Birds, Botany, and Beans - South Shore Bird Club Goes to Southern New Hampshire

 

Birds, Botany, and Beans - South Shore Bird Club Goes to Southern New Hampshire

Written by Noah Henkenius

Day 1, Saturday June 22nd 2024: We started our adventure at Pitcher Mountain in Stoddard, NH. The misty and windy weather somewhat hindered bird activity and didn’t allow for great visibility at the summit, but we were still able to enjoy the plant life in the area and see many species which are absent from coastal Massachusetts.

 

Link to eBird checklist

 

Fire tower at Pitcher Mountain

After Pitcher Mountain we made a quick stop at the Gilsum Rock Swap which not only had interesting rocks and tasty pastries, but also produced our first singing Purple Finch of the trip. The next stop was to Distant Hill Gardens and Nature Trail where the caretaker of the property Michael Nerrie gave us a tour. Michael’s knowledge of the natural history of the property was impressive and we got to learn about how this preserve is giving back to the community. On top of having a storywalk, outdoor classroom, and playspace for kids, development of 2 miles of wheelchair and stroller accessible trails were recently completed. Future plans include the construction of a pavilion in the parking area that can serve as a community gathering space. Despite the heavy rain we encountered for most of the walk, this was one of the highlights of the trip as it was a pleasure to learn about the natural history of the property and hear of all the ways this nature preserve is giving back to the community. We highly advise members of our club to check out their website to support the excellent work that is happening at Distant Hill Gardens.

 

Link to eBird checklist

 

 

One of the accessible trails at Distant Hill Gardens

Our next stop was to “Airport Road” along the Keene Dillant-Hopkins Airport. Despite just being an access road for the local water treatment plant, this hotspot has many of the attributes and amenities that one would expect to find at a nature preserve maintained by a land trust. There is adequate space along the side of the road for cars to safely pull off and park and there are several picnic benches with scenic views of distant mountains along the road. In terms of birding, this was the most diverse hotspot we visited during the entire trip. One of the unique aspects of this place is that it provides an opportunity to simultaneously get significant grassland and marsh dwelling species such as Eastern Meadowlarks, Marsh Wrens, Virginia Rail, etc. The highlights of this stop included: Brown Thrasher, Eastern Meadowlark, Marsh Wren, Virginia Rail, Fish Crow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that we observed visiting a nesting hole and feeding young.

 

Link to eBird checklist

 

Picnic table with scenic view of marsh and distant mountains at "Airport Road"

After visiting “Airport Road” it was later in the afternoon. We made stops at the Chesterfield Gorge Natural Area (eBird checklist) and Hinsdale Setback (eBird checklist). We mostly observed the expected species at each of these stops and appreciated the beautiful scenery of Southern New Hampshire.

 

Day 2, Sunday June 23rd, 2024: We started the second day off by visiting the Loveren’s Mill Preserve in Antrim, New Hampshire. This preserve which is managed by The Nature Conservancy is a boreal twist on an Atlantic White Cedar Swamp. This location is especially unique as it is at a higher elevation and is one of the northwestern most Atlantic White Cedar Swamps in New Hampshire. Highlights of this preserve included a singing Nashville Warbler, at least 8 singing Canada Warblers, a vocalizing Sharp-shinned Hawk, and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (which is a hotspot first according to eBird).

 

Link to eBird checklist

 

Atlantic White Cedar Swamp at Lovern's Mill Preserve

After Lovern’s Mill we stopped for a quick snack at the Harris Center for Conservation Education to check out Nate’s work. We saw a Purple Finch pair in a tree and gritting in the dirt parking lot. Afterwards we went for a short walk at the Crotched Mountain Accessible Trails (mostly observed expected species for a northern hardwood forest). Our final stop was to Pack Monadnock. While the weather had been cloudy for most of the trip, things started to clear up enough to get a little bit of a view of some of the mountains nearby.

 

Link to eBird checklist

 

View from the hawkwatching platform at Pack Monadnock

Total Species: 87

Canada Goose: 28

Wood Duck: 1

Wild Turkey: 1

Mourning Dove: 7

Chimney Swift:11

Ruby-throated Hummingbird: 1

Virginia Rail: 4

Killdeer: 1

Green Heron: 1

Turkey Vulture: 3

Osprey: 1

Sharp-shinned Hawk: 1

Bald Eagle: 1

Red-tailed Hawk: 2

Belted Kingfisher: 1

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 3

Downy Woodpecker: 10

Hairy Woodpecker: 5

Pileated Woodpecker: 2

Northern Flicker: 3

Eastern Wood-Pewee: 3

Alder Flycatcher: 1

Least Flycatcher: 2

Eastern Phoebe: 3

Great Crested Flycatcher: 1

Eastern Kingbird: 1

Blue-headed Vireo: 12

Warbling Vireo: 3

Red-eyed Vireo: 31

Blue Jay: 15

American Crow: 4

Fish Crow: 1

Common Raven: 2

Black-capped Chickadee: 14

Tufted Titmouse: 1

Tree Swallow: 24

Northern Rough-winged Swallow: 4

Barn Swallow: 2

Golden-crowned Kinglet: 2

White-breasted Nuthatch: 2

Red-breasted Nuthatch: 5

Brown Creeper: 2

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher: 2

House Wren: 2

Winter Wren: 1

Marsh Wren: 8

European Starling: 80

Gray Catbird: 24

Brown Thrasher: 1

Veery: 15

Hermit Thrush: 8

Wood Thrush: 3

American Robin: 22

Cedar Waxwing: 27

House Finch: 3

Purple Finch: 3

American Goldfinch: 18

Chipping Sparrow: 9

Dark-eyed Junco: 3

Savannah Sparrow: 2

Song Sparrow: 15

Swamp Sparrow: 18

Eastern Towhee: 2

Bobolink: 3

Eastern Meadowlark: 2

Baltimore Oriole: 2

Red-winged Blackbird: 23

Brown-headed Cowbird: 1

Common Grackle: 11

Ovenbird: 20

Louisiana Waterthrush: 1

Black-and-white Warbler: 3

Nashville Warbler: 1

Common Yellowthroat: 21

American Redstart: 4

Blackburnian Warbler: 20

Yellow Warbler: 13

Chestnut-sided Warbler: 5

Black-throated Blue Warbler: 2

Pine Warbler: 1

Yellow-rumped Warbler: 6

Black-throated Green Warbler: 6

Canada Warbler: 8

Scarlet Tanager: 1

Northern Cardinal: 3

Rose-breasted Grosbeak: 4

Indigo Bunting: 3

 

Link to eBird Trip Report