New Year's Day, 2010!

Yale Forest, Nipmuck Trail

We begin the year on a fairly pleasant Friday, temperature in the high 30's, partly sunny skies, new snow just about covers the grass. Our first bird walk of the year will be in the Yale Forest in Westford/Union. As usual we take guesses as to the species total. Max goes for 9, Sebastian guesses 17, Sue goes for 10 and Jorge chooses 20. Along the way, our first stop near an old farm produces nine species right off the bat!

1. American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos

2. Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater

3. House Sparrow, Passer domesticus

4. Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis

5. Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata

6. Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus

7. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura

8. Tree Sparrow, Spizella arborea

9. White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis

Ascending the Nipmuck Trail

Farther along the road, a seemingly random pile of birdseed has attracted a LOT of attention!

10. Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapillus

11. Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor

12. White-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis

13. Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis

14. Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis

15. Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus

Jorge, Max, Sebastian with blue blaze on tree to right

We hike into the Yale Forest along the blue-blazed Nipmuck Trail, starting from a pull-off on Boston Hollow Road. Snow still clings to granite ledges, fern-covered boulders and Hemlock branches, and the air has that bright, clean smell of fresh snow. This is a beautiful forest to walk through any time of year, it's a southern pocket of boreal forest right here in Connecticut. We might hope for a raven, boreal chickadee, red-breasted nuthatch or pileated woodpecker - instead we see:

16. Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa
17. Hairy Woodpecker, Picoides villosus

At the height of land on top of the ridge, we take a rest and enjoy a view out to the east. The hike down goes much more quickly than the ascent and we're back at the road before we know it - though at 4:30 pm it's worth a try to call up a Barred Owl -- but no luck. The drive home yields no additional species, so with a total of seventeen, Sebastian is declared "winner". Below, a short video of a trickling stream crossing the trail.