General-woodland, fields, swamp/bog/marsh, oh my

Date: 5/28/21
Time: 6:10 - 12:00 (brief break around 11)
Location: Stockbridge, VT
Weather: Started out a cool 37 degrees, and by noontime it had warmed up to a remarkable 45. It was overcast the entire day, with a pretty thick cloud cover in the morning. The birds and I were chilly, but it was cool to see everyone all fluffed up to stay warm. The wind was mild, and since I was down below a ridge on the leeward side, it was mostly okay--since we're close to the top of our little hill, the wind does come along the road a bit. It was going anywhere from 5-8 mph N. Mostly picked up towards the end of the morning.

Habitat/Narrative:
Remember that wetland I had to leave early because of a moose? Yup, I thought I would be good further out (spoiler - the moose did not stay in that wetland). I went exploring in a field a little further east to that along the road--someone had purchased the land and paid to clear it a good few years ago but then realized how rural it is here and abandoned ship, so it makes a great mini-scrubland. There were some aspens, birch, small deciduous trees springing up around shoulder height, and the rest of the brush was scrubby and maybe hip to waist height. There's some brambles, ferns, grasses, and mosses, among some scattered branches and some sections of wood that was chopped and left--not logs, but thick branches and the like. The edges were wooded, with some really tall conifers and deciduous trees -- the mature trees in this area probably push 80-100 feet, and birds love to perch right up there
Here's where I heard the bulk of birds today, and I even got to see a couple. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker flew down in a tree right close to me, which was super cool because I hadn't ever seen one before, only heard it. I had to look it up because I was skimming through my field notes trying to find a woodpecker with a red throat with no success. I also saw that big flock of Red Crossbills there, which now that I know it was them makes a lot more sense--there's that bill, sure, but from the distance it's easier to see that rustier tone, like a dusty orangey red rather than the pinky red from the Pine Grosbeak (I'll find one someday).

I hung out in this field for a few hours, maybe until 10, and then cut my losses--one of the town guys was laying down gravel along the road, so the big truck was not conducive to a peaceful ornitherapy journey or to good clear audio. The wind started picking up a little too, so I moved across the road heading north, and meandered through some mature coniferous-dominated woods, but there were still some brave deciduous hardwoods going strong in the mix. The understory was a little crowded at the edges like always. Once I got a little further in, there was a bunch of trillium so that was cool.
Then I turned west to get to the wooded swamp, so I wouldn't hit one of my neighbor's property (they live out there part time). I thought I heard a Belted Kingfisher (no recording=frowny face), but there isn't any standing water for fish--it's more of a swampy, mucky, lots of wet leaf cover and mosses dominating with ferns springing up. There is a river and some creeks with fish within a km, so it's possible but honestly pretty unlikely because I don't know of any nesting sites in the area that wouldn't get pretty damp down in this section.
There weren't a ton of birds there in the swamp at that time, probably because sound carries pretty well over here and the truck was still chugging along doing his gravel spreading (I did get a few recordings--I think I managed to snip it so the truck sounds aren't in there).
That's when I found moose track in the muck and some porcupine sign. I skedaddled. It was an adult moose track, and there were smaller tracks nearby. I couldn't tell how fresh it was because of how cold and damp it was in there ( the track prob wouldn't dry out regardless of time), so I chose life and pittered home to grab a raincoat and more water. By that time, it was around 11.

I went back out to follow that same road past where I had gone before and it turned south for a stretch. I turned off and went into an old logging field. It was mostly low grass and groundcover, but the borders were all scrubby before it hit the trees, so the treeline seems gradual. At the edges the terrain was less even, more brambly with some more old branches from its logging days, and there was an ATV trail that went off in the woods, sort of following the road back where I had just walked. I spent the rest of the hour there, at the scrubby border and a little into the ATV trail.
I heard some really interesting complex song, and I'm not sure who it was! I'll email it along to you and post it to iNat, but it just kept going--that bird was not a quitter.
I might be though, because at 12 I turned tail to get home and feel my fingers again. Tomato soup in a mug = perfect end to a calm morning of ornitherapy.

Posted on May 28, 2021 10:40 PM by avi_