Ruby-crowned KingletI had several goals in mind when I first proposed to do the Spring Warbler talk and the bird (and wildflowers!) walks last May. I wanted to share with others my love of birds and their habitats. Birding with others also improves my own sight and sound identification skills. Finally, I wanted to foster links between Rutland County Audubon and Slate Valley Trails—to get birders and bikers and hikers together to appreciate the shared recreational resources of the Poultney area. The Spring events were well received, so we scheduled a Fall Warbler talk and another series of walks.
On all counts the talks and walks were a great success. Thirty-seven people attended the spring talk at the Poultney Public Library, and sixteen came to the Fall talk. The walks covered all 7 of the SVT trails (counting Fairgrounds East and West as two separate areas). The number of participants for each walk ranged from 4 to 11 (total 53, 25 individuals) in the spring, and 1 to 10 (total 33, 18 individuals) in the fall; many of the participants were new to SVT and Audubon. We observed 91 bird species (891 individual birds) in the spring, and 55 species (523 individuals) in the fall, as well as red efts, dragonflies, and Monarch butterflies galore. Everyone shared their knowledge of wildflowers, insects, and trees, as well as the history of the various trails.
I’d like to thank Slate Valley Trails and Rutland County Audubon for enthusiastically promoting these events, and all the participants for sharing their love of birds and their habitats with me. See you on the trails!
To see what we saw on the Fairgrounds West and Fairgrounds East Trail, click here.