On Thursday, June 22, a quartet of Upper Valley birders traveled over to the White Mountains for a full day of exploration at Pondicherry NWR. We scarcely could have asked for better conditions. It was mostly sunny, breezy, with low humidity, and the temperature ranged between a comfortable 64 and 76 degrees. Mosquitoes were an issue when in sheltered areas, such as the trail out to Little Cherry Pond, but when the vegetation was minimal and the landscape was well-ventilated, the breezes kept bug activity to a minimum.
We tallied 43 species, seen or heard, for the day, a very satisfactory number given the suppressing impact nesting activity might have had.
The day's far and away "best bird" was a male, Black-backed Woodpecker first heard producing a "probing" drumming and then seen high in a pine at the edge of the Little Cherry Pond Trail. It was a life bird for all four of us. For this writer it was a particularly satisfying record given I have been traveling to Pondicherry since 2012 in hopes of seeing one.
Eleven warbler species were recorded including Nashville (5), Magnolia (1), Mourning (1) and Canada (2).
Conspicuous in their absence were flycatchers. We didn't even get an Eastern Phoebe or Eastern Wood Pewee. We got very good looks at a pair of Blue-headed Vireos clearly agitated by our being too present in their territory, and there may have been a Yellow-throated Vireo present, but we couldn't confirm it.
A full eBird list of the day's activity can be found by clicking on the following link:
Blake Allison
Lyme, NH 03768-3322