By Tom Estill

Tom spends almost every day walking in the woods to see what nature is providing. He documents everything he sees or hears. Including thinking he seeing a coyote a long ways away and tries to call it closer only to have a red fox come running at him full tilt.

Here is his winter report.

The first day of winter, Dec. 21st, found the snow cover on the forest floor mostly gone due to a spell of record high temperatures. The snow covering both Rocky and Muddy Ponds was gone exposing a thick layer of ice covering those ponds. The forest had become very quiet with only one bird, a pileated woodpecker, being seen on a hike I took in the forest on Dec. 22nd. But, as I was getting back into my car to leave the park, I heard crows flying overhead and looked up in amazement to see the largest flock of crows I had ever seen in my life. They just kept coming, and coming, and coming for what seemed like forever.

On the last day of Dec., cold temperatures had returned with some small streams still having flowing water, while rumbling sounds could be heard at both Rocky and Muddy Ponds as the ice covering both ponds was experiencing thermal expansion and contraction. Many deer, fox, squirrel and rodent tracks were seen, and overhead could be seen or heard pileated woodpeckers, black-capped chickadees, dark-eyed juncos, ravens, crows, and a brown creeper.

On Jan. 3rd, Dave and Shelley and I counted birds for the Annual Winter Bird Count. The results are as follows: Black-capped chickadee-20, Crow-14, Mourning Dove-14, Tufted Titmouse-10, White-breasted nuthatch-12, Blue Jay-2, Purple Finch-10, Cardinal-1, Raven-3, Hairy Woodpecker-5, Downy Woodpecker-9, Red-bellied Woodpecker-1, Dark-eyed Junco-9

An early Jan. thaw led to much for the lower trails having bare ground. Shortly afterwards, a couple weeks of below zero temperatures then took place with about a foot of snow accumulating on the ground. A trail camera was set up right outside the entrance to a fox den during this cold spell. Fox tracks were leading into and out of the den.

On Feb. 2nd, while hiking middle Giorgetti trail, I caught a glimpse of what I thought was a coyote wandering around a rocky cliff area near the old Crusher Rd. quarry about 200 meters away. It hadn’t seen me. So, I took out my cell phone and played a recording of a howling coyote to see how it would respond. Well, that coyote turned out to be a red fox and it came running to me like a bullet. Before I really had time to react it was standing a few feet in front of me while I stood there perfectly still with my arm raised high holding my phone staying perfectly still. The moment I lowered my arm it once again took off back to where it came from. That area turned out to be covered in fox, deer, squirrel and rodent tracks.

On Feb. 9th, the ground was still covered in deep snow and it was bitterly cold. A few birds were seen including pileated woodpecker, crow, white-breasted nuthatch, and a cardinal.

By the second week of Feb., more birds were being seen including, downy, hairy, and

red-bellied woodpeckers, crows, white-breasted nuthatch, tufted titmouse, brown creeper, cardinal and black-capped chickadee. Gray squirrels were exhibiting courtship behavior

including a male chasing a female, while at the same time, chasing off another competing male. It was a gorgeous, sunny day with temps. In the mid-twenties.

By mid-February, temps. were slowly on the rise, but snow remained about a foot in depth on the ground.

On Feb. 25th, I retrieved the fox den trail cam and saw the camera had recorded a fox going into and out of the den, deer walking by, and grey squirrels scurrying about.

On Feb. 26th, I saw my first spring tail(snow flea) of the season at the base of a large oak tree. Always a sign to me that the worst of winter is over. The next day I noticed numerous midges flying throughout much of the forest. Many people mistake them for mosquitoes. But you won’t find mosquitoes flying about the forest in the winter.

March 3rd found the forest with still about a foot on its floor, but a long stretch of temperatures in the 50s was forecast for the days ahead. Winter resident birds seen on that day included pileated woodpecker, crow, cardinal, black-capped chickadee, tufted titmouse, brown creeper, white-breasted nuthatch and downy woodpecker.

On March 11th, a turkey vulture was seen flying over Rocky Pond, and a pair of red-shouldered hawks was seen flying over Muddy Pond. Interesting to note that I’ve seen these same species in these same areas, over the last few years. Both ponds covered in ice, with Rocky Pond showing a few surface puddles. Ground snow was mostly gone due to recent temperatures in the 50s and low 60s.

On March 15th, I observed a Cooper’s Hawk flying among the trees along Middle Giorgetti trail, in the same area where it has nested in the past. I’ll be keeping a close eye on the nest in the weeks ahead. Areas of open water appeared on both ponds, but the ponds are still mostly frozen over.

On March 17th, I went on a hike and didn’t see or hear a single bird. A rarity for me. It may be due to the fact that a recent cold front had moved into the area dropping temperatures 30 degrees.

That’s it for this issue. If you have any sightings you’d like to share with me and the public, please email me at: testill@cksrutland.org

Remember, your sightings will eventually end up in the Rutland Historical Society for all to see years from now.

Please stay on the trails, and enjoy observing the Wildlife of Pine Hill Park

Fall 2025 Summary

Tom Estill keeps a pretty cool journal of happenings in the park. This fall report has a 10 year comparison and what changes he is seeing in the park. Take a few minutes to read this it’s quite fascinating.

On the evening of the fall equinox I took a pleasant evening hike up to Muddy Pond. I always try to be in the park on the day of an equinox or solstice. I was wondering if the osprey were still at their Muddy Pond nest, but none were seen. Sometime in mid-Sept. they had finally started  to migrate South. Wood ducks were the only water birds seen at Muddy Pond, and the forest was very quiet with only a few birds observed, including: pileated woodpecker, raven, crow, white-breasted nuthatch, black-capped chickadee, and white-throated sparrow.

On a Sept. 26 hike, I noticed many leaves, acorns and beech nuts falling. It would turn out to be a great MAST year. Chipmunks were busy collecting nuts, a Monarch butterfly was sipping nectar from a New England Aster flower, and many insects including bumblebees and honey bees were collecting nectar and pollen from the remaining wildflowers. A large flock of blue jays was observed flying through the forest, no doubt as a way to protect themselves from other predatory birds by increasing the number of watchful eyes. At Muddy Pond were observed wood ducks, a few mallards, and a belted kingfisher. But most exciting of all was the sight of a sow and her two cubs drinking water at the edge of Muddy Pond. They had been seen on a regular basis throughout the park all summer long.

During the last week of September, acorns were still falling, chipmunks and squirrels were continuing to collect acorns, and the Eastern Towhee was still living in the forest.

By the first week of October, Vermont was STILL under a severe drought warning. The park was dangerously dry. Canada geese were beginning to show up at Muddy Pond in increasing numbers, with 250-300 seen there on Oct. 6th. On that same day a Tufted titmouse, red-bellied woodpeckers, white-throated sparrows, and a hermit thrush were all also seen.

Two days later on Oct.8th, rain finally fell in an appreciable amount. The forest floor was covered in acorns, beech nuts and leaves.

One week later on Oct. 14th, robins were seen migrating through the forest in great numbers. The dogwood trees near the trailhead were covered with robins feeding on the berries. Many flocks of Canada geese could be seen migrating south. And at Muddy Pond a couple double-crested cormorants along with a half dozen wood ducks were observed.

By the third week of October, wildflowers, for all intents and purposes, were gone for the season, and acorns had pretty much stopped falling.

On Oct. 23rd, three otters were seen at Muddy Pond, along with Canada geese, and wood ducks. A red-tailed hawk, golden-crowned kinglet, American goldfinch, brown creeper, raven, cardinal, black-capped chickadee, white-throated sparrow, and blue jay were seen throughout the park.

On Oct. 27th, I was very surprised to see a garter snake, but then, it was a relatively warm 45 degree F day. I also watched a black-capped chickadee feed on Eastern hemlock seeds. At Muddy Pond a single kingfisher, mallards, wood ducks and Canada geese were observed. On the way back to the trailhead while walking down Crusher Road, a red fox jumped out in front of me and headed into the forest. It had been resting in a culvert pipe.

On Nov. 1st, I hiked to the wetland area which feeds Muddy Pond in search of a great blue heron nest.  A great blue heron was commonly seen throughout the summer and early fall flying to and from that area from Muddy Pond. I have found such a nest in that area in years past, but nothing this year. Along the Carriage Trail near the north end of the lake, many trees showed signs of recent beaver activity. Not surprisingly so, with the beaver dam showing recent work, and dens increasing in size and number.

By the first week of Nov., the forest had become so very quiet. I was very surprised to see a Mourning Cloak, and other smaller moths flying about.

In mid-November, Muddy Pond was very active with resting migrants.  Hundreds of Canada geese, and a smaller number of hooded mergansers and wood ducks could be seen there. On the way back, I came across a large American Toad which had two puncture wounds on its back. Some predator probably got a mouthful of toad glandular secretions and decided it wasn’t something it wanted to eat.

On Nov. 17th, I noticed 3 new beaver dams being built on the west side of Muddy Pond. It’s an area known to have had such dens in the past, but all were abandoned in the last few years. A few days later, both Muddy and Rocky ponds were frozen over with a thin sheet of ice. First of the season.

On the 20th of November, 3 beavers were seen working on 2 of the recently established dens on Muddy Pond. Upon arriving at the pond, I saw only a single Canada Geese, and a pair of hooded mergasers, but shortly afterwards, numerous flocks of Canada geese started to arrive.

On the 22nd of November, Half of Rocky Pond ice had melted. One Canada geese, and three mallards were observed there. At Muddy Pond, not a single water bird was seen, and only one beaver was observed in the water. No birds were seen or heard in the forest. Four days later, the ponds were still free of ice, due to increased temperatures and rains, and hundreds of geese could be seen at Muddy Pond.

By November 29th, both ponds showed ice returning to a few small shoreline areas, and by Dec. 1st, the ponds were mostly covered in ice about one fourth of an inch thick. A few hooded mergansers were the only birds seen at Muddy Pond. Small patches of snow could be found throughout the park.

On Dec. 2nd, a large snow storm entered New England dropping about a half foot of snow on the ground. Surprised to see several long-jawed orb weaver spiders crawling on the snow on a hike throughout the forest on the next day.

On a Dec. 6th hike, there were lots of deer tracks in the snow. They seemed to be all over the park. A week later, as I hiked through the forest I saw only a few birds, including a pileated woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch and a small flock of crows.

Mid-December saw a day in which temperatures rose to the MId-fifties, with Midges flying about the forest in large numbers. By December 20th, most of the snow was gone, including the snow covering both ponds leaving behind the ice covered ponds.

This is the 10th year I’ve been writing these seasonal summaries. I thought you might like to see what changes have occurred in these last 10 years. So, I went back to my journal entries from 2015 and found a few interesting changes I’d like to share with you.

In 2015, the first 25 of over 50 American Chestnut trees were planted at the park. One is now over 12 feet tall. Blight has started to infect a few trees and none of them have flowered yet. Since 2015, two 70 foot tall Wild American Chestnut trees have been discovered in the park. One recently died due to a Spongy moth infestation and early spring frost a few years ago. The other is producing a huge number of burs, but the seeds inside are infertile because it’s a type  of tree which needs to be fertilized by a second different tree. In 2015, both ponds were still open water on the Winter Solstice. 200 milkweed seedlings were planted at Rocky Pond to establish a nationally recognized Monarch Way Station. Very few Carolina wrens were seen that year, now they’re a common seasonal bird. The same can be said about the Scarlet Tanager and Indigo Bunting.

This is why I do the seasonal summaries. The City of Rutland now has a pretty good history of Pine Hill Park Natural History, to complement its thorough social and political history of the City. Eventually, I’ll donate all my Pine Hill Park Natural History journals to the Rutland City Historical Society for folks to enjoy reading(I hope!) years from now. And they may even provide some observations of ecological significance.

It has been a wonderful experience, and I have enjoyed every second of it. And yes, I plan to keep providing you readers with summaries for years to come.

So, as always, enjoy your time observing the wildlife at Pine Hill Park, and please, stay on the trails.