After the exciting arrival I detailed previously, we had a couple of easy-going days at quiet Ricker Pond State Park. The kids are still in school and this park, because it is mainly lean-to and tent sites, tends to draw a quieter crowd. The shakedown went well except that the hot water heater quit the last day after running fine. Better to find out here than in West Texas. Here are some shots that I took during our stay:
Patches of Bunchberry were all along the roadways.
There are about a dozen private camps on the pond — most of them quite old and modest. They do have electricity and satellite TV. Many can only be reached by boat or winding footpath.
The large rock blocked off a road from vehicles. It was not cut — it is naturally like this.
A Pink Lady’s Slipper tucked in along the trail.
The state campground is tucked into the trees along the western edge of the pond. Here are a few lean-tos with one, with the red canopy, in use.
Ricker Pond (95 acres) is located in the central portion of Groton State Forest along VT Route 232 just south of Lake Groton.
My brother Barry and his wife, Mica DeAngelis, have restored two vintage Airstreams and have travelled to the South and Southwest for Habitat For Humanity builds and general travel. They have always been watchers of birds but recently have sort of caught the birding bug. Barry got a new camera a few months ago and has been testing it out here and there — and captured this wonderful shot of a House Wren in their backyard.
Barry and Mica originally thought that this birdhouse was a gag gift but Momma wren has called it home for the last two years. photo by Barry K. Mansfield, Burlington, VT
Five years ago, when I would kayak early in the morning, I’d strap on my iPod and crank workout tunes and paddle hard up and down the placid waters of our local Wrightsville Reservoir. I was sort of oblivious to my surroundings as I worked on technique and speed. That was before I was a birder.
Yesterday, I let the birds provide the music — and did they ever. I wore my binoculars, covered with a plastic bag, and carried my camera in a dry bag in the cockpit and set out on a quiet, fog-shrouded journey. Four Canada Geese came honking in and landed with a splash quite near me — we seemed to be the only critters on the water.
Heading north on the reservoir with the still air punctuated by the songs of Ovenbirds and White-throated Sparrows .
I’m not great at bird call identification but had dozens to chose from as I cruised along — I think I had 25 species in the first 15 minutes. Kayaks let you cruise up close to the shore and approach some birds rather closely. I was gliding toward a perched Belted Kingfisher for a photo but made the same mistake I can make on land: I moved too quickly raising the camera and spooked him.
Up ahead, a Common Merganser was feeding in the shallows. I approached her slowly, hardly paddling, and she seemed undisturbed, but just easing away from this big approaching object. Here’s a shot I took from the kayak.
It’s a tough life being a small migratory bird. Studies estimate that half of all adult Ovenbirds die each year. The oldest known Ovenbird was seven years old.
The North Branch River runs into the reservoir on the north end resulting in a short stretch of quiet water with narrow banks and overhanging trees. It was easy to cruise up to warblers and sparrows — I got some great looks at a Mourning Warbler.
Returning, I spooked two beavers out for an early sapling breakfast and approaching the takeout ramp, saw a gull that seemed out of place. It let me get pretty close so it was either used to people or not feeling well. I snapped a few shots and let it be.
A Ring-billed Gull on the shore, perhaps waiting for me to feed it.
It was a great paddle and I logged 35 species, getting a mild exercise session in while enjoying a perfect Vermont morning. It was the first, but won’t be the last, birding by kayak outing of the year. Nice way to multi-task.
Ovenbirds seem to thrive in our woods. Each morning, I hear six or more calling back and forth and sometimes, there seems to be even more. But to see them is another thing. They can be right next to you calling but if they don’t move, they blend with the forest floor and the low branches. I always am surprised at how small they are – given their loud voice. The other morning, two were courting or fighting, and not only did I get a good look, but one perched on a branch 10 feet away. Of course, it was on of the few dog walks were I left my camera home.
Yesterday morning, I got lucky. I saw a cooperative Ovenbird who sat still long enough for me to find him in the branches and take a couple of shots.
It’s a tough life being a small migratory bird. Studies estimate that half of all adult Ovenbirds die each year. The oldest known Ovenbird was seven years old.You can see just a bit of the orange crown bordered by black stripes.
The other fun fact from my perspective is that Ovenbirds are usually low – on the forest floor or low branches. They are great for birders, like this one, with a pinched neck nerve.
I have made and put out bird houses for the last three years, hoping to attract a pair of Eastern Bluebirds, but I have not even attracted a Tree Swallow. Zip.
This spring, I took down the houses I had scattered throughout our woods, cleaned them up and changed some fronts where red squirrels had gnawed the holes. I then mounted them in the open around my bee yard, hoping that the openness and light would make up for a few lost bees.
About two weeks ago, I spotted a House Wren checking out a couple of the boxes and bringing a twig to one of them. Then, nothing. Last week I checked the boxes and there was no activity in any of them. However, two days ago, I noticed a House Wren again checking one out, and as I watched, she brought all sorts and sizes of twigs to the box and proceeded to build a nest.
Some of her twig selections were on the optimistic side.“Is this more like it, oh critiquer?”“And by the way, that hole you cut isn’t round, ol’ wood butcher!”
So, Cornell lists the gestation period from 9 to 15 days. Hopefully in a week or so, we’ll have a hatch of little wrens. Of course, I’m bringing to new hives with about 60,000 bees to her front yard today. I suspect, if she’s on the nest, there’ll be no conflicts.
In the 13 years we have lived here, we’ve only had a few nests here and there that we knew about. We’ve never had one in a bird house. Hope springs eternal for a few new HOWR’s as neighbors in late May.
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For the last several weeks, we have had dozens of Purple Finches coming to the feeder and just hanging out in the trees around the house. They remind us of the influx of Common Redpolls we got last winter. Like them, finches chow down on sunflower seeds big time. It’s wonderful to hear them sing each morning as I walk the dog — they seem to go on forever and their melodies are delightful. They have gotten more red in their appearance and are parading in full breeding plumage these days. Here’s one on our apple tree last evening.
Purple Finches not only sing like angels but are beautiful this time of year.
Today, I birded early with the dog and got an email from Mary with a subject: “At The Feeder.” Because of poor reception on the iPhone, the message did not download — but I suspected what she was writing about. When I got home, I got cell coverage off our home system and read as I sat in the truck in the garage: “Rose-breasted Grosbeak!!!”
We’ve been hoping for some orioles because birders in the area have been seeing a few. Of course, the bird never showed again as I prepared for a doctor’s appointment in Hanover.
Several hours later, after successful lab test results, I got a text from Mary: “He’s back again.” Of course, I was an hour and a half away in another state.
Arriving home in the afternoon, I hoped our friend was not just passing by. Sure enough, about a half hour after I got home, I saw him in the apple tree. What a handsome addition to a tree already laden with Purple Finches (and a few apple blossoms.) So, he’s County Bird 95 and we are hopeful that he’ll stick around and nest in the neighborhood.
“Hey, are you pointing that camera at me?”
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Yesterday morning, I went up to the aptly-named Sparrow Farm in East Montpelier for a repeat visit to a spot where I picked up five new County birds yesterday. The area is a fine combination of wetland, farm fields, and forest and has a nice variety. It’s a favorite mountain biking trail but early in the morning, no one is around. I got another FOY as I ended the outing by crossing a large hayfield. Perched on a clump of last fall’s hay was a small brown bird, indistinguishable through the binoculars. It let the dog and I get closer and I could hear and see it singing — sort of a buzzy call. It was a pretty Savannah Sparrow.
A Savannah Sparrow at the Sparrow Farm.
Later, I went up to the airport to do a little work on my plane and then took a walk with the dog to check out grassland birds there. A sparrow came flying across the runway and perched on the perimeter fence not far from our position. It was my second SASP of the day.
At the E.F. Knapp airport in Berlin, VT.
So, now I am looking for White-crowned Sparrows which have been reported in the County. There’ll likely be a few other species, like Vesper, that I will watch for as we head toward summer. It really helps, this time of year, when the sparrows sing, to help me sort out those little brown jobs.
I went up to Berlin Pond yesterday morning looking for what many of us consider the true sign of spring — the arrival of Yellow Warblers. I had the truck windows down and could hear them singing before we even parked. These are the kind of warblers I like — they are at eye level and are little yellow beacons in the shrubbery.
Yellow warblers, even females, are easy to spot and delightful to hear. They bring a smile to birders.
I saw several other FOY birds (Barn Swallows, Purple Martins) as well as a great selection of birds. I then went over to the airport looking for new arrivals and way out in a field, I saw and heard my first Eastern Meadowlark.
The meadowlark was way out there and I shot from the truck window — pushing the camera system big time. They are a beautiful bird — even at a distance.
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Four months gone and in spite of pinched neck nerves and out-of-state travel, my list is doing pretty well. I’m at 79 species and most of those seen with my Vizsla alongside. I’ve missed some birds early (like Pine Grosbeak) that hopefully I can pick up at the end of the year. No big deal — this has been an interesting low key effort. I suspect that my target of 170 is about ten too high but we’ll see as we proceed. Here’s a couple of local birds I got this week:
I saw this FOY Solitary Sandpiper yesterday at Wrightsville Reservoir wetlands, along with three others.This Warbling Vireo was singing up a storm the other morning at Berlin Pond. It’s nice to have buds instead of leaves on the trees.
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One of the birds I’ve missed seeing for my County bird list is European Bluebird so yesterday morning, I took the dog for a Saturday morning bird walk at the North Branch Nature Center. I knew that they had been seeing a couple there but I’d missed them each visit. This time, I saw one before I even got the truck parked.
A male bluebird was staking out a nesting box but being hassled by Tree Swallows. I watched a dozen swallows chasing each other, harassing the bluebird — just doing their thing. Now the center has a “leash your dog” policy and since I’m a board member, I adhere to that — so the first thing I did was to hitch Penny’s leash to my belt. Nothing like having a 60 pound lunger, explorer tied to you while trying to focus on birds. Even more challenging taking photos but I got a few.
Tree Swallows were competing big time for the nesting boxes.Here a male bluebird watches while a swallow races by.Meanwhile, Mrs Bluebird was watching it all far away in the community garden.
Penny and I had a good outing, hearing and seeing a number of birds. It was a certain amount of tangled leash, stopping to sniff clumps of grass (her, not me), but a beautiful morning to be out. Toward the end of the walk, I heard and then saw a Ruby-crowned Kinglet working it’s way around some leafless trees. I had never heard, knowingly, the wonderful vocalization these tiny guys and gals have. Here’s a photo I took as it landed or departed — you’ll have to take my word that it’s a kinglet.
A Ruby-crowned Kinglet comes in for a landing.
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