Bird Notes ~ March 8, 2008

Bird Notes

 

Watch for these Migrants the Week of March 9

Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Kestrel, Killdeer, Robin, Northern Pintail, American Widgeon, Northern Flicker, Eastern Bluebird, Grackle, Rusty Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Cowbird and Song Sparrow.

 

 

Spring is Near

The weather has been less than satisfactory, unless you are addicted to cold and snow, but, longer days and warm sunshine has given us hope that spring is near.

 

Blackbirds are being reported throughout the state and are appearing in all bird alerts. Soon they will become overlooked as just another junk bird, but for now they are wonderful additions and harbingers of spring.

     Take note of those large flocks of blackbirds and look for one with a yellow head. It would certainly be rare but not an impossibility to find a Yellow-headed Blackbird in those large flocks of migrants.

 

This morning (3/8) a phone call from Dave Johnston got us out to his place on Bonnyvale Road in W. Brattleboro to take pleasure in the sight of a very large flock of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, estimated to be 200+ with a smattering of CEDAR WAXWINGS mixed in. Both species are so regal in appearance, with the Bohemians slightly larger and having dark rusty under tail coverts. After several minutes of watching and counting them, in a whirring of wings, they all took to the air in unison and were gone. Sorry they didn’t hang around for more birders to partake. They will undoubtedly be heading back north soon as the 32 degree isotherm approaches from the south. What a nice start to an otherwise dreary, wet morning.

 

Also in West Brattleboro Dave reported a PILEATED WOODPECKER and at Chipmunk Crossing a second Pileated was seen checking out a dead ash tree. In the backyard the 11 Wild Turkeys are still making an appearance a couple of times a day. Also in West B. were two TURKEY VULTURES tipping their wings as they sailed over the firehouse.

 

 

Green River Road

On my morning walk yesterday (Friday, March 7)  I first heard and then saw 3 male RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS along the Green River Road by the wetlands near my house. 

---Carol Schnabel, Guilford

 

 

Vernon Birds(3/7)

Pond Road:

Eastern Bluebird

Song Sparrow

Red-tailed Hawk (2, probably a mated pair)

 

Blodgett Road

Red-winged Blackbird

Common Grackle

 

Vernon Dam:

Bald Eagle (2)

 

 

More Vernon (3/8)

This may be old news - but there's a whole flock of ROBINS in my yard!  (I'm in South Vernon)... Can spring be far away??  :o)

---Sandra Sweet

 

My husband Paul just returned from a two week project in Chile, Wednesday, March 5.  There was a man working with him who now has a life list of 2,216 birds.  He added Common Diva-finch, Thick-billed Siskin, Grassland Yellow-finch, Black Chinned Siskin, as well as this MAGELLAN WOODPECKER pictured here (see attachment). They saw a lot of Southern lap-wing which are about the size of a Crow, but look more like a giant Killdeer. Most of the birds they saw were new to Paul except the barn swallows. 

---Mary Miller, Vernon

 

 

Lost Mile Road

I haven't reported in for awhile, but the bird notes email this morning prodded me into writing.

 

The BARRED OWL has remained a regular around the feeders and it is going after squirrels now. I watched it stoop on both a red and a grey squirrel yesterday. Both attempts where unsuccessful. We have 4 male TURKEYS cleaning up under the feeders on a daily basis. 4 GOLDFINCHES visited the feeders on 2/27, the first I've seen since late fall.  Our last REDPOLL sighting for the season was on 2/1 when a solitary bird spent an hour at the feeders.

---Ian Martin, Newfane

 

Reset Your Clocks—Spring Ahead

 

Al Merritt

W. Brattleboro, VT

chpmnkx@sover.net

 

BIRD NOTE archives:

http://sevtaudubonbirdnotes.blogspot.com/

 

Southeastern Vermont Audubon Society website:

http://www.sevtaudubon.org/