property and Common Yellowthroats were still very active and noisy throughout our walk. A Pileated Woodpecker made itself know with its wild call. In the shrubby section we heard an Eastern Towhee calling, and nearby we saw an immature Field Sparrow embedded in a flock of Song Sparrows. One of the most interesting sightings of the day wasn’t a bird, but a dragonfly. A Black Saddlebags flew up in front of us and landed in a nice spot for us to get pictures. It is pretty unusual to see this species away from large bodies of water, so it was neat to find one here.
All our bird sightings have been submitted to eBird and the full checklists can be viewed at the following links:
Other wildlife sightings are submitted to the Vermont Atlas of Life.
Our Next walk will take place Saturday, Sept. 10 at 7:00 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.
Eleven people came out on a gorgeous July morning for this month’s walk at Otter View Park and the Hurd Grassland. Starting off at the park, most of the action was down on the boardwalk, one of our best sightings being near the start of it, a male American Redstart which gave everyone a good look at it. A bit further down it took a bit of work to ID a silent Eastern Wood Pewee which we only saw from behind. Gray Catbirds were noisy throughout the shrubs all around the Marsh, and Swamp Sparrows were heard singing from the cattails. Down the river we saw some Wood Ducks feeding in the weeds. Also spotted was a Spotted Sandpiper seen flying down the river. Cedar Waxwings were busy up and down the creek hawking for insects from the adjacent trees. And on our way out, we saw a recently fledged Red-winged Blackbird being fed by a parent.
Over at the Hurd Grassland, this was the decisive walk to judge our success with birds using our grassland habitat. I am glad I visited a few days before to confirm we had a Bobolink nest by spotting a pair repeatedly carrying food to the same area. That is because on the day of the walk we were met with twelve Bobolinks, three of the obvious adult males, the rest a mix of females and fledglings. There is no way of knowing if our pair and their young were part of this group. The additional birds were clearly families from other fields which had come to use ours as a good feeding spot. Also of note on our walk at the Hurd property were Field Sparrows, one of them seen carrying food. Two Wood Thrushes, where we are usually only able to count one. And a Rose-breasted Grosbeak which popped up when we were coming back up through a trail through the hedgerow.
All our bird sightings have been submitted to eBird and the full checklists can be viewed at the following links:
Other wildlife sightings are submitted to the Vermont Atlas of Life.
Our Next walk will take place Saturday, Aug. 13 at 7:00 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.
Otter Creek Audubon Society 