BIRD NOTES ~ Oct. 17, 2008

Bird Notes

 

 

P  R  O  G  R  A  M

 

William Henry Jackson: Pioneer Photographer

7 p.m. Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Brooks Memorial Library Conference Room

 

DAVID USHER will present this program on the subject of William Henry Jackson who was a pioneer photographer of the old west and will include many of Jackson’s original photographs. Jackson learned the new art of photography in Rutland, Vermont and after the Civil War went west with the Hayden expedition, photographing the Yellowstone, The Grand Tetons, Mesa Verde, and many other sites which became the foundation of the National Park system. His photos played an important part in the creation of the parks.

 

This program is FREE and open to the public and is sponsored by Southeastern Vermont Audubon Society.

 

 

 

S  I  G  H  T  I  N  G  S

 

West B. Birds

At Chipmunk Crossing we have been having daily visits from 5 Purple Finch which included a male, a female, and 3 youngsters. A Pileated Woodpecker has been making his presence known by occasionally sounding off. Today a handsome male flew in and checked out a crack in a hemlock tree that was oozing some sticky pitch. The ground beneath the feeders is covered with Juncos picking up spilled seed. There are also White-throated Sparrows scratching in the grass for their favorite tid-bits. On the feeder this morning was an imm. Indigo Bunting voraciously attacking the offering of mixed seed.

 

 

Guilford Birds

I've been seeing quite a few Palm Warblers and Yellow-rumped Warblers, White-crowned sparrows and White-throated sparrows.  There is a lot of food for them.  They are all very hyper and in constant motion.  We also have young Purple Finches muscling each other on the feeders.
---Susan James, Guilford, VT

 

 

Retreat Meadows

Yesterday (10/16) at the water treatment facility on Rt. 30 we encountered a large flock of sparrows on the grass inside of the chain link fence and in the wood chip roadway outside the fence. Many were Song Sparrows, but on closer scrutiny found a few Savannahs. Also saw 4 immature and 1 mature White-crowned and many White-throated Sparrows. The resident Mockingbird was busy scolding and defending its cache of bittersweet berries.  At the boat launch a lone Swamp Sparrow was busy fltting around on the mud at the base of the reeds, apparently catching insects. Overhead we watched as 17 Turkey Vultures circled up in a “kettle”.

 

 

Cape May at its Best

We have just returned from a very successful birding trip to Cape May, New Jersey under the able leadership of local resident Warren Cairo and Pennsylvania resident and Ornithologist, Dr. John Tramontano.

 

Cape May is a wondrous birder’s paradise during the spring and fall migrations as birds pile up along the coast waiting for the right time to take wing for the long flight over Delaware Bay. Although we didn’t hit it at its peak, we managed a trip total of over 100 species. Among the notables were Black Scoter, Royal Tern, Forster’s Tern, Black Skimmer, Peregrine Falcon, Black-billed & Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Willet, Hudsonian Godwit, Dunlin, and Piping Plover. But the topper of them all, that was a life bird for most of us, was a SWALLOW-TAILED KITE, well seen by everyone as it gave us a show of aerobatics with spectacular loop-the-loops, barrel rolls and swoops. It was awesome!

 

On the way home we made a stop at Brigantine NWR and added Dickcissel, 5 American Avocets, and a roost of Black-crowned Night Herons. Further north we stopped at Tuckerton and added two more species, American Oystercatcher and Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow.

 

If you have never birded this part of the country in spring or fall, you should definitely put it on your “TO DO” list.

 

 

Please keep us abreast of what birds you are seeing, whether at home or on a trip in or out of the Windham County area.

A friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.

 

Al Merritt

W. Brattleboro, VT

chpmnkx@sover.net