{BIRD NOTES} ~ November 13, 2012

Bird Notes

Snows at Dead Creek Mae and Bill Mayville and I had a great morning at Dead Creek today...and we were sorry you weren’t there to enjoy it with us.  At day break at the  viewing area, the snow geese were impressive!  A large flock was seen near the pond at the far end of the corn field.  It was hard to get a sense of how many there were as they melded together into one large snow bank.  Soon there were large snow squalls appearing from the east.  Sailing over Snake Mountain, they glided, swirled, twisted and dipped their way to the fields adjacent to Sunset Lane, creating a blanket of fresh snow.  It brought back fond memories of  past years when tens of thousands would be seen in the skies, coming (it seemed) from all directions, flock after flock after flock.  Although today’s event was only a fraction of the totals seen in years past, it was just as beautiful.  We settled on an estimate of 2,500.  A few hours later at Arnold Bay, we met some birders from western Massachusetts that had been to the viewing area shortly after us.  They estimated the flock to be 3,000. Other highlights were a Merlin perched on a fence post with his breakfast, an occasional Pipit and Horned Lark flying over, and a Killdeer calling. ---Allison Wagner     High Country Birds First week in November I have had visits from Evening Grosbeaks,  a Fox Sparrow and a Tree Sparrow joined  the normal feeder contingents:  Blue Jays, juncos, chickadees, both Nuthatches and Woodpeckers, six + Mourning Doves, a pair each of Cardinals  and Tufted Titmice.  The Raven flies over periodically and our normally seventeen member Turkey flock number has dropped to about 10. We do have coyotes around. ---Barbara Cole, Wilmington       Turners Falls Sightings A BRANT, a CACKLING GOOSE, a RED-NECKED GREBE and a BONAPARTE’S GULL were at Turners Falls on Monday, 11/12

"An Original DUCKumentary."(VPT)

On Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m., "Nature" premieres "An Original DUCKumentary."  Vermont Public Television will broadcast this new film by Ann Johnson Prum, who produced "Hummingbirds."  It follows a wood duck family, discovering how a male and female create a bond and migrate together across thousands of miles.  They nurture their brood of chicks, then head to their wintering grounds. The film includes two sequences shot by Vermont's Bryan Pfeiffer -- one from Marshfield and one from Montpelier.  It also includes footage of a hooded merganser nest at North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier.

---Ann Curran, Vermont Public Television

 

 

Winterizing for Wildlife

As fall becomes winter and temperatures drop, make your backyard more inviting to wildlife . . .

·       Provide songbirds with suet and other high-calorie foods such as peanut butter and chopped nuts.

·       Make sure local wildlife has a reliable source of water. Birds need water, not just to drink, but also to bathe, in order to keep their insulating feathers clean.

·       Cover is particularly important in winter, as wildlife needs shelter from both predators and cold weather. Collect fallen branches, twigs and leaves to add to your brush pile, to increase cover for small animals.

---National Wildlife Federation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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P  R  O  G  R  A  M

 

Henry David Thoreau

The Theatre of the Natural World

 

English Professor Robert Fay visited the regions of New England

which were of special interest to Thoreau to see them

through the eyes of the famous naturalist and writer:

Walden Woods, The Monadnock Region, Cape Cod,

 The White Mountains, The Maine Woods.

 

 

The photographs that resulted from the visits represent the

theatre of the natural world. They encourage the viewer to see,

understand, and interpret the inner dramas that exist within the

natural world and within each image.

 

7 p.m., NOVEMBER 20, 2012

 

Community Room, Brooks Library

Sponsored by Southeastern Vermont Audubon Society

FREE and open to the public.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Al Merritt

W. Brattleboro, VT

chpmnkx@sover.net

 

www.sevtaudubon.org

 

A friend is someone who reaches for your hand

and touches your heart.