Trip Highlights

It was a perfect spring day to start the first of the Allen Bird Club's series of Wednesday morning walks.  Bird song filled the air.  Before reaching the T on the Bark Haul Trail, we had spotted Yellow-rumped Warblers and seen and heard several Ruby-crowned Kinglets, many with their ruby crowns showing.  A highlight along the trail was finding a trio of Palm Warblers on the ground - like little yellow jewels sparkling in the fresh green grass.  Mallards, Wood Ducks, and a Green-winged Teal were found in the beaver ponds along the way where a single Chimney Swift and a Belted Kingfisher flew over us.  On the Natti Trail we found a Hermit Thrush and heard towhees call back and forth to each other.  White-throated Sparrows sang and scratched about in the undergrowth nearby.  Near the brook, two more migrants, Blue-headed Vireo and Black-and-white Warbler, made an appearance.  A House Wren chattered off the trail as did Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.  Other highlights were two Rusty Blackbirds near the railroad tracks, still lingering here before heading further north, and just below them on the ground was another new arrival - a Northern Waterthrush.  As we neared the parking area on our return, the sweet song of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, another new arrival, ended our walk on a bright note.  There were 12 participants and a total of 42 species.

Six members of the ABC attended the first-ever field trip to Five Bridge Road/Grand Trunk Trail in Brimfield.  As we were practically surrounded by marsh, the sounds of Red-winged Blackbirds and Swamp Sparrows were constantly present.  The majority of our observations were mostly of permanent residents, species we were all familiar with.  Early spring migrants (and they seem to be getting earlier each spring!) included Eastern Phoebe, Tree Swallow, and Chipping Sparrow.  Singing Purple Finches were heard at two spots, and a Red-shouldered Hawk was seen carrying nesting material.  Blue-gray Gnatcatchers flitted high in the treetops, their buzzy song attracting our attention, as did the ethereal, high-pitched song of the Brown Creeper.  But probably the highlight of the trip were the warblers:  Black-and-white Warblers crawling along tree branches, Yellow-rumped Warblers all along our walk, Palm Warblers flying and landing, wagging their tails, and Pine Warblers singing high in the trees, staying out of sight until finally we saw one to our satisfaction.  The entire species list for the trip is below.

Seven members gathered for this morning’s field trip, which started at Pynchon Pt.  The river was high, so activity there was low. We counted Mallards, Wood Ducks and European Starlings.  From there we headed to Stebbins Refuge and walked up Pondside Rd, finding the water was also high in the ponds and recent storms had cleared a lot of the waterfowl out.  The nesting Bald Eagles were very active and there was at least one eaglet in the nest.  For other species identified along Pondside Rd, see list below.

This evening walk at Stebbins brought out 14 members.  At least ten American Woodcock were spotted, with 4-5 on the trail right near us at different times during the evening.  There were also multiple Woodcock flight displays.  Other flyovers included ducks and geese and heard birds were American Robins and Red-winged Blackbirds.

Surprisingly few members came out to enjoy what historically has been a favorite, well-attended field trip. The weather was not to blame, it was sunny with temps 35-45 degrees. This trip focuses on migrating waterfowl and we picked out 10 different species, namely Canada Goose, Mute Swan, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, and Hooded and Common Merganser.  We had a Bald Eagle flyover at Barton’s Cove, but did not find the Red-throated Loon which was recently reported there. Some early migrants spotted were Turkey Vulture, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Phoebe, Song Sparrow and Red-winged Blackbird.