Siskin, Racket-tail, Checkerspot, et al

Pine Siskins are usually seen Spring, Winter, and Fall, as they wander to and from northern breeding grounds, but with the late spring, this year, they have been around sporadically. Possibly a few pairs are or have been breeding. This one visited me on July 3 ...

Pine Siskin

Earlier on the 3rd, I saw my first Common Whitetail of the year ...

Common Whitetail

"Leftover" dragonflies from recent excursions include the Racket-tailed Emerald and the Dot-tailed Whiteface (Essex Co, Vt.)

Racket-tailed Emerald

Dot-tailed Whiteface

 "New" butterflies in my photo achives are the Little Wood-Satyr, the Atlantis Fritillary   (Dummerston, VT) and the Baltimore Checkerspot (Putney, VT), a beauty deserving more than one photo ...

Little Wood-Satyr

Atlantis Fritillary

Baltimore Checkerspot

Baltimore Checkerspot

Finally, a walk through the butterfly garden in my backyard has provided regular sightings of the Great Spangled Fritillary ...

Great Spangled Fritillary

Great Spangled Fritillary

Whatever you encounter, take time to appreciate it.

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

Flickers, Siskins, and the Hawk Watch

Northern Flickers have been migrating through in large numbers ...

Northern Flickers have been on the move

... but for the first time I can remember, they visited the bird bird feeders, becoming a "new feeder bird" in my yard ...

Flickers became a "new feeder bird" in my yard this Fall

Pine Siskins, which have been widely reported throughout Vermont in the last few days, have been emptying my feeders on a daily basis for several weeks, and continue to do so.

Pine Siskins fill the thistle feeder perches, while emptying the sunflower feeder daily

Meanwhile, Putney Mountain Hawk Watch has counted a site record for Broad-winged Hawk, Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, and Osprey, and has an excellent flight for the other raptor species. A recent photographic sampling ...

Merlin

Red-tailed Hawk began their serious migration movement in October

Northern Goshawk

When the hawks are not flying, and sometimes when they are, the Common Ravens of the neighborhood provide entertaining aerial shows.

Common Raven

Good Birding!

Siskin Fallout

In April we had a few Pine Siskins in our yard, including a few juveniles of this early nesting species. Those birds, I am sure, have long since moved on.

Yesterday morning the presence of White-crowned Sparrows (along with White-throated Sparrows), evidenced the arrival of the northern forest birds.

The morning activity indicated a fallout after a night flight. The birds were in a feeding frenzy. The sparrows were present in modest numbers, but the Pine Siskins were present in the hundreds. Goldfinches were mixed in the flock as were Purple Finches.

The photos below are just a hint of the numbers. The bulk feeder hanging from the eave was lined with siskins and the ground underneath was a moving mass of birds.

Pine Siskins on the thistle feeder

Siskins and other finches empty the window feeder in a couple of hours

A single Purple Finch (center foreground) vies with the siskins on the platform feeder

The downside of the finch horde is that the feeders are emptied in a day. As the falling leaves swirl in the wind, the birds are rushing into winter survival mode. It makes for good birding!

More Spring !!

I continue to be delighted that Evening Grosbeaks have returned to the vicinity after disappearing in the aftermath of last year's hurricane and flooding. At least two pair seem to be courting and hopefully will nest nearby.

Evening Grosbeak - male

Evening Grosbeak - female (background: Red-winged Blackbird female)

This has been an abundant year for American Goldfinches. Their cousins, the Pine Siskins, have also been common at the feeders, sometimes as many as a dozen or more ...

American Goldfinch

Pine Siskin

Chipping Sparrows returned two weeks ago. A few morning I have heard their vocal dueling through the bedroom window as early as 5 am.

Chipping Sparrow

The White-throated Sparrow in the bird bath is one of those "just because I like it" photos ...

White-throated Sparrow - white morph

With the females returning, the Red-winged Blackbirds are no longer hiding their epaulets, but are "singing," displaying, and chasing rivals with vigor ...

Red-winged Blackbird

... and finally, for the last month I have been trying to get photos of the Tree Swallow in flight, with several hundred failures. Then a few days ago, I had several credible successes. Here is one ...

Tree Swallow

Good Birding!!

LBJs - IDs for Exercises 11 & 12

Song Sparrow (default sparrow) - see! We don't need to use the breast spot to ID this songster.

Pine Siskin

American Tree Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow

Lincoln's Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow (l), Blue Grosbeak, female (r)

Fox Sparrow (foreground), White-throated Sparrow (2)

White-throated Sparrow (l), White-crowned Sparrow (r)

Purple Finch, female (foreground), White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco (background)

Song Sparrow (foreground), White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco

LBJs - IDs for Exercises 9 & 10

If you are following these LBJ posts, I hope they are getting easier for you. Exercise 9 was posted last Thursday. Exercise 10 was posted Sunday.

#41 - American Tree Sparrow - similar to juvenile White-crowned and juvenile Chipping. Note warm wash on sides, sometimes a breast spot. Study the bird guides for differences in size and shape

#42 - Chipping Sparrow

#43 - Indigo Bunting, female - Note traces of blue on the wings, finch-like beak

#44 - House Finch, female

#45 - Swamp Sparrow

#46 - Rose-breasted Grosbeak, female

#47 - Savannah Sparrow

#48 - Song Sparrow

#49 - Song Sparrow - See! You don't need to see the breast spot to ID this sparrow.

#50 - Pine Siskin







Good Birding!!