MadBirders

Thursday, April 24 – 7:30 – 9:00 PM – Meet at Pat Folsom’s house (3681 East Warren Rd – 2 miles past Round Barn).  We will look for male woodcocks performing their sky dance, part of an annual spring mating ritual that occurs at dawn and dusk. Dress for cool weather.

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Terry Wright spied this Spruce Grouse in the Northeast Kingdom on 4/21/07. It was bird #106 for his Big Year.

How many birds can a person see in Vermont in a single calendar year? Terry Wright, of Essex Center decided to answer this question and spent most of his free time last year traveling all over Vermont looking for birds. Name a town in Vermont and Terry will probably have a bird and a story to go with it. Terry will give a talk and slide show of his “Big Year of Birding” adventures at the Warren Town Hall on Saturday March 29th at 7PM. The event is sponsored by the Mad Birders, the Valley’s own birding organization, and is free and open to the public.
Anyone can become interested in birds and one need not have years of experience to do a ‘Big Year’. While Terry has appreciated birds all of his life, until about 18 months ago his bird watching was casual and relaxed. Then in late May 2006 a very experienced birder took Terry under his wing and Terry began to look at birds differently. He studied birds and learned about their appearance, their songs, where they lived and how they behaved. Terry was inspired to do his Vermont ‘Big Year’, after he read a book entitled Kingbird Highway, in which Kenn Kaufman, a now famous ornithologist, describes how he quit high school at age 16 and hitchhiked back and forth across the country in the early seventies, doing a North American Big Year of Birding.
Terry’s favorite birds during his ‘Big Year’ were the ones that he came upon unexpectedly. Like the Black Billed Cuckoo, normally a shy and elusive bird, that just appeared in a tree right in front of him in the woods of the Northeast Kingdom and sang its heart out for a full fifteen minutes. In addition to learning a great deal about Vermont birds, Terry became acquainted with many people in the Vermont birding community whom he found to be amazingly friendly, knowledgeable and generous.
A 2007 Vermont Big Year of Birding featuring Terry Wright, will take place at the Warren Town Hall on Main Street in Warren, Vermont, just off Route 100 from 7PM until 9PM. The event is presented by the Mad Birders and is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For more information call 496-4730.

Mad River Glen Naturalist Program offers Mad Birders a 2 for 1 discount for this event.  Join Brian Aust, MRG Resident Birder, for a snowshoe birding adventure at Mad River Glen on Sunday, March 23.  Meet in the Basebox at Ski School desk at 10:30 AM or 1:30 PM.  This will be a 2 hour trek up the Snowshoe Hare Trail in search of resident birds and lingering winter visitors.  Bring your binoculars and favorite field guide, water.  Cost is $25 per person and $5 pp for snowshoe rental (or bring your own).  Mad Birders are eligible for a 2 for 1 discount – you must bring a friend to qualify.   Register by calling Sean Lawson 802-496-3551,  x117 (leave a message) or email him sean@madriverglen.com.

Meet at the Foremans’ on Freeman Hill in Moretown. This is a new walk with great bird habitats. Dawna Foreman – leader.

Meet at Shaws at 7:30 AM. This will be an all morning walk. Be prepared for hiking, bring a lunch, snacks, water.

Over one third of the bird species in North America reside within or migrate through Vermont every year. Is it possible to see them all? What is it like to try? Join the Mad Birders for an informal talk and slide presentation by Terry Wright, a Vermont birder whose quest was to see as many bird species as possible within Vermont’s borders during the 2007 calendar year. The talk and slide show will be held on Saturday March 29th from 7PM until 9PM at the Warren Town Hall on Main Street in Warren, Vermont. The event is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served. Call 496-4730 for more information.

Join Mad Birders for a walk on Old County Road and Old Center Fayston Road, led by Susie Thompson.  We will meet Thompsons on Old County (Loop Rd) at 7:30 AM.  This will be a two hour walk that can easily be extended. 

Meet at the Big Picture Theater Parking Lot at 6:30 AM for a walk along a route proposed for a nature trail along the wetlands.  Wear waterproof, sturdy footwear.  1 1/2 hours

Fred and Chris Pratt (Team Pipit!) often make an early morning walk on Ward Hill where there are a good number of warblers as well as other nesting species. Meet at Shaws at 7:30 AM to carpool to Ward Hill, or get to Ward Hill to begin birding at 7:45 AM.

Despite the snow and wind, the male Red-winged Blackbirds have arrived in the Valley and across the state.  Bridget says blackbirds are the true harbingers of spring.  Rejoice!!