Urban Birding
Thursday I went for a walk following the miraculous spotting of a female snowy owl on campus. Peers have identified her as a juvinile female and she has been seen multiple times on roofs on campus. The temperature was about 65˚F, overcast, and for a small portion of my walk it drizzled. It felt hot and very humid out. It was around 4-6pm at night and I walked from central campus, to the redstone quarry, sat for a while, then walked around to the UVM RSENR research building and around the back fields before returning to campus from the golf course to redstone. Redstone quarry is surrounded by many houses, planted plants, shrubs, hedges, and invasives. Many birds were hiding in the bushes. The golf course is quieter and more open with only a few birds singing on the edges. Along the highway were grasses and marshes with many birds singing in them. Even in the urban areas there are many great birds to see. For a short while now I am able to hear the White-throated sparrow and I am very grateful they are back. Soon both the sparrow and the snowies will move northward back to their cooler alpine and tundra habitats for the summer.
