Category

Barred Owl in Fayston

 
 Mad Birder Ave Haviland has had regular visits from this Barred Owl this week at her feeder in Fayston.

Birding in the Rain

Sometimes there are feeding frenzies during a rainy day.  A Purple Finch and Pine Siskin wait their turn at the feeder in the cold rain on a late October day.
These finches were two of many visiting the feeder in the cold rain.

Visit Lake Champlain for Fall Shorebirds in Migration

This Dunlin was spotted at Shelburne Bay Fishing Access for several days during late October.

Winter Birds Arriving in the Mad River Valley

A single Snow Bunting forages at Blueberry Lake in late October.

It’s time for winter birds to start arriving in our beautiful Mad River Valley.  Look for Snow Buntings, Bohemian Waxwings, American Tree Sparrows, Pine Siskins, Common Redpolls and others.   Note the great camoflauge of this bird in the grass, really hard to see in the [...]

Snow Goose on the Mad River!

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!!

Birds of the First Snow

White Crowned Sparrow
 

White Throated Sparrow
 

White Breasted Nuthatch
 

Dark Eyed Junco
 Mad Birder Bill Martin got these great shots in Warren, Vermont as the first snow of the season blanketed the Mad River Valley on this mid October morning.  We will see the Juncos and Nuthatches all winter long, but these may be our last glimpses of the [...]

Summer Residents Head South

This shot of a Warbling Vireo was taken by Mad Birder Scott Sainsbury this week in Moretown. Warbling Vireos typically leave Vermont around the fourth week in September to head for their winter homes, typically located anywhere from Mexico south to El Salvador.

Juvenile Saw-whet Owl

The sighting of this owl caused a fair amount of excitement here on East Road among our extended family. It was sitting at the side of the house and was seemingly unafraid as it was approached. It looks just like the Juvenile Saw-whet Owl in Peterson’s guide book; the book also implies that this owl [...]

Pine Siskins and other Irruptives

This winter is proving to be a good one for birders looking for irruptives – those birds that visit our Valley some years, looking for food.  Several Mad Birders and birders all over the east are reporting flocks of Pine Siskins at their feeders.  The Hawk Mountain migration report forecast this irruption when they reported ten times [...]

Red Bellied Woodpecker!

This Red Bellied Woodpecker was spotted by Joan Gilbert on December 12th. This woodpecker is expanding its range north; they have been spotted by Mad Birders only a few times in the valley. We will keep our fingers crossed that it will stick around for next week’s Christmas Bird Count!