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
