Cape May WarblerRiding on the coattails of our very successful and fun Century Count XXV, at which sixteen participants garnered 126 species, I am encouraged to share with all of you who are members and friends, some of the other highlights of the RCAS year, going back to the start of our fiscal year on July 1 of 2019.
First, we entered our 19th year of consecutive monthly monitoring the West Rutland Marsh. We did so every month with public participation until the pandemic hit and made it necessary for only a few socially-distanced board members to continue the tradition. This August will mark the start of our 20th year.
West Rutland MarshJoel Tilley led five bird walks for the public last fall, as well, many of which were on Slate Valley Trails and were really well attended.
In September, we sponsored a wonderful wildlife art show in Poultney. The local ukulele group provided rollicking entertainment during our opening reception and many very excellent artists showcased their work over three weekends.
Speaking of great events and good times, RCAS also participated in the Rutland Halloween Parade and took a prize for runner up for the Most Imaginative with our Murder of Crows, an extinction is forever theme. (This presaged the awful news of the demise of one third of bird populations which hit the news on November 15th.)
By November, we became advocates for the Proctor Town Forest in Chittenden, helping to keep the property as public lands, a decision which was not reached until the Proctor Town Meeting in March.
Our Christmas Bird Count was another rewarding and fun occasion. We added an additional separate section for birding and the day's count was a whopping 49
species, just excellent for the time of year and the temperature (brrr…). The number of participants was also outstanding. All in all, it was a giant gift for RCAS!
Throughout all of this we also worked steadily to protect our easement of eight years at Mt. Top Farm in Chittenden (that story has yet to reach its conclusion).
new West Rutland Marsh TrailOur March, April and May programs had to be postponed to next year, but the January and February ones were well attended, especially the one by Vermont Fish and Wildlife expert, Joel Flewelling, who regaled a multigenerational crowd with all sorts of information on wildlife tracking.
In March we received glad tidings! The grant application which the group had submitted to the Recreational Trails Program was funded! This will allow us to build section 2 of a trail along the eastern side of the West Rutland Marsh.
Work for that should begin this summer, pandemic willing.
And that, good friends and bird lovers, brings us back to the beginning! Thanks for your continued support and participation. We hope to see you at the virtual Annual Meeting on June 24 and in person when it is safe once again. Click here to read more about the annual meeting.