Kyle Wilmarth wrote in a January 2019 NHBird email: “I’ve come across a very interesting concept of patch birding called the ‘2019 5MR Challenge’. It is pretty self-explanatory -— keeping track of the birds you see within a 5-mile radius from where you live. It encourages local birding, discovering new places and hotspots, and promotes environmental-friendly methods of birding. . . . 5MR birding provides an opportunity for you to really get to know your local birds, when and where to expect them, what is unusual, and at the same time reduce your carbon footprint a bit.”
Except for a trip to Newbury, VT to an event I was invited to photograph, I have been practicing this the last two weeks. The three spots I have birded and photographed are well within a 5-mile radius from my house. The farthest away is about 4 miles by car.
I would like to start by acknowledging and thanking George Clark for his help in confirming my ID of one bird and correcting my IDs of two others that appear here.
Hayes Farm Park and King Bird Sanctuary
This spot is very beautiful when the crabapple trees are in bloom, as they have been the last week. It is a small area just to the northwest of the Etna Library. Just park at the library and head uphill on the obvious path. After visiting the King Bird Sanctuary you can walk down into the black ash swamp that is the Trescott Ridge Wetlands Area.
A very colorful Indigo Bunting has been in the King Bird Sanctuary the last two times I have visited.
I also found a Ruby-throated Hummingbird my last visit.
In the orchard that you enter right at the beginning of your walk, a Black-capped Chickadee caught and ate a small caterpillar.
Up top, where lupines will be blooming soon, are Tree Swallows.
Chestnut-side Warblers seem to love this spot.
There are also resident Common Yellowthroats.
I recently found a striking Magnolia Warbler there.
Here are three other species I found there recently.
This spot is worth visiting very soon before the crabapple trees lose their petals.
Rail Trail at Ice House Road in Lebanon
This is certainly a favorite spot in spring. Over the years I have photographed many bird species there. And once I got some photos of Snapping Turtles mating. Two resident warbler species, that are very much in evidence, are the American Redstart and the Yellow Warbler. Here are some recent photos of the American Redstarts.
Yellow Warblers seem to be everywhere at this spot. This one appears to have only one leg. 🙂
Here is a somewhat lengthy slide show of this beautiful species.
Yellow-rumped Warblers are much in evidence in early spring. One day I estimated there were three dozen feeding along the Mascoma River, just a short walk west of the parking area.
I found several Magnolia Warblers along this section of the rail trail recently. Here are two.
I even found a Tennessee Warbler there recently.
Here is a female Common Yellowthroat lurking in the brush.
Here are two Chestnut-sided Warblers photographed recently along this short stretch of the rail trial.
Three other warbler species I photographed along the rail trail at Ice House Road recently follow.
Recently, my most exciting find was the spectacular Canada Warbler, a species I photographed there once before.
I do not search for warbler nests, but I have stumbled across three along the rail trail recently — two Yellow Warbler and one American Redstart.
There are, of course, other species present. They range from the colorful Rose-breasted Grosbeak …
… and Baltimore Orioles that definitely nest here …
… to common species like the American Robin …
… and an American Goldfinch.
Less-colorful species can also be found — both uncommon and common. Here is an uncommon Swainson’s Thrush from a few days ago.
Warbling Vireos can be frequently seen and heard along the rail trail.
Here is a Red-eyed Vireo.
I have only been able to photograph a Blue-headed Vireo along the rail trail once, earlier this month.
One can almost always hear or see a Least Flycatcher.
A common sparrow, whose song I can always recognize, is the Song Sparrow.
Gray Catbirds are also common. One here is gathering nest material.
A common species, but one I have never before seen on the rail trail, ran directly at me and my tripod and then, getting too close for comfort, launched. The Turkey was actually fleeing a jogger, who told me he was not chasing the turkey when he passed me.
Etna Yard
Here are a few birds I recently photographed in my yard.
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks seem to have made my yard their home for the summer.
Tufted Titmouse is a year-long resident species in our yard. Here are two photos from this week.
We went for several months this winter without seeing a Blue Jay. They seemed to have departed the region. But they are back and ravaging the suet.
An Indigo Bunting made a brief appearance in our yard. Some years we have had one all summer, but I only saw this bird once.
A bird that has given me ID challenges several time came by. What is it?
It is a female Black-throated Blue Warbler.
Since you made it this far, I will reward you with one photo and a link to many more photos of cute fox kits whose den I found not too far from my back yard. You can CLICK HERE or click the photo below to see photo of four very cute fox kits.
