None of today’s eight participants awoke this morning with much enthusiasm for a walk around West Rutland Marsh. It was drippy, cold and generally November.
Nevertheless, we did manage to come up with 23 species. This compares to our November average of 19 and is two more than last year’s walk. Our high was 27 species in 2011 and our low 11 in 2004.
As always, we started at the boardwalk. American tree sparrows have returned. Chickadees and a tufted titmouse were rushing back and forth to and from the feeders.
A call note in the birch tree near the boardwalk sounded suspiciously like a yellow-rumpled warbler and, after much searching, that is exactly what it turned out to be. The morning was instantly brighter.
A short distance down the road, near the green house formerly known as the yellow house, a lingering song sparrow was spotted. Two robins looked pretty miserable sitting atop trees in the rain across the road from each other. Two golden-crowned kinglets were heard, but not seen. A purple finch flew overhead.
We flushed a grouse along Whipple Hollow Road. A red-winged blackbird (others were heard in the reeds and cattails) and a lone common grackle at a feeder were also seen along Whipple Hollow.
Black-capped chickadees, mourning doves and dark-eyed juncos were the most abundant birds of the day.
The next walk is scheduled for Saturday, December 2, at 8 a.m.
Today’s list: