Trailblazers BSES Birding Club for Grades 3-5, Spring 2023

The spring session of the Trailblazers BSES Birding Club was a great success! This spring season, the club enjoyed many trips to the BSES Nature Trail and Peanut Pond, all the while observing some amazing birds!

The club season began in April with some of our straggling winter visitors like Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, and Hermit Thrush. As the season progressed, these birds departed from the trail and went north to their breeding grounds! We also enjoyed great views of our year-round residents like Carolina Chickadee, Pileated Woodpecker, and Eastern Towhee as well.

These winter visitors were then replaced by our breeding birds; species that were arriving from the south during migration to nest on our campus. We were able to see birds like House Wren, Gray Catbird, Eastern Kingbird, and Common Yellowthroat; all of which setting up shop as they were constructing their nests!

Speaking of nesting birds, BSES recently received a generous donation of three bluebird boxes! This spring, all three boxes were occupied by Eastern Bluebirds. At the beginning of our season, we were able to observe these Eastern Bluebirds as they were building their nests. A few weeks later, we were able to see the eggs. Not long after that, the eggs hatched! With each passing week, we got to observe the life cycle of the Eastern Bluebird right before our very eyes. The babies should be ready to fledge any day now!

In addition to our winter visitors and nesting residents, the club was also treated to some very exciting migrating birds as well! Our nature trail is a valuable pit stop for warblers as they travel from their wintering grounds in Central and South America and head north to their breeding grounds in the northern United States and Canada. One particular afternoon, we ran into a great flock of birds that had a Blue-winged Warbler within it!

This observation represents the sixth all-time record of Blue-winged Warbler for the BSES Nature Trail, and it was a first-ever observation for Trailblazers BSES Birding Club! In addition to the Blue-winged Warbler, we also had great looks at a male Black-throated Blue Warbler and a rather handsome male American Redstart (which looks like a Flyers fan if you ask me!)

At the end of this club season, Trailblazers BSES Birding Club & Nature Club have observed a total of 55 species for 2023. We are looking forward to an amazing summer with our Trailblazers Summer Programs! Thank you to Trailblazers families for their continued support. Also, thank you to Ethan, our Trailblazers GVHS Guide, who did a wonderful job this session spotting birds for the students to enjoy! His photography is included in this post, and please check out his awesome website: www.bearybirding.com