Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge

Lookout Point, Black Creek/Maquam Creek Trail, Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge, Swanton, VT.

Montreal-bound, I stopped at Missisquoi for a couple of hours.  I walked the whole Black Creek/Maquam Creek loop, which was almost completely silent except for peeping ospreys. A good meditation spot.

Old Railroad Passage Trail, Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge, Swanton, VT.

Then on to the trails off of Tabor Road, past the Visitor's Center. I spent about an hour on the Old Railroad Passage Trail. Also very quiet. At one point, a rusty blackbird flew overhead, vocalizing on the wing.  We rarely see the rusty anymore down south. It was a pleasure to hang out with this one for a moment. I recorded a few phrases, accented by leaves rustling in the breeze.

View of area around Marsh Trail, Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge, Swanton, VT

The other prominent singer was the eastern meadowlark, calling and singing in the adjacent fields. I recorded a sequence of meadowlark calls and a couple versions of meadowlark song. At the beginning of the third clip you can hear a fragment of an American bittern call from the marsh across the street.