Herrick's Cove Wildlife Festival

Herrick's Cove Wildlife Festival was on Sunday, Began with intrepid Don Clark leading a large group on a bird walk. Many migrants are returning, including Baltimore Oriole, Field Sparrow, Eastern Kingbird, Warbling Vireo - and plenty of very enthusiastic Yellow Warblers, looking resplendent in their spring attire. The boys were not much interested in my attempts to phish them closer; they were too busy with the early efforts to keep other males away from their territory, wherever that may eventually be - singing with enthusiasm and chasing one another.

The festival has many types of wildlife activities and displays for the family. Kent McFarland from Vermont Center for Ecostudies set up mist nets and did bird banding, although few birds cooperated by flying into the nets. The few that did provided visual aid to Kent's engaging explanations of the process of banding, as for example, this very handsome Gray Catbird ...



... although he/she appears to have some different opinions about the whole affair.



At Allen's Marsh, a pair of Virginia Rails were calling back and forth. One provided a brief view.



 Note: the Wildlife Festival has been held on the first Sunday in May for the last eleven years.

Good birding!