Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Not Yet Spring - But Good Birding Anyway!

Over the past few months, Bernie and I have taken three days to visit well-known birding hotspots in Shelburne, Charlotte and Ferrisburgh - and we were struck again by how much LIFE there is outdoors in the winter!

Our walks and "sits" on those two days were enlivened by diving ducks, grebes and loons, dueling eagles, hawks, noisy woodpeckers and others - two dozen species in all!

We didn't concentrate on taking photos, but here are a few:

Northern Harrier

Snow Geese on Christmas Day!



Red-tailed Hawk

part of a large flock of Cedar Waxwings

Black-capped Chickadee

not a great photo because this Bald Eagle was far away,
hunkered down over something yummy

Double-crested Cormorants don't usually overwinter in Vermont,
but this one at Fort Cassin is doing just that!



Fort Cassin


Shelburne Point

We're inviting you to revisit several previous posts about winter birding: here and here and here. And we did a post about the Tri-County Christmas Bird Count, now renamed the Tri-County Winter Bird Count. And two posts about a more local winter bird census, here and here. And one specifically about winter owls, always a treat!

We also shared our photos and excitement about a winter "irruption", when birds that usually stay in Canada come down to Vermont.



Sunday, May 21, 2023

SPRING BIRDING IN THE CHAMPLAIN ISLANDS

Memories by Maeve

As a birthday gift, Bernie gave me two nights at Shore Acres Inn, a home base for solo birding and walking in The Champlain Islands.


I lived in Vermont for over twenty years before I was fully aware of the Champlain Islands. After my first birding day there, I was hooked! The nearness of the lake no matter where you are, the small towns, the twisting back roads, the open farm fields, towns, farmland, swamps and marshes, areas dense woods and miles and miles of shoreline - All that diverse habitat means lots and lots of birds, over 300 species and counting. 


Click on the blue links for each section to see a list of birds that Bernie and I have seen at each location!

Good birding starts before actually getting to the islands. Just drive slowly along Route 2 along Sandbar Wildlife Management Area, looking into the many acres of water and wetlands. This is an important migratory stopover for waterfowl in the spring and fall, and one of the most productive waterfowl breeding sites in the state, supporting Black Ducks, Mallards, Hooded Mergansers, Common Goldeneye, and Wood Ducks. And people from all over come to ogle the nesting Ospreys.


This female did NOT want anyone taking her photo!



Great Blue Herons also nest there, making big messy nests in trees.




Sand Bar State Park is open all year, the road and parking lots are plowed, and the port-o-let is clean and serviced. I've seen over seventy species of birds in the park, all during spring, fall and winter.

One of our favorite spring migration sights was a Wilson's Snipe right beside the parking lot!


The southernmost island, reached by driving across the Sand Bar causeway, is 14 miles long and over 3 miles wide, making it the largest in Lake Champlain. It's sometimes called Grand Isle and sometimes called South Hero because it’s shared by those two towns. 

Not far from the causeway is the Landon Community Trail. There’s a good-sized gravel parking lot with an informational kiosk and a loop trail that's about a mile long. 

Even with a fierce cold wind, I enjoyed over twenty species of birds.

American Redstart (a type of warbler)


I was busy watching a singing American Redstart when my eye was caught by movement almost at my feet. A Veery walked within six feet before suddenly realizing that I wasn't some sort of shrub. 

Veery (a kind of thrush)


Landon Community Trail


Just outside the town of South Hero are two birding "hotspots".

A little pond on Tracy Road often has a surprising variety of ducks and herons. 

The nearby South Hero Marsh Trail (also called the Roy Marsh Trail) is straight and flat, about two miles along a former railroad bed. Osprey nest along the power line cut and soar overhead. And Black-crowned Night-herons are regular nesters in the swamp.


There truly is something called “island time”. I start living on island time as soon as I cross over onto North Hero. Traffic becomes less and goes slower and vistas open up more. I breathe more deeply. I relax. And I head for two of my favorite places in the whole state: North Hero State Park and Pelot's Point Natural Area.

North Hero State Park is almost four hundred acres of lakefront, wetland, forest and mowed areas



The park used to offer camping but now it's for day-use only.  



Less than ten minutes from Shore Acres is Pelot’s Natural Area


This has become one of our favorite places on the islands. The diverse habitats are peaceful and beautiful, the trails are well-defined, and there are many, many birds. Bernie and I have seen or heard a total of 77 species at Pelot's!

Here are some photos of this wonderful spot.



















Here are a few more places in the islands for birding and nature walks. 

Butternut Hill Natural Area was protected by The Nature Conservancy, the Vermont Land Trust, and two North Hero families. This beautiful and unusual area has a mile-long trail to a shale beach on over a thousand feet of undeveloped Lake Champlain shoreline.


We haven't spent much time at Butternut Hill yet, but we definitely will in the future!











The Fisk Quarry Preserve is best-known for fossils. It's part of the Chazy Fossil Reef, a U.S. National Natural Landmark extending from Isle la Motte into Clinton Country, New York. This is the oldest known diverse fossil reef in the world.

fossil


The Ed Weed Fish Hatchery (up the hill from the Grand Isle Ferry Landing) has a pond and a viewing blind as well as a building with lots of information about fish hatcheries and stocking in the state. 





Wherever you go in The Champlain Islands, there are lovely places to walk, sit, enjoy the lake and the birdsong and the breezes!






text by Maeve, most of the photos by Bernie









Thursday, April 20, 2023

It's Spring!! And the Birds Are Coming Back!

April, May and early June are very exciting times of the year! 

Every single day brings something new.

Green shoots start appearing - and a few brave blossoms push through the snow.




Wooded areas are suddenly full of wildflowers.








Year-round birds are suddenly interested in courtship, and migratory birds return to Vermont to choose and defend breeding territories. The first to return are usually male Red-Winged Blackbirds. 

They like damp places and often choose cattail swamps for their nests.





Female Red-winged Blackbirds arrive two or three weeks after the males. These birds aren't black birds and don't have red wings. Their colors are designed for camouflage while they're nesting. 



They are followed by Common Grackles and then Brown-headed Cowbirds.




And then the floodgates start opening!

Some birds just pass through, on their way to breeding grounds farther north - like White-crowned Sparrows and Fox Sparrows.






Other birds arrive ready to court and mate and nest and raise young.


Song Sparrow


Eastern Phoebe


House Wren

Wilson's Snipe

American Woodcock


And that's only March and April! Stay tuned for May!