[BIRD NOTES] December 22, 2006

 

 

Bird Notes

 

 

How Many Did You Know?

Last time I asked you to match up the bird names with the description in the left column.

     For instance:

15. Bouquet of      Pheasants

 

 

 1.Cast of          Herons

 2.Charm of         Swallows

 3.Chattering of    Woodpeckers

 4.Congregation of  Plovers

 5.Descent of       Sparrows

 6.Dule of          Hawks

 7.Exaltation of    Owls

 8.Fall of          Teal

 9.Flight of        Doves

10.Host of          Ducks

11.Paddling of      Finches

12.Parliament of    Larks

13.Siege of         Starlings

14.Spring of        Woodcocks

 

 

          ANSWERS:

 1.Cast of         Hawks      

 2.Charm of        Finches      

 3.Chattering of   Starlings  

 4.Congregation of Plovers

 5.Descent of      Woodpeckers    

 6.Dule of         Doves       

 7.Exaltation of   Larks  

 8.Fall of         Woodcocks       

 9.Flight of       Swallows     

10.Host of         Sparrows       

11.Paddling of     Ducks    

12.Parliament of   Owls 

13.Siege of        Herons      

14.Spring of       Teal     

         

         From: “Birder’s Dictionary”

         by Randall T. Cox,

         Falcon Publishing, Inc. 1996

 

 

Notes from Turners Falls Power Canal

I spent from 15:00-16:00 hrs. waiting for roosting Canada Geese to drop in at Turners Falls power canal area. Two hundred geese did come in late but no Cackler. Seven Snow Geese did though, with two white juveniles, one dark-morph juvenile, and four white adults. Female BARROW’S GOLDENEYE continues here. Made a 'last light' check of Barton's Cove and immediately found the(a) CACKLING GOOSE in relatively close to shore. This bird seemed to be closely associating with, what I thought looked like, an intermediate Richardson's type goose in Sibley (tried to get some digital images but too dark). Worth keeping a close watch on this region.

---Mark Taylor, Northfield, MA

 

 

Brattleboro Christmas Bird Count

We had 51 species, 4,000+ birds, plus four new count area species: Ring-neck Duck, Mute Swan, Saw-whet Owl, Swamp Sparrow

  

The complete nine year totals are available now on the SVAS website http://www.sevtaudubon.org/ for those who like to compare.

---Chris Petrak, South Newfane, VT

 

 

Reindeer: The Truth Behind the Legend

Are Santa’s team of reindeer all females? This is an interesting article about Rudolf and his cohorts.

 

http://enature.com/articles/detail.asp?storyID=545

 

 

Merry Christmas

As Christmas comes, soft and still,

May the spirit of love gently fill

Your heart and home with love and goodwill.

Peace on Earth.

----Anonymous

 

 

Al & Barb Merritt

W. Brattleboro, VT