Bird Banding and Bird Walk w/ UVM Birding Club

Time: 8 AM to 11:20 AM, 4/27/24
Location: Green Mountain Audubon Center, Huntington, VT
Weather: 55° F, mostly sunny, light wind
Habitat: Forest, field, marsh

On Saturday, I went on the bird banding trip with the UVM birding club. We got to see 4 birds being banded - 2 Black-capped Chickadees, a Hermit Thrush, and a Pine Warbler. We learned about how they band the birds, what measurements they take, and how they try to determine the age and sex of the bird. We waited in the area by the headquarters for awhile to see if more birds would fly into the mist nets, but none did. We did however see a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drilling on a tree, a Broad-winged Hawk flying overhead, an Eastern Phoebe, an Eastern Bluebird, some Ruby-crowned Kinglets singing and flitting around, and a Blue-headed Vireo that someone in the group identified by call, that we then saw a glimpse of when it flew.
Later in the morning, we went on a walk around the trails. Here we saw another Bluebird, an American Robin, and a Tree Swallow in the field, some Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows in the brush, Red-winged Blackbirds in the marsh, and a Brown Creeper in the forest. We also heard some Song Sparrows in the marsh and a Winter Wren in the forest. In a pond in the marsh, we saw a group of Common Mergansers, as well as some Canada Geese.
One of the geese decided to follow us, and it ended up following us for around a quarter to half a mile. Along the way, it scared up an American Woodcock, which was suprising to see in broad daylight. Also, we saw a Spotted Sandpiper fly along a river and land on a rock in the middle of it.

Total Species List:
4 Canada Goose
4 Common Merganser
1 American Woodcock
1 Spotted Sandpiper
1 Broad-winged Hawk
1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Blue-headed Vireo
3 Black-capped Chickadee
2 Tree Swallow
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Brown Creeper
2 Eastern Bluebird
1 Hermit Thrush
1 American Robin
4 Dark-eyed Junco
2 White-throated Sparrow
3 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Pine Warbler
Heard only: Song Sparrow, Winter Wren