Trask Brook highlights

[Dylan Jackson]

For the past several weeks my girlfriend and I have been taking care her fathers dog Sawyer for what we've dubbed a "puppy vacation" (a vacation from his home in CT). Today I took him down to Trask Brook Road in Sunapee where he joined me for an hour long walk up and down the road. As we made our way from Route 103 towards Newport, a group of Barn and Bank Swallows slowly started perching in a group along the telephone wires that run through the fields. While my attention was elsewhere, a sudden rise in frantic calls started coming from the Swallow perch. I looked to see the Swallows dispersing in all directions and in the middle of the group was a Merlin (I believe female) darting around trying to nab a Swallow. However, the flock was quick and the Merlin flew off to the south unsuccessful. I believe this is a first for myself in this spot.
Other than that, it was more of the usual for that outing. A pair of Yellow Warblers, Song Sparrows and Indigo Buntings persist near the bridge on the road. Wilson's Snipe and Killdeer are still present and Barn Swallow numbers seem to increase every time I go.
After I left I had to run a few errands but before heading home I took another slow ride down the road. As I approached the brook, a gunshot rang out from one of the residences down the road. The bang caused the illusive resident American Bittern to fly up from the brook and move south.
This spot continues to produce new birds from time to time and also continues to be one of the more beautiful places to bird in Sunapee.

-Dylan Jackson
Sunapee

Sent from my iPhone

[Dylan Jackson]

I guess I'm going to be the one to go off topic and talk about, well, birds! I went up to the Enfield/Hanover area doing some OSFL surveying this morning. Not much to report from there, notably disappointing, no OSFL's. In one location I did however find a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. It gave me close but short looks and was not able to photograph it as it flew off to the tree tops where I was unable to coax it into returning. Dr. Len Reitsma told me he has come across a few this summer while doing some of his Canada Warbler work in neighboring Canaan. He's also come across more Swainson's Thrush since he and I found one while out banding. 

Anyways, I got back to Sunapee around 9:30am and decided to take a walk around Trask Brook Road. Today I worked the fields to the south and followed the brook from where it comes out of the forest to where it meets the road. The most abundant birds were Red-winged Blackbirds (many recently fledged birds), Common Yellowthroats and Song Sparrows. I did come across another pair of Alder Flycatchers (separate from the continuing pair near the bridge). As I approached the boggy area where the fields meet the woods I heard the unmistakeable call of a Green Heron. I looked up and saw the bird in the air before it turned south towards the boggy woods, where I believe they may be breeding.  I got one unimpressive shot of this bird in flight:

https://flic.kr/p/vAwf7E

Soon after that I was treated with a sighting of the resident Merlin that has been around for a week or two now. The bird flew in from the north and landed in a pine near the suspected Green Heron breeding area. It perched briefly allowing me to get photos before a group of four Barn Swallows came in and seemingly chased the Merlin off. I don't know if BASW are known to do this but it seemed like interesting behavior. When the Merlin has been around previously, the BASW called emphatically but seemed to just disperse and try and escape the falcon. Today they were calling the same but seemed to come out of their way to chase the bird off. A cool display of behavior anyways.

Merlin photo:

https://flic.kr/p/vAwGH5

Later, at around 5:30pm. I went back with our canine house guest Sawyer and it was fairly quiet overall but I did have a couple flyovers of a resident Wilson's Snipe which eluded me earlier in the day.

[Dylan Jackson]

A walk through Trask Brook Road in Sunapee yielded a few notable observations. The most notable being the continuing Merlin(s). I walked through the fields following the brook between where it comes out of the woods and the road and I had a low flyover of a Merlin. I tried to get a photo but missed an opportunity for a good picture and also missed an opportunity to try to sex the bird. This bird flew in from the south and moved north disappearing over the woods to the north. About 5-10 minutes later another (or the same) bird flew over the field north of the road moving north/northwest. This bird I could see better and appeared to be female. I wish I could've seen the first one to confirm a) if there were two birds and b) if they may be a nesting pair.

The next "highlight" consisted of a continuing Wilson's Snipe. A recent look on eBird left me a little surprised that it seems Trask Brood Road and another Springfield location are really the only areas with recent Wilson's sightings. I can't help but wonder if this species is rare or if it's one that is very good at staying hidden. All summer I've taken they're presence for granted not realizing how seldom they're found.

Some recent cutting of the roadside grass has changed some aspects of the area. The road shoulder now is teaming with Red-winged Blackbirds and Savannah Sparrows. Where I would hear 2-3 Savannahs I am able to now find a dozen or more, mixed adults and juveniles.

I have been making sure I visit here at least once a week all year (though I usually have several visits a week) so I can get a full year of data from here. I look forward to writing a year in summary of my findings at Trask Brook in January.