Photos
Land Trust’s spring bird walks offer rare glimpses of Granby birds
By Trish Percival
Each spring, John Weeks and Christine Chinni lead a group of adventuresome Granby Land Trust members into the woods of North Granby to see what types of birds they can find. This popular event, held both mornings of Mother’s Day weekend, is generously hosted by Granby Land Trust Board Member Jamie Gamble on his beautiful and diverse property. Jamie’s property is perfect for birding, with woodlands, wetlands and a pond—a wide variety of habitats for migrating and nesting birds.
A highlight of this year’s walks came on Saturday morning when a Virginia Rail popped out of the marsh and stalked into view almost at the group’s feet. Then, on Mother’s Day morning, a Northern Parula—a stunning warbler that normally stays high in the tree canopy—came down into a grove of short walnut trees to sing his song, giving the group an up-close view of a bird usually seen only from a distance.
The group also had excellent looks at a Scarlet Tanager, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and several of the other show-stopping warblers: Chestnut-sided, Blue-winged, Canada, Black-throated Blue and Black-throated Green.
The species total was 54 (list below). The list also can be viewed online at: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23377004
Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Great Blue Heron, Red-shouldered Hawk, Virginia Rail, Mourning Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Yellow-throated Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Barn Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Veery, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Ovenbird, Louisiana Waterthrush, Northern Waterthrush, Blue-winged Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Pine Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Canada Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Scarlet Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Baltimore Oriole, American Goldfinch.
To learn more about upcoming Granby Land Trust events, visit www.GranbyLandTrust.org.
Land Trust’s spring bird walks offer rare glimpses of Granby birds
By Trish Percival
Each spring, John Weeks and Christine Chinni lead a group of adventuresome Granby Land Trust members into the woods of North Granby to see what types of birds they can find. This popular event, held both mornings of Mother’s Day weekend, is generously hosted by Granby Land Trust Board Member Jamie Gamble on his beautiful and diverse property. Jamie’s property is perfect for birding, with woodlands, wetlands and a pond—a wide variety of habitats for migrating and nesting birds.
A highlight of this year’s walks came on Saturday morning when a Virginia Rail popped out of the marsh and stalked into view almost at the group’s feet. Then, on Mother’s Day morning, a Northern Parula—a stunning warbler that normally stays high in the tree canopy—came down into a grove of short walnut trees to sing his song, giving the group an up-close view of a bird usually seen only from a distance.
The group also had excellent looks at a Scarlet Tanager, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and several of the other show-stopping warblers: Chestnut-sided, Blue-winged, Canada, Black-throated Blue and Black-throated Green.
The species total was 54 (list below). The list also can be viewed online at: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23377004
Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Great Blue Heron, Red-shouldered Hawk, Virginia Rail, Mourning Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Yellow-throated Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Barn Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Veery, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Ovenbird, Louisiana Waterthrush, Northern Waterthrush, Blue-winged Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Pine Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Canada Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Scarlet Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Baltimore Oriole, American Goldfinch.
To learn more about upcoming Granby Land Trust events, visit www.GranbyLandTrust.org.