Category: Local Birding

Where Did The Chickadees Go?

We have a dog pen area underneath our deck which attracts a few birds and squirrels foraging on the dropped seeds and suets from the feeders above.  We also get a skunk there periodically so I always take a look at the area before letting the dog out.  This afternoon as I took Penny down for a pee, I noticed a robin-sized bird on the ground in the pen, and as the dog lunged to get me moving, I realized, “That’s a shrike!”  I got the dog back upstairs, grabbed the camera, and took some shots — although the fencing and window pane were causing the autofocus to go crazy.  Then it flew up to the apple tree.

NShrike1W

I ran upstairs and both Mary and I watched the Northern Shrike perch, as they do, on the highest branch of the tree.  I got a couple of shots as the bird flew off to another perch, came back for a bit, actively hunting.  At that time of day, we normally have a parade of chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers but nothing was moving.  I saw one chickadee fly up to the apple tree, not too far from the shrike, and sized up the situation fast and was out of there.  I saw no other birds from 4:30 until dark — it will be interesting to see what’s up in the morning.

NShrike2W

This is the first Northern Shrike we have ever seen here in the 12 years we’ve been here.  In fact, as I have noted several times before, I had never seen a Northern Shrike — it was a goal for this winter.  I finally found one, about  quarter-mile off, that a friend had previously spotted.  I’ve seen that bird twice since. Now, to have one about ten feet away was pretty exciting.  At one point, it was looking right at me through the glass and opened its beak — like “Feed me.”  There was a side of me that thought about how hungry he/she might be but I’d rather not lose any of our birds.  Now, the four or five red squirrels that live under that apple tree and raid our feeders — “Go Shrike!”

Red Birds at the Red Hen Bakery

logoThe Red Hen Bakery here in Middlesex is known for its bread, pastries, coffee, and ambiance.  What I found today is that they can also be sort of a birding hotspot.

It was another cold, barren Vermont winter day but Penny and I took off in the truck for some errands and some birding.  We were up at the airport, checking the Luscombe’s tiedowns, when a landing corporate jet stirred up a gaggle of snow buntings.  I couldn’t go out on the taxiway, which I normally might do, since the jet was coming up our way and the birds swirled away.  No chance to look for horned larks or others.

I had a coffee date with Mary at Red Hen so I worked my way up the back dirt roads looking for hawks but all I found was clouds of dust from fast-moving pickups who had little time for a birder.  So, I was sort of discouraged since my arm was aching again and we were seeing nothing as I pulled into the busy parking lot.  As I maneuvered the big truck in tight space, I caught a flash of red out the passenger window and saw a male Northern Cardinal flying around a parked pickup.  I grabbed the camera and shot a few shots and then moved the truck so that I could get the window down as the guy preened in the pickup mirror.  It reminded me of state parks in Texas where we had to cover our mirrors with Walmart plastic bags to keep the cardinals away.  It also was a bird I needed for my County Big Year.

"Hey, I'm looking pretty good for a three year-old. Can't wait for the gals to get to town." photo by dickmfield
“Hey, I’m looking pretty good for a three year-old. Can’t wait for the gals to get to town.” photo by dickmfield

I was running late for coffee so I jumped out of the car and started toward the bakery when I heard bird song from some trees nearby — a rare sound this time of year in Vermont.  Back to the truck for the binoculars and camera — and I spotted a couple of finches singing away.  I got some shots in bad light and I thought they were House Finches but couldn’t confirm it until I go home and saw the photos.  We spotted a Dark-eyed Junco on the way out — it was a nice end to the outing, to say nothing about the coffee and scone that were the celebratory brunch.

A couple of House Finches serenaded us as we walked to the bakery. A nice sign of the possibility of springtime. photo by dickmfield
A couple of House Finches serenaded us as we walked to the bakery. A nice sign of the possibility of springtime. photo by dickmfield

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Another Pine Grosbeak Encounter

As I wrote last week, we are experiencing an irruption of winter finches here in central Vermont and I saw my first Pine Grosbeaks, finally.  Here’s a recent eBird map showing sightings near here:

Reports of Pine Grosbeaks this calendar year.

Pine Grosbeaks seem to be a lot like Bohemian Waxwings — if you happen upon them, they are there in numbers and quite cooperative but often, if you get there a half-hour later, they are off to another feeding site.  I stumbled on a group of 13 females and juveniles this morning and took a few photos as they fed on the berries on the ground.

Pine Grosbeaks are one of the largest members of the finch family. The males are rosy-red, while the females are yellow. Juveniles are hard to distinguish as both males and females are similar in coloration.
Pine Grosbeaks tend to be rather cooperative and thus easier to photograph than twitchier species like warblers.
It’s fun to read of PIGR sightings throughout the Northeast — it is a great year for winter finches — just as forecast.

Birding With Mac

Being a grandfather who got into birding late in life, it’s a treat to see at least two of my grandchildren become fledgling birders.  Our oldest, Mac, was up from Massachusetts with his mom for Thanksgiving.  He caught the birding bug during a a birder camp this summer at North Branch Nature Center.  He and Jen have done a few outings at home and this afternoon, Mac and I went out for a short trip.

One of the things I’m learning about youth birding is that attention spans are different with kids — in fact the leaders at camp this summer interspersed many games with the kids which were as popular as the birding.  Short outings, especially if the birding is spotty, work well.

We went up to Berlin Pond.  During the drive, I was looking for birds in the trees while Mac played some game on his iPhone.  I decided to chill out – we’d bird when we got there.

I had been there doing a little scouting this morning but many of the waterfowl had headed out this afternoon.  Even so, it was great.  We could see Hooded Mergansers as we parked the truck and we watched them through binoculars and the scope.  What’s not to like about a Hoodie?  I brought out the camera and fitted it on the scope and took a few shots.

What’s not to like about a Hoodie?

Mac was intrigued — he’d never seen digiscoping before.  I had him get on a group on American Black Ducks and set the camera on for him.  He fired off a few shots and loved it.  His shot is better than mine — what can I say?

American Black Duck digiscoped by grandson Mac Mansfield-Parisi

We trudged down to where I had hoped to see some geese but aside from a Bufflehead, it was rather empty.  He didn’t care, the Hoodies had made the day.  A small flight of Canada Geese came right over us as we walked back to the truck to sort of complete the outing.  Half an hour or so, six species, but a great outing.  Mac lives right near Parker River Wildlife Refuge and I look forward to many future outings with him.

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Birding Once Again

I’ve been laid up after last Thursday’s surgery and while I have enjoyed watching birds coming to our feeders, it was nice to get out in the woods early this frosty morning for my first outdoor outing in nearly a week.  Mary has done a great job with keeping the dog exercised but I was ready to take back that duty — carefully.

There’s not a lot out and about at daybreak aside from the chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays, and crows but they were nice to hear and see as I trudged up the crusty frozen path. I’ve been reading up on birding by ear and looking into recording and analyzing calls so I brought my iPhone along.  Even though we live in the country, the background noises can be loud in the early morning.  We have a noisy rooster a mile or so off and there’s always a dog or two barking in the distance.  The traffic noise, even though the road is a half-mile off, can get loud and of course, I have the Vizsla tromping back and forth “helping” me bird.  I think recording will be a work in progress for a while .. but an interesting aspect of birding to look into.

A Blue Jay eyes our suet package.

Since I had to take it easy and pause periodically, it was fun to remember past sightings as I moved along our trail — the trees where three Brown Creepers were calling to one another as they foraged, the dead snag where a hawk sat until the dog spooked it, the little meadow where a couple of Common Yellowthroats drove me nuts as I tried to get them to settle for a photograph.  We then flushed a partridge and the dog was off and running again.

I find that this “virtual birding” is enjoyable — recalling specific birds you have seen at given points along a patch that you frequently bird.  It’s a diversion on days were there are few birds but it also is a reminder that hey, it won’t be long until we start seeing ______ again.

A group of Common Redpolls made their first visit this morning.

And sure enough, as I returned and thawed my hands out, I noticed a new bird at the feeder.  It was our first Common Redpoll of the season.  We’ve been expecting them and it was great to see them again.

Pine Grosbeaks – finally

As I have noted before, a Canadian ornithologist, Ron Pittaway, each year issues a  Winter Finch Forecast.  He notes that there is a “widespread tree seed crop failure in the Northeast” this year.  It looks like a good year for winter birds — we’re already seeing a lot of Purple Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, and hundreds of Pine Siskins.

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve seen reports of sightings of gaggles of Bohemian Waxwings and Pine Grosbeaks all over Vermont.  Friends of mine have reported berry trees laden with birds and yet, I’ve yet to come close to one of the visitors.  Until today….

Last night, before a board meeting of the North Branch Nature Center, I was whining to Chip, the ED, about all the reports of Pine Grosbeaks.  He asked, “Have you seen them up at Rumney in the fruit tree?”

A female Pine Grosbeak feeding on fruit at Rumney School, Middlesex, VT.

Rumney School is about a half-mile up the road and so this morning, after an appointment, I drove by the school and noted some birds in the tree in front.  I carefully parked out back and grabbed my camera, aware that school is in session and guys wandering around with binos and cameras may look suspicious.  I got close enough to make out the Pine Grosbeaks and took a few shots and left.  The birds were used to people and just filling their craws with the red berries.

The neat outcome was that when I entered the sighting into eBird, it marked it as a new life bird.  I had not realized that I didn’t have Pine Grosbeaks so it turned out to be not only a year bird, but my #350 life bird.  Thanks Chip.

Quieter Woods

Things are pretty quiet these days in our woods as I walk the dog on our trails — aside for some deer watching us nearly every walk and numerous red squirrels and chipmunks, the activity has died off as birds prepare for migration and winter.  The Chickadees are still chipping away and I watch them for visiting warblers honing in on their local knowledge.  Blue Jays are as raucous as ever and lately, Red-breasted Nuthatches have been calling away as they forage.

There are some spots along the way where I have seen Common Yellowthroats all summer.  They are still here but never sing and even chip less frequently.  I can tell where they are from the movement of the bushes where they hide and every so often, get a glimpse of one — as the shot below illustrates.

A Common Yellowthroat hiding in the bushes.

Song Sparrows are also still here but furtive in their movements.  They no longer sing from the top of bushes but we have a nice crop of juveniles getting fattened up for their trip south.  They tend to sit a little more cooperatively like this guy that I photographed a few days ago.

A young Song Sparrow

It has been interesting watching the American Goldfinches at the feeder.  Some have bright new plumage, others are pretty ratty looking as they molt.  All seem to be loading up with food and I expect that soon their boisterous arrivals and departures — a spectacle of gold and black — will be out of here.

Dozens of American Goldfinches adorn our backyard but they’ll be off before long.

The White-Throated Sparrows don’t sing their “Peabody, Peabody, Peabody” call that livens up our woods all spring and summer but they are around with a new crop of youngsters.  They may head out but we’ll have their northern cousins here all winter.

A White-Throated Sparrow hiding from the camera

I read an interesting article on fall birds by Kenn Kaufman in the latest Bird Watcher’s Digest.  I had never thought about the fact that many more birds migrate in the fall than the spring (due to the hatches during the spring/summer).  Kenn notes that due to the foliage, the duller plumage, and lack of singing, that birding is much harder in the fall — and thus to some a welcome challenge, and to others — a “forget about it” time for birding.   I’m going to take a hard try at picking out the warblers as they come through but I already know it’s going to be frustrating.

A Solitary Sandpiper

We don’t have a lot of shorebird habitat hotspots in central Vermont so we make do with puddles in cornfields, small mudflats along the rivers and ponds, and other spots where water gathers.  We go over to Lake Champlain or down into Addison County for real shorebird birding.

However, this time of year when stuff is starting to move, we’ll sometimes spot a long-billed migrant in the county.  One spot I like is just down the road from a gathering spot we all love — The Red Hen Bakery — consisting of a little pull off busy Route 2 right beside the Winooski River.  There are often ducks there and today, a sole little wading bird.

I had the dog with me in the front seat and she wanted to join the action as I scanned the river and set up my scope.  I took a few so-so digiscoped shots (the sun was not a big help) and looking over the shots, realized that it was a Solitary Sandpiper.  No big deal per se but the first one for me this year and a nice looking bird.  And by itself — oh yeah, solitary.