Birdnotes: {BIRD NOTES} ~ March 31, 2013

Bird Notes

Early Great Blues

This morning, driving up Higley Hill Rd. in Marlboro, Meg and I saw two Great Blue Herons wending their way slowly across the sky, northbound around 8:30.
---Ned Pokras, W. Brattleboro, VT

Spring Arrives at My Marsh

Finally…spring was ushered in to my little marsh with the beeping sound of the resident Woodcock and this morning I was met with 3 pairs of Wood Ducks and 3 male/2 female Mallards are all crowded on the little section of thawed water. The Red-winged Blackbirds have been around for about 3 ½ weeks and the Bluebirds are coming into full color. Of course, all the usual residents are beginning to call and sing.

---Phyllis Benay, Brattleboro, VT

Peregrines and Waterfowl

This morning while out on NH Audubon/Harris Center's annual waterfowl safari along the Connecticut, from just below the BF Dam looking across the river to the face of Fall Mountain we saw a pair of Peregrine Falcons. Also of note, one bald eagle was on the nest just north of Herricks Cove. Herricks was relatively quiet, but we did spot a few Bufflehead. In the fields across from Allen Brothers we saw several Horned Larks. On the other side of the river, some nice ducks seen south of Charlestown in flooded fields along the river and in the river itself were Ring-necked, Wigeon, and Wood Duck.

---Mitch Harrison

WOOD DUCKS

Buntings Over Bromley

A large flock of 200+ Snow Buntings/- flying over Bromley Mt at about 9:30 a.m. today (3/25). One lonely Redpoll still hanging out at the home feeder too... although, me thinks, he may be sick as he hung closely to the ground and allowed me to walk by. Brown Creeper loves suet too. I love seeing them come into the yard.
---Ruth Stewart, E. Dorset, VT

An Afternoon Drive Through Vernon

At Pecks Rd., bordering the south end of the Miller Farm, we counted several very dark Robins worm hunting in the farm’s pasture. Beyond them sitting on a fence post was a typical Red-tailed Hawk surveying the farm yard for a possible tasty snack. Paddling around in the small pond were two Canada Geese and a pair of Mallards. A stop at the Vernon Dam looking for waterfowl, gave us instead a quick look at a pair of Bald Eagles winging their way up river. At the dead end rotary on Blodgett Road we found several crows picking in a fresh manure pile and not too far away another mound being used as a roost for 5 Turkey Vultures. Nine more joined the party dropping in from a kettle in the sky above. Try as we might, there was no Black Vulture among them. Caldwell Road in West Northfield, MA was very quiet except for a pair of Bluebirds. Further north at the green iron bridge over the RR tracks, we stopped and watched skeins of Canada Geese, maybe a thousand birds, flying in “V” formations following the Connecticut River north. At the intersection of Scott and Pond Roads we had the last birds of the afternoon, 3 more Bluebirds. The male was in splendid color sitting on an overhead wire in the light of the afternoon sun.

Volunteers Wanted for Upper Valley Grassland Bird Conservation Project

Grab your binoculars this spring and join us for a grassland bird blitz! Here is your chance to help put grassland bird “hotspots” on the map of the Upper Valley.

This spring and summer the "Upper Valley Grassland Bird Conservation Project" will be scouring fields and farms for grassland birds, and we need your help. We need people to make morning stops along roadsides, looking and listening for just a few grassland bird species. Easy to learn, easy to do. The information you collect will allow us to identify key grassland habitats in the region. Then, the following year, we will provide willing landowners in key areas with management tools to improve the quality of their open lands for grassland birds. What’s more, some sites were surveyed in the late 1990s by Massachusetts Audubon and its partners, and this survey, 15 years later, will show how changes on the land have affected the grassland bird community. Surveys can be conducted any day in good weather conditions from mid-May through early July, in the mornings (5:30 - 9:30am). Volunteers are welcome to visit as many sites as they wish.

Help us create more quality habitat for our grassland birds! For more information, please contact Jamie Sydoriak at jamiesydoriak@gmail.com.
The Upper Valley Grassland Bird Conservation Project is a partnership of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, New Hampshire Audubon, and Plymouth State University.
---Rosalind Renfrew
Vermont Center for Ecostudies