Chapter Newsletter - The Harbinger
Herricks Cove Wildlife Festival - 5 May 2024
The 22nd festival! The planning committee has been hard at work to make this amazing event happen again this year. See the festival web page for updates.
Vermont Raptors - 12 March 2024 at 2 pm
AMAS is a co-sponsor of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) program by Mike Clough of the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum. Mike will bring rehabilitated and non-releasable live hawks, owls, and falcons that serve as educational ambassadors. We will learn about the life history of each species and the roles these raptors play in maintaining ecological balance. Mike is an engaging and delightful speaker well known to many from his previous talks. There is always something new to learn from Mike.
Registration is required and there is an $8 fee for OLLI programs. You can register at the link below and see descriptions of the other OLLI programs in Springfield:
https://learn.uvm.edu/osher-lifelong-learning/statewide/#springfield
All Springfield OLLI programs start at 2 pm at the Nolin-Murray Center, 40 Pleasant St., Springfield, VT.
Spring Bird Walks
AMAS is planning the following Saturday bird walks. All trips are free and open to the public. Novice birders are always welcome. The meeting time for each walk will be 7 am. Rain date will be the following day (Sunday).
May 11, 2024: Lake Runnemede/Paradise Park, Windsor, VT
Lake Runnemede is the eBird Top Hotspot for Windsor County with 218 birds reported. The lake attracts many waterfowl and the surrounding vegetation attracts songbirds. This bird walk is timed to catch early spring migration, so we will be hoping to see newly arrived warblers. If time allows, we will also walk in Paradise Park to check for Louisiana Waterthrush and Blackburnian Warblers.
Latest bird sightings can be found at https://ebird.org/hotspot/L752029
We will meet on Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 7 am at the entrance (Eddies Place) on Route 5 (map below). There is limited parking along Route 5 and additional parking at Price Chopper. Points of Contact: Marianne and Michael Walsh: (mwalsh@vermontel.net)
May 18, 2024 Ashuelot River Trail, Keene, NH
New for AMAS this year is a bird walk on the Ashuelot River Trail in Keene, NH. The trail is mostly shaded, flat and straight.
We will meet on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 7 am at the end of Krif Rd at the junction with Krif Court where there is a pull-off parking area (42.9147, -72.2857) just before the gate to the Keene State Athletic Complex. We will head south on the trail through the floodplain of the Ashuelot River. Point of Contact is Marie Caduto at maleca333@ymail.com
If anyone wants to carpool, please notify Marie Caduto
Park and Ride locations and times would be:
I-91 Exit 7 at the corner of Routes 5 and 11., Springfield, VT at 6:10 am
I-91 Exit 5 at 1387 Westminster Heights Rd, Putney, VT at 6:30 am
June 1, 2024 Windsor Grasslands Wildlife Management Area
The Windsor Grasslands WMA is a birding hotspot that offers public access to habitat managed for grassland birds. No other publicly accessible site in the local Connecticut River valley offers the opportunity to see Blue-winged Warblers, Bobolink, Savannah Sparrows, Eastern Towhees, Black-billed Cuckoo, and many other birds in one area.
The latest bird sightings and a map showing the parking area can be found at: https://ebird.org/vt/hotspot/L725081
We will meet on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at 7 am at the small parking lot on the corner of Marton Rd. and State Farm Rd.
Driving Directions: At the Main Street (US Route 5) and State Street traffic light go west on State Street to the intersection with County Road. Here, continue straight onto Hunt Road and drive 2.2 miles to intersection with Marton Road. Turn right onto Marton Road and drive 1.2 miles to the hilltop overlooking large open fields to the east. Continue until the parking lot next to a red pump house at State Farm Rd.
Point of Contact is Ken Cox (kencox5@gmail.com)
June 15, 2024: Runway Trail, North Springfield, VT
We will walk the trail along the east side of the Hartness State Airport in Springfield, VT. The trail features Pine Warblers in the parking area and Prairie Warblers a short distance down the trail. Blue-winged Warblers have also been found in recent years.
We will meet on Saturday, June 15, 2024 at 7 am at the Maple Street parking lot on the west side of the North Springfield Dam. Click here below for map showing the parking lot. From Rt. 106, turn onto Maple Street across from the North Springfield Citgo. The parking lot will be on your right. The trail is fairly flat. We will walk in and out the same trail so participants can turn around at any time.
Here's a link to the eBird trip report for our last walk on this trail in 2022 -
https://ebird.org/checklist/S110016790
Points of Contact are Marianne and Michael Walsh: (mwalsh@vermontel.net)