emma2forsythe's Journal

Date - 5/8/21
Start time - 9:12 am
End time - 11:07 am
Location - North Waterfront Park, Burlington, VT
Weather (temperature, wind speed/direction, precipitation) - 54 F, 100% cloud cover, no wind, some rain towards the end of the trip
Habitat(s) - open park next to lake, bike path with dense shrubby trees

Date - 5/9/21
Start time - 9:01 am
End time - 10:35 am
Location - UVM Centennial Woods
Weather (temperature, wind speed/direction, precipitation) - 50 F, 8 mph SW wind, mostly sunny
Habitat(s) - mostly pine stands, some wetland and flooded areas with shrubby trees

Date - 5/24/2021
Start time - 7:14 am
End time - 12:12 pm
Location - Delta Park, Colchester, VT
Weather (temperature, wind speed/direction, precipitation) - start: 48 F, 2 mph WNW, sunny, no clouds; end: 63 F, 7 mph WSW, sunny, no clouds
Habitat(s) - started off on a boardwalk going through a wooded area with mostly songbirds, then came to a bridge over more open water with the lake to the West and the river to the East with a marshy area. I stayed in a grassy shaded area on the water for a while and saw mostly waterbirds and blackbirds, then continued down the bike path, which was surrounded by more wooded area and songbirds. After heading back down the bike path and across the bridge, I went down the shoreline path and saw more waterbirds and blackbirds.

Date - 5/25/21
Start time - 7:35 am
End time - 12:16 pm
Location - Charlotte Park and Wildlife Refuge
Weather (temperature, wind speed/direction, precipitation) - start: 59 F, 18 mph S, sunny with some clouds; end: 70 F, 18 mph S, mostly cloudy
Habitat(s) - I started out in a pretty dense wooded area with mostly hardwood deciduous trees and saw and heard Common Grackles, Common Yellowthroats, Brown Thrashers, American Robins, a Downy Woodpecker, and Northern Cardinals. As I continued down the main trail, the woods thinned out a bit and had occasional open spots. Here I found American Crows, Song Sparrows, Wood Thrushes, American Redstarts, and Gray Catbirds. Eventually I sat down at a bench in a large open clearing and found Black-capped Chickadees, Brown-headed Cowbirds, American Goldfinches, House Sparrows, and Red-winged Blackbirds. Eventually I came to a couple of very large open grassy fields, with a trail and small shrubby island between them. Here I saw and heard Northern Mockingbirds, a Red-tailed Hawk, Tufted Titmice, Turkey Vultures, a Field Sparrow, and Bobolinks.
A Fun Story: While I was sitting on a log in one of these open spots, I heard an American Redstart and decided to try to record it. As I was doing this, I happened to look down and hanging out next to me on the log was a redbelly snake. So now I have a very funny but very useless recording of me cursing and squealing as I run away. Obviously, I am not a huge snake fan (sorry Jim).

Date - 5/26/21
Start time - 7:14 am
End time - 12:02 pm
Location - Camel's Hump State Park
Weather (temperature, wind speed/direction, precipitation) - start: 72 F, 16 mph S, mostly sunny; end: 73 F, 15 mph S, mostly sunny
Habitat(s) - Starting out in the parking lot, I didn't see very many species but heard Black-capped Chickadees, Eastern Phoebes, and American Robins. As I moved up in altitude through the deciduous forest, I saw and heard Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Black-throated Green Warblers, Ovenbirds, Black-tailed Blue Warblers, Scarlet Tanagers, Red-eyed Vireos, and Blackburnian Warblers. I got closer to the alpine vegetation zone, with mixed hemlocks and birch trees, I found Hermit Thrushes, Wood Thrushes, and possibly a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. In the alpine zone I found Pine Warblers and a Blue Jay.

Date - 5/27/21
Start time - 7:04 am
End time - 12:14 pm
Location - Geprags Community Park
Weather (temperature, wind speed/direction, precipitation) - start: 57 F, 20 mph NNW, cloudy/overcast; end: 58 F, 22 mph NW, mostly cloudy
Habitat(s) - Just from the parking lot, which was surrounded by tall grasses and some shrubs next to the road, I found Ring-billed Gulls, Eastern Kinglets, and Eastern Towhees. I started walking down the main trail along the large main field under the power lines and saw and heard Field Sparrows, a Northern Harrier, Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Turkey Vultures, and American Crows. In the small wetland area around the stream under the power lines I found Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, and Red-winged Blackbirds. I turned back down the trail and started in the other direction from the parking lot through denser shrubs and woods. Here I saw American Goldfinches, Red-eyed Vireos, Brown Thrashers, and Tufted Titmice. Eventually I came to the barn, which was surrounded by tall grasses mixed with spots of shrubs. In this area I saw Gray Catbirds, Chestnut-sided Warblers, Eastern Phoebes, Black-capped Chickadees, and Barn Swallows.

Date - 5/28/21
Start time - 6:49 am
End time - 11:58 pm
Location - Macrae Farm Park, Colchester, Vermont
Weather (temperature, wind speed/direction, precipitation) - start: 59 F, 7 mph NW, overcast; end: 59 F, 5 mph NW, mostly cloudy
Habitat(s) - I started out in a grassy area next to the wetlands and saw Mallards, American Goldfinches, Canada Geese, Mourning Doves, Song Sparrows, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Double-crested Cormorant, a Belted Kingfisher, and Ring-billed Gulls. Most of these seemed to live in or around the tall grasses next to the wetland. From here, I moved down the main trail through a more densely wooded area with some shrubby spots. Here I found American Crows, Common Grackles, Yellow Warblers, Brown-headed Cowbirds, American Robins, many Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Yellowthroat, and a Gray Catbird. At the end of this trail, I came to a couple large open fields that had just been mown, so most of the birds were hanging out at the edge of the forest. Here I found House Wrens, Cedar Waxwings, a Black-capped Chickadee, and Northern Cardinals.