Diario de g_underhill

Today, May 18th 2020, I went to Colchester Pond in Colchester, Vermont in pursuit of some waterbirds. I left after our morning teams meeting, and arrived at Colchester Pond around 6:45 in the morning. I met up with my friend Taylor who is also in our field ornithology class to help with taking pictures and identifying birds. This birding excursion lasted until around 12:30 in the afternoon until I had to head back home for our second teams meeting of the day. When I first arrived in the morning it was overcast and chilly with temperatures in the low 50's. However, around 10:30 in the morning it began to warm up enough to take off a few layers and was a beautiful day despite a few gusts of wind here and there. By the end of the excursion, the skies were completely blue with only a few clouds in the sky. The area of Colchester Pond consists of a 3-mile round-trip trail around the perimeter of the pond. Throughout this trail, there were multiple different habitats. Most often, I came across open fields on my right-hand side that had tall grass and scattered shrubby trees. This open habitat is the area where I saw most of the songbirds that I identified. I also often came across areas on the trail that were adjacent to the pond in which I saw more of the waterbirds, such as the spotted sandpipers. Most of the habitat next to the water consisted of tall and dense tan vegetation that allowed for the birds to hide very well. There was also a large portion of the trail that was dense forest and had a lot of new growth shooting up in front of the older trees. When I came across these forest habitats, I noticed that there were far fewer birds compared to the open and water habitats. However, this could have something to do with the time of day considering I was near the open and water habitats earlier in the morning. Overall, this was a very worthwhile trip that taught me many new species and allowed me to gain a better grasp on my identification skills.

Today, on May 19th 2020, I went to the Catamount Outdoor Family Center in Williston, Vermont. I hopped in my car and drove 15 minutes to this location after our morning meeting ended around 6:20 am. Here, I met my friend Taylor for a morning of birding. I arrived around 6:35 am and was walking around the trails at this location until 12 in the afternoon. Upon arrival, it was in the low 40's and felt very cold. However, the day quickly warmed up and allowed me to take off several layers around 10 am. From this point on, it was extremely sunny and in the mid 60's. Although the sun was keeping me warm, there was occasionally some northwest wind blowing around 10 mph that allowed for a little chilliness. The parking lot that I pulled into provided many different trails in the surrounding area. These trails provided habitat that included shrubby bushes that lined the perimeter of open areas, and a lot of shrubby vegetation and bare trees that were scattered throughout these open areas. A few of the trails led to a denser coniferous forest that surrounded me on either side and made it difficult to find birds that were hiding. Additionally, there were also some areas that had small ponds and provided wetland and marsh-like habitat. The entire outdoor area was relatively flat and provided few inclines and hills. Overall, the Catamount Outdoor Family Center gave me access to see a lot of shrubland and grassland birds that I had never been introduced to before. This is definitely a location that I will be coming back to in the near future.

Today, on May 20th 2020, I went to Camels Hump State Park to go birding. I met my friend Taylor around 7:15 in the morning and ran into a few other people from our class that we ended up birding with for the day. Heading up the Burrows Trail, we got to the summit around 10 am and made it back to the bottom around 12 in the afternoon, just in time to make it home for our afternoon meeting. In the early morning it was in the low 50’s and chilly enough for a jacket. However, around 8:30 am it became warm enough to drop some layers. We ended up with weather in the low 70’s and complete blue skies with no wind. Camels Hump took us into a densely forested habitat that had two distinct sections. In the lower elevation, we were surrounded by mostly hardwoods and pines. This area consisted of many roots and rocks and mud on the trails. When we reached a higher elevation there was a distinct change to birch trees. In the higher elevation area there was also quite a bit of snow and hard ice on the trail that made making it to the summit rather difficult. Throughout the hike, there was a stream that followed along the side of the trail as well. Overall, this area allowed me to see many new warblers and other forest birds that I had never heard before.

Today, on March 21st 2020, I went to Delta Park in Colchester, Vermont. I was originally assigned to Macrae Farm Park in Colchester only to find that it was closed. My friend Taylor, who was also originally assigned to Macrae Farm Park told me that she received a follow up email telling her that the location was closed and to go to Delta Park in Colchester instead. I was never given this follow up email, but I decided to go to Delta Park anyways since I assume the email was also meant to be sent to me. I arrived around 7 am and remained at this location until around 11:45 am. It was a beautiful day, beginning around the low 50’s and quickly warming up to high 60’s and low 70’s around 10 am. The skies were blue with some faint hazy clouds, but the sun was shine nonetheless. There was a cool breeze blowing SSW about 7 mph when we came across areas that weren’t surrounded by trees. This location followed mostly along the Burlington Bike Path, but also provided some beach areas off of the path. On either side of the bike path the habitat was forested with birches, conifers, cherries, and other trees that were beginning to bloom. It was semi-residential because we came along some houses that were lined along the bike path, as well as all the folks walking the path. We came across some areas that had small ponds as well. Further along the bike path we came across a bridge that provided us with water and shore habitat. This area is where we were able to see the Herons, Barn Swallows, and Canada Geese. Additional beach habitat was found on side paths off the original bike path and allowed us to see some Caspian Terns and Ring-billed Gulls. Overall, this location allowed me to see the most species that I have all week. This was a very good day for me, and I will definitely be back here!

Today, on May 22nd, 2020, I went to Geprags Community Park in Hinesburg, Vermont. I arrived around 6:30 in the morning and met my friend Taylor for a day of birding. As we began, it was about mid 50's outside. However, within an hour of arrival, it warmed up into the high 60's and was warm enough to be in shorts and a tee shirt. Later into the day, we reached high 70's, and the suns warmth was beating down upon us. Every once in awhile we felt a cool breeze that was blowing about 7 mph in the SW direction. We stayed at Geprags until about 11:30 in the morning. This location provided a large array of trails and a mixture of habitats. Some areas were heavily forested and encompassed either side of the trail in hardwoods. We also came across some shrubland habitat that included shrubby vegetation, such as staghorn sumac. This is where we were able to hear and spot a Wood Thrush! Additionally there was a huge open field that was off one of the trails where we were able to see a male turkey and four hens. Overall, this area allowed me to see multiple new species that I never thought I would see. Geprags Park is a great birding spot that I will have to return to!