{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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Al Merritt

W. Brattleboro, VT

chpmnkx@sover.net

 

SVAS   www.sevtaudubon.org

 

Happy Easter Happy Passover

 

 

{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?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Al Merritt

W. Brattleboro, VT

chpmnkx@sover.net

 

SVAS   www.sevtaudubon.org

 

{BIRD NOTES} ~ March 20, 2013

Bird Notes

 

Of Flying Squirrels & Eagles

We've had infestations of Flying Squirrels here in West Wardsboro, but never this early in the season.

 

I had wondered about the "Hinkley" story.  I used to swim at Hinkley Reservation, a county park and also the site for the famous Turkey Vultures that return there every year on a particular date.  Never saw a Bald Eagle there, however.  But I have seen a number of Bald Eagles on the river between downtown Wilmington and the (Harriman) reservoir during the past year. One sat in the tree across the road from Nido's as I had my tires changed. Not sure that they have been there lately.

---Jeremy Schrauf, West Wardsboro, VT

 

 

Green River Mergs and a Timberdoodle

I just saw 4 (Common) Mergansers on the Green River this afternoon (3/15), 2 males and 2 females.  Also, on Tuesday morning around 6:30 am I was walking down the driveway in the dark and I thought I heard a Woodcock.  Has anyone seen one yet?  We get them in this area but we still had a lot of snow that morning (less now but most everything is still covered with snow).

---Carol Schnabel, Guilford, VT

 

 

Shrike vs. Chickadee

The shrike was back yesterday and this time we saw it take a chickadee and fly up to the top of a tall maple. It held the chickadee by its toes, then transferred it to its beak and flew off into the woods. Fifteen minutes later it was back and gave chase to another chickadee. They both flew over our house and up into the woods where we lost sight of either of them. It was interesting watching the chickadees break their cover in the forsythia and quince bushes and try to outfly the shrike. The shrike was able to manuever in the shrubs quite well, which might have explained the above behavior of the chickadees. My son compared  the flight differences between the two birds as a biplane trying to outfly a jet. It was amazing to watch all this from a short distance---mere feet at times. I tried to get a photo, but the action was much too fast.

---Karen Murphy, West Guilford, VT

 

 

Shrike vs. Dark-eyed Junco

I have heard there is interest in Northern Shrike sightings. I have been having one around for a few months--I live on Putney Mountain. Watched it catch, impale and eat a Dark-Eyed Junco--and fly off with it. I have mixed terrain/environment, so have a great a variety of birds.

All the best,

---Lucinda Alcorn, Putney, VT

 

 

Peregrine Flyover

While checking out the West River along Green Tree Road near the Marina, we found 5 Common Mergansers and the usual numbers of Canada Geese.  But, the best bird was a Peregrine Falcon that circled above us before flapping off in the direction of the Connecticut River, south.

 

 

Mark Your Calendar

Bob Engle’s program “The Wolves Of Yellowstone” was postponed because of the last storm of the winter season. It will take place instead on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 7 p.m. in the Brooks Library meeting room.

 

 

A Note from Washington State

Actually I'm glad to hear that Bob's program has been postponed, as I'm skiing in Washington State and was going to miss it. There's no wildlife to watch here besides Pine Martens, Mountain Goats, some tiny shrews, Bald Eagles, Flickers, Juncos, Crows & Ravens, and Canada Geese down on the Columbia river. Also hearing several birds whose twittering calls I don't recognize.

---Malcolm Moore, Marlboro, VT

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Al Merritt

W. Brattleboro, VT

chpmnkx@sover.net

 

SVAS   www.sevtaudubon.org

 

FW: {BIRD NOTES} ~ March 15, 2013

      Bird Notes

Al, Thought you might be interested in this.
Highlights from Vernon yesterday (3/11). Birds are on the move!
21 Ring-neck Duck
4 Greater Scaup
5 Pintail
4 Bufflehead
Barrows Goldeneye
11 GW Teal
22 Wood Duck
700+ C Geese ( no rarities could be found)
130+ Redwings
25 Grackles
6 Rusty Blackbirds
158 Crows
Hermit Thrush
2 Killdeer
Gt Horned Owl
---Don Clark, Grafton, VT

 

Spring Bird Feeders

We are enjoying the longer and warmer daytime hours and it is so nice to hear the resident birds singing. But, don’t forget that it is also time for the bears to awaken looking for a quick and easy meal. The location of your bird feeder could still be etched in its mind so be forewarned. No birdfeeder is safe from these furry foragers. We have lost several feeders over the years because we thought we could outsmart them by bringing our feeders in at night. Believe me, to a hungry bear, there is no difference between day and night.

 

Redpolls & Bluebirds in West B.

In response to Jean Pett's inquiry about Redpolls I can report that we have had a flock come and go with some frequency in the last month.  We also have a flock of Bluebirds that seem to be staying around and checking out the nest boxes in the neighborhood.

---Carol Barber, West Brattleboro, VT

 

SHRIKE!

I live in West Guilford and just had the opportunity to watch a Northern Shrike harassing (hunting) the chickadees from two feet away in our quince bush. What a sight.

---Karen Murphy, W. Guilford, VT

 

Turkeys and Redpolls in Wilmington

Wow!  And I thought I had seen an ultimate number of Bald Eagles in one place on the Bird Islands off the coast of Cape Breton!  This group is an amazing sight, and I'm so glad that someone thought to feed them. (See March 9 “Bird Notes”)  Right now I feel responsible for a flock of 6 Wild Turkeys who have made my place their feeding station. They come around a couple of times a day, since we still have deep snow here in Wilmington.  I am happy to help them out in trying times.

          I, too, have had a flock of Redpolls mixed in with a mess of Goldfinches coming to my feeders in large groups for quite a number of weeks.

---Mary Ann McLeod, Wilmington, VT

 

 

A Yard Full of Common Redpolls

Photo by Barbara Cole

 

We have had this size flock as steady feeder visitors most of the winter. (See photo) They came before the snow flew. Too many to count!!  This past week there has been maybe twenty-five  or so.

---Barbara Cole, Wilmington,VT

 

Not a Bird, But It Glides Through the Air

Last evening (3/8) about 10 o’clock, I flipped on the front porch light to check and see if it was snowing yet.  There on the deck was a small brownish creature consuming some of the leftover mixed seed that I had spilled there for the Juncos that come there when the weather is bad. First thought was red squirrel. But it was nighttime and I am sure by now they would be buried in their warm nests getting some zzzs. Further examination revealed a white belly with a brownish/gray back and a broad flat shaped tail. Not at all red and bushy. By golly I believe we have a Flying Squirrel. Never encountered one here before. Can’t imagine where it is hanging out since we have about 18 inches of snow that covers most of our acre plus yard. Of course we do have a sizeable wood pile that would be ideal for his digs. Has anyone else had an experience with Flying Squirrels? Years ago we have found them in late Fall holed up in Bluebird houses.

 

 

Bald Eagle Photos Genuine, Story Was Not

Please note that in the last issue we passed along an article, with two beautiful photos of wintering Bald Eagles that were being fed by caring people in Hinckley, Ohio. Two “eagle-eyed” SEVA members sent me e-mails explaining that the city of Hinckley, Ohio was nowhere near Lake Erie where this was purported to have taken place. As it turns out the photos were genuine, but were taken in Homer, Alaska which is an Alaskan fishing and artists community 130 miles south of Anchorage. The designated feeding area was near the residence of Jean Keene, commonly known as the state’s “Eagle Lady.” She started feeding the Eagles in the late 1970s, when she was working at a fish processing plant called Icicle Seafoods. Every day she would chop hundreds of pounds of salmon heads and tails, as well as cod and herring and toss it to the predatory birds. Jean never sought publicity or attention for feeding the eagles and never asked anyone for a dime. Ms. Keene passed away in January 2009 at the age of 85.

 

 

TV Over West B.

As we drove past the West Brattleboro firehouse yesterday (3/13) we spotted our first of the year Turkey Vulture circling overhead, then tipping its wings, as TVs do, then sailing out of sight to the south.

 

 

Deer Are Moving

A large doe with 4 youngsters trailing behind, waded through the foot or more of snow that still remains on our back hillside, and headed for lower ground. They stopped atop the bank that overlooks the road and I could see the doe looking and listening with ears perked. Satisfied that it was safe she scampered down the bank with younger ones in tow and crossed over the busy road. As the last one approached the macadam a car suddenly appeared and then slowed down allowing the youngster to cross without startling it. The deer were probably interested in getting a drink from Ames Brook that was now running free after the day of rain.

 

 

 

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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?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Al Merritt

W. Brattleboro, VT

chpmnkx@sover.net

 

SVAS   www.sevtaudubon.org

 

 

 

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY

 

 

{BIRD NOTES} ~ March 09, 2013

Bird Notes

Common Redpolls

Dear Al--Has anyone reported flocks of redpolls this season?  I have some every day and have counted up to 50 at one time at my feeders.  It took me at while to identify them!  

---Jean Pett, Brattleboro, VT

 

Florida Bird

I saw my first Painted Bunting at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary here in Florida recently. Also learned -- and then saw the locations of -- two recently discovered ghost orchids there. They are expected to bloom in July/August.

---Mark Mikolas, Florida winter resident

 

Blackbirds Have Arrived

Yesterday, 3/3/13, we had our first Red-winged Blackbirds of the season. There were several males coming and going to the feeders. In addition we have had all of the usual birds at the feeders including a Carolina Wren and a pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers. And a while ago we did have a one hour visit from a flock of Common Redpolls.

          We've had several sightings of a Bald Eagle, all at the same location. This was along the River Road, in Putney, between Ompawmet and Fort Hill roads and across the middle of the swampy area and the railroad tracks. Each time the eagle was perched on a tree located on the near side of he Great Meadow. Two of the times, the bird was perched on a tree branch for a good long period, so with that cooperation and the help of Sibley's, the eagle looked like a 2nd year, about to be a 3rd year Bald Eagle. Also, on two different occasions we had an adult Bald Eagle fly over our yard. Our neighbors, on Ompawmet Road, have also seen an adult, in this same area.

---Steve & Laurie Medved, Putney, Vt.

 

Feeding the Eagles  (Submitted by Paul Miller)

In January of this year, 2013, the weather stayed so cold in Hinckley, Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie & Rocky River that the bald eagles were cruising over local homes in hopes of finding a quick meal. They could not access fish that had taken up residence at the bottom of the river, so gathered together along the shore.  Some kind soles decided to feed the eagles so that they would have a chance to survive the cold spell. They scattered their catch of fish on the beach and the group of eagles huddled on the shore and enjoyed the repast, completely ignoring the humans that were spreading the fish for them.  They were so close a telephoto lens was not needed.       .

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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?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Al Merritt

W. Brattleboro, VT

chpmnkx@sover.net

SVAS   www.sevtaudubon.org

 

{BIRD NOTES} ~ March 4, 2013

 

Bird Notes

Early TV

FOY Turkey Vulture near exit 4 in Putney this afternoon (2/26). 
---JoAnne Russo, Saxtons River, VT

 

West B Bluebirds

This past week during the snow storm, we were treated to the sight of 7 Bluebirds, five of them bright blue males as they gleaned the red berries from our euonymus bushes along the driveway leading to our home on Greenleaf Street. The eave troughs on the front porch were filled with running water from the melting snow.  Attracted by the dripping water, they were taking turns flying from the supply of berries to perch on the edge of the eaves for a drink. They had a steady shuttle going for about 20 minutes. We have resided here at Chipmunk Crossing for over 30 years and this is the first bluebirds sighted here.  Exciting!

 

Barred Owl at Chipmunk Crossing

Though we hear an occasional Barred Owl we don’t see the hooter very often. This morning there were no sounds to indicate its presence, but one suddenly appeared, landing in the crusty snow where there were several vole tunnel holes in back of the bird feeders. It sat for an instant looking about the area to its right, then quickly to its left taking flight with empty talons. It flew to a perch in a birch tree in front of some white pine branches where it could have an unobstructed view of our snow covered south yard. Several crows were alerted by an appointed lookout and they harassed it for a short time. When the owl just sat as if bored by their feeble feigning attacks and closed its eyes to mere slits, the crows ceased their alarm calls and flew off. That was at about 9 this morning. The owl is still present on its lofty perch at 4 p.m.

 

Talk Like a Bird?

Linguistics and biology researchers have proposed a new theory on the deep roots of human speech on how human language could have evolved from birdsong.  “The sounds uttered by birds offer in several respects the nearest analogy to language,” Charles Darwin wrote in “The Descent of Man” (1871), while contemplating how humans learned to speak. Language, he speculated, might have had its origins in singing, which “might have given rise to words expressive of various complex emotions.” 
          Now researchers from MIT, along with a scholar from the University of Tokyo, say that Darwin was on the right path. The balance of evidence, they believe, suggests that human language is a grafting of two communication forms found elsewhere in the animal kingdom: first, the elaborate songs of birds, and second, the more utilitarian, information-bearing types of expression seen in a diversity of other animals.
          “It’s this adventitious combination that triggered human language,” says Shigeru Miyagawa, a professor of linguistics in MIT’s Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, and co-author of a new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.  http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/how-human-language-could-have-evolved-from-birdsong-0221.html

--- Peter Dizikes, MIT News Office

 

Feathered Snow Angel

An interesting print in fresh snow.  Consensus of opinion is that it is a small raptor, probably a Sharp-shinned hawk.

---Submitted by Tom Prunier

 

Tibetan Yak

Burt Tepfer sent this photo of a Tibetan Yak that he took while visiting Bhutan in the Himalayas. When people think of the animals of Tibet a Yak has to be the first they think of. Eighty-five percent, or about 10 million, of the world’s Yaks live on the Tibetan Plateau. They are built to survive tough environments. Yaks have three times more red blood cells than normal cows so they are able to live without any problems on the high elevation grasslands of Tibet. Their long thick hair insulates their bodies from winter temperatures that can get to minus 22 degrees F or colder. Most are black, but it is not uncommon to see white or grey ones especially on the grasslands of northern Amdo (modern day Qinghai province).

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please share your birding news with us.

 

What have you got coming to your feeders?

 

What have you seen while on a trip?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Al Merritt

W. Brattleboro, VT

chpmnkx@sover.net

SVAS   www.sevtaudubon.org