The
temperature may have been hovering near 30, and many of the Connecticut
River's side bays and impoundments were showing patchy ice covering, but
clear skies, a bright sun and the presence of avian migrants held forth
the prospect that spring will arrive.
The Mascoma Chapter
of NH Audubon. along with co-sponsors the Hanover Conservancy and the
Upper Valley Land Trust (UVLT) hosted seventeen birders on a leisurely
journey up the Connecticut beginning at Hanover's Wilson's Landing, then
making several stops on River Road before finishing at Lyme's Grant
Brook.
Forty species were seen over the course
of two-and-a-half hours. Highlights among waterfowl were ring-necked ducks
(18) and bufflehead (3). At Grant Brook, a juvenile bald eagle was seen
flying downriver with a harassing crow in pursuit. Many of the songbird
species observed were ones that would not be associated with migration
such as dark-eyed juncos, black-capped chickadees, American goldfinches
and the now ubiquitous northern cardinal. But sightings of swamp
sparrows, eastern phoebes, red-winged blackbirds, common grackles, a
pine warbler and yellow-bellied sapsuckers gave assurance that a new
phase of bird watching was at hand. Complete eBird lists for the day can
be found by clicking on the links below.