Twenty-six birders came out on the five Tuesday morning bird (& flower & fern & tree & insect & …) walks this fall, jointly sponsored by RCAS and Slate Valley Trails. We saw a total of 57 species; the most abundant were 53 Black-capped Chickadees (yaaay! my favorite), 46 Blue Jays, and 23 White-breasted Nuthatches. A couple of highlights were a Fisher at Endless Brook and a Fox Sparrow at Castleton University trails. The crisp weather and colorful foliage were an added bonus.
Nessie? Sasquatch? This Fisher running up a tree at Endless Brook was well seen by us, but was too quick (and distant) for my photographic skills. Photo by Joel Tilley.
Many of the warblers common in spring and summer have left for their winter territories, but some are still present. Other species that breed in the far north or high elevations are passing through on migration (like the Fox Sparrow) or are arriving here to spend the winter, like the Dark-eyed Junco and the White-throated Sparrow.
The Fox Sparrow looks like a chunky red Song Sparrow. This one was hanging out with a flock of White-throated Sparrows on the Spartan Loop of the Castleton University trails. Photo by Joel Tilley.
Watch for the schedule of Spring walks, beginning in late April. In the meantime, there’s still lots to see on the trails in the winter!
Here’s the list of birds we saw. You can find links to the individual checklists for each trail at https://ebird.org/tripreport/284338.
10 Canada Goose
1 Wood Duck
3 Mallard
1 Ruffed Grouse
3 Rock Pigeon
5 Mourning Dove
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1 Killdeer
1 Great Blue Heron
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Red-tailed Hawk
2 Belted Kingfisher
1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
7 Red-bellied Woodpecker
12 Downy Woodpecker
4 Hairy Woodpecker
5 Pileated Woodpecker
5 Northern Flicker
6 Eastern Phoebe
7 Blue-headed Vireo
2 Red-eyed Vireo
46 Blue Jay
17 American Crow
2 Common Raven
53 Black-capped Chickadee
19 Tufted Titmouse
11 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
7 Golden-crowned Kinglet
23 White-breasted Nuthatch
10 Red-breasted Nuthatch
12 Brown Creeper
2 Carolina Wren
11 European Starling
8 Gray Catbird
7 Eastern Bluebird
14 American Robin
1 House Sparrow
13 American Goldfinch
1 Chipping Sparrow
1 Fox Sparrow
5 Dark-eyed Junco
12 White-throated Sparrow
8 Song Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow
3 Eastern Towhee
7 Red-winged Blackbird
2 Common Grackle
3 Black-and-white Warbler
5 Common Yellowthroat
1 American Redstart
1 Magnolia Warbler
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
2 Pine Warbler
3 Yellow-rumped Warbler
2 Black-throated Green Warbler
5 Northern Cardinal
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak