Bohemian Waxwings in Waitsfield - Photo by John Reilly

Bohemians at Mountain Valley Farm  Waitsfield – Photo by Gib Geiger

Beginning about a week ago Mad Birders began reporting Bohemian Waxwing sightings in the valley.  Flocks of between 30 and 70 have been reported in Fayston and Waitsfield and also at various locations throughout the State of Vermont.  These fruit and berry loving birds are winter migrants, usually seen in Vermont from late November until late April.  Wonderfully gregarious and sociable, Bohemians are known to appear in large flocks.  The distinctive and exotic appearance along with the sweet high pitched song of the Bohemian Waxwing is a real treat for the winter birder.

Gib and Sue, with Gib sporting a Mad Birder hat. Thanks to you both!

Birders from near and far continue to observe the Varied Thrush. Fernando Corrada got this shot on Sunday 1/22/12.

Varied Thrush at Mountain Valley Farm in Waitsfield

The Mad Birders are proud to have this Varied Thrush visiting the Mad River Valley this week in Waitsfield, Vermont. Mountain Valley Farm owners Gib and Sue Geiger are bird lovers and knew they had something unusual when they saw the vibrant orange on this bird on Saturday. They emailed photos to Pat and Nancy of the Mad Birders and to renowned bird expert Bryan Pfeiffer who confirmed that this was a Varied Thrush. The bird has been seen for the past three days at the Farm, located at 1719 Common Road in Waitsfield. The bird is on the shy side, and flies off when approached too closely. Sue, took this photo on January 16th. The Geigers have thoughtfully placed a cardboard box at the end of his driveway. On the box are written directions to let you know where to go to view the Thrush. Please take the time to read them. The Mad Birders and birders from all across Vermont and elsewhere are grateful to our wonderful neighbors Gib and Sue for sharing their avian guest with all of us. Thanks Gib and Sue!

Waxwing recovering in a canoe after being helped out of Blueberry Lake

Two Mad Birders canoeing on Blueberry Lake in Warren, Vermont this past weekend were in the right place at the right time for the little juvenile Cedar Waxwing pictured above.  The birders spied the Waxwing swimming awkwardly across the lake.  They approached and offered it a paddle onto which the bird gratefully climbed.  The bird recovered for about 20 minutes on the bottom of the canoe and then was willing to hop onto the bow.  5 minutes later, the breeze picked up and the bird flew from the bow to a nearby  tree bough on shore.  Moments later an adult Cedar Waxwing flew in and landed next to it.  It appears that the little bird escaped unscathed from its (probably) inadvertent early morning swim.

Young Hermit Thrush sitting on cone flowers

From Katie Woodruff in Saranac: A poor photo taken through a window and from a distance. However it does show what I wanted to share with you. This young Hermit Thrush was under our feeder this morning and then flew to this pink coneflower and tried to eat the seeds. This was definitely a first for me.

Note: click on the photo to zoom in.

On June 28th, 2011, a trio of Mad Birders: Ali Wagner, Pat Folsom and Patti Haynes headed to Orleans County to help Patti achieve her 2011 goal of birding all fourteen Vermont counties in a single calendar year.  Barr Hill in Greensboro was the target destination, but they were keeping track of every bird they saw in Washington, Caledonia, and Orleans Counties.  After finding 53 species in Orleans County alone, they headed back to the Mad River Valley on Route 14 feeling quite satisfied with the day’s sightings and Patti was very pleased to have only one more county on her list.

They were still trying to ‘bird by car’ in Caledonia County, but when they crossed back into Washington County they all figured it was time to relax. Pat was driving and suddenly spotted a big white bird in a tree and exclaimed, “Oh, look!!!…” Patti looked over to the right and saw the bird and thought: ‘Holy macaroni Batman…a Snowy Owl???’ Ali, who had been ‘resting her eyes’ opened them up and wondered if she was still dreaming.  Pat pulled the car off the road coming to a screeching halt and the trio held their collective breaths as they gazed upon the large snow white bird perched in an evergreen. They soon realized that it was a hawk, not an owl, by the head and face.  They dared not move for fear of flushing the bird, so Pat passed her camera to Ali who took photos from the back seat. The bird remained unfazed, so Patti suggested Pat get out of the car to take another shot and that is the one you see above.

This bird had dark eyes, some dark primaries, and yellow legs. The beak was two toned: dark at the business end and light toward the head.  The only thing that moved on the bird was its head.  The raptor never changed position in the tree.  The Mad Birders didn’t try to send it into flight but did talk about the tail, which they really could not see. The bird was not a true albino, because if that were the case, the bird would have had red eyes and a pink bill. Their conclusion was that this was a leucistic Red Tailed Hawk.  Leucism is a condition characterized by reduced   pigmentation in animals and humans.

They based their conclusion on their observations as well as the fact that a bird matching this description had been reported around Central Vermont for several years and they also surmised it was probably the same bird.  In fact, Mad Birder Scott Sainsbury had seen and photographed a white hawk that showed a red tail in flight on April  17, 2010 over the Mad River in Moretown.  Scott had named it el Blanco and one of Scott’s photos is shown below.  Larry Clarfeld of North Branch Nature Center had also reported a similar sighting in Elmore.  What a day for this trio of eagle-eyed Mad Birders!

The Mad Birders are very grateful to Professor Bernd Heinrich who came to Warren, VT to give a talk titled “Bernd on Birds” last Saturday afternoon.  Apologies to all for the delay in starting the program.  The talk focused on the nesting habits of many common North American songbirds and Professor Heinrich provided some fascinating insights into the biological mechanisms and reasons for egg coloration and egg marking.  For more information on this topic, birders can read Bernd’s 2010 book on the subject:  The Nesting Season: Cuckoos, Cuckolds, and the Invention of Monogamy.  Pictured above is a nest of Common Mallard eggs taken by Mad Birder Barb Ellis in East Warren on 6/15/11.  The duck had done such a good job of camouflaging the nest last week that Barb thought the nest had failed.  However as of yesterday ten baby Mallards were still on their way into this world.

The Reilly's found this Oriole nest at their home in Waitsfield this week.

For every Bird a Nest --
Wherefore in timid quest
Some little Wren goes seeking round --

Wherefore when boughs are free --
Households in every tree --
Pilgrim be found?

Perhaps a home too high --
Ah Aristocracy!
The little Wren desires --

Perhaps of twig so fine --
Of twine e'en superfine,
Her pride aspires --

The Lark is not ashamed
To build upon the ground
Her modest house --

Yet who of all the throng
Dancing around the sun
Does so rejoice?

Emily Dickinson

Mad Birder Scott Sainsbury got this great shot of a Cooper’s Hawk on his birdfeeder yesterday in Moretown.  On June 11th Scott will lead a Spring bird walk on his property, Cross Haven Farm.  Keep a look out for great birds…you never know where they will turn up!

John Reilly of Waitsfield got this marvelous shot of a Barred Owl in his yard last month.  We rarely get to see that wonderful long wing span.  Good shot John!

Mad Birders have been thrilled with the sight of an immature (First Year) Bald Eagle.  “Great Eddy’  was initially spotted by Katie Woodruff near the Covered Bridge over the Mad River on January 12th.  The bird has been seen every day since including on the 16th, when it traveled a few miles north to Moretown.  These photos by Rick Haynes, Craig Goss and Scott Sainsbury capture the bird roosting and in flight.