Diario de emerrylees

I went on a bird walk today from 3:05-5:10 in Adamant Vermont. It was a chilly day at 42 degrees Fahrenheit but there was certainly a wind chill factor. The wind came from the West at 10-20 miles per hour throughout the course of the walk. It was overcast, and the vegetation was moist after steady rainfall during the earlier hours of the day.

The habitat type was mixed. I started my walk by a dairy farm lined by corn and grass fields. This is where I observed the Killdeer, Canada Geese, and Rock Pigeons. They fed among the corn fields, and the Rock Pigeons were perched on top of the barn roof. I then followed the narrow dirt road into a more forested area. The beginning section was still pretty fragmented habitat with temperate forests lining both sides of the road which would then end abruptly giving way to cleared grass fields. As I continued further down the road, the habitat transitioned to a swamp lining both sides of the road. There were thick weeds, some shrubs, and lots of low vegetation. The water moved slowly and pooled, creating shallow standing water. I noticed lots of waterfowl foraging through here. The swamp was lined by mixed forest composed of primarily coniferous trees. This then made way to more classic old vegetation temperate forest filled with deciduous trees. Many creeks still traveled through the habitat. There were several houses with grass yards along the hillsides in this area. Overall, this was more continuous habitat in comparison to the habitat described before. It was in this section that I observed the Black-capped Chickadees, Northern Cardinal, Nuthatches, Yellow Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, and Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers. The forest then made way to a pond lined with cattails and forest on one half, as the road traveled along the other half, separated from the pond by a thin layer of shrubby/woody vegetation. There were many pairs of mallards and Canada Geese on the pond. Within the vegetation lining the pond perched many Red-winged Blackbirds and a Song Sparrow. Finally, the road turned and traveled up to a slightly higher elevation. Here, the surrounding forest was less dense, allowing sunlight to shine through to the forest floor. The trees were mostly large white pines. I encountered another farm which had an apple orchard, sheep, and a few cows. There was a large flock of Common Grackles here, feeding on remaining fruit. I continued, traveling up and down a few hillsides. I encountered more houses and this eventually transitioned back into grassland and crop fields. I did see 2 birds that looked like Willets wading though a puddle in one of the corn fields. They had narrow, long, and straight black bills, long necks, very orange and long legs, and grayish mottled plumage. I wasn't able to identify these two individuals and I tried to take a picture but they blended into the corn field background so well that they really weren't visible. I am thinking that these were migrants that were stopping for a rest before continuing north to water habitat. Could this be a Lesser Yellowlegs?