Last week a friend contacted me to let me know that a Snowy Owl had shown up on his patch. I was out birding with my gear and within a half-hour, was looking at the wayward bird from up north. I grabbed a few photos at range and left it undisturbed. I held off reporting it due to the sensitive area it was in and by request of my friend. It was not seen again – probably departing that night.
I saw a Snowy in March — this one is early. Always a treat.
Some of the visual treats for us are the mergansers, both hooded and common, who motor past our spot on the river. The last few days, between snow squalls, some handsome Hoodies have been out and about. They’ll head south soon.
Ice patches are starting to form along the river’s edge — it will be months before I can get shots like this in Vermont. Happy Thanksgiving.
Living next to a river is great — we paddle on it, ski on it some winters, and have an ever-delightful array of wildlife to watch. On perhaps my last paddle of the year, I flushed these mallards just upstream of the house.
We’ve had a summer-long affair with a Great Blue Heron who shows up for a while, is gone for weeks, and returns and day after day is right out back.
The last few days, Ginger and I have been exploring the trails along Wrightsville Reservoir. Today the rain stopped early and a beautiful Fall morning ensued.
The usually suspects were there: crows, geese, chickadees, blue jays, and goldfinches but then we came upon this Northern Shrike, a bird I only see once or twice a year.
Each day I take Ginger, our labradoodle, on walks around the city or on trails throughout the county. We spend an hour or two and try to integrate a little birding into each adventure.
Montpelier itself has some nice birding and we found this House Finch just a bit down the road — heard it chipping and then spotted it.
On one of our jaunts on the trails of East Montpelier on Saturday, we flushed a Great Horned Owl who was out of sight before my camera was out of my pack. But later, in a real surprise, three Rusty Blackbirds, which I never see up here, flew into some trees and posed for the camera.
I hear that Common Redpolls are around. It’s time to bundle up and see our winter visitors. Hopefully a Snowy Owl has Washington County in its gps.
Stick season in Vermont means that the leaves have fallen, many of the birds have left, as have most bugs and tourists, and we get some cold clear days to get out and about.
Next week is the start of rifle deer season so we’ll wear blaze orange and stick to the back roads.
We’ve enjoyed seeing a lot of bird youngster activity in our yard this summer including a brood or two of House Wrens as well as young Blue Jays and Common Grackles begging their parents for food from the suet feeder. On the river, we’ve had geese, mergansers, and ducks all raising kids.
Here are some youngsters that I’ve seen nearby the last couple of days.
Song Sparrows are everywhere, but we know they’ll be gone soon. It’s fun to hear them work on their calls.
Yesterday, I was surprised to see this juvenile Herring Gull on the river. Quite unusual but I suspect he hooked up with his cousins at one of compost facilities nearby.
Over the years, I’ve owned a number of small planes and spent a lot of time around airports. Our local airfield is a great place to find some birds and exercise the dog when not much is going on aviation-wise. This summer, Ginger and I have had some nice morning sessions. Here’s one:
And here’s my birding buddy, returning down the taxiway without the tennis ball I threw. I think it’s still there in the tall grass.
Enjoy the rest of these summer days. Before long, we’ll be up there looking for Snowy Owls.
Early June is a great time to be outside in Vermont – birds are still singing, young ones are clamoring for food, and everything is lush and green – but ticks abound.
Just up the trail, these three gals watched us with great interest. Ginger, on her leash, likewise was ready to play but we moved on.
There is a medley of bird songs in the early hours these days and here are a few of the chorus members.
Just down the road, these Yellow Warblers were singing, flirting, and just jumping around. They are easy to see but tough to photograph.
Driving Vermont backroads, some early mornings you see more birds than vehicles. It reminds me of the neat bumper sticker, “Caution, I brake for birds.”
