With a marriage, house sale, move, van repair, and family reunion, it has been a busy late Spring/Summer. The birding has been quite good locally and we continue to see all sorts of avian visitors to our back yard. Here are a few shots I’ve taken of some local birds.
We are going to being doing some birding in Virginia in early August and then in southern Spain in September. We are also planning a Southwest trip for early 2019. Adios, amigos.
I’ve set up a round-trip bird walk, about 3.2 miles long, that goes up the trail along the North Branch of the Winooski, hooking up with the paths around the North Branch Nature Center. It’s a good way to get a little exercise and see a variety of birds and critters.Two days ago, I saw my first Belted Kingfisher of the year.
Yesterday, I took a little detour up into the woods and saw these guys:
Returning home, I met an acquaintance who asked about my birding and told me that a Yellowlegs had been foraging all morning out behind the house. Sure enough – a new yard bird.
Vermont, while well into Spring calendar-wise, is still gloves and boots season for birding. On a recent four-mile walk in light drizzle, not only were there some new arrivals (Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-bellied, Sapsucker, Broad-winged Hawk) but many seemed to be pairing up.
Mallards and Eastern Phoebes were pair up as were these two Canada Geese.
Further up into the woods of Hubbard Park, I heard, and then saw, this Winter Wren. His unmistakeable song rang through the conifers and hopefully, brought a little love into his life.
We have a few more cold drizzly days but the forecast looks good. I’m ready and it looks like the birds are ready. Bring it on.
Sparrows are often the Rodney Dangerfield’s of my birding world – they just don’t get any respect. However, fed up with the antics of fall warblers, it’s fun to see some of the sparrows sitting a bit still for identification and perhaps photos.
I came across this Lincoln’s Sparrow the other day and just wanted to share how lovely some of these little brown jobs can be:
Finally, we got The Goshawk ready for a local mid-week camping trip to Ricker Pond State Park. I had reserved the only on-shoreline spot we could fit into and as I write this looking out the door, I can see early sign of autumn’s colors reflected in the water while a soon-to-depart Common Loon cruises and calls. Few campers, mid-seventies temps, and a nice forecast. What’s not to like?
After a quick setup, Penny and I took a pretty walk where this Great Blue Heron posed for us.
Sally is coming tonight with the kayaks so we’ll hit the water in the morning. While we are waiting, we tried some selfies to pass the time. Penny is up and frisky after a couple of tough medical weeks so we should have a couple of good shakedown days as we get ready for longer journeys.
Nearly mid-June and I just launched the Hornbeck canoe this morning for the first time. Too many other activities, chores, excuses but it was a great beginning. I went early to our local Wrightsville Reservoir and being a weekday and early, only one sculler was on the water.
Dozens of bird calls kept me occupied as I headed north on the quiet water with a few beavers objecting to my presence with loud slaps. Then, up ahead, I saw the white head of an Osprey or Bald Eagle in a craggy tree and carefully approaching it, saw that it was my first bald eagle of the year. 
I sat at a distance and watched him for some time and then carefully paddled away leaving him undisturbed.
The inlet of the reservoir is the North Branch of the Winooski River and for a short period, it gets scenic and is a great paddle. 
I came upon a Common Merganser with her chicks resting on a sandbar and she slipped into the stream and led them away as I tried to steady the boat and take some photos.
The eagle was still there on the return trip and I saw/heard over thirty species, got a nice workout, and finished up before 8 o’clock. Good to be on the water again.
The Goshawk limped home from Texas carrying a broken awning and a damaged undercarriage. We took on a load of contaminated fuel (likely water) in Virginia which nearly grounded us. After a safe arrival and several sessions with insurance adjusters, I am ready to leave it at the RV center and forget about it until everything is fixed.
In the meantime, Spring is slowly creeping into northern Vermont as we await the migrating birds. Penny and I took a hike yesterday afternoon in our woods and the surrounding territory and aside from chickadees, nothing was moving or calling. It was still wonderful to be out getting some exercise. Then from up ahead, I heard the unmistakeable cry of a Northern Goshawk and soon saw a large slate and white raptor weaving through the woods. The dog and I watched him/her but could not get very close. I grabbed a few long range photos as we enjoyed this majestic bird.
It was wonderful to hear and see this raptor, who was likely one of the two that were here this time last year, right after I named the van Goshawk. I hope I’ll have more encounters with this Goshawk in the weeks ahead. A nice taste of spring birding in Central Vermont. Bring them on.
I’ve taken a break from serious birding for a few weeks but it’s hard not to notice that migration has started and transitions are underway. Lots of juveniles flying and feeding, some pretty ratty looking molting going on, and flocks are starting to gather and move through. It’s a bittersweet time of year as we never say goodbye — suddenly our summer friends are gone.
A week or two ago, I spent some time in Massachusetts and did a little birding with Penny. There were large flocks of Eastern Bluebirds, most looking a little ragged, who are likely gone by now. There were dozens of flycatchers out and about, silent as church mice, except for a number of very vocal Eastern Wood Pewees. Here’s one singing away.
On the same walk, I came across a number of Chipping Sparrows. It wasn’t until I unloaded the camera that I saw the meal this one had just caught.
Back home in Vermont, I took the boat out early one morning last week and found these Common Mergansers preening on the boat ramp. I launched quietly down the beach and left them to their morning ablutions.
I keep the hummingbird feeder stoked and clean and love watching the youngsters fight with each other as the jockey for food. Any day they will be gone, perhaps today. I grabbed a shot of one perched yesterday morning and noted that they were pretty active all day. Long flight ahead.
Our local Red-shouldered Hawks are active. Two juveniles have been calling and flying overhead the last couple of days. This one was right above me as I drove home from errands downtown.
We get a lot of morning ground fog this time of year. Tuesday morning I took a drive down to our reservoir but from the dam could not see much. I got out of the car (without the camera) to walk the dog and immediately heard some geese in the fog. Suddenly, twenty-five Canada Geese came right out of the fog toward me, saw us and swerved, with lots of geese trash talk, and headed south at low level. It was a cool way to start the morning.
Cedar Waxwings seem to be everywhere, feeding like crazy, moving through in small groups. They are often pretty high in our pines but this one was feeding in the wild grapes as the dog and I took our afternoon walk out back. The end of the day was neat as well.
One of the things that grieving does to me is make me more forgetful — “Where are those truck keys?” “I just had that shopping list, Penny, did you eat it?” It’s just part of the territory these days and why I’m glad I keep good lists on my iPhone. “Where’s the $#@& iPhone?
Yesterday afternoon, the weather was wonderful for a change and I decided to take Penny out for a walk to see if we could see the Northern Goshawk again. I’d seen a pair a couple of days ago and hoped that they might be sticking around to nest.
We started out with dozens of chickadees, like this one, chattering away, probably reminding me that the feeders were getting low.
As we got up to the place where we have seen goshawks, I sat down on a leafy knoll, head up against a tree, and relaxed in the sun, listening to nuthatches and chickadees. The dog flopped down for a bit and it was nice, until my cellphone dinged. I thought we were out of 3G range but a message, unimportant, made it through.
I returned to the house, started getting organized for a shopping trip, loaded the dog, and could not find my iPhone. I looked everywhere. My last resort was to look out in the woods where I had been sitting. So off we trudged, back up the hill, Penny wondering what was up but game for any outing. Just as we approached the spot, I heard a Pileated Woodpecker – first of the year — and then saw it flying through the pines. I then saw my iPhone on the leaves up ahead. Things were looking much better.
Then, I heard a goshawk calling and sure enough, the same bird I that I had seen before perched and called from a tree quite far away. I pushed the limit of my SX-50 point and shoot camera but it sat in the sun for me, and then flew off to a more distant perch.
So what was lost was found and I got a neat bonus plus more exercise. I’m going to be traveling a lot for the next few weeks so it will give these birds, if they choose to stay, a chance to be undisturbed. I am concerned by their noisiness and am not posting information on their location — other than it is somewhere within walking distance of the house. Let’s leave them be and see if they nest. Good birding to all.
If you have been following my posts on Caring Bridge, you know that my cherished wife Mary died of lymphoma on March 21st. The days since then have been filled with grief, joy at remembering our great love for one another, and details of planning. The wonderful memorial service is over, the house filled with family and friends is getting quiet, and I am looking at what lies ahead for my life as a widower.
Having an exercise-needy dog helps get me out in the brisk air and yesterday afternoon, we took a long walk up in the forest land that surrounds us. It was cold and spitting snow, I had binoculars and walking poles, and we had a nice workout climbing up into the pine woods and revisiting some trails we haven’t been on in four months. My hands were freezing in my work gloves and the birds were few but it was a good outing.
Then, as we neared the house, a large raptor flew through the pines toward me calling loudly at Penny who was up ahead. It perched very close to me, continuing its “kak, kak, kak, kak” call as I watched it through the binoculars. Light grey breast, yellow talons, broad white stripe of the eye, long tail — big bird. It sat there focused on the dog, until she moved back towards me, and off it flew, still calling. Wow.
I hoped it might be a Northern Goshawk, having eliminated a lot of the others raptors, but had to wait until I got home to check the bird book and iPhone. The image was convincing and then when I played the call, it was definite. Life bird #434.
It’s fitting since last Fall I got a “Goshawk” license plate for my truck. At the time, I’d never seen a Northern Goshawk but thought the plate might bring me luck. Well, whatever the reason, our paths crossed and the wonderful bird gave me a nice lift in spirits after a long journey with my beloved Mary.