Multi-tasking Birding

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Richard

It’s a good thing that we have no neighbors close by.  We have a 30 acre wooded parcel that has a nice mile long walking trail which I trod with the Vizsla two or three times a day.  I always have binoculars, and often a camera, and bird while I get some easy exercise and the dog roams freely.  The trail is still snow-covered and rather icy from our recent melts but today, I decided to incorporate another set of tasks: PT exercises for my pinched nerve.  (Which I promised not to write about until it was healed.)

My physical therapist has given me a number of nerve glide exercises to do to encourage my ulnar nerve to glide normally as I move my joints.  I usually do them down cellar but this morning, I thought, “Why not do them while walking?”  So, picture a 73-year-old guy, walking down a snowy path, binoculars strapped to him with a camera hanging off a shoulder, extending a mittened arm in sort of a ballet move, ending with a wrist roll.  Fortunately, the dog is oblivious to weirdness while hunting and no one else walks our woods trails.  I wonder why?

It was a nice way to get one more set of exercises in, especially since the birding is still pretty slow.  And it got me thinking that nearly all birders multi-task:  we bird while driving, cycling, canoeing, or sitting near a window in a meeting in springtime.  I do some birding from my airplane, especially for hawks, and I suspect that we could come up with quite a list of multi-tasking birding activities.  That’s a great thing about birding — it’s there for us all the time.

What’s your most unusual task while birding?

Posted in Vermont Birding | Tagged | Comments Off on Multi-tasking Birding

eButterfly is Ready for Vermont!

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Richard

 of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies posted this on the VCE blog.  In case you don’t get their material, here’s a way to keep track of the butterflies you see — and have seen.  It looks like a great international effort and pretty easy to use.  The hard part is photographing and identifying them — they are worse than warblers.  Why not bird early in the day and butterfly while the birds are napping?   And use eBird and eButterfly to keep track.

From 2002 to 2007 volunteer butterfly enthusiasts spent thousands of hours in the field in an effort to record the status and distribution of Vermont butterflies, the first systematicstatewide butterfly atlas to be undertaken. Observers have since made new discoveries, like the first state record for White-M Hairstreak or the incredible invasion of Giant Swallowtails. Where can we share and store all of our collective butterfly discoveries? Introducing our newest tool for the Vermont Atlas of Life, eButterfly, a project in which VCE is proud to be a partner.

eButterfly aims to bring butterfly enthusiasts like you together with scientists like those at VCE. With this new online database you can:
• Record the butterflies you see, photograph, or collect
• Build a virtual collection of butterflies
• Keep track of your butterfly lists (life, year, provinces/states)
• Find butterflies you have never seen
• Explore dynamic distribution maps
• Share your sightings and join the eButterfly community
• Contribute to science and conservation
With the flight of the first Mourning Cloak nearly upon us, I hope you are as ready as we are to discover and report your sightings of Green Mountain butterflies to eButterfly. But you don’t have to wait for the snow to melt. Many of you have records in your notebooks, photo files (must be less than 1mb in size) and collections that can be uploaded right now!First, make sure your internet browser is the latest addition, then visit the tutorial on eButterfly (http://www.ebutterfly.ca/contents/tutorial) to familiarize yourself with the system. Once you learn a few basics and enter some of your sightings, it will become quite fast and easy for you to use.
eButterfly was built for butterfly enthusiasts by butterfly enthusiasts. We are always striving to improve the experience and tools. Should you run into a problem or have any great suggestions for future updates and tools, please don’t hesitate to provide feedback.
Sign up by RSS feed or via email to have future articles sent to you.
Posted in Vermont Birding | Tagged , , | Comments Off on eButterfly is Ready for Vermont!

Where Did The Chickadees Go?

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Richard

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!”

Posted in Local Birding, Vermont Birding, Yard birds | 1 Comment

NEK Audubon’s Bird Notes; Birds in March, Veer Frost

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Richard

8432_166466626408_4256776_aThe Northeast Kingdom’s chapter of Audubon has a great Facebook page with wonderful photography by Tom Berriman and others.  It also has excellent writing.  Each month, Board Member Veer Frost writes an essay on nature in the NEK.   Here is the start of the post for March which when I read it, pumped a little energy into my thinking about birding in March in northern Vermont.  Here it is:

Birds in March

Anticipation! You can hear it in the first sweet notes beginning to brighten the clouded stretches of days we’re being granted just now in the Kingdom.

March brings us weeks that are neither winter nor spring, but at last we’ve reached the time of year when bitter Canadian fronts are followed by the irrepressible titmouse and chickadee tribes, sending songs out of the bare trees, like children thumbing their nose.

Woodpeckers may drum year round, but it’s in the weeks surrounding the spring equinox that their staccato banging against tree, house siding, and that perennial favorite, the tin roof, is most intense and frequent. By now, you’ve probably heard that the military-industrial powers are trying to figure out how a black and white urchin of a bird doesn’t ruin its brain with all that pounding, in order to copy its secret!  

The skies over the Passumpsic are featuring a yet more raucous sound than tree drumming, but one that adds its own power to this season of hope.

Raven pairs fly overhead in close double formation, intensifying their bond, vocalizing their intention to each other to support the rigors of nesting and rearing young. The new life that we anticipate so yearningly in the growing light of March must, of course, include instinctive sacrifice, hard work, and the danger of predators.

Read the whole article here.  Like the NEK Audubon page here.

Posted in Vermont Birding, Winter Birds | Tagged , | Comments Off on NEK Audubon’s Bird Notes; Birds in March, Veer Frost

Alaskan Birding Trip – Epilogue

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Richard

It has been almost 24 years since the journey yet as I write this it seems like only yesterday. All that I remembered comes rushing back like the fast moving glacial streams. The experience we all shared together will always be with us and in our memories.

I can still see all that I told you about: such vivid pictures that no camera could ever capture. There are no words that can adequately describe the Alaska I saw. It is a land of gross hyperbole.  A land of adjectives and metaphors and still not enough to paint the picture. When I close my eyes and relive what I have seen and felt it is only then that I can in some small way understand this land.

On a day in Denali we climbed a ridge near the Savage River. Higher and higher we climbed and the wind became stronger, Finally near the top I stood alone high on this ravine catching the full force of nature’s breath. With arms outstretched and eyes closed tightly I wished, oh how I wished I could fly. To soar with eagles and ride the thermals, to sail in the wind. To be free!

"With arms outstretched and eyes closed tightly I wished, oh how I wished I could fly. To soar with eagles and ride the thermals, to sail in the wind. To be free! " photo of hiker by Paxson Woelber

“With arms outstretched and eyes closed tightly I wished, oh how I wished I could fly. To soar with eagles and ride the thermals, to sail in the wind. To be free! ” photo of hiker by Paxson Woelber

I remember standing on the cliffs on St. Paul. It wasn’t simply about the birds flying, the seals bellowing, and the foxes scampering over the land. The pyramid of life was there. From the oceans where it began to the cliff top where in us life has evolved to its highest end. In this intricate web of life we are all equals. We are not only related but need and depend on one another in order to sustain life itself. Let us never forget this bond.

As in all my trips I view my trip to Alaska as a privilege. A special privilege that makes me appreciate what has been given to me. The gift of seeing life as Mother Nature intended it to be. The beauty of the land and its flora and fauna; the daily struggle of life and death; and finally the birth of those that will offer the same view to others for eons to come.

We are not only guests to nature’s theater, we have roles in all of the plays and all the acts. But remember we are only co-stars on this the stage of life. We must make sure the curtain never closes on this show. The Greatest Show on Earth.

You only make the journey once so do everything you can to make sure your journey is rewarding not only for you but those that you will meet on your journey. Live the journey now , for every doorway that opens is a destination to a new journey.

Never the end just the beginning.

Gerry Cooperman

Posted in Birding Trip Report, Birding_trips, guest_post | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Local Airstream Company Expands

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Richard

The Plattsburgh Press-Repulican had a nice article about the continuing expansion of an Airstream sales/renovation company just across the lake. 
PLATTSBURGH — New models of an American icon are now available from a local business that has doubled in size within the last year. 
Nomad Airstream President and Sales Manager Steven Clement said they are now an authorized Airstream dealer with exclusive rights to the New York and Vermont sales territory.
“We’re getting calls from all over,” he said.
Market holds promise
He and CEO Guillaume Langevin see great potential for the market, particularly the Burlington area. Clement said it is difficult to find Airstream trailers in Canada, so they even expect to have customers from the Montreal market.
“We know customers will be coming down,” he said.
The company has already received some new 2013 inventory.
The International Signature and Serenity series includes models from 19 feet to 30 feet. The Classic Limited line has model lengths of 27 feet, 30 feet and 31 feet, and is the flagship of the Aurstream line.
The Airstream Eddie Bauer edition is available in 26-foot and-28 foot lengths. It features a wide rear hatch to accommodate outdoor gear such as a kayak or bicycles. 
“It really fits in with the Adirondacks,” Clement said.  Read the whole article.
Posted in Vermont Birding | Comments Off on Local Airstream Company Expands

A Review of Birding Ethics

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Richard

Several items in the last week — the baiting of the Great Gray Owl in Wisconsin and the possible harassment of the gyrfalcon in Hadley, MA, have again raised the issue of ethics of photographers and birders.  Our friends at MassBirds posted this thoughtful article on the need for all of us to remind ourselves and others of ethics and practice what we preach.

If you aren’t aware of it, or haven’t read it recently, please read the American Birding Association Code of Ethics
www.aba.org/about/ethics.html   (About ABA tab, Code of Ethics).

Our local clubs also have code of ethics that can be found on their websites and in their publications.  For example, the Brookline Bird Club Code of Ethics can be reached from a link from www.brooklinebirdclub.org (Code of Ethics).

Here’s what I ask.  To the leadership of local clubs, next time you meet, point out your organization’s code of ethics and discuss it, if only for a minute or two.  To trip leaders, talk about birding ethics briefly at the beginning of your walk.  To every birder, when you go birding with a novice, model good ethical behavior and let that novice know good behavior is expected and required.

Make no mistake about it, when birders or photographers behave unethically by disturbing birds or habitat, those actions make it much more likely that others will not see that bird or disclose that location.  By behaving unethically, you make it much more likely that rarities, sensitive habitats and sensitive situations will not be disclosed.  Not only do you cause disturbance and damage the current situation, you damage future opportunities for yourself and others.

Unfortunately, we don’t often discuss good birding behavior unless there’s a problem.  Let’s make a commitment to bird ethically, and to inform and educate those joining our ranks about why good birding ethics are the foundation of good birding.

Posted in Rare birds | 1 Comment

Don’t Look Up

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Richard

I have written about binocular stabilization and have several ideas for posts on places accessible to birders with disabilities, but I now find myself “disabled” and unable to actively bird.  I’ve waited a month to whine about it but with spring and warblers coming, I’m starting to get frustrated.

At the end of January, I apparently damaged a nerve in my neck as I did some exercises in our cellar.  I felt nothing at the time but the next day, my left arm, hand, and pinkie finger were tingling and burning – and have remained that way for 34 days, but who’s counting.  Several days into it, I realized that raising my eyes to look for birds lit off the sensations, and that by lowering my eyes, I could get it to subside.  Additionally, driving the truck is very tough — I just can’t find a relief position for my aching arm.

I won’t bother you with the litany of MRI, PT, traction, and pain meds but let’s just say that progress is not being made … yet.  We’ll figure it out but meanwhile, I’m trying to find ways to bird in this condition.

I need birds down low but virtually all our water is frozen so aside from a few hardy Mallards and mergansers, there’s not much to see.  Likewise, except for a few American Tree Sparrows, not much going on with sparrows yet.  I need to get out and look for male Red-winged Blackbirds which are starting to show up and soon, we’ll start getting warblers.  It’s going to be tough to see them high in the trees.

Black & White Warblers can come down to eye level. photo by dick mansfield

Black & White Warblers can come down to eye level. photo by dick mansfield

So, my non-whining strategy is this:

  • bird by ear more than eye right now,
  • find terrain where you are high enough to see birds level with you (I recall seeing Black & White warblers at eye level on our land)
  • find warbler areas with small trees and bushes — not towering White Pines and Soft Maples
  • Use the telescope, with its angled lens, to look above the horizon

I know that as painful as this situation is, it is temporary.  I just need to actively push the health care folks for action and answers — it’s easy to get lost in the system if you don’t make a few waves.  And I need to continue to develop the appreciation I have for people who deal with chronic pain every day – and still go on with their lives.  So, this will be my only post on my ailments – hold the applause – and we’ll focus on spring birding, our ongoing decisions about RV travel, and my County Big Year (which is pretty much on hold).  Spring will come, the snow will melt, my arm pain will become a bad memory.  Stay tuned.

Posted in birding_with_disabilities, County Big Year | Comments Off on Don’t Look Up

Foresters for the Birds wins national recognition

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Richard

The Foresters for the Birds project has won national recognition from the U.S. Forest Service Wings Across the Americas program for its collaborative approach to forest and bird habitat conservation in Vermont and along the Atlantic Flyway. Every year, the Forest Service recognizes outstanding work by Forest Service employees and their local, regional and international partners in conserving birds, bats, butterflies, dragonflies, and their habitats. The Foresters for the Birds project is an innovative partnership between Audubon Vermont and the Vermont Dept. of Forests, Parks, and Recreation that started in 2008 with support from the U.S. Forest Service State and Private Forestry Program. It is being recognized for breaking down perceived barriers between tree-cutters and bird-lovers in order to achieve common goals of assisting private landowners with protecting and improving forest health, productivity, and habitat for birds of conservation concern.

The program is designed to improve timber and forest songbird habitat for species including wood thrush and black-throated blue warbler. photo by dick mansfield.

The program is designed to improve timber and forest songbird habitat for species including wood thrush and black-throated blue warbler. photo by dick mansfield.

As home to some of the highest diversities of breeding birds in the continental United States, Vermont’s northern forests are globally important for birds. However, forest fragmentation and conversion threaten birds, forest health, and Vermont’s local forest-based economy. Songbirds need forests, and in order to keep forested land available, “we need to make sure there is some economic benefit to landowners in keeping their land forested”, stated Michael Snyder, Commissioner of the Vermont Dept. of Forests, Parks and Recreation. ”The beauty of this project is that it is a way of connecting human needs with the needs of wildlife. Managing working forests provides economic benefits to landowners and assists them in keeping their land forested, which in turn provides important habitat for wildlife.”

“Vermonter’s overwhelmingly value our working landscape and treasure the birds breeding in our forests. This partnership builds on these complementary interests by giving woodlot owners and their foresters the skills and tools to create a great bird nursery and a vibrant forest industry,” added Jim Shallow, Audubon Vermont’s Conservation and Policy Director.

US Forest Service Forest Stewardship Representative, Roger Monthey, agrees. “The Foresters for the Birds project is a great example of a way forward that integrates Vermont’s working forests with migratory bird habitat management goals,” states Monthey. “Many woodland owners in Vermont are interested in nature, privacy, aesthetics, leaving a legacy, and we feel this project is an excellent fit for these landowners. It’s the strong partnership between foresters, biologists, and woodland owners that makes this project unique.”

The Wings Across the Americas awards will be presented as part of the 78th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference to be held in Arlington, VA, March 25-30, 2013.

Sign up by RSS feed or via email to have future articles sent to you. 

Posted in Bird conservation, Vermont Birding | Comments Off on Foresters for the Birds wins national recognition

Alaskan Birding Trip – Anchorage and Denali

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Richard

We landed in Anchorage and guess what – no cars. Maybe because we didn’t create a fuss because we had come to expect these incidents and as if by magic four cars suddenly were available. We make it to Motel 6, have a well deserved dinner and  get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow it’s on the road to Denali.

North on Rte. 1 to Rte. 3 the four Subaru wagons head out on our final adventure. And we are on paved roads at last. Once outside the city limits the scenery changes rapidly. From an urban setting to wilderness is rapid indeed and I hope that urban sprawl has not overtaken this land in the last 24 years.

Denali (Mt. McKinley) means big one – an apt description. Rising 20,300 feet into the clouds it is the highest point in North America and stands guard over its domain. We were fortunate in our stay to have sunny skies so Denali was utterly breathtaking.

We stop at a shimmering lake as two Trumpeter Swans provide a genteel and serene moment. Cruising back and forth they swim as one; a study of beauty and grace. Like two dancers performing nature’s ballet. This picture is securely tucked away in my memory of the Alaskan experience.

Two Trumpeter Swans provided us an unforgettable ballet memory. photo by YellowstoneNPS

Two Trumpeter Swans provided us an unforgettable ballet memory. photo by YellowstoneNPS

Up the Parks Highway with Hawk Owl as our first objective. We weren’t successful but did find many “Evergreen Hawk Owls” , a hitherto unreported species, more then I care to remember. Eventually we found the real species and boy did we work for it.

We got to the park, purchased our tickets for tomorrow and took a ride out to Savage River. This is as far as you can go by car and gave us a glimpse of tomorrow. We had a herd of Dall Sheep come down to welcome us to their park.  We had two objectives for tomorrow and mapped out our strategy. We would be on school buses into the park and solicited good information regarding our targets. The point we would meet at was Marmot Rock taking the shuttle bus in two sections. We had a 6:30 AM bus to catch at the headquarters. Not a problem if someone else had been driving because I took my dumb decision-making pill that morning.

We left the motel with time to spare and as car four I was the last in line. On the way, our car and nobody else’s was stopped for the movement of construction equipment. As the minutes ticked away my common sense was disappearing as well and finally I could go. Off I went with a determination that blocked out intelligence as I sped right by the headquarters road. My passengers tactfully mentioned that we seemed to be driving longer than the practice run yesterday. No problem I said and then saw a mile marker that told me I missed the road. In the finest Boston tradition a U-turn on the highway was executed and I sped back. I pulled in an let my passengers off, parked the car and enjoyed the 200 yard dash with scope and backpack. We made it.

We were at Marmot Rock and began to spread out looking for our target. One of the group spotted a Gyrfalcon perched on a rock pinnacle. Then we discovered two , no three more. A family of Gyrs. Our excitement level was high. Then we found the Northern Wheatear foraging on the rocky hillside. That was the end of the birds so our attention switched to mammals. Moose, grizzly bear,and Dall sheep all had young they were tending to. Tomorrow’s stars of this wondrous place. Caribou, porcupines, marmots, and red foxes added to the menagerie. I especially enjoyed the fox as he nonchalantly strolled alongside the bus. A striking white-tipped tail on an otherwise rusty coloration. Then suddenly he pounced on something alongside the road. The kill was made and so continued the rhythm of life and death in Mother Nature’s realm.

The following day four of us decided to relocate the Gyrfalcon family. We found them quickly and scoped them for some time as they played. Soaring effortlessly then wheeling and turning knifing through the air with power and grace. Then play time was over and the young ones perched on a rock while the female began her hunt passing low over the terrain. The juveniles were watched over by the male and then they decide it was time to leave and off they went. Time to move on and get on a bus. We started walking and talking about our good fortune and little did we know the real excitement was about to begin.

As we were walking up the road we noticed the male high and off to our right. He suddenly banked and was in front headed our way. He then languidly flew over us inspecting these intruders on his land inspecting the trespassers and up he went behind a ridge. As he flew higher we then noticed the female had joined him. Then it happened. From out of nowhere a Golden Eagle was flying between the ridges. The two Gyrs rose as one and the male peeled off and headed for the eagle. With talons balled into a fist he hit the eagle like a lightning bolt. The eagle rolled right and in a split second the female now dove at the eagle’s head. Then a second eagle appeared and all they were trying to do now was escape. Flying as fast as their wings would allow.

Safe from intruders the Gyrs rose together as one. Masters of the sky, protectors of their domain. As a parting goodbye the female peeled off and repeated the male’s action by slowly flying over us not 10 feet above our heads. We had become accepted intruders this day in Polychrome Pass. Collectively we let out one gasp of breathless exhilaration. We had witnessed something that very few ever get to see. How fortunate we were indeed. This was our last day in Denali and what a day it was.

The Northern Three Toed Woodpecker breeds in North America, from northern Alaska, across Canada's boreal regions, through northern Saskatchewan, to north-central Labrador and Newfoundland. In Eurasia, south of tree line in Scandinavia and Siberia. Prefers coniferous forest and burntlands; less frequently mixed forest. Cavity nests generally placed in dead tree, usually conifer or aspen; sometimes nests in utility poles. photo by Superior National Forest
The Northern Three Toed Woodpecker breeds in North America, from northern Alaska, across Canada’s boreal regions, through northern Saskatchewan, to north-central Labrador and Newfoundland. In Eurasia, south of tree line in Scandinavia and Siberia. Prefers coniferous forest and burntlands; less frequently mixed forest. Cavity nests generally placed in dead tree, usually conifer or aspen; sometimes nests in utility poles. photo by Superior National Forest

The next day was overcast and with intermittent showers. We stopped at Carlo Creek birding in the mist and after an hour found our quarry: a Northern-three-toed Woodpecker, the quiet tapping denizen of the spruce woods. Seeing this bird made the day shine like the yellow crown that adorned his head. And on this note, our intrepid band of birders ended their Alaskan Adventure. 

Posted in Birding Trip Report, Birding_trips, guest_post | Tagged , | Comments Off on Alaskan Birding Trip – Anchorage and Denali