A Snow Puddle Path Leading To Spring

It's been quite some time that I've been able to see what kind of bird activity their is at my favorite local patch. I thought that the snow might have melted enough that I might enjoy a walk through the meadows if I wore my waterproof boots. It turned out to be more of a struggle than I had bargained for. With each step, I sunk into a foot of snow followed by another 6 inches of water. I found this to be an annoying waste of energy. By the end of the walk it was the energy channeled from my aggravation that propelled me to the finish line.

I was encouraged by some of the birds I saw which was a preview of good things to come. I was welcomed by a lone Killdeer as I first entered the fields. I also saw 4  Great Blue Herons flying out from the direction of the local rookery. 

There were several Ring-necked Ducks, 18 Wood Ducks, and  Hooded Mergansers, and Common Mergansers gathered in an area where the ice had melted on the river but I made so much noise crunching through the snow that they were long gone by the time I got close to them.

A week later (this weekend) much of the snow has melted making it easier to get around. I was able to sneak up a little closer to those mergansers and the sun finally busted out from behind the clouds.

One Red-winged Blackbird announcing that Spring is on its way.

As the snow melts, little ponds are forming in the woods at the edge of the meadows where ducks like this  Wood Duck can hang out. I know the calendar says that Spring has arrived. It doesn't feel like Spring just yet but it's getting there.

White-faced Ibis Visits Portland Fairgrounds!

 I met 3 other birders at the fairgrounds this morning to start an assessment as to whether Wangunk Meadows can qualify for special designation as an important area for birds. (I was with Patrick Comins, Corrie Folsum-O'keefe, and Alison Guinness).

  I've seen Ibis down at the shore a couple of times but was surprised to see one sitting at the pond at the fairgrounds. When we took a closer look at the ibis it appeared to have a red iris and pink skin coloration around the face. This would indicate it is a White-faced Ibis, not a glossy. It also seemed to be smaller than the Glossy Ibis's that I've seen. It's a rare sighting for this area so we took photos for verification (thanks Luke Tiller).

It was quite an exciting find!

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Here's a short video clip of the Ibis in action.

note: If you happen to do any birding at Wangunk Meadows, please log sightings on e-bird. It will help with the project. Caution, Wangunk Meadows is an active hunting area.

Field Trip & Influx Of Birds At The Meadows

  Last week we had a field trip at Wangunk Meadows. It was pouring rain when I arrived at the meeting place so I was surprised to see that 6 other birders showed up. We waited for the rain to pass by. We were rewarded for our patience as the rain soon stopped and the sun broke through the clouds. We weren't able to bird the entire area because of the muddy conditions. Instead we concentrated on the areas near the fairgroundsand skating pond.The birders in the photo include members of Mattabeseck and Hartford Audubon. They have their binoculars focused on 4 Great Egrets and a Great Blue Heron across the way.

  One of the highlights of the morning was watching a dozen or so Eastern Bluebirds traveling back and forth between power lines and fence posts. Everyone seems to love seeing bluebirds, espceially on  a sunny day. There were Palm Warblers and Yellow-rumped Warblers in this area as well.

  I've been seeing yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpipers, and Solitary Sandpipers at the fairgrounds but this sandpiper  was unfamiliar to me. I'd never seen one before but did notice the white eyebrow marking and slightly down-curved bill. We sent in a photo for identification and found out that it was a Stilt Sandpiper (thanks to Greg Hanisek).

 I've noticed Killdeer are curious and will often walk towards my vehicle when I talk to them.

  Later in the week I was ready to move on to try other places but made a quick check of the meadows again. It seemed there was no reason to waste gas driving somewhere else because more birds had moved into the area. I came across a flock of about 40 or so American Pipit.

  The number and variety of sparrows allso increased since our field trip. I found a couple of Lincoln's Sparrows and lots of Swamp Sparrows including the one in the above photo.

Pectoral Sandpipers have been hanging around the area for a few weeks now.

With all the food available in the area I wasn't surprised to see a Northern Harrier show up. This juvenile bird seems to be admiring the white patch on its rump.

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Here's a short clip of the harrier coming in for a landing and then taking flight again.

Fuzzy Fledgling Sandpiper At The Meadows

I spent some time at Wangunk Meadow this weekend where I compiled a list of species with the intention of submitting it to ebird. the highlight of my morning was to have this fuzzy little fledgling scurry right across the trail I was walking on.  

A few seconds later an adult Spotted Sandpiper emerged from hiding to let me know that I was an intruder so I quickly moved on. The female Spotted Sandpiper is the one who arrives on breeding grounds first to establish and defend territory. The male takes the primary role of parental care during nesting while the female finds other males to breed with. The female gets involved again during the fledgling stage- so maybe this is the female? 

 

There were several Empidonax flycatchers around. I've heard that the best way to tell a Willow Flycatcher from an Alder is by its call so I videotaped several of the calls I heard. One of the calls could clearly be identified as a Willow Flycatcher. The other calls I recorded were different from what I found on the Internet so I can't be sure of their identity. The bird in this photo shows very little eye ring. I'm guessing it's probably a willow.  

Shorebirds Continue At Wangunk Meadows

I checked The Old Marlborough Turnpike Power lines and Wangunk Meadows this morning, both of which are located in Portland. The Power lines had good numbers of

Prairie Warblers,(8), Blue-winged Warblers(6), as well as a few Chestnut-sided Warblers. All three of these Warbler species seem to like the habitat that is common in power line right- of- way -areas. If you have time, compare the songs of these three species. They are distinctly different. I really enjoy hearing the escalating song of the Prairie.

I took a brief walk through The Portland Fairgrounds and Wangunk Meadows. I was anticipating seeing some new Warblers. There were no new Warblers. I did get my first good look at a Common Yellowthroat. There is nothing common looking about them. One surprise was seeing the first Yellow-billed Cuckoo (probable) of the year. It was silent, and moving north from tree to tree along the river.

The other surprise was a large numbers of shorebirds around. I came across about 3 dozen shorebirds that were hanging around the various mud puddles. Funny how that works. I was expecting warblers and found shorebirds. That's one of the reasons that birding can be so interesting. You can't always plan what you are going to see.

The ones that I was able to identify included Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers, Spotted Sandpiper, (least and spotted seen below), and a Solitary Sandpiper. I have a feeling that there may have been more which I wasn't able to identify.

Wangunk Meadows is not the prettiest looking area. It is a collection of abandoned farm fields, marshes, streams and woods located along the Connecticut River in Portland and South Glastonbury. ATV's and 4-wheel drive vehicles are always driving though the muddy roads, making deep ruts. The picture below is of an isolated area that is home to abandoned vehicles. I don't know how these cars ended up there. Hunters like to take target practice on them.

Despite the fact that the area has been abused, it still has a great variety of birds.