Larsen Sanctuary walk on 5/19

I joined CAS Director of Education, Michelle Eckman, as she led a spring bird walk through the Larsen Sanctuary at our CAS Center in Fairfield on Saturday morning. Michelle is not only a brilliant educator but also an excellent birder, helping all to observe birds by both sight and sound, the latter being a very important skill at this time of year.

I meant to take more photos but I became way too caught up in finding birds! Here is a shot of the group looking for a singing Red-eyed Vireo.

These are our full results with my notes on what was seen and/or heard.

Canada Goose  1     Flyover, heard
Double-crested Cormorant  1     Flyover, seen briefly
Red-shouldered Hawk  1     Chased by AMCR a couple times
Red-tailed Hawk  6     Seen all
Rock Pigeon  1     Seen flying by
Mourning Dove  3     Seen on building
Chimney Swift  4     Pairs seen/heard in a couple spots
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1     Seen early in parking lot
Red-bellied Woodpecker  6     Seen and heard
Downy Woodpecker  2     Seen and heard
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)  1     Heard
Eastern Wood-Pewee  1     Heard
Eastern Phoebe  1     Seen and heard at farm pond
Great Crested Flycatcher  3     Heard
Warbling Vireo  2     Heard
Red-eyed Vireo  8     Heard and a couple seen
Blue Jay  4     Heard and a couple seen
American Crow  6     Heard and a couple seen
Tree Swallow  2     Seen in clearing
Barn Swallow  2     Seen in clearing
Black-capped Chickadee  8     Heard and a couple seen
Tufted Titmouse  4     Heard and a couple seen
White-breasted Nuthatch  4     Heard and a couple seen
House Wren  5     Heard and seen
Veery  3     Heard
American Robin  4
Gray Catbird  8     Heard and a couple seen
Ovenbird  1     Heard
Blue-winged Warbler  1     Heard
Common Yellowthroat  1     Heard
Magnolia Warbler  1     Heard
Yellow Warbler  2     Heard
Blackpoll Warbler  1     Heard
Pine Warbler  1     Heard
Eastern Towhee  2     Heard and seen
Chipping Sparrow  4     Heard and seen
Song Sparrow  1     Heard
Scarlet Tanager  1     Heard
Northern Cardinal  4     Heard and a couple seen
Red-winged Blackbird  4     Heard and a couple seen
Common Grackle  3     Heard and a couple seen
Brown-headed Cowbird  2     Heard
Baltimore Oriole  3     Heard and seen
House Finch  2     Seen
American Goldfinch  6     Heard and seen
House Sparrow  2

Considering the time and the fact many birds departed the night before (seen via radar) while relatively few came into the state from points south we were happy with our results. There will be more walks coming soon for both of us, so stayed tuned!


Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician