April 20th

Went out on our weekly class birding trip to Ethan Allen Park yesterday. It was a bright, clear morning. We got to the park around 7:50 AM and it was around 34 degrees F, and not too windy. Sean mentioned that we were asked to go to Ethan Allen Park by the city of Burlington and make some observations. What a morning! It has been so cool to watch as more and more birds return from migration, and become much more active in calling and singing to potential mates. It was so great to see the Barred Owl roosting in a tree. It was so well camouflaged, it took our group a long time until we all had caught a glimpse of it, even thought it hadn't moved from its spot. It was really cool to hear them sing back and forth to each other. I saw a Great Horned Owl at Oakledge Park a few weeks back, and I feel very lucky to have seen two nocturnal birds of prey. The Fish Crow was also an exciting find, when Sean pointed out the call. Even though Ethan Allen Park is a relatively small patch of land, it has a lot of cool species, like Pine Warbler, too, which was awesome to witness.

This week I've also seen a ton of Cedar and especially Bohemian Waxwings on campus. They're eating the last of the crab apples while they can. It's great to know how much to appreciate these nomadic species while they're here.

Posted on April 22, 2016 01:51 AM by kirsticarr