Trip Leaders: Chris Bennett and Anthony Gonzon
Saturday, June 17, 2023 8:00 am to 12:30 pm
Weather: Start – 67 degrees, clear with west winds 5 – 10 mph
End – 77 degrees, clear with west winds 10 – 15 mph
Participants: 8 with 2 leaders
Blue Grosbeak by Mike Moore.
The trip started at the Sports Complex where we had several Eastern Bluebirds, displaying Brown-headed Cowbirds, Indigo Bunting, American Goldfinch and Chipping Sparrows. An attempt was made to find Kentucky Warbler along the Life Course trail without success. Walking from the Life Course to the Pondside Trail – along scrubby forest edge habitat we had a single Blue Grosbeak. The group then walked the 2.8 mile Pondside Trail through mature hardwood forest and along forested wetland fringing Killens Pond. We got excellent views of Prothonotary and Yellow -throated Warbler, Ovenbird and Acadian Flycatcher. We heard far more than we saw – with Scarlet and Summer Tanager, Eastern Wood Pewee, Pine Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Towhee, Wood Thrush, and White-breasted Nuthatch – among the species heard but not seen. We found two nests. The first was an Acadian Flycatcher nest, low in a beech tree, with the female sitting on eggs. The second was a Baltimore Oriole nest in the process of construction by the female. We ended up with 46 species.
eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S141836585