March 17, 2016
I conducted my birding excursion on March 17, 2016 at North Beach and Lone Rock Point in Burlington, Vermont. The temperature at the time of departure, which was around 12:45 p.m., was 55 degrees and the weather was partly cloudy with a slight breeze.
I began recording bird sightings at the entrance to the Lake Champlain Waterfront Park. Upon entry to the park, I could hear the distinct songs of American Crows and Northern Cardinals in the distance. After walking for about a minute, about 6 crows were visually identified flying from tree to tree in a small patch of trees. Further down the bike path on the way to North Beach, I heard the cooing of the Mourning Dove and then spotted approximately 3 of them perched in a nearby tree. The doves were identified based off of the sound of their song and their long, tapered tail. Throughout the duration of this excursion, both Herring and Ring-billed Gulls were seen and heard flying above me and perching along the shore. Too many individuals were spotted to keep an accurate record of.
By the time I reached North Beach, the weather had darkened slightly. The temperature cooled and a few drops of rain began to fall. The wind additionally began to blow heavily and I believe this negatively impacted the quantity of birds that were visualized after this point. A male Northern Cardinal was spotted in the Lakeview Cemetery that is adjacent to the bike path. The bird landed on the ground as I passed but quickly fled. As I walked along the beach, I saw about 7 Mallards dabbling in the cattail marsh at the end of North Beach. There were 5 males and 2 females. In the swamp adjacent to the cattail marsh, another American Crow was seen and heard, cawing rather harshly while flying alone from tree to tree.
At Lone Rock Point, I continued to see various Gulls flying overhead of me and I could hear multiple songbirds in the distance. When I finally left Lone Rock Point, I saw Black-capped Chickadees and House Sparrows frolicking around in the low shrubbery and foraging on the ground. The last identification I made was a flock of Canada Geese flying overhead of me as I left. They were identified because of their sound and distinct flight formation.
