{BIRD NOTES} ~ August 12, 2012

Giant Swallowtail © eNature and Turkeys in Brookline © Barbara Ritchie

Bird Notes

 

Giant Swallowtail (8/5)

A first for us was a Giant Swallowtail butterfly visiting our butterfly bush in Putney. It cooperated long enough for us to match it up with the picture and description, in our Audubon Field Guide. I hope to get a photo, if it returns.          (Meanwhile see photo attachment © eNature)

---Steve and Laurie Medved, Putney, VT

 

More Hens and Poults  

This was on June 20th, so not within the turkey survey time, but we had a LOT of turkeys in our yard on Ellen Ware Road in Brookline.  As they kept moving so much it was hard to count the poults, but we kept getting about 25 each time we tried.  Three hens were watching over them.    (See attachment)

---Barbara Ritchie, Brookline, VT

 

Identifying Fall Warblers

When it comes to identifying the colorful wood warblers, it is much easier doing it in the spring than in the Fall when they have lost their spring finery.  Here is a link that might be of help to you in identifying those “confusing fall warblers”:

http://www.migrationresearch.org/mbo/id/fall_warblers.html

 

Accipiter in Downtown Brattleboro

While visiting the Recycle Venue on Fairgrounds Road, I looked up in time to see an accipiter flapping and sailing low over the house tops directly toward me. As luck would have it, it landed on a large bare tree limb across the street offering me a great naked eye view.  I grabbed my binoculars for a better look and was able to identify it as a first year male Coopers Hawk.  I eyeballed it for a minute or two before leaving it to its own devices. I don’t think he was planning on recycling anything. Nice bird! 

 

There was nothing unusual to be found along Springtree Road near the Marina, though we did observe a Great Blue Heron standing on the highest branch of a dead tree along with a lone immature Cedar Waxwing. Quite a comparison of size between this very odd couple.

 

A large flight of Barn Swallows had gathered on the electric wires at the Gateway Farm on Abbott Rd. in West B.  this morning. (7/11)  Perched on the wire with them was a lone MEADOWLARK.

 

Ruby-throats and the Intruder

We had been experiencing leakage problems with our Hummingbird feeders so we purchased a so=called leak proof feeder by Stokes. It is only a couple of days old and so far it hasn’t leaked a drop. Time will tell. We have it hanging from the eaves so we can view it through the window while sitting at our dining room table.  The immature Ruby-throated, male and female, play flying games all day long, like hiding in the willow and attacking the other when they attempt to land and get a sip of syrup. They have quickly mastered the ups and downs and flying in reverse modes. I am sure that Sikorsky developed his helicopters from watching these little aerial acrobats. Today another party showed up. A Hummingbird Moth. It was hovering around and dipping into the geranium and phlox blossoms when the two hummers spied it.  They zipped in from their lofty willow perches chirping loudly and hovering above the intruder. The moth paid them no attention and continued feeding. Satisfied that the tiny “hummer-moth” was no threat to their well being, the two youngsters stopped by the feeder for a quick sip before retreating to their perches in the willow.

Please let us know what you are seeing/hearing so we can share it with everyone.

 

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Al Merritt

W. Brattleboro, VT

chpmnkx@sover.net

 

{BIRD NOTES} ~ August 6, 2012

Bird Notes

 

 

Giant Swallowtail

Last week and this I have seen a Giant Swallowtail butterfly in my yard nectaring on phlox and butterfly bush.  It is about 30% larger than a tiger swallowtail and rare in this region.  Seen on Cedar St. in Brattleboro. 

---Dianne Shapiro, Brattleboro

 

A Glossy Ibis at Allen Bros. Marsh in Westminster this afternoon (7/30).
---Cyndi Miller

 

Vermont’s Online Turkey Brood Survey Starts Aug. 1

Here’s a chance to help Vermont’s wildlife conservation efforts. The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is asking for your help in monitoring the wild turkey population by providing information about turkey families you see in Vermont during August. This is your chance to contribute to the scientific management of Vermont’s turkey population.  The survey allows entry of the number of adult male, adult female and young turkeys, or poults, as well as the date, time and location of the observations. Starting August 1, a turkey brood survey will be on the department’s website. Go to www.vtfishandwildlife.com to report on Vermont wild turkey broods you observe in August. The data you provide will help establish long-term trends in wild turkey population recruitment and contribute to good wildlife management decisions. The information will help reveal the impacts of spring and winter weather on the survival of poults and adult turkeys.

Records from the late 1700s and early 1800s indicate wild turkeys were present in southern Vermont in smaller numbers than today. At the time of European settlement, most turkeys existed along the Taconic Mountain Range in southwestern Vermont and along the Connecticut River Valley in southeastern Vermont. The loss of forestland and unregulated market hunting in the early 19th century, led to the elimination of Vermont’s wild turkeys by the mid-1800s. Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department biologists released the first 17 wild-trapped New York turkeys in Pawlet, Vermont in 1969. A second release of 14 wild birds in was made in Hubbardton in 1970. Today, Vermont’s wild turkey population is estimated to number more than 50,000 birds, all believed to be descended from the original 31 New York wild turkeys. Wild turkeys are now found throughout Vermont.

Vermont has excellent spring and fall turkey hunting across most of the state. Turkey hunting benefits the people of Vermont by providing hunting opportunity, an excellent source of healthy food, economic activity and a means of controlling turkey numbers. Over abundant turkey populations can result in nuisance situations when crops or other properties are damaged by turkeys. Five to 6,000 wild turkeys are harvested annually in Vermont.

Media Contacts:

Forrest Hammond, 802-885-8832;

Mark Scott, 802-777-4217;

Scott Darling, 802-3863862

---Vermont Fish and Wildlife, Press Release

 

 

Hens and Poults (8/2/12)

The attached photo was taken in our backyard at Chipmunk Crossing in West Brattleboro. There were a total of 3 hens and 16 Poults.

 

 

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Al Merritt

W. Brattleboro, VT

chpmnkx@sover.net

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http://sevtaudubonbirdnotes.blogspot.com/

www.sevtaudubon.org

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