Seacoast Chapter Dawn Walk - 40 species

[Steve Mirick]

Jane and I led the annual "Dawn Walk" field trip today for the Seacoast
Chapter of NH Audubon. We starting bright and (very) early, meeting at
4:00 AM in Durham!  The weather was clear and cold with temps starting
out near freezing, but no wind and a very nice morning.  About 20
participants joined us for the trip which was over by 7:30.

https://www.seacoastchapter.org/

We walked out to the beautifully quiet forests of Durham Point off
Longmarsh Road in Durham. We covered just a small area near the end of
the Sweet Trail in a huge area of land that has been protected by
development and owned by a group of several organizations including the
town of Durham, the Nature Conservancy, and the Forest Society. As
always, a beautiful walk in the woods in one of the most beautiful spots
in southeastern NH.

https://www.ci.durham.nh.us/boc_conservation/longmarsh-preserve

We were greeted by Barred Owls as soon as we arrived and probably heard
at least 4 birds.  The last one flew in after dawn and we got some
obscured scope views of it.  Colby Marsh had Wood Ducks and Green-winged
Teals; however, the old tree snags that used to hold an Osprey and a few
Great Blue Heron nests have fallen down and no nests are now visible. 
 Spring migrants were in short supply with only a single Yellow-rumped
Warbler and no Palm Warblers.  Just a tad too early for them.  The last
bird was likely one of the highlights when we were able to coax a
Virginia Rail out of the cattail marsh at the end of the trip.

Canada Goose    5
Wood Duck    7
Mallard    4
Green-winged Teal    2
Wild Turkey    4
Mourning Dove    3
Virginia Rail    1
Great Blue Heron    6
Turkey Vulture    1
Osprey    0
Cooper's Hawk    1
Red-tailed Hawk    1
Barred Owl    4
Red-bellied Woodpecker    4
Downy Woodpecker    1
Hairy Woodpecker    1
Pileated Woodpecker    1
Northern Flicker    1
Eastern Phoebe    2
Blue Jay    1
American Crow    1
Black-capped Chickadee    4
Tufted Titmouse    3
Tree Swallow    5
Barn Swallow    1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet    1
White-breasted Nuthatch    4
Brown Creeper    2
Hermit Thrush    1
American Robin    1
American Goldfinch    2
Chipping Sparrow    2
White-throated Sparrow    1
Song Sparrow    3
Swamp Sparrow    1
Eastern Towhee    2
Red-winged Blackbird    12
Brown-headed Cowbird    2
Pine Warbler    1
Yellow-rumped Warbler    1
Northern Cardinal    2

Steve & Jane Mirick
Bradford, MA