Backyard Birding

The backyard has been very busy in the last couple of weeks. This is just a sample, beginning with the four pair of Evening Grosbeaks and three pair of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks ...

Evening Grosbeak (male)

Evening Grosbeak (male)

Evening Grosbeak (male) with Brown-headed Cowbird (male)

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (male)

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (male)

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (male) and Evening Grosbeak (male)

If the Blue Jay was a rare bird, we would fall over ourselves in admiration of its beauty, but they are common, noisy, and perceived as bullies - though in actuality, no worse than any of the other birds at the feeders who will chase off other birds to get their favored seeds. I love the jays - raucous rogues that they are ...

Blue Jay

Year round birds accustomed to our presence and almost pets, are the Tufted Titmouse and Black-capped Chickadee. This one came to the rock five feet from where I was sitting to grab a hunk of suet that had fallen from the eave feeder ...

Tufted Titmouse

Black-capped Chickadee

The Red-bellied Woodpecker has been in the neighborhood for about seven years. Unlike the Downy and Hairy which wait for me to put out the suet in the morning, the Red-bellies are still wary and shy, but eagerly come to the suet and feeders and always provide stunning entertainment ...

Red-bellied Woodpecker (male)

Red-bellied Woodpecker (male)

GOOD BIRDING !!!

Spring Migration - Arrivals

Southeastern Vermont Audubon has done 2 walks along the old railroad bed at the Hinsdale Setbacks, listing species, and hoping to establish a baseline for future years.

Yellow-rumped Warblers have been the most numerous warbler to date, followed by Palm Warbler, and those are the only 2 which have provided photo ops.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Palm Warbler

On some occasions at the setbacks, Tree Swallows are been rife ...

Tree Swallows

After today's walk, I did my favorite type of birding - sitting on the back porch and watching the action around the yard. The new arrival today was the Rose-breasted Grosbeak ... at least 3 males. Girls haven't arrived yet.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

The Evening Grosbeaks are back in numbers (yet to figure out how many pairs). They are using the maple just off the porch to do their courtship (when they aren't emptying the feeders of sunflower seeds). The boys are displaying their fine grosbeak genes ...

Evening Grosbeak displaying

Evening Grosbeak displaying

 Finches have also been abundant, including Pine Siskins ...

Purple Finch

Finch Feeder - Purple Finch (female), Pine Siskins, American Goldfinch

I don't want to neglect the year-round residents who endured the tough winter, and are now singing the hearts out. Black-capped Chickadee is just one ...

Black-capped Chickadee

And to add the downside to all of this, there have been plenty of Brown-headed Cowbirds ...

Brown-headed Cowbird

Good Birding !! ... and more to come

Hawk Watching - Putney Mountain

The cadre of hawk watchers who keep Putney Mountain the only full time hawk watch site in Vermont have maintained their dedication and passion in spite of a dismal (to date) hawk season. The lack of any strong weather patterns has kept the hawks from concentrating along the ridge. Normally during mid-September there are days when Broad-winged Hawks are counted in the tens, and even hundreds of birds, this year they have been counted by one here - one there - one way up there. On rare occasion there have been a few more birds at a time, but not often.

That said, there have been a few moments when an individual bird has provided excitement.

Bald Eagles always stir the blood of the watchers. This first year bird did that when it circled low over the watch site. A few minutes after this bird appeared, four adult eagles passed by, close, but not camera close ...

Bald Eagle (1st year)

The owl decoy has attracted the attention, and enmity of an occasional young Merlin, Cooper's Hawk, and Sharp-shinned Hawk ...

Merlin

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk

 This American Kestrel hovered briefly over the owl decoy, then thought better, and flew on ...

American Kestrel

While hawk numbers have been slow to accumulate, there is always plenty to been seen, and good naturalists to see it with. Just a sampling ...

Tiger Moth Caterpillar

Black-capped Chickadee

Red-eyed Vireo

Great Spangled Fritillary

American Lady

Good Birding - or whatever else you may be doing!!

Snowed In

Mourning Doves during the snow storm

I have been unable to get free to pursue any of the Snowy Owls which have irrupted into the Northeast this winter. In fact, yesterday's winter nor'easter with its foot of snow precluded almost all venturing beyond the warm walls of the house.

That's okay, because there has been plenty to do just watching the birds in the back yard. There has been no winter finch presence this winter, but the variety of sparrows has been notable. Juncos are always present in numbers, but this year several American Tree Sparrows have been regular, as have White-throated Sparrows. The White-crowned Sparrow first seen in early December continues.

Best of all has been the Fox Sparrow. Probably my favorite sparrow, it generally makes brief stops during Spring and Fall migration. For the first few days, it kept to the brushy edge of the yard, but as the snow has continue to accumulate it has moved into the open ...

Fox Sparrow - Red (Taiga)

... and yesterday, it became a true "feeder" bird, scratching seeds on the platform feeder, and as the photo shows, un-intimitated by the much larger Mourning Doves which crowd the platform, and often chasing off juncos, goldfinches, white-throats, and even Blue Jays ...

Fox Sparrow on the platform feeder with Mourning Dove and junco

A few additional images ...

White-throated Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

American Tree Sparrow

Chickadees are unfazed by all the visiting "snow birds," always finding a free feeder somewhere to grab a seed, then head to a branch to pound it open ...

Black-capped Chicadee

Good birding in the year ahead!

Still Here! Brattleboro CBC

I'm still here, although for various reasons I have not posted for several weeks.

Yesterday we did the Brattleboro Area Christmas Bird Count in southeastern Vermont. Rain held off and we had a good count, with 56 species recorded.

Highlights included
 -- Barrow's Goldeneye among several hundred waterfowl coming in to roost above the Vernon Dam in the late afternoon (previous cw in '04 & '10)
-- Rough-legged Hawk seen near the fish hatchery along Connecticut River (last record '04)
-- count week Common Grackle  (last record cw '06)
-- count week White-crowned Sparrow (last records '90, '92)

The White-crowned Sparrow was at my feeders. I photographed it on December 14. It was seen everyday through December 20.

White-crowned Sparrow - South Newfane

Northern Cardinals have been common at my feeders this month. A resident pair plus a "flock" of 5 males and 4 females; I suspect these are yearling birds yet to pair and establish territory. Cardinals in Vermont are colonizers from the south. Old-time Vermonters often look askance at "flatlanders," but cardinals seem to be the exception ... and for good reason ...

The backyard feeders also host the "snowbirds" who come south to enjoy to temperate winters of Vermont (temperate? really) and the several residents like the chickadees ...

American Tree Sparrow

Black-capped Chickadee

Good birding!

Birding - after a fashion

Today is the first day is several weeks when I am relatively free of post-hurricane issues and could enjoy a day of birding. But ... it is raining !! - so indoors it will be.

This past weekend, I did some birding after a fashion. The Newfane Heritage Festival showcased over ninety artists, craftspeople, and specialty food folk, some of whom find their inspiration from birds. Here are a few ...

Chickadee - reverse painting on glass by Joann Gaffron-Hargrove, Springfield, VT

Loon - James Easton, woodcarver, North Windham, CT

Pileated Woodpecker - Phil Morgan, woodcarver, Athens, VT

Hand-carved bird house - Mark Wingertson, Petersham, MA

Meanwhile ... post-hurricane work continued.

Last Friday, work was completed on restoration of the river bank behind our home as part of the long term protection of roads and bridges.

Dozer levels fill where the Weeping Willow once stood

On Saturday, friends from Pennsylvania came to help with post-hurricane clean-up. They attempted to clean a debris jam on the "river's edge" behind our home. The intense force of the water packed material so tightly that it was almost impenetrable. Finally, I asked the neighbor who is putting in the new leach field for our septic system to use his backhoe to pull the debris loose. In the next few days he will complete the job and haul the material to a nearby burn pile.

Debris jam yielded reluctantly to the backhoe

Neighbors and friends supervise the backhoe work

When the weather clears again, I am looking forward to some Good Birding!