MadBirders

Indigo Buntings… three years running now.

Tree Swallows nesting in a bluebird box.

An unidentified butterfly among the lilacs.

Alex…

Alex, Patti, Jeannie, Jeff, Kay and Ave

Pat

Alex, Kay, Jeff, Patti and Ave

Seven Mad Birders had a wonderful walk on Center Fayston Road this fine May morning and spotted gorgeous Indigo Buntings for the third year in a row.  Thanks to Pat Folsom for these great shots and to Patti Haynes for recording our sightings for Ebird.

Number of species:     32

Ruffed Grouse     1
Broad-winged Hawk     1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker     2
Northern Flicker     1
Alder Flycatcher     1
Eastern Phoebe     1
Red-eyed Vireo     2
Blue Jay     3
American Crow     1
Common Raven     1
Tree Swallow     2
Black-capped Chickadee     X
White-breasted Nuthatch     1
Veery     1
Wood Thrush     1
American Robin     1
Chestnut-sided Warbler     2
Magnolia Warbler     1
Black-throated Blue Warbler     1
Yellow-rumped Warbler     2
Black-throated Green Warbler     1
Blackburnian Warbler     2
Ovenbird     X
Mourning Warbler     1
Common Yellowthroat     1
Scarlet Tanager     2
Chipping Sparrow     1
Song Sparrow     1
White-throated Sparrow     2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak     1
Indigo Bunting     1
Purple Finch     1

A beautiful Spring morning brought out eight Mad Birders to the boardwalk section of the Mad River Path near the Big Picture Theater.  A pair of Baltimore Orioles serenaded us and we all got great looks at both the male and female.  Thanks to Bill Martin for bringing a camera and getting a great shot.  Thanks also to Laura Brines of the Mad River Path Association for helping make the morning walk happen as part of the Mad River Valley Walk and Roll week.  Other birds seen included Yellow Warblers, Eastern Kingbirds, Song Sparrows and Chestnut-Sided Warblers.

Mad Birder Hat in Spruce

Thanks to Bryan Pfeiffer, Vermont Bird Photographer Extraordinaire, the Mad Birders now have a logo and it is making its first appearance on some terrific hats.  The inspiration was Bryan’s fabulous photograph of a Ruby Crowned Kinglet.  Bryan is already a consummate Mad Birder, having written (with Ted Murin) the ultimate local birding guidebook:  Birdwatching in Vermont.  Check out his photos at Wings Photography.

Mad Birder hats come in six colors and cost $20 for Mad Birders and $25 for birders who have not yet officially become Mad Birders.  Membership dues are to be paid annually and are a modest $15  for an individual and $20 for a family.  For details on membership see the “ABOUT” tab on top of our home page.  To purchase a hat send an email to info@madbirders.org.  We’ll make it easy for you to join or renew, at the same time you are buying a hat.  Just ask!  Thanks.

Mad Birder hat colors (from left to right) Periwinkle , Espresso, Spruce, Charcoal, Chamois, and Cactus

We have a new supply so currently, all colors are available!

Eric models the first Mad Birder hat!

Seventeen Mad Birders turned out at the home of John and Sandra Reilly in Waitsfield, Vermont this past Saturday evening for an informative and entertaining evening about Common Loons.  Loon Biologist Eric Hanson of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies’ Loon Recovery Project gave a slide show and talk about loons and delighted Mad Birders with his imitation loon calls and some surprising facts about loons: 1) For the first three years or so of their lives, loons don’t migrate, but simply stay on their winter territory; 2) For a few months every year during winter loons lose their flight feathers and simply can’t fly; and 3) Loons don’t mate for life.  Eric’s remarks were followed by a showing of Gail Osherenko’s documentary film: The Dark Side of the Loon, about the wintering grounds for loons, which was also very illuminating.  The Mad Birders will be making a contribution to the VCE Loon Recovery Project and thank Eric for his time and dedication to this beautiful and fascinating species of bird.

Eric Hanson – of the Vermont Loon Recovery Project- will present a slide show and talk as part of the Mad Birder’s upcoming showing of Gail Osherenko’s documentary: The Dark Side of the Loon.  Eric has been the Loon Biologist with the Vermont Center for Ecostudies’ Loon Recovery Project since 1998 and has studied loons for almost two decades.  Eric’s knowledge about this unique and intriguing bird species will make an already special evening even more interesting.  Join us on Saturday April 24th at 7:30PM at Graves Farm Road in Waitsfield.  (at intersection of Joslin Hill, Common, and North Rds, turn east on East Rd – Joslin Hill becomes East Rd.  Graves Farm is first road on right).  The Reillys are the fourth driveway on the right.   Please carpool if possible, parking is limited.  Pat Folsom will meet people to carpool at Shaws at 7 PM.  Bring a dessert or wine to share.

Common Loon

The eerie calls and striking black and white plumage of the common loon captivate those of us who spend time on northern lakes and ponds between April and October. Then the loons disappear. Quiet descends. Where do they go? How do they survive in winter?  Common loons change their brilliant breeding plumage for dull feathers that provide better camouflage in winter, but make them less obvious in the marine environment. They seldom call, so it’s easy to miss them even in the bays and harbors we frequent.

Come join the Mad Birders at the home of Sandra and John Reilly in Waitsfield on Saturday April 24th at 7:30PM for a free showing of The Dark Side of the Loon,  a documentary film by Gail Osherenko. www.darksideoftheloon.com

Bring a dessert to share.  For questions email info@madbirders.org or call 496-4730.

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.

Mad Birder Scott Sainsbury got this great shot of a rare avian visitor to the Mad River Valley, a Snow Goose.  The bird was seen today, 3/22/10  at the Ward Memorial Recreation Area of the Mad River on Route 100b in Moretown, Vermont.   Way to go Scott!!

This Barred Owl was spotted in flight mid day on Sunday January 17th.  Bare trees make for good birding in Winter.  Craig Goss took this photo near Phen Basin in Fayston, VT.

Sunrise over the Green Mountains greets Frosty Mad Birders

Team Chickadees finds a covey of Quail!

Northern Bob White Quail posing for the camera.

 31 Mad Birders lived up to their name on Friday December 18th as they set out before sunrise to participate for the 5th time in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.  The day was remarkably beautiful and memorably cold.  Ten teams of birders spread out over a 15 mile radius ‘count circle’ that encompassed Waitsfield, Warren, Fayston, Moretown, Berlin, Northfield and Roxbury.  The birders managed to see 37 separate species and a total of 3348 individual birds.  Highlights, in addtiion to the Northern Bob White Quail pictured above, were a Great Blue Heron, a pair of American Robins, a Song Sparrow and a Common Grackle.  During “Count Week” the birders ‘bagged’ a pair of Canada Geese and a Red Winged Blackbird.  The day concluded with a  pot luck celebration at the home of Scott and Pat Sainsbury, with delicious food prepared by their daughter Jackie, whose coconut cake was the perfect end to a winter wonderland day.