Hammonasset State Park Field Trip Report
On Saturday, March 14th, 37 (!) birders got together at this wonderful local park for a morning of birding. The remarkable turnout can be attributed to the long, cold winter we had and the resulting cancellation of several of our outdoor activities in February. Our large and enthusiastic group was rewarded as we observed a nice variety of birds in the park on what was a cool and windy day. We started at the Meigs Point jetty and walked a portion of the Moraine Trail. From those vantage points we saw lots of waterfowl, including Common and Red-throated Loon, Horned Grebe, Surf and Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Brant and Red-breasted Merganser. We then left the coast and walked through the nature center parking lot (seeing a Killdeer and a first-of-the-year Tree Swallow along the way) to the Cedar Island trail. From the end of the trail, we saw a hardy American Oystercatcher and a Green-winged Teal. The walk back to the lot featured views of a Golden-crowned Kinglet and a Northern Flicker. We then went to the west side of the park where we saw perhaps the best bird of the day: a beautiful male Blue-winged Teal feeding in a shallow pool. We walked through a portion of the campgrounds where we saw a few Yellow-rumped Warbler and a few other species. We observed 44 species on this trip, a respectable total for a birding excursion this time of year. There were plenty of signs of spring around us (even though it was still quite cold) that helped us realize that spring was not far away and that we have many springtime arrivals to look forward to. Let the birding begin!
Chris Loscalzo