I got up early this morning and went for a long walk in search of birds. From the Dartmouth College campus I walked south to Mink Brook Nature Preserve and saw what I could see there. I continued southward along trails through the woods, eventually winding up at Boston Lot Lake in Lebanon. Next I headed west for a quick stop at the Wilder Dam before following a power-line cut back northward to Mink Brook. I explored Mink Brook a little more, then returned to campus.

Along the way I netted 74 species of birds, including 16 warbler species. I had some nice individual species, but the real highlight was the whole experience. Colorful and vocally talented birds were everywhere I looked, and I got great views of almost every species I observed today, many of which were firsts of the spring for me. Warblers were abundant—I probably had 20+ each of Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, and Chestnut-sided. (Along the power-line cut, it was difficult to judge which was more numerous: Chestnut-sided Warblers or ticks.) Almost all these birds seemed to be on territory, however; there was not much evidence of migration at all. The exception to this was along the west side of Boston Lot Lake, where the rising sun was warming up the ground. There was a very noticeable temperature difference between the shaded north side of the lake and the sunny west side. This apparently stimulated insect activity, which in turn attracted a big group of songbirds. Most were Yellow-rumped Warblers, but there were a bunch of other species as well, including a Wilson’s Warbler that gave me a great chance to hear him singing and watch him as he sang.

Other individual highlights from the morning included a heard-only flyover Evening Grosbeak, a Solitary Sandpiper on Mink Brook in the Nature Preserve, a Prairie Warbler also at the Preserve, a total of six Nashville Warblers along the power-line cut, and two different Merlins, both at least somewhat away from known nesting sites. All in all, it was a fantastic morning to be out. One of the best birding experiences I’ve had in a long time.

Adam Burnett
Dartmouth College
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