Song and Sounds, Songs and Sounds, Songs and Sounds

6:35 am – 12:30 pm
Large Powerline Milton, VT

Weather: 41 degrees Fahrenheit to 63 degrees Fahrenheit
Sunny and clear skies

Habitat: a shrubland corridor with powerlines overhead and trees to the side. The forest was mixed coniferous and hardwood with pines, eastern hemlocks, oaks, and maples. The shrubland was very hilly and sporadically cut. The land had patches of thorny shrubs and tall grass, but the majority was rocky land with short grass and dirt paths.

List of Birds
Grey Catbird x1
Black-capped Chickadee x3
Great Crested Flycatcher x1
American Robin x2
American Crow x4 (calls)
Barred Owl x1 (calls)
Field Sparrow x2
Song Sparrow x3
Mourning dove x1 (calls)
Woodpecker Downy x1
Baltimore Oriole x1 (Calls)
Eastern Meadowlark x1
Blue Jay x3
Common Yellowthroat x1
Chestnut-sided Warbler x1
White-breasted Nuthatch x1 (Calls)
Indigo Bunting x1 (calls)

This time I attempted to make several stops to listen and attempt to distinguish songs. It was frustrating to try to pick out one to listen to between several songs all going at once. During one session, I realized the non-stop song was likely a Baltimore Oriole’s song as the singular notes were very similar. The Indigo Bunting was a lucky catch on a video when I was trying to get another sound. The Field Sparrows and Song Sparrows were difficult to distinguish but the song sparrow can be considered more “musical” by me.

The “follow a call to the source” did not work too well due to the songs ending too soon as I arrived near the bird. They seemed to very much want to stay in the bush silently and not sing when a human was waiting. The Eastern Meadowlark and Grey Catbird are both birds whose song I followed to the bird. It was quite fun to see the Eastern Meadowlark fly to the stop of a shrub and call out when I approached.

On a happier note, seeing three male Blue Jays landing a few feet apart and hop around each other was quite fun to watch. They followed each other into the trees before long so there wasn’t much more to the encounter observed.

The Common Yellowthroat was found in the same patch of bushes as the Chestnut-sided Warbler. The Chestnut-sided Warbler was found first by the grey tail stuck up in the air serving as a flag. A different, second call alerted me to the presence of the Common Yellowthroat. The yellow belly was easy to find with some song following assistance.

The Barred Owl was a surprise to hear especially since the song was heard two times. I know with the mourning dove also on the list, there may be questions if another Mourning Dove was heard. However, the distinctive second note “h-WOO” was not made by in the bird’s song. Instead the song started with a few “woos” and ended with two “h-woo”. Also, the cadence was incorrect for a Mourning dove’s song as the later notes did not stretch out.

Posted on May 19, 2020 08:40 PM by tormiller