Birds, Birders & New Beginnings: A Walktober Adventure

“Walk. Observe. Connect: A Walktober Nature Adventure” attracts nine enthusiastic participants on October 10th

by Elanah Sherman, Avalonia Board Secretary and Chair of Education and Outreach and Nominating Committees 

 

 

One of Avalonia’s several Walktober events, this one was a collaboration between Avalonia, Connecticut Land Conservation Council (CLCC), and Otis Library. The template belongs to CLCC, whose Pathways to Nature initiative engages communities in environmental explorations.

 

Vanessa spots something in the Cedar Wood parking lot
Allison identifies a sound while Vanessa has eBird at the ready
The chimney swift tower

 

The program began at Cedar Wood Preserve in Norwich with a bird walk led by CLCC’s Community Conservation Coordinator Vanessa Daye, with ornithological reinforcement provided by Allison Black, a contracted Seabird and Marine Mammal Observer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. During the walk, Vanessa demonstrated eBird technology as she notated sightings of 19 species. (The Cedar Wood eBird page shows a total of about 100 species identified by birders over the past few years.)

 

Craning the neck is an occupational hazard!
An owl box, one of several built by Girl Scouts
Vanessa explains that the planting of shrubs and small trees along the wooded edge has created a tapered effect preferred by birds
Allison points out a Cooper’s Hawk

 

The quiet of the setting was punctuated by gasps of astonishment as Allison and Vaneesa pointed to one species after another, including a high-flying Cooper’s Hawk with its characteristic flap-and-glide as it gracefully sliced through the skies.

After the walk, participants reconvened at Otis Library for a pizza lunch provided by Otis and presentations by Vanessa and Allison on bird identification, habitat, and local birding hotspots. (This was also an opportunity for people to rest their necks, which had been positioned in a classic birder upward stretch for 90 minutes earlier!)

 

At the library, Vanessa shows how eBird works
Allison explains a mapping device

 

 

Many thanks to Otis Library’s Adult Programming Coordinator Kari Wall, who helped arrange the day, conducted a publicity campaign, and hosted the indoor portion of the program.

This is just the beginning of a collaboration that will continue in 2027 and beyond. Working together, the three groups are already making plans for a winter indoor workshop for youth that will focus on environmental justice. This will be followed by a spring birding program for the same youth.