Powell and Ooms Conservation Areas 5/19/20

Date: 5/19/20
Time: 6:30am - 12:15pm
Location: Wilson Powell Wildlife Sanctuary (6:30-8:00) and Ooms Conservation Area (8:15-12:15)
Weather: started off about 50F, warmed up to about 65F by midday. Clear skies and sunny.
Habitat: Powell Sanctuary was about 90% woodland, with a field and shrubby areas around a medium-sized pond. Most of my observations took place in the grassy/shrubby and pond-side area. Ooms Conservation Area had about 180 acres of rolling hills surrounding a large pond. Along the pond and cutting up the fields were hedge rows, with some patches of young forest.

When I arrived at the Powell Sanctuary, I was greeted by a dawn chorus of warbler, orioles, goldfinches, catbirds, and other songbirds. This died down after about an hour, and at 8:00am a landscaping crew began working and scared away any remaining birds. I ventured into the woods a little bit, which is where I spotted the eastern wood-pewee and wood thrush, but nothing else of significance. Then I went to Ooms to give myself another chance of seeing grassland birds. The landscape of Ooms was a large pond in the valley of pastoral grassland hills. In the expanse of fields on these hills a few dozen bobolinks created a spectacular aerial display, as the males chased females and caught insects. For the entirety of my time there as well, a bald eagle soared overhead, coming in and out of view as it surveyed the miles of land beneath it. Besides these, there were also eastern kingbirds, tree swallows, yellow warblers, and song sparrows. The open areas and good lighting allowed me to take some very nice pictures of the birds I encountered.

Though not bird-related, I also saw a muskrat, lots of painted turtles, and signs of a beaver all around the pond (including its lodge which was right next to the path along the shore). Today was the second day in a row I've encountered a beaver lodge.

Publicado el 19 de mayo de 2020 a las 10:13 PM por natalya-h