MadBirders

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.

Mad Birders will gather at 7:30 PM to watch Dark Side of the Loon, a documentary about where and how loons spend the winter.  Eric Hanson, a Vermont biologist studying loons, will join us to give us information about loon recovery in VT.  We will meet at Sandra and John Reillys, 220 Graves Farm Rd (at intersection of Joslin Hill, Common, and North Rds, turn east on 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.

Bring your favorite dessert or wine to share, coffee and tea provided.

Vist http://www.adkvic.org/birdcelebration.html for more details about this festival in Paul Smith, NY.  Highly recommended by Katie Woodruff, our Saranac Mad Birder.

Meet at the parking lot just beyond the Ice Center in Waterbury to hike Perry Hill.  This was a new location last year, led by Graham Bates.   Wear sturdy footwear, bring a water bottle, and be prepared for an uphill hike.

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.