Vermont Birder

Some great customer service

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Richard

I’ve had two situations this summer that sort of restored my faith in the integrity of RV equipment manufacturers.

The first involved the replacement of my trailer hitch. I have been using the ball and hitch that the previous owner used and I knew that the trailer was riding a bit nose high but there was no way to adjust things. So I did some searching and purchased an adjustable hitch (Eaz-lift Bolt-Together Ball Mount Kit 48110) from a vendor (Makarios) to replace a fixed hitch. The product I received looked fine and went together ok.

I was planning to use the weight bars (1000 pound) from my original unit were about 15 years old but in good shape. As soon as I tried to hitch up the bars — even though the shaft opening looked the same size, the depth apparently wass not and the clips would not settle into the grooves of the bar. The bars just fell to the ground.

Screen Shot 2014-10-11 at 10.23.19 AM After some study, I figured that the depth of that opening had been shortened just a bit (probably a quarter-inch or less) with the new unit — so it looked like I was facing an additional $150 or so for a pair of bars.

I wrote to the folks at Makarios, who were great, and they had me email the manufacturer, Camco. Within a couple of days, I got a call from Mike at Camco saying that he would ship a couple of new bars that would work. Sure enough, within a week or two, the bars arrived and I put the chains on them, tried them out, and everything worked fine. I know Camco is an immense operation but this attention to detail really made me a fan of their products and their customer service.

My second experience involved the tongue jack whose difficult installation I chronicled last year. It worked fine, when it worked, but almost from the start, it would quit for a bit, and then decide to operate again. We took it across country to California last winter but it was always a little tense to see whether we’d have issues. Most of the time it was great but more than once, I had the truck and trailer jacked way up to install the bars and it died. A little rap on the head seemed to get it back running.

I had talked to Steve at Vintage Trailer Supply who sold me the unit — he talked to the company and told me that there was a two year warrantee. Well, I kept putting it off until a few months ago when it seemed to act up even more. I called Ultra-Fab, explained the situation, and they said that they would send out a new one with return postage for the old one. Again, the new unit came shortly thereafter and the replacement was a snap (since I had done all the grunt work with rusty bolts last year.)

The new jack is great and has operated without incident. It’s great not to have to hassle folks in situations like this — and I highly recommend the product (Ulta 3502 Electric Tongue Jack) and the company.

Posted in equipment_issues, repairs, rig maintenance | Tagged customer service, tongue jack, trailer hitch | Comments Off

Digiscoping Practice Session

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Richard

I have been dabbling with digiscoping — shooting photos through my telescope — for a number of years. I’ve used several good SLR cameras, a good digital point-and-shoot, and most recently, my iPhone. Once I bought the Canon SX-50 I gave up trying to digiscope since that camera works so well for me. I sold my good camera and the adapters that were needed to connect it to the scope.

As I watch the improvement in iPhone cameras, I’ve started to revisit that option of photography since I’m really looking for help with bird identification and for shots to illustrate this blog. I’m a birder, not a bird photographer.

As I plan our upcoming trip, I realize that I’ll be looking at a lot of waterfowl and shorebirds and be lugging my scope everywhere. The Canon SX-50 is good but one more piece of gear to carry and I always have my iPhone in my pocket — so why not use it? I have an adapter from PhoneSkope for my iPhone 5 so yesterday, I took the rig out and did some practice shooting.

A couple of Killdeer were foraging along the Winooski River.

I spent a little time at Wrightsville Reservoir where an American Crow ignored me as I got out of the truck and let the dog run.

There were a number of sparrows moving in and out of the brush, providing a pretty good challenge to getting them in the scope and shooting before they flitted on. There’s quite a crop of White-throated Sparrows this year.

There were about eight or ten Northern Flickers feeding and flying off as we moved along. They must be gathering for their winter trip down south, although a few may stick around. They were less than cooperative but here are two shots:

Penny, who is camera-shy, could not figure out what I was doing as she watched from afar. Not the image of the left ear – the wind was moving it up and down and the iPhone camera speed did not stop it.

Later, we went for a walk in our woods where I grabbed this shot of one of her “friends” who sat, seemingly out of sight, but not for the telescope.

So, it was a good outing and even though some of the photos are unclear and I missed many shots due to “always moving” birds (a winter wren taunted me as it bounced further and further into the underbrush), I am going to keep practicing. Many birders across the country are quite adept and the newer 5S and iPhone 6 cameras have even more capability. I’ll still use my SX-50 for a lot of shooting but if I’m going to lug the scope, the iPhone is likely the way to go. Stay tuned.

Posted in Digiscoping, iPhone, Photography | 2 Comments

South or Southwest

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Richard

Autumn is here, the leaves are starting to change rapidly, and we’ve had several frosty mornings to remind us what is up ahead. While some folks plan their winter travel all summer, it takes a few wakeup calls, like the need for a wood fire, to focus my attention on where we’ll go this winter with the Airstream. Which has resulted in a “Florida vs Texas” question — we’ve always gone to Texas and last year to Arizona, New Mexico, and California — we’ve never gone to Florida. My brother and sister-in-law, who travel widely with their restored Airstream, like the Florida state parks a lot. So, I’m leaning in that direction but also finding that many others are — and have tied up good parks half-a-year ago.

The Airstream is parked on the back lawn for repairs before the next big trip. Trees are just showing color but are vivid on the mountains.

I have started by thinking about attending part of the Space Coast Birding Fest in Titusville, Florida and have reserved a spot at a local KOA. We try to avoid commercial parks but there are times where the “cheek by jowl” spacing has to be endured. Other than that, I’m thinking of probably not going to southern Florida because those parks are all full. Right now, the agenda is wide open so if you have a favorite spot, let me know.

There are lots of Florida birds I’ve never seen — Wood Stork is a good example — so I’m looking to adding to my life list. We also wouldn’t mind avoiding the long drives we made last year. We are looking forward to visiting Pensacola again where back in the dark ages, I was a budding naval aviator. It will be fun to revisit the Cubi Point Officer’s Club which is part of the Naval Air Museum but reportedly, much tamer than when I was there. (Their chocolate milk shakes were to die for!) Well, not exactly.

So, with mixed feelings, we are planning to skip the places we’ve come to really like over the last four trips — Goose Island State Park, Falcon State Park, Lost Maples State Park, and Patagonia State Park to name just a few. If we don’t like Florida, we can always jump on I-10 and head west for a couple of months. That’s the joy of flexible schedules and dragging your home behind you.

Posted in Florida, Florida birds, Trip Planning, winter travel, Winter2015 Trip | Tagged Florida, KOA, Trip planning | 3 Comments

No Birds — Smell the flowers

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Richard

Last month, while on an outing to Lamoille County, I was a little frustrated with the lack of birds until I noticed some of the plants blossoming along the roadside where the dog and I were walking. I changed gears and decided to look more closely at the flowers and shoot some photos. Some I knew, others I looked up in my guidebook, Wildflowers of Vermont by Kate Carter (a great little guidebook.)

Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)

Tall Goldenrod (Solidago altissima)

Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota)

Spotted Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium maculatum) Thank you Erin at Birds of Vermont Museum.

Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium)

And lastly, a plant that I am sure is common but one that does not jump out of the book at me. Ideas? (See revised caption)

My friends at Birds of Vermont Museum identified this as meadowsweet (Spirea latifolia). It was not in my book.

Posted in nature | Tagged bull thistle, goldenrod | Comments Off

Bon Voyage Hummers

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Richard

This year has been one of the best for attracting hummingbirds to our feeder — we had several families nest in the area. Many feisty juveniles have delighted us with their antics over the last few weeks. They have been hitting the sugar water and more than once, I have thought: “Tank up, you’ve got a long haul ahead.”

This past weekend, we took the Airstream over to New York state to visit some dear friends and returning Monday afternoon, I immediately noticed that the hummers seemed to have left. A couple of days later, it’s definite. They are on their way.

We saw trees turning color in the higher elevations and noticed the Canada Geese moving in New York state. Here, the goldenrod is everywhere and the bees are loving it. Soon the asters will blossom and more birds will depart. The Common Yellowthroats are still here as are the Song Sparrows but they have their bags packed to go.

Sitting on the back lawn with a blue sky above and northwest winds blowing the pines, I’m thinking of those hummers, wondering how far they have gone so far, and wishing them a safe passage on their long perilous journey.

See you in Florida or here in the spring. Buen Viaje amigos.

Posted in Backyard birds, migration, Vermont Birding | 3 Comments

Camping at Stillwater State Park

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Richard

Last week, we spent three nights at nearby Stillwater State Park on Lake Groton.

Stillwater State Park has 62 campsites, 17 lean-to shelters, a beach and boat launch.

We don’t do a lot of camping in Vermont, figuring that we already live in the woods, but it’s nice to visit a few of the parks mid-week when the campgrounds aren’t quite as crazy.

The park entrance landscaping is typical of the lovely displays throughout the campground.

We brought our kayaks, my bike, and our birding gear. We also found some “summer reading” mystery books at the “take one, leave one” collection at the visitor center.

We were at site 43, probably our favorite.

The area has some interesting geological features — many of them being these massive boulders – glacial erratics – which were lugged here by glacial ice.

This boulder was at the side of our campsite. Penny is putting up with me but ready to get down.

Vermont parks have no services per se and most of their sites are for tents, pop-up campers, or lean-tos so there are few sites for large RVs and not that many for our mid-sized 25 footer. There is no cell signal for many miles but a decent wifi connection at the office.

Many families spend a week or two at the park, often reserving the same site year after year. There are an amazing collection of tents, tarps, and lean-tos and more than not, several generations camping together. It’s good to see kids out on their bikes or just framming around in the park – and they seem to get tired and go to bed early.

The birding was ok for late July although we missed hearing the song of the Veery which we heard last time we were there. I did hear and see a Canada Warbler as well as some Nashville Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Blackburnian and Chestnut-sided Warblers.

We took the short hike up to Owl’s Head and enjoyed some pretty views. The water behind Mary is Kettle Pond.

One of the objectives of the trip was to test the new adjustable weight distribution trailer hitch. Our original hitch was carrying the trailer nose too high and so, after four winter trips, I decided to get a new one. After a lot of messing around and replacement parts, I got it hitched up and it worked great.

We read a lot, paddled a bit, hiked some, and went to bed early. It was a wonderful stay at a pretty well-run state park. And it was only an hour’s drive home.

Posted in Vermont Birding, Vermont State Parks | Comments Off

Babcock Nature Preserve

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Richard

One of the benefits of doing a big year in another county is to explore new birding places. Yesterday I did that when I visited the Babcock Nature Preserve, a pretty 1,000-acre area of forest that serves as an outdoor laboratory for field biology, ornithology and environmental science courses at Johnson State College. It has a large b0g, three ponds, and lots of deer flies.

There is a gated-gravel/dirt road that makes it easy walking.

The dog and I arrived about 9 as a nearby Hermit Thrush sang away in the deep woods. There was no one else around as we headed out laden with bug dope. The first two bodies of water are partially hidden and require some bushwhacking to check them out.

There were dozens of chipmunks squealing and running as we moved along, giving Penny lots of chances to crash through the underbrush.

The biggest pond is Rittenbush Pond which featured a cooperative Common Loon who ignored us and moved around the quiet pond.

The college has some rustic cabins around the pond which, while worn from weather and use, seem to get a lot of use from students and leaders.

One of the cabins is directly across the pond.

I saw or heard 22 species of birds — nothing new per se except for the new setting. We spent several hours watching and listening — and several Swamp Sparrows, like this one, trilled away.

I was wishing that I had a plastic bag with me to grab some of the discarded beer cans and water bottles that folks, not necessarily students, had tossed here and there. My frame of mind was improved when I got to Rittenbush Camp and saw this sign.

“EARTH provides enough for everyones (sic) need, not everyone’s greed. Keep Mother earth —“. (I cut off the ending with the camera — provide your own ending word.) Good birding.

The preserve is named for Robert and Anne Hanchett Babcock who donated the tract to the Vermont State Colleges. Robert Babcock was the first provost of the Vermont State Colleges, a member of the Vermont House of Representatives, and a lieutenant governor of Vermont serving under Governor Robert Stafford.

Posted in County Big Year, Lamoille County | Tagged Babcock Nature Preserve | Comments Off

Some July Birds

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Richard

The woods are lush and green and many birds have stopped singing as they nest and tend to offspring and the deer flies and no-see-ums abound — yet it’s a great time to get out and bird. There’s a lot to see: White-throated Sparrows trying out their new songs and getting part of it; the crop of house wrens that fledged out of our bluebird house that scold me and Penny as we walk by; the half dozen new Blue Jays that have discovered and are hogging our suet. Ever present to me in the muggy mornings is the thought that most of these birds will be out of here in a month or so — which gives this time of year a poignancy.

Yesterday, we took the expensive drive up the toll road at Mt. Mansfield (no connection, unfortunately) to show our son and grandson some more of Vermont. Of course, I did a little birding, hearing Bicknell’s Thrushes and seeing Swainson’s Thrushes. I also ran into the guys from Vermont Center for Ecostudies who band birds on the summit each summer. Here is a photo of one of the Blackpoll Warblers I saw and heard.

A Blackpoll Warbler at the summit parking lot, Mt. Mansfield.

Today, I took a few shots of some of the birds in our woods as I walked the dog on our series of trails.

We have had a family of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks nesting on our property with at least two young males.

Eastern Phoebes seem to be silent this time of year and this one did not bob its tail.

We seem to have dozens of new Song Sparrows. This one has caught a little treat.

White-throated Sparrows a practicing their songs and chipping at the dog and me as we move by them. This guy was about ten feet away, holding his ground.

White-throated Sparrows are practicing their songs and chipping at the dog and me as we move by them. This guy was about ten feet away, holding his ground.

So, while it is frustrating to search for warblers in fully-leaved maple trees, there’s a lot going on lower down with all the “newbies” learning the ropes. Slap on the bug dope and enjoy summer birds. Most will be gone pretty soon. Good birding

Posted in Lamoille County, Local Birding, Washington County, Yard birds | Comments Off

Saturday Morning Birds

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Richard

We took the Airstream to Massachusetts to see Jennifer and her family and do some birding in one on my favorite counties. Essex County is so geographically diverse and filled with good birds and some amazing birders. (I don’t count myself in that latter category!) In a couple of days, I picked up 68 species and never got on to Plum Island for shore or sea birds.

Saturday morning, I took the dog on a little outing with the truck and we explored a few of the back roads of West Newbury. It was a morning of dog walkers, runners, cyclists, and trash pickup trucks on the narrow wooded roads. There is one short stretch that bisects a marsh – part of the Crane Pond Wildlife Management Area – where I have previously birded. The road is paved until you get to the marsh, then there is a dirt stretch that is severely washboarded, but that didn’t slow down the folks out for their Saturday morning errands. I walked the dog, dodged traffic, and saw some nice birds. Here are a few photos:

The WMA is part of the headwaters of the Parker River and stretches across the towns of West Newbury, Newbury, Groveland and Georgetown.

In spite of being adjacent to developed sites, the marsh is wild-like.

Early in my walk, I spotted an Eastern Kingbird flitting about. I took this shot just before the bird flew to a nest.

I never would have spotted her (him?) if I had not seen the bird flying.

As might be expected, there were dozens of Red-winged Blackbirds. It’s amazing that a bird which we celebrate in early Spring can become commonplace and taken for granted.

Likewise, the first Tree Swallows are exciting. I never tire of watching these aerial experts perform their routines.

Cedar Waxwings were looking sharp in the morning sunlight.

After a while, in spite of the good birds, I got sick of eating dust from passing trucks and cars and headed back to the truck. It was a good outing – a little piece of wildness in an urbanizing area. Good birding.

Posted in Jennifer's, MA Birding | 1 Comment

Birding a New Patch

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Richard

As I have launched a County Big Year for Lamoille County, I have found a “patch” where I have been focusing much of my attention: it is close and pretty, and it is productive.

Lamoille County is about 10 miles from the house and the “patch” is 2 miles further.

The patch is a hiking/bike/ski trail from Route 12 up to Little Elmore Pond. Here’s the starting point with a bridge across the North Branch of the Winooski River.

Note the post, with a lock, to keep out four-wheelers and snow machines.

The North Branch is a lovely stream here, colored brown with tannic acid.

Yesterday, I had a couple of hours so the dog and I went up for some birding. I hadn’t even got out of the truck when I heard two Ovenbirds calling back and forth.

Ovenbirds are probably the most common bird along the trail — usually hear five or ten — but rarely see them. This one was more accommodating than most.

There’s little traffic on the highway but it’s nice to get up the trail a bit and get away from what road noise there is. The the woods come alive with the calls of warblers however the new foliage makes sightings a challenge. I never meet anyone along the way and it is wonderful just walking along, listening. I usually keep the dog leashed going up so that she doesn’t spook everything before I get there and it pays off, we heard and saw a Tennessee Warbler early on the trail.

The trail has water in vernal pools and a small brook runs alongside and the black flies are out and about. Last week, about a quarter-mile in, I heard a loud bird up ahead, low in the underbrush, but didn’t recognize the call. Quietly moving ahead with the dog straining, I saw a small bird moving and got it in the binoculars (one-handed since the leash was in the other) and saw an Ovenbird-like bird with a different call. I realized that I had my first Northern Waterthrush of the year.

A “Selfie” along the trail – birding was slow.

Of course, although the landscape is wild and beautiful, there is debris — some from hunters (shell cases), and some from former logging operations. I spotted this big black object off the trail and thinking “bear cub,” saw that it was just an abandoned skidder tire.

Why haul it out when you can just leave it in the woods?

It’s really been fun getting to know this little area. I see Common Yellowthroats in the same spots each visit and am getting to know the hot spots along the way. I took my bike a few weeks ago and rode/pushed the six or seven miles up to Little Elmore Pond. I approached the pond carefully, thinking that I might see some waterfowl but nothing was there. I sat by the water’s edge, hearing a Barred Owl and a Pileated Woodpecker, when a shorebird whizzed past. It settled on a rock and I got a few shots of this lonely Spotted Sandpiper.

So far, in about a month I have over 60 species in this birding patch and got three new birds yesterday. It’s been a good find and in fifteen minutes I can get there and be in wild country filled with some pretty good birds. It’s a great place to slow down and enjoy things. Here are a couple more shots of things along the way. Good birding.

Fungi on yellow birch

Many patches of violets adorn the pathway.

Posted in County Big Year, Lamoille County, Local Birding, Vermont Birding | Comments Off

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