Diario de bethanysmith512

Today on Monday May 24, 2021 I travelled to Colt State Park in Bristol, Rhode Island. I began birding around 7:30 in the morning, and wrapped up around 12:00 pm. In terms of the weather, the temperature was between 55˚ and 65˚ during this outing, it was sunny and only partly cloudy. I observed around 30 different species, and the wetland habitat provided me with great bird diversity! At Colt State Park, there is a beach area as well as wetland habitat, and as I walked through the park I saw a wide variety of songbirds mostly along the edges and in the trees, as well as many kinds waterbirds in and around the bodies of water. Since it is a park, there were also areas of mostly grass and trees where I was able to observe some species, but I mostly spent time walking along the ocean and wetland habitat. I only had this one site to visit today, so I spent the entire time here, making sure to walk a good distance around the park to see the most of the habitat.

This morning, at approximately 7:40, I arrived at Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown, Rhode Island. I was out in the field until around 11:30, before heading back home. The weather was ideal, with temperatures reaching no higher than 60˚ while I was out there, and it was also partly sunny with a slight breeze. Today's habitat was quite varied, as the sanctuary offered large fields and meadows with bird houses throughout, as well as more forested areas and a pond. This allowed me to see a wide variety of species we've discussed. The grassland areas, for the most part, were dense with shrubbery and small trees. I spent only about a half hour to forty-five minutes watching the pond, since today's focus was on the shrublands. I spent about an hour walking through the forested areas, and the remainder of the time was spent in the meadow-like portions of the sanctuary. The trails were very well kept, and there was also a boardwalk going through a lot of the refuge so visitors may enjoy the wildlife without disturbing it.

The date is May 26, 2021, and today I headed to Freetown Fall River State Forest and Southeastern MA Bioreserve to be on the lookout for some forest species. My session today lasted from about 7:20 until 11:30, and the majority of that time was spent walking along the trails through the forest, only taking brief pauses if I heard a certain song I didn't recognize or if there was a lot of activity in a certain area. The weather was pretty mild in the early hours of the morning, starting out at about 60˚ before reaching around 80˚ by the time I left, and it was mostly sunny for the entire outing with little to no wind. While I was excited about getting a clear identification for the Ovenbirds I was hearing, I quickly learned how difficult it can be to hear any other species when the Ovenbirds are really singing. In the mostly deciduous forest areas, I heard a Veery for the first time in person, as well as an Eastern Wood-Pewee. Although not listed on our list of forest species, I was very excited to identify that I was hearing a Prairie Warbler, which was also a first for me. As I walked through the mostly coniferous habitats, species were more limited to those such as White-throated and Chipping Sparrows. Overall, I found it more difficult to bird in a forested area like today because I still need to refine my ID by ear skills, and with the trees being so tall in some areas it was hard to spot birds at all. However, this forced me to take a lot of "unknown recordings" and do some research of my own, and although I had found slightly fewer species than past days, it was still a successful outing!

Today's date is Thursday May 27, 2021. My birding session at Allen's Pond Wildlife Sanctuary in Westport, MA began around 7:40 am and lasted until about 11:15 am. In terms of the weather, the temperature was about 65˚- 75˚ and there was slight wind, especially by the water. It had rained during my drive to the site, so it was a little wet at first, but quickly dried as the sun came out. This had to have been my favorite habitat of the week so far. There were grassy areas where I was able to observe some Bobolinks singing very loud, and there was also shrubbery for species like the Gray Catbird and various warblers. My favorite part had to be the wetland area and the beach portion of the wildlife refuge, however. I got to watch an Osprey sit by her nest as I tried to make out if the nest was full with my binoculars, and there were horseshoe crabs walking around in the water below me. I also saw three rabbits as I walked through the refuge, so it was a wildlife-filled day! I would definitely like to return to this spot, as the habitat was very diverse and offered a wide variety of species.

Today, on the last day of this whirlwind course, I visited Sachuest Point Wildlife Refuge in Middletown, Rhode Island. I arrived around 7:30 and began to walk around, returning to my car at about 11:00 this morning. The weather was a bit chillier today, around 50˚ for most of the morning, partly cloudy and quite windy at first, which died down few hours into my outing. It started off really well when I came upon a White-tailed Deer standing on the path about ten yards in front of me! The mammal theme continued as I also spotted a rabbit and mouse in the grassy area. Getting back to birds, however, I have certainly noticed improvement in being able to distinguish what calls are coming from who, and my ears are getting a bit more trained in "ignoring" some of the more common birds that can make it hard to hear other species. I got to watch a few Common Eiders from the shoreline which was a first for me, and just as I was leaving a large Turkey Vulture flew overhead. I also heard a strange sound initially thought to be a Short-eared Owl, but it was likely a Red Fox! I didn't get quite as many solid observations as past days, but this was mostly because the wind made it difficult to record, and there were also more people than I was used to at previous sites, but it was still a successful day! Thank you Jim and Allan for the class!