My wife and I are spending our first spring in our new residence on Lyme's Acorn Hill Road. I anxiously have been wondering with what bird species will be sharing our new home. The habitat is quite different than that which we had at our Whipple Hill property. There we had perhaps six acres of fields and a small fire pond surrounded by woods sporting a mix of coniferous (mostly white pine and hemlock) and deciduous (maple, birch, poplar and oak). The new place is surrounded by open fields. Our relatively few trees are strung along the old stone wall behind the house. The nearest water source is Pout Pond which is about  a mile away.

At Whipple Hill, I would by now be hearing our annually resident song sparrow. I wondered whether we now would have a song sparrow like we did before? Turns out we have three to date. Phoebes? I today came home from a morning of birding and was greeted by a first of season, tail-bobbing bird sitting on a utility wire next to the garage. Hooray!

Next up? Grassland birds and warblers?

Blake Allison