MadBirders

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There have been many Barred Owls reported in the Valley and around the state this winter.  One of the Valley Christmas Bird Count teams spotted three on December 14.  The Barred is the most common species of owl in the Valley, but the number being seen during daylight hours is very unusual.  Many residents are reporting seeing them in their neighborhoods or along roadsides.  One has even been hanging out in the middle of Burlington since early January, spotted by James Foreman and others at First Night celebration.

On Friday, January 25, the Vermont Center for Ecostudies devoted much of its weekly Birdbrains report in the Burlington Free Press to the Barred Owl.  According to their report, the food source (small rodents such as mice and voles) of these birds in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence regions has crashed, forcing the birds further south to find prey.  Many of these birds are probably young, stressed to find food, so hunting during the day. 

 Barred Owls will be begin nesting in February, so we will soon be hearing their “Who cooks for you?  Who cooks for you all?” calls.  Enjoy every sighting of these wonderful birds (and be happy they are decreasing our rodent population).

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Sandra snapped this shot of Snow Buntings feasting on white millet at a platform feeder in her yard in Waitsfield.

Bohemian Waxwing
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Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls
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High temperatures, rain, freezing rain, high winds – not welcome weather in the middle of January in Vermont. However, sometimes interesting birds show up during turbulence. This winter has many irruptives (birds that normally winter in Canada, but show up when food supply is short) visiting our area. This morning, when the freezing rain and high winds made going outside miserable, lots of birds came in to the yard. A large flock of Common Redpolls with at least one Hoary Redpoll among them, several Pine Grosbeaks, Cedar Waxwings, and Bohemian Waxwings swirled in and out with the gusty winds. They joined the usual characters (chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, and jays) that frequent the feeders in winter.

This ermine, quite an agile creature, decided to celebrate the New Year by sampling the delicacies at the feeders on Two Dog Mountain in Fayston.

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On Friday December 14, 2007 over two dozen Mad Birders braved the winter weather to participate in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The Waitsfield team got a great look at a Pileated Woodpecker and Pat Folsom snapped this shot.

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The Fayston Team dubbed themselves The Peckerheads (because their first birds of the day were Woodpeckers). Pictured below are Allison, Bill and Mae.

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This winter many Common Redpolls are visiting Vermont — typically they arrive in large numbers every other year when their food supply in the northern boreal forrest crashes. We think Pat found one Hoary Redpoll within a flock of 70 Common Redpolls. The red spot on the head looks smaller than on the Common, also the bird is gray, rather than brown on the back. The bird’s bill definitely looked stubby. The line from the forehead to the tip of the bill is a straight line on Hoary.

The Hoary is the bird in the back in this shot.
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In these next shots, the Hoary is on the left.
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Now it is on the right.
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We will hold our Christmas Bird Count on Friday, December 14, 2007. This is an all day event in which up to 10 teams will canvass our 15 mile Circle counting all the birds that are seen. The day concludes with a lively potluck where teams report on their bird counts. Home-based feeder watchers can also participate by watching their feeders for 30 to 60 minutes during the day.  Check with Coordinator Bridget Butler (bbutler@audubon.org) for more information.

Participants in Mad River Valley/Northfield Christmas Bird Count are invited to a pre-CBC meeting , Tuesday, November 27th at 7 PM.  We will meet at Dawna and James Foreman’s house on Freeman Hill Rd, Moretown.  We will finalize plans for the Christmas Bird Count, to be held on Friday, December 14th.  We welcome all who would like to join a team or watch birds at home feeders.  Please contact Bridget Butler (bbutler@audubon.org) for more information.

Weather permitting, Mad Birders will travel to Dead Creek in Addison County to view Snow Geese and other birds of interest on Sunday, October 21.  Dress warmly, bring lunch.  We will leave Wait House at 8 AM, return by 3 PM.

For the past two or three years, birders have reported a pair of Sandhill Cranes near Bristol Pond (Winona Lake), about 4 miles north of Bristol Village.  This year the couple successfully raised one offspring known as a colt.  These Sandhill Cranes have been feeding in fields around Bristol all fall and are still around on October 15.  Many Vermont birders enjoy locating and watching this rare bird family.  They will soon fly south, stay together as a family unit all winter, then the parents will send the young off on its own in the spring.  We hope the parents return to Bristol next year to raise another colt.  

A pair of Sandhills was observed several times in the Valley early in June, 2007.   Perhaps they will return to nest in 2008 and we will have our own Sandhill family. 

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