{BIRD NOTES} ~ May 22, 2015

 

 

 

Bird Notes

                                            

Here is a picture of the European Goldfinch which continues to come to my

feeder every day with other American Goldfinch. What a treat!

---Barbara Powers, Manchester Center, VT

 

European Goldfinch © Barbara Powers

 

 

 

Spring Bird Walk: Saturday, May 23
Experience the spring migration with Southern Vermont Audubon Society. We’ll

meet at 7:30 am in the former Walmart Parking lot off Rt. 119 and proceed from

there to the Parking lot near the Hinsdale Causeway. We will walk along the Fort

Hill Rail Trail, which is flat and accessible for walkers of all capabilities.  We

should see spring migrating birds and nesting Eagles, Ospreys, and possibly

Peregrine Falcons.  This will be our 4^th bird walk using the same Fort Hill Rail Trail.

This will be the last of the 5 field trips scheduled for the Rail Trail.

 

Next bird walk will be on Sunday, June7, “Whip-poor-wills Calling”. Watch for

announcement in future Bird Notes.

 

 

 

THE SVAS HINSDALE SETBACK FIELD TRIP # 4, MAY 16, 2015

Here are the birds we saw at our 4^th (of 5) Hinsdale Setback spring bird walks:

(2.5 hours, 9 people, overcast, 50-64 degrees, 50 species)

 

Species in orange are new this week and have not been seen on previous walks

this spring,

---Susan James,

 

6 Double-crested Cormorants

2 Great-blue Herons

15 Canada Geese

2 Wood Ducks

2 unidentified flying ducks (probably Mallards)

2 Osprey

1 Peregrine Falcon – (on VY tower by nest box)

1 Spotted Sandpiper

3 Ring-billed Gulls

1 Mourning Dove

1 Kingfisher

1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

1 Northern Flicker

1 Eastern Pewee

4 Willow Flycatchers

6 Least Flycatchers

1 Eastern Phoebe

4 Eastern Kingbirds (1 gathering nesting materials)

LOTS OF Tree Swallows

2 or more Northern Rough-winged Swallows

20 or more Bank Swallows

1 Blue Jay

2 Carolina Wrens

3 Marsh Wrens

2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers (actively working on a nest)

2 Veerys

12 or more American Robins

5 Gray Catbirds

2 Cedar Waxwings

6 Warbling Vireos (2 with nests)

2 Yellow-throated Vireos

3 Red-eyed vireos

5 American Redstarts

1 Canada Warbler

6 Yellow-rumped Warblers

1 Chestnut-sided Warbler

8 Black and White Warblers

10 Yellow Warblers (one pair with a nest)

2 Blackpoll Warblers

15 Common Yellowthroats

1 Northern Waterthrush

1 Scarlet Tanager

1 Northern Cardinal

1 Eastern Towhee

2 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks

2 American Goldfinch

9 Song Sparrows

2 Swamp Sparrows

LOTS OF Red-winged Blackbirds

10 Baltimore Orioles

 

 

West Brattleboro Birds, Hawks & a Bear

Bobolinks are back in the fields on Abbott Road. A male Indigo Bunting and a

pair of Catbirds have arrived in our backyard. They are sharing the handsful

of bird seed that I have been scattering beneath the willow and pine trees.

Feeders have been put in storage since the visit by a bear on Sunday night.

The Red-eyed Vireo and Ovenbird have been sounding off for several days.

 

I watched two large birds walk out the main limb of a locust tree that

stretches out over and high above our driveway. At first I passed them off

as crows since I was seeing them as silhouettes because of the sun’s position.

Then as they walked out further I could see that they were brown backed and

long tailed.  About that time they took off flying. Then I could distinguish the

bars in the tail. Because of their long tails I believed them to be of the Cooper

family. Perhaps a parent with a fledging, that was most likely taking flight training.

 

 

Bob-o-link (male)

 

PLEASE share your birding news and photos with us so we can all enjoy reading about your birds and birding experiences.

 

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Al Merritt  chpmnkx@sover.net

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Southeastern Vermont Audubon Society:   www.sevtaudubon.org