By Rémy Poulin
A total of 11 individuals participated in the second ever MVFN Spring Bird Walk at the Reserve. While last year was cold and windy but dry, this morning turned out to be the opposite: sunny and warm but, with all the rain lately, the trail was wet and muddy at times. Rubber boots were a great idea.
Generally, it was a quiet day bird-wise but, as a group, we still managed to tally a reasonable 43 species including six different types of warblers. A pair of Eastern Bluebirds occupying a nest box in the Butterfly Meadow was a highlight as were some decent views of a perched Broad-winged Hawk. At one point, we all heard a robin that appeared, as Peterson describes, to have taken some voice lessons. Sure enough, it turned out to be a beautiful male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a first-of-the-year for all.
It wasn’t just about birds. While picking our way around one of the many muddy puddles, someone noticed a frog lurking within. It was a Wood Frog, a species many of us have heard calling in the past, but this was our first visual sighting.
All in all, this was a great way to spend a beautiful spring morning in Lanark County. Thank you to all the participants for making this outing a success.
Final Tally – Perth Wildlife Reserve – 6 May 2023
| Species | Count | Species | Count | |||
| 1 | Canada Goose | 15 | 23 | Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 2 | |
| 2 | Wood Duck | 2 | 24 | White-breasted Nuthatch | 1 | |
| 3 | Mallard | 2 | 25 | House Wren | 1 | |
| 4 | Hooded Merganser | 1 | 26 | European Starling | 2 | |
| 5 | Common Merganser | 1 | 27 | Eastern Bluebird | 2 | |
| 6 | Ruffed Grouse | 1 | 28 | American Robin | 8 | |
| 7 | Pied-billed Grebe | 1 | 29 | Purple Finch | 2 | |
| 8 | Mourning Dove | 3 | 30 | American Goldfinch | 7 | |
| 9 | Turkey Vulture | 1 | 31 | Chipping Sparrow | 1 | |
| 10 | Northern Harrier | 1 | 32 | Song Sparrow | 10 | |
| 11 | Cooper’s Hawk | 1 | 33 | Swamp Sparrow | 6 | |
| 12 | Broad-winged Hawk | 1 | 34 | Red-winged Blackbird | 25 | |
| 13 | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | 1 | 35 | Brown-headed Cowbird | 2 | |
| 14 | Downy Woodpecker | 2 | 36 | Common Grackle | 8 | |
| 15 | Hairy Woodpecker | 1 | 37 | Northern Waterthrush | 4 | |
| 16 | Pileated Woodpecker | 2 | 38 | Black-and-white Warbler | 2 | |
| 17 | Northern Flicker | 2 | 39 | Yellow Warbler | 1 | |
| 18 | Eastern Phoebe | 1 | 40 | Pine Warbler | 1 | |
| 19 | Blue Jay | 4 | 41 | Yellow-rumped Warbler | 2 | |
| 20 | American Crow | 2 | 42 | Black-throated Green Warbler | 1 | |
| 21 | Black-capped Chickadee | 6 | 43 | Rose-breasted Grosbeak | 1 | |
| 22 | Tree Swallow | 8 |
