There’s no doubt it’s spring when you visit West Rutland Marsh in May. Seven RCAS board members conducted our monthly monitoring, tallying 65 species. This compares to our May average of 67 species and 51 species one year ago.
With many new arrivals within the past two weeks bird song has increased dramatically. For some species nesting is already underway. An American robin was seen carrying food for young and a gray catbird was carrying nesting material.
Marsh wrens, swamp sparrows, yellow warblers and common yellowthroats have claimed their territories with much singing and chasing of rivals.
Turkey VultureIn addition to yellow warbler and common yellowthroat, warbler species included ovenbird, northern waterthrush (one singing high from a bare tree top), several black-and-white warblers, a Nashville warbler, chestnut-sided warbler, yellow-rumped warbler and a black-throated green warbler. We also heard the ‘bees buzz’ of a winged warbler, but without a visual confirmation we couldn’t determine if it was a golden-winged warbler, a blue-winged warbler or a hybrid.
Virginia rails were heard near the boardwalk and one along Water Street. After the walk ended one of the departing participants spotted a common gallinule.
The beautiful song of wood thrush was heard in a few places, while the newly-arrived veeries were only making their ‘veer’ call.
Raptors included two broad-winged hawks, a red-tailed hawk, a Cooper’s hawk and one falcon species, either a kestrel or a merlin.
A parting gift from this winter’s amazing irruption – a single pine siskin at a feeder and a lone female evening grosbeak calling from a tree in the same yard.