MadBirders

As we move into July, baby birds are being seen and heard in our yards and forests.  Listen for begging calls as parents continue to feed babies after they have fledged, watch for youngsters learning to fly and take care of themselves in the big world.  Some bird species are now sitting on a second set of eggs, raising as many babies as possible before fall arrives. 

Two Mad Birders almost stepped on a Veery’s nest on the ground in June. 

A great venue for spring migrants and waterfowl is Blueberry Lake in Warren. Join the Mad Birders this Thursday morning at 7:30 for a two hour walk around the lake. Almost all of our spring and summer visitors have arrived for the season and they are moving in, setting up housekeeping and bringing new songbirds into the world. Come on out and take a look.  Meet at the south end of the lake.

Join dawna Foreman this coming Thursday at 7:30am for a Freeman Hill Bird Walk in Moretown. Freeman Hill Road is on the left after you pass Maynard’s Snack Bar heading north on Route 100B from Waitsfield. dawna’s is the first house on the left as you head up Freeman Hill Road. Loaner binoculars are available for new birders. Lots of great birds have been regularly spotted on Freeman Hill, including a couple of Great Crested Flycatchers this week. They have a lemon yellow breast and a wonderful call that sounds like they are saying a very loud VREEEEEP!!! So come join dawna for a walk this Thursday the 22^nd and see what you can see.

Also this week Jeannie Elias is leading a walk on Sunday at 7:30am on Center Fayston Road. Meet at Shaw’s at 7:30 or call Jeannie for directions to her home at 496-4730. Veterans of previous Center Fayston Road walks with Jeannie will be relieved that the mud bog trail has been ditched in favor of open fields, easily accessible brooks and ponds and roadsides. Recent birds seen in these environs include Black Throated Green Warblers, Black Throated Blue Warblers, Magnolia Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Chestnut Sided Warblers, Least Flycatchers, Northern Flickers, Tree Swallows and Rose Breasted Grosbeaks.

The Mad Birders want to express their BIG THANKS to Terry Wright for his 2007 BIG YEAR OF BIRDING presentation for the Mad Birders back on March 29th. Terry gave us a wonderful presentation that included a bird identification challenge for all attendees. Pictured above are Terry (yes, that’s him in the camo) looking for the Bicknell’s Thrush on Mount Ellen in Fayston last year (He and the other Mad Birders did get to see the Bicknell’s that day) and at the presentation at the Warren Town Hall. Many heartfelt thanks from all of us.

Pat Folsom got this great shot of a Baltimore Oriole, (back to its original name after being known for a short while as the Northern Oriole,) this morning just after sunrise at one of the feeders at her Waitsfield home. The Baltimore Oriole winters in Southern Mexico, Northern South America and the Greater Antilles. Like many of our migratory songbirds, this bird generally arrives in Vermont during the first week in May, so this one was just about right on time. Be on the look out for the brilliant orange plumage of the male. It is unmistakable…no wonder they like oranges so much.

Tree Swallow

UPDATE: SATURDAY AM — The walk is still on! At this moment, 7 AM, the rain is intermittent and not too heavy. Wear a hat and gloves and a rain jacket, and we’ll see you at Knoll Farm! — Nancy 

The Mad Birders invite those who are new to birding to join us on a Saturday morning walk that will provide an introduction to the joys of bird watching. We’ll briefly share tips on how to use binoculars, some basic bird watching dos and don’ts and share information about birding hot spots in the Mad River Valley. Most of our time will be spent looking for birds at Knoll Farm. We will start at the yard and barn, then walk up through the meadow to the woods. This is one of Mad Birder’s most popular walks each year. In the past two years, we have seen Cliff, Barn, and Tree Swallows, Bobolinks, Scarlet Tanagers, Hermit Thrushes, and a variety of Warblers, to name a few.

We encourage all fledgling birders and anyone interested in increasing birding skills to join us. Bring binoculars if you have them; spare binoculars will be available for those who do not have them.

Event Information: When: Saturday May 3rd, 8:00 to 9:30 AM

Where: Knoll Farm at 730 Bragg Hill Road 

The event will be held “light” rain or shine. 

Contact Nancy Turner at 496-2523 for more information.

Reports have come in from all around the Mad River Valley about new bird arrivals for the Spring.  Red Winged Blackbirds, Robins, Song Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, and White Throated Sparrows are regularly being spotted.  Winter Wrens have been heard singing and the first warbler, a Yellow Rumped Warbler, has been seen in Waitsfield. 

The Mad Birders have an ambitious schedule of birding walks planned, including an evening Woodcock Walk on April 24th in Waitsfield, an all day Lake Champlain Birding Adventure on Sunday April 27th, and a morning Beginner Bird Walk on Saturday May 3rd at Knoll Farm in Fayston. 

Everyone is welcome to join the Mad Birders on these walks!  To see the schedule click on the EVENTS section at the top of this page.  For more details on a particular walk, just click on the name of the walk.  Questions?  Email us at info@madbirders.org

HAPPY BIRDING!

Bird migration is not an exact science of course, but years of observation have given birders the ability to get pretty close to assigning a precise ETA for each bird’s Spring arrival date in Vermont. For a week by week ’schedule’ of what birds you can expect to see download a pdf of the Vermont Bird Arrival Schedule. Know what to look for when, and maybe you’ll be the lucky one to see the first Blackburnian Warbler.

Terry Wright spied this Spruce Grouse in the Northeast Kingdom on 4/21/07. It was bird #106 for his Big Year.

How many birds can a person see in Vermont in a single calendar year? Terry Wright, of Essex Center decided to answer this question and spent most of his free time last year traveling all over Vermont looking for birds. Name a town in Vermont and Terry will probably have a bird and a story to go with it. Terry will give a talk and slide show of his “Big Year of Birding” adventures at the Warren Town Hall on Saturday March 29th at 7PM. The event is sponsored by the Mad Birders, the Valley’s own birding organization, and is free and open to the public.
Anyone can become interested in birds and one need not have years of experience to do a ‘Big Year’. While Terry has appreciated birds all of his life, until about 18 months ago his bird watching was casual and relaxed. Then in late May 2006 a very experienced birder took Terry under his wing and Terry began to look at birds differently. He studied birds and learned about their appearance, their songs, where they lived and how they behaved. Terry was inspired to do his Vermont ‘Big Year’, after he read a book entitled Kingbird Highway, in which Kenn Kaufman, a now famous ornithologist, describes how he quit high school at age 16 and hitchhiked back and forth across the country in the early seventies, doing a North American Big Year of Birding.
Terry’s favorite birds during his ‘Big Year’ were the ones that he came upon unexpectedly. Like the Black Billed Cuckoo, normally a shy and elusive bird, that just appeared in a tree right in front of him in the woods of the Northeast Kingdom and sang its heart out for a full fifteen minutes. In addition to learning a great deal about Vermont birds, Terry became acquainted with many people in the Vermont birding community whom he found to be amazingly friendly, knowledgeable and generous.
A 2007 Vermont Big Year of Birding featuring Terry Wright, will take place at the Warren Town Hall on Main Street in Warren, Vermont, just off Route 100 from 7PM until 9PM. The event is presented by the Mad Birders and is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For more information call 496-4730.

Mad River Glen Naturalist Program offers Mad Birders a 2 for 1 discount for this event.  Join Brian Aust, MRG Resident Birder, for a snowshoe birding adventure at Mad River Glen on Sunday, March 23.  Meet in the Basebox at Ski School desk at 10:30 AM or 1:30 PM.  This will be a 2 hour trek up the Snowshoe Hare Trail in search of resident birds and lingering winter visitors.  Bring your binoculars and favorite field guide, water.  Cost is $25 per person and $5 pp for snowshoe rental (or bring your own).  Mad Birders are eligible for a 2 for 1 discount - you must bring a friend to qualify.   Register by calling Sean Lawson 802-496-3551,  x117 (leave a message) or email him sean@madriverglen.com.