{BIRD NOTES} ~ March 25, 2013

      Bird Notes

 

Common Redpolls

Must have at least 50 Redpolls fighting over what little is left in my feeders! This afternoon Paul & I walked with our Marlboro neighbors & she mentioned having a dead Redpoll in her yard.  When I just went out to refill my feeders one last time this season, I found one dead Redpoll too!  I also still have live ones chowing down.  Has anyone else reported finding dead Redpolls in their yard?  Thanks!

---Hollie Bowen, Marlboro, VT

 

 

Fieldfare, © Virtual Birder

 

 

Old World Thrush in Carlisle, MA

Last Sunday a FIELDFARE, an Old World thrush species and only the second record for Massachusetts, was found on the Greenough Land conservation property off Maple Street in Carlisle.  The Robin-sized bird has been seen daily since then, both on the conservation land property and along Piggery Road that intersects Maple Street. The FIELDFARE is wide-ranging and patience may be required to locate it.  It has been consorting with American Robins and on several occasions has been observed feeding on barberries and bittersweet berries.  This species nests in northern Europe and is sometimes reported in smaller numbers, but not a proven nester, in England.

 

 

Fieldfare-YES!  King Eider – YES!

We went to Carlisle this morning and saw the Fieldfare.  Fortunately it came into the barberry bushes about half an hour after we got there.  After several good but less than perfect looks (twigs and branches in the way, etc.), it flew off toward the south and we headed to the Cape Cod Canal and had wonderful long looks at a drake King Eider.  A two lifer day!

---Nori Howe, W. Brattleboro

 

 

Barred Owl by Carol Wilfong , Putney, VT

 

Barred Owl at Feeder

Photo was taken through the door, so it's sort of foggy, in broad daylight at 1:20 p.m. today (3/20), on Partridge Road in East Dummerston.

--Carol Wilfong, Putney, VT

 

 

Accipiter Attack

We were watching some D-E Juncos cavorting in our bushy willow when suddenly all but one flew off into the dense undergrowth of young white pines. The lone bird froze on its perch and didn’t move. We have witnessed this many times and it usually meant that a predator raptor was near. Sure enough seconds later an unidentified accipiter flew in and landed out of sight behind a snow bank. Then immediately flashed into the air and was off around the corner of the house before we could blink an eye to identify it. The lone, frightened Junco quickly flew into the bushes in the direction that its counterparts had taken.

 

 

Vermont House of Representatives Honors Joan Mulhern

It’s no exaggeration to say that when former Vermont Public Interest Research Group Associate Director, Joan Mulhern, passed away last December after a long illness, our nation lost one of its best environmental champions. 

          This morning (3/22), the Vermont House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution honoring Joan for a lifetime of passionate and dedicated work protecting our environment and human health.  No doubt Joan would have been uncomfortable with the recognition, but it was richly deserved. As an advocate with VPIRG in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Joan took aim at ozone depleting chemicals, industrial releases of toxic pollution, golf course pesticides, trash incineration and much, much more.  More recently, as Senior Legislative Counsel with Earthjustice in Washington, D.C., Joan led the charge against the disastrous practice of mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia.

          Joan’s dedication and tenacity continue to inspire us here at VPIRG.  We join the House in honoring her memory and more importantly, we continue on with the work I’m confident she would have applauded.

---Paul Burns, VPIRG Executive Director

 

 

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Please share your birding news with us.

 

What have you got coming to your feeders?

 

What have you seen while on a trip?

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Al Merritt

W. Brattleboro, VT

chpmnkx@sover.net

 

SVAS   www.sevtaudubon.org