Category Archives: Birds

Great Backyard Bird Count is Coming Up

From February 15-18, take part in a free, family-friendly educational activity that is loads of fun and supports bird conservation!  Tens of thousands of volunteers participate in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), counting birds in backyards, local parks, … Continue reading

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Bird Heat Regulation in Winter

Today, I spent some time watching two female Hooded Mergansers along the Winooski River.  One was sitting on the ice shelf while the other was fishing in the river with chunks of ice passing by.  The air temperature was about … Continue reading

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That’s a mighty fine pygostyle you’ve got there

That’s a mighty fine pygostyle you’ve got there… I recently read in the book Wild Bird Guides: Downy Woodpecker by Gary Ritchison, that the anatomical structure that allows woodpeckers to use their tails as props is called a “pygostyle.” A … Continue reading

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County Big Year – Good First Day

We awoke to more new snow and a stiff Northwest wind, and a forecast for even colder temperatures.  It stays dark until about 7:00 AM but sure enough, at 7:05 the first Black-capped Chickadee visited with window feeder.  Right after … Continue reading

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I Love Buffleheads

I’ve been watching a small flotilla of hen Buffleheads in the Amesbury section of the Merrimack River this week. It’s Butterballs’ diving that forces me to stop and linger, to observe for understanding.  I watch the thrusts, leaps, propulsion and … Continue reading

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Redpolls — Where Have You Been?

Common Redpolls arrived at our feeders in late November and ate us out of house and home for about a week — and vanished until today.  I’ve not seen any Redpolls in the woods or anywhere around central Vermont but … Continue reading

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Winter and the Golden-Crowned Kinglet

Winter and the Golden-Crowned Kinglet by Tom Kalinowski  (from the Adirondack Almanack)   It’s simple physics. In a cold environment, small objects lose heat at a faster rate than large objects. This is why most warm-blooded animals that reside in a … Continue reading

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Does Your Bird seed Get Eaten or Stored?

All fall, we have watched birds flock to our sunflower seed feeder, our thistle feeder, and our suet containers.  As I wrote last month, our feed store folks love us — we are going through a lot of bird food. … Continue reading

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Common Redpolls

Here is a wonderful article by Sue McGrath of the Newburyport (MA) Birders: When I see Common Redpolls, I immediately think of the low-Arctic tundra, the land with short, dwarf-like shrubs that includes willow, alder, birch all of which support the Common … Continue reading

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A Couple of Cute Nuthatches

Black Swamp Bird Observatory shared this interesting photo on their Facebook page. If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment and subscribing by RSS feed or via email to have future articles delivered to you.

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