Bennington Lake Today

There were two Cassin's vireos at Bennington Lake this morning on our walk.  Other migrants included a Wilson's warbler, an orange-crowned warbler, a warbling vireo, two Lincoln's sparrows and three yellow-rumped warblers.  Two osprey circled the lake and a belted kingfisher patrolled the shoreline.  There were canada geese, mallards, green-winged teal, northern pintails, ring-billed gulls and a pied-billed grebe on the water.  Downy woodpeckers, black-capped chickadees and Bewick's wrens were plentiful, and a spotted towhee popped up along the trail. Now that the sunflower seeds are ripe, house finches and goldfinches were abundant.  White-crowned sparrow numbers were up (25). The total number of species seen is dropping (36 today) with the change in the season. The change in the season can also be seen in the trees and shrubs.  They are dry and stressed now, but soon the rains will come, their leaves will fall, and winter will arrive – bringing a new season of birds to the lake.  Ginger