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Springtime For the Birds

It is Springtime, so Vermont’s resident bird population now has to make room for our regular summer visitors.  The singing, calling and displays of migrant and resident birds alike makes this a wonderful time of year.  Be on the look out for birds building nests.  If you see a bird with twigs, grass, moss (or even manmade materials […]

COSTA RICA: Colorful, wild and surprising. Sunday 4/26 Warren Library at 4PM.

The Central American nation of Costa Rica is home to a vast array of wildlife, due in large part to its geographic position between the North and South American continents, its Neotropical climate, and its wide variety of habitats. Costa Rica is home to more than half a million species, which represents nearly 4% of […]

Ivory Billed Woodpecker Spotted in Warren, Vermont!!!!

Mad Birders Chris and Julia Child got this amazing shot of the bird and want to tell you all about it.  Okay, it is not an Ivory Billed.  (April Fool’s!) but it is a Pale Billed Woodpecker that they saw on a recent visit to Costa Rica.  The Mad Birders and the Warren Library will present […]

White-Headed Black-Capped Chickadee in Moretown

      Here is the “bald-headed” or leucistic Black-Capped Chickadee that has been coming and going at the home of Scott Saintsbury in Moretown.  Note the white head!!!  Scott had to shoot through a window on a dreary day so the shutter speed was low. And, the bird would not stand still. Scott reports that he was […]

Bohemian Waxwings still with us for a few more weeks.

    Mad Birder Tina Valentinetti got these great shots of Bohemian Waxwings in Montpelier, Vermont on March 5th.  The Bohemians are winter visitors and usually leave Vermont by the 3rd week in April, so we will have them around for only a few more weeks.  One can distinguish our resident Cedar Waxwings from our visiting […]

Juvenile Sharp Shinned Hawk

The photos above were taken by Pat Folsom during this past week (second week of March 2009) of a young Sharp Shinned Hawk (affectionately known as a “Sharpie”)  Note the yellow legs!

Pine Siskins Far and Near

Pine Siskins have been easy to see this winter here in Vermont.  Our previous Mad Birders post about the sighting of a Leucistic  Pine Siskin in Moretown caught the attention of Debbie Janney, a birder in Boise, Idaho ,who was able to get a photo of a Leucistic Siskin at her feeder.  Thanks for sending the photo […]

Red Winged Blackbirds Return to the Mad River Valley

Mad Birders in Waitsfield and Moretown, as well as birders throughout Vermont, have eagerly reported sightings of Red Winged Blackbirds over the past two weeks.  While most people associate the American Robin with the Spring return of migratory songbirds, here in Vermont the Red Winged Blackbird is usually the first to arrive, during the last […]

White Winged Crossbills in Waitsfield

During the snowfall in Waitsfield today (3/2/09) Mad Birder Pat Folsom managed to see and photograph this female White Winged Crossbill.  This is the first time Pat has seen a Crossbill at her feeder eating sunflower seeds.  These birds rarely visit feeders as they usually are found at the top of evergreens , using  their […]

Birds of the Season – Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls

This winter, the two most common birds that are being seen in and around the Mad River Valley and the State of Vermont are the Pine Siskin and the Common Redpoll.  With high numbers of each species traveling in fast moving mixed flocks, it is at times difficult to tell them apart.  This shot from […]