Hartford Audubon Society, Inc.

Station 43 Wetland Birds Trip Report - June 6, 2026

On June 6th, seven birders gathered at Station 43 in South Windsor for a bird walk focusing on wetland nesting species. Weather was cool, overcast and slightly breezy, creating little to no mosquito activity.

The main focus of the trip was positioned around the Station 43 marsh itself where we discovered nesting Red-winged Blackbirds, singing Swamp Sparrows and Marsh Wrens, and the ever-present Willow Flycatcher. Other wetland denizens included Wood Ducks and a trio of Green Heron.

Our most exciting encounter of the morning was a close-up view of a Virginia Rail standing on a log preening itself.

Birdwatchers also spotted three Bald Eagles over the Connecticut River, a pair of Eastern Kingbirds, and a Baltimore Oriole building a nest right above the observation platform.

The trip concluded with a total of 50 bird species.

Respectively submitted,
Paul Cianfaglione, trip leader

Trip Report for Bird Walk at Bloomfield Reservoir #3 - Saturday, June 6, 2026 -

We had 16 participants and the weather was ideal with sunshine, light breeze and temperatures in the 70’s. Altogether we saw or heard 37 species. Highlights included seeing lots of Bobolinks, a target bird for this walk, several Willow Flycatchers who posed nicely, a dramatic flyby of a Pileated Woodpecker who flew low over the road right in front of us, several good looks at Common Yellowthroat including a female and great looks at a Prairie Warbler in the power cut at the end of the road. We also saw two active Great Blue Heron nests, one with a chick visible. Here is the list of all the birds seen, quite a few with good looks in the scope by many participants.

10 Mallard
2 Mourning Dove
1 Chimney Swift
1 Green Heron (several times - possibly 2)
6 Great Blue Heron
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
1 Pileated Woodpecker
2 Northern Flicker
1 Eastern Wood-Pewee
10 Willow Flycatcher
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Great-crested Flycatcher (heard)
2 Eastern Warbling Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo (heard)
1 Blue Jay
1 American Crow
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Tufted Titmouse
6 Tree Swallow
15 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
1 Barn Swallow
2 White-breasted Nuthatch
4 European Starling
2 Gray Catbird
6 American Robin
4 Cedar Waxwing
2 American Goldfinch
1 Chipping Sparrow
3 Song Sparrow
25 Bobolink
1 Baltimore Oriole
8 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Common Grackle
6 Common Yellowthroat
4 Northern Yellow Warbler
1 Prairie Warbler
2 Northern cardinal

submitted by Chris Fisher, Trip Leader

Cedar Hill Cemetery bird walk trip report - May 20, 2026

On May 20th, twelve birders gathered at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford for a three-hour leisurely bird walk in search of migrant warblers, vireos, thrushes and flycatchers. Temperatures were abnormally warm for early morning, to such a degree that butterfly movement was as noticeable as the birds!

We focused our search for birdlife around the cemetery’s first pond, and the fields and woodlands just beyond it.

Highlights of our trip included nice views of Orchard Oriole, Blackpoll and Magnolia Warbler, as well as brief looks at Wood and Swainson’s Thrush.

Heard but not seen were Northern Waterthrush, Canada and Cape May Warblers.

We ended our trip with close up observations of a pair of Red-eyed Vireo and the unexpected discovery of a Warbling Vireo on its newly constructed nest.

The trip concluded with a total of 50 bird species.

Respectively submitted,
Paul Cianfaglione, trip leader

Penwood State Park Bird Walk Trip Report - May 16, 2026

On May 16th, seven birders gathered at Penwood State Park in Bloomfield for a three-hour leisurely bird walk in search of migrant warblers, vireos, thrushes and flycatchers. It was a picture-perfect day with temperatures topping out in the mid-sixties with very light winds.

Our trip started in the parking lot, meandering two-miles down a paved path to a picnic area, and then returning back.

Despite the challenges associated with birding in forests with very tall trees, our group saw or heard 17 species of wood warblers, including multiple singing Tennessee Warblers. We also had great looks at Wood Thrush and a very cooperative Swainson’s Thrush. A Great Crested Flycatcher foraging at eye-level provided another special moment.

The trip concluded with a total of 60 bird species.

Respectively submitted,
Paul Cianfaglione, trip leader

May 17, 2026 HAS Trip Report - Addison Bog and Woodlands

9 people participated in the HAS Bird Walk at Addison Bog and Woodlands with most birders new to this location. It was a beautiful sunny morning, 65 deg F warming to 75 deg F, with light winds. The walk strolled by salmon brook, obtained views of power line cuts, meandered through the woods on paved path and side trails. It was a good day identifying 50 species of birds, 37 by sight and an additional 13 by ear. Excellent views were enjoyed of the Northern Yellow Warblers, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Eastern Bluebirds, Baltimore Orioles, Red-winged Blackbirds, American Goldfinches, Eastern Wood-Peewee, Veery, Gray Catbirds, Common Raven, Blue Jays, Turkey Vultures, American Crow, Red-eyed Vireos, and a circling flyover by Wood Ducks among many other birds seen.

Bird species seen:
3 Wood Duck
2 Mourning Dove
3 Chimney Swift
2 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
2 Turkey Vulture
2 Red-shouldered Hawks
2 Red-Tailed Hawks
3 Red-bellied Woodpeckers
3 Downy Woodpecker
2 Hairy Woodpeckers
1 Eastern Wood-Peewee
4 Great Crested Flycatcher
3 Red-eyed Vireo
4 Blue Jay
1 American Crow
1 Common Raven
2 Black-capped Chickadee
4 Tufted Titmouse
1 Tree Swallow
2 White-breasted Nuthatch
3 European Starling
5 Gray Catbird
1 Northern Mockingbird
6 Eastern Bluebird
1 Veery
2 American Robin
3 Cedar Waxwing
3 American Goldfinch
1 Song Sparrow
4 Baltimore Oriole
2 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
1 Common Grackle
3 Common Yellowthroat
1 American Redstart
6 Northern Yellow Warbler
3 Northern Cardinal

Birds species heard but not seen:
2 Canada Goose
1 Eastern Warbling Vireo
2 Brown Creeper
1 Carolina Wren
2 Wood Thrush
2 Eastern Towhee
1 Ovenbird
1 Magnolia Warbler
1 Bay-breasted Warbler
1 Blackpoll
2 Pine Warbler
2 Prairie Warbler
1 Black-throated Green Warbler

Happy Birding,

Laura and Bob Bengtson
Glastonbury

Machimoodus State Park Field Trip - 5/10/2026

Our field trip to Machimoodus State Park on Mother's Day attracted 10 participants. We set a new record of 59 species (we added 4 more to the enclosed list). Highlight of the day: 3 Blue-winged Warblers in a skirmish swarmed around us just a few feet away, and kept at it for several minutes.

Machimoodus State Park, Moodus US-CT 41.50258, -72.47731
May 10, 2026
7:33 AM
Traveling
1.72 miles
182 Minutes
Comments: 58 degrees, overcast

1 Mallard
1 Common Merganser
3 Mourning Dove
2 Chimney Swift
2 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Osprey
1 Red-tailed Hawk
3 Red-bellied Woodpecker
1 Downy Woodpecker
1 Northern Flicker
1 Great Crested Flycatcher
2 Eastern Kingbird
1 Yellow-throated Vireo
3 Eastern Warbling Vireo
3 Red-eyed Vireo
7 Blue Jay
2 American Crow
1 Common Raven
3 Black-capped Chickadee
2 Tufted Titmouse
6 Tree Swallow
4 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 Northern House Wren
4 Gray Catbird
4 Eastern Bluebird
5 American Robin
11 Cedar Waxwing
2 House Finch
3 American Goldfinch
10 Chipping Sparrow
2 Field Sparrow
1 Song Sparrow
1 Eastern Towhee
2 Orchard Oriole
2 Baltimore Oriole
24 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
12 Common Grackle
1 Ovenbird
1 Louisiana Waterthrush
5 Blue-winged Warbler
2 Black-and-white Warbler
1 Nashville Warbler
2 Common Yellowthroat
2 American Redstart
1 Northern Parula
6 Northern Yellow Warbler
1 Pine Warbler
1 Prairie Warbler
4 Northern Cardinal
3 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
2 Indigo Bunting

Number of Taxa: 55

Rob Mirer

Manchester Laurel Marsh bird walk trip report 5/13/2026

Under light rain three of us had a fun time studying bird behavior. Ended up with 40 species including a Black-Billed cuckoo, four Least sandpipers, a Great Egret and a number of singing Yellow Warblers and Orioles.

Also a Beautiful patch of Spanish Blue Bells.

Maggie Peretto
Manchester, CT

At tonights Annual Banquet, the membership of The Hartford Audubon Society elected its Board of Directors for the 26/27 year. We Welcome Erin Mahoney and Bill Kelly as they join the leadership team. The slate of officers is as follows:

Chris Wilcox - President
Audrey Staropoli - Vice President
Donna Summers - Treasurer
Lisa Lukawicz - Secretary
Martin Kaehrle - Board Member
Vicky Margiott - Board Member
Doug Murray - Board Member
Erin Mahoney - Board Member
Bill Kelly - Board Member
Al Gatti - Past President Ex-Officio

Happy Mother's Day!

Being a mom is hard work and this female black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) has a visible brood spot from incubating her eggs 💕

To facilitate incubation, the female loses a patch of feathers on her breast, called a brood patch. When she sits on the nest, her feathers part and the bare skin of her brood patch presses upon the eggs. Even though the skin-on-egg contact increases the heat transfer between her body and the eggs, she still must incubate them for approximately 12 days before they hatch. (from various sources)

Phoo by Alison Wilcox