Field Ornithology: Day 3

I got a late start to the morning unfortunately because I got my COVID-19 vaccine yesterday afternoon and I had a fever and could barely move almost immediately after so it was a rough morning. Even though I still had a fever of 103, I pushed myself to get out of bed and go birding even though driving to Hinesburg, VT seemed like a daunting task. I'm glad I went out though, when I got there it was sunny and around 70 degrees, so perfect weather for birding in the woods! It was super buggy, and the birds weren't really calling at first when I got there, but after hanging around in. the woods for a while, they all starting calling and you could hear birds near and far. My first location were a few very wooded trails with lots of understory and shrubbery. There was a stream/river that followed one of the trails making it a little harder to hear calls, but once I went off that trail into the woods more, it was blissfully silent with huge pines, oaks, and maples around. On that trail I also ran into a dilapidated cabin which was home to a few barn swallows which was weird to see in the woods. On that trail I heard a crow, Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers and maybe a Pileated, but I'm still unsure. These trails were also close to the Birds of Vermont bird feeders which may have influenced the amount of activity I saw, but on the feeders in addition to all those birds were Red-Winged Blackbirds, Chickadees, a Blue Jay and a Goldfinch. I headed across the street up another wooded (more grassland/shrubland) trail which led to an opened area with a vernal pool surrounded by smaller deciduous trees. Here I heard a few Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, some Phoebes, a Black and White Warbler, a Great Crested Flycatcher, and a bunch of frogs including Bullfrogs, Wood Frogs, and Gray Treefrogs. A few Common Yellowthroats came pretty close to me as well as a Red-eyed Vireo and a few sparrows I couldn't get a glimpse of but I think I got a recording of. I also saw a few Wild Turkeys and a Gray Catbird on the way into the parking lot. I mostly heard all of the birds today instead of seeing most of them like yesterday, but overall it was a pretty successful day for the amount of time I was out there and how little of the calls I felt I knew. My favorite part of today was seeing the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak up close on the bird feeder because they are so pretty, and it was the only bird that wasn't phased by me walking up and watching it. My only cons for today was the wind at a few times, and Phoebes and Vireos constantly calling so it's hard to hear a few of the birds I was recording because of them.

Posted on May 27, 2021 12:29 AM by elizabethkaufmann