Worm-eating Warblers & The Leather Man

I spent this weekend exploring the area of Middletown, which lies east of Route 9, also known as Maromas. It represents almost 38% of the city's land area but only 5% of its population. There is plenty of great habitat for birds and other wildlife here, including flood plain, streams, riparian corridors (including Hubbard Brook), reservoirs and wetlands. There is another notable feature of the landscape in Maromas; rocky hillsides. Worm-eating Warblers prefer this type of habitat and I found many of them while hiking through these woods. The bird in the top photo came out to let me know I was getting too close to its nest, so I moved along quickly.

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The Worm-eating Warbler is sometimes overlooked because it is not flashy like some of the other wood warblers. It has a buffy breast, along with black crown stripes, and a stripe through the eye. It's song is a buzzy trill, similar to a Chipping Sparrow, but is described by Peterson as being thinner, more rapid, and more insect-like.They are sometimes easier to hear than see and I've seen them skulking low in the undergrowth. I don't think the Discovery Channel will be contacting me to use this footage but it gives you an example of what they sound like. This particular bird seems to have a trill that is a little more metallic sounding than some of the other WEW's I heard this weekend.

I spent most of Saturday morning following the railroad tracks along the Connecticut River. I came across this Green Heron as I passed by a swamp filled with noisy frogs. Do you think the heron knows the frogs are there?

I counted 7 deer during my hike. This one stared at me for several minutes as I walked toward it. I wonder if it thought I was a train? My favorite deer sighting was when one leaped out of the wooded hillside and landed on the other side of the tracks. I didn't see the take-off or landing so all I saw was a deer floating silently through the air. It probably only took a second but it seemed to be suspended in time. Definitely a moment to remember.

Another surprise was finding this miniature cemetery. It was in the middle of the woods, set high on a hill overlooking the river. Most of the headstones were broken and the remainder of the graves were marked by rocks. What was a cemetery doing out in the middle of nowhere? I think one of the graves had a date from the 1700's but it was too worn to tell for sure. I felt like I was given a secret glimpse into the past.

On Sunday, I walked following the Mattabesset Trail to a blue and yellow trail that loops around some reservoirs. The trails can be tricky here, so I was reluctant to go too far. This is a photo of Reservoir #2 off of Brooks Road.

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About a mile into the trail I found an Eastern Wood-Pewee attending to a nest but it seemed to become aware of my presence so I stayed away from the nest until I left the area. I had a quick glimpse of a hummingbird, checking the flowers on a bush that was below me. I assume it was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, but you never know.

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I came across an interesting cave when I accidentally took the blue trail instead of the blue/yellow trail on my way back. Now I wish that I had taken a picture of it. Upon doing some research, I found out that the legendary Leather Man used to travel though this area. The Leather Man was known for traveling a circuit of 365 miles every 34 days through Connecticut and New York. He stayed in caves at night, including one that was in the Maromas portion of Middletown. This started before Lincoln was president and continued until 1889. I wonder if he had an interest in birdwatching? You can read more about the Leather Man here. It seems they still haven't figured out all the facts behind this legend. If you are from the area and interested to see the actual location of the cave, there is a hike on June 13th, which you can read about here on the Middlesex Land Trust website.

I came across a couple of bonus birds as I was heading down Aircraft Road back towards Route 9. First, I saw a Common Raven foraging on the ground along side the road. I also made a brief stop at the Cockaponsett Forest parking lot, which is on the same road, and saw a pair of Eastern Kingbirds (above) perching on posts near the field. It was a nice way to end my birding for the weekend.

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Other notable species seen or heard: Cedar Waxwings (lots), Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Baltimore Oriole, Common Yellowthroat, Blue-winged Warblers (several), Prairie Warblers, Yellow Warbler, Black and White Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Indigo Buntings, Eastern Towhee, Great-crested Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Red-winged Blackbird, Wood Thrush, Veery, Great Blue Heron, and Fish Crow. Total species about 50. I was also able to see 3 Peregrine Falcons through a spotting scope in a another part of town.