A Robin in Every Tree

February 3, 2012

For our first big outing, Shayne and I (Rhonda) decided to go for a sure thing--swans at my family's cranberry bogs. We couldn't wait to get going on our bird count, so Friday as soon as school was out, we grabbed our gear and headed east. First stop would be the Bass River Farm. Every day a family member has to drive to the farm to chase out the elegant but pesky Tundra Swans. (Cranberries are covered with water in the winter, and the swans feed by pulling up shallow vegetation and can destroy large patches of the bog.)

On the way up we rounded the corner at Harrisville Lake and Shayne gave a startling, excited exclamation something to the effect of "big blue bird!" We pulled over and got our first official bird, a Great Blue Heron, wading on the opposite shore.

At the Bass River Farm we totally struck-out. Not a single bird; no swans, no ducks, not a wing beat of any kins. Great start! On to Wading River.

At Wading River we thought we had stumbled upon a party. A family was digging around the drive with a metal detector, and at the gate we were greeted by a Weimaraner and her owner enjoying a romp. No ducks at the reservoir as a result. I had no key to get through the gate, so we hiked in toward the river, excited to get some serious water fowl. On the way, Shayne saw someone sitting in a tree and after a few minutes we confidently determined it was a pair of robins. "Oh boy! We drove all this way for a couple of robins?"

Closer to the river we identified a couple of chickadees, and when we got to the water across the way were Canada Geese. Still no one we couldn't have seen at home. On the way back to the gate we did hear a red winged blackbird. Then came the big excitement, a Bald Eagle made an appearance and flew right through. The nest isn't empty either, she's got a couple of eggs in there! We will be back in 35 days!

More robins! Robins and robins! Every time we saw someone we thought deserved a closer look, it was a robin. A robin in every tree. That was the theme of the day.

Here's the day one total: Blue Heron, Robin, Chickadee, Canada Goose, Red-winged Blackbird, Bald Eagle. 6. Whoopee.