Monthly Archives: October 2012
A Couple of Storm Birds
In spite of forecast for high winds and some rain, we escaped Hurricane Sandy with just a little wind and showers. And so while we we likely didn’t get any rare birds blown in, we also are much more fortunate … Continue reading
Posted in Digiscoping, Vermont Birding
1 Comment
Northern Shrike — The Butcher Bird
One of the winter birds that I have yet to see and add to my life list is the Northern Shrike. We’ve been away much of the last three winters but there’s also been a fairly reliable visitor, which we … Continue reading
Posted in Vermont Birding, Winter Birds
Tagged Northern Shrike, Tom Slayton, Vermont Birding, Winter Birds
3 Comments
Smart Birds Stash Stores, Thwart Thieves
We know that squirrels make the most of fall’s plenty by hoarding nuts for the winter, but the fact that birds also store, or cache, food goes largely unappreciated. Through clever observation and experiments, biologists have found that food caching … Continue reading
Posted in Bird Behavior, bird feeding, Birds
Tagged Bird behavior, bird feeding, Black-capped Chickadee
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Airstream Repair Photos
As I posted a couple of weeks ago, I dropped off the Airstream at Colin Hyde’s repair facility in Plattsburgh, NY. The other day, I got a bunch of photos showing the progress on the replacement of the panels. They … Continue reading
Posted in Colin Hyde, repairs
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Project Feeder Watch Starts Soon
The 26th season of Project FeederWatch begins November 10, and participants are needed more than ever. By watching your feeders from November through April and submitting what you see, you’re making it possible for scientists to keep track of changing bird populations across the … Continue reading
Posted in Backyard birds, bird feeding
Tagged Backyard birds, bird feeding, Project Feeder Watch
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New Twitter Background for Vtbirder
The dog and I went out into the woods on a photo mission this afternoon, using the self-timer to shoot a couple of avatar-images for a new Twitter background. I worked in Photoshop to put together a custom background. Not a … Continue reading
Posted in Vermont Birding
Tagged Twitter, vtbirder
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Magic of the Snowy Owl
A wonderful hour-long video of Snowy Owls is now available online or through your PBS station. I set my DVR for 5:00 AM tomorrow morning — check your local listing. Watch Magic of the Snowy Owl Preview on PBS. See … Continue reading
Digiscoping at Plum Island
I try to make it over to Parker River NWR every time we visit this area and today I grabbed a few hours to check things out and practice some digiscoping. There were few tourists and birders and lots of … Continue reading
Posted in Digiscoping, MA Birding
Tagged digiscoping, Greater Yellowlegs, Parker River NWR, Song
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Harbor Seal Spotting
Every fall and winter, harbor seals come into the Merrimack River. They congregate just opposite to the campground -they are very much a local attraction — to campers and day visitors to Salisbury State Park Reservation. Mary and I drove over … Continue reading
Posted in Digiscoping, MA Birding
Tagged Great Black-backed Gulls, harbor seals, Salisbury Beach State Reservation
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Mallards Get No Respect
“Ah, just a couple of Mallards.” How many times have we said that when scanning through a group of waterfowl, looking for the rock stars: the Teals, the Hoodies, the Redheads … anything but plain vanilla Mallards. Like Black-capped Chickadees … Continue reading
Posted in Digiscoping, MA Birding
Tagged birdwatching, Mallard
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