Tag Archives: fall migration

Hangars-On–Part B

As we transition to Fall with hints of color in the foliage, there are fewer birds and most are silent. There are migrants moving through and some locals who have yet to leave. Here’s a few shots from the last couple of days.

A few Mallards hang around, but most will leave soon.

I got to finish molting before I’m going out in public.

Hawks have been on the move for a while but I came upon a pair of Sharp-shinned Hawks yesterday. They had a major hassle going on with six or seven Northern Flickers, which I watched for about ten minutes. The lighting was poor but the action was cool.

Same tree, waiting for a rematch

The flycatchers are gone but some Eastern Phoebes are still here, wearing their yellowish fall plumage.

These young European Starlings will head out soon.

One of the fun parts of this season is to watch the youngsters grow up, learning their calls and songs, how to forage, and in general, how to be noisy teenagers. Gray Catbirds have been prime examples the last few days and this one just dared me to take his photo.

Hangers-On — Part A

As most of the warblers, hummers, and flycatchers have left for warmer climes, I’ve been looking for birds that are packed but not quite ready to go. Here are some from last week.

Note the leg band on this Veery. Aside from a few chirps, they are pretty silent now.

Ducks, except for a few hardy Mallards, will likely be migrating next month, just in time for hunting season. There are a lot of young Common Mergansers still around.

Likewise, Wood Ducks are out and about.

Most flycatchers are gone but the ones remaining are silent and still confusing.

To me, it’s a Least Flycatcher, or an Alder
Belted Kingfishers are still cruising the river but will soon depart.

While the avian departure is bittersweet, it’s time to recall past winter birding and the prospect of Hawk Owls, Snowy Owls, finches, grosbeaks, crossbills ……

Hawk Watching Time


Just about when the leaf peepers begin flocking to the roadways to observe Vermont’s spectacular autumn foliage, an equally-enthusiastic set of nature lovers is trekking up the peaks to watch a different seasonal event: the fall migration of raptors. Also known as “birds of prey,” this majestic group includes the eagles, falcons, hawks, vultures, ospreys, and the less-familiar but no-less-impressive group called the harriers, of which North America has only one (the beautiful Northern Harrier). Perched on a mountain outcropping, one can predictably see large numbers of these birds as they make their way to southern climes.

Whether you’re a veteran bird-watcher or a novice, raptor-watching (usually referred to as “hawk-watching,” even though other types of raptors are included) is a great way to spend an autumn afternoon. One of its draws is that the birds are highly visible. Unlike the diminutive songbirds, which hop around incessantly and hide in dense shrubs, raptors are large, steady, and during migration, exposed. Also, because each group of raptors flies differently and has a distinctive shape, these birds are easy to tell apart. The peregrine falcon, for example, has long, pointed wings, which it flaps continuously for its fast, powered flight. In contrast, the bald eagle rarely flaps and its broad, sturdy wings make it look like a flying plank. At the popular hawk-watching sites, you’re likely to find fellow observers on the summit to help you with identification; learn the shapes and flight patterns of the major groups and you’ll be a hawk-watching maven in no time.

So when and where is a Vermonter to begin? The peak of fall raptor migration is from mid-September to early November; try going at different times of the season to see different species. The most popular hawk-watching sites in Vermont are Mount Philo, 15 miles south of Burlington, and Putney Mountain in the southeast corner of the state. Snake Mountain in Addison and Mount Ascutney in Windsor are also decent spots, as are Coon Mountain, just beyond the ferry terminal in Essex, New York, and Mount Tom in Massachusetts, straight down the Connecticut River from Brattleboro.

In addition to being a popular place for recreational hawk-watching, Putney Mountain is also an official migration monitoring site. Because raptor migration is predictable and easy to watch, people have been counting migrating raptors and recording their numbers since 1934, when the first official count site was established at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania. Since then, numerous similar counts have been established all over the globe, from the Panama Canal to the Strait of Gibraltar. The long-term migration data collected at these sites allow scientists to monitor raptor populations; numbers vary greatly from year to year, but over long periods of time, scientists can identify trends. The decline in juvenile Bald Eagles migrating past Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in the 1970s alerted Rachel Carson to the threat of DDT to these important predators, and she wrote about this trend in Silent Spring, the influential book which led to the ban of that harmful pesticide. Visit the Putney Mountain Hawk Watch just for fun, or participate in the count to play a role in history.
(read whole article from VTDigger.com)

This piece is by Emily Brodsky, a master’s candidate in the ecological planning program at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at The University of Vermont.

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.