Friday, May 20, 2011

Same Old Singers

Black-throated Blue Warbler

The birds in our woods seem as happy as we are when the showers stop and the sun tries to peek out.  The singing, even at mid-day, is amazing.  The only birds I that seemed not to vocalize were the song sparrows -- perhaps they’re courtin’ days are over this spring.

We’ve had a noisy Common Yellowthroat in the bushes/trees near the driveway for days now.  I’m always surprised at how tough he can be to see, even though he’s singing his head off, drowning out most others.  Of course, once you get him, he’s pretty easy to follow with the glasses.

I heard a call today that I knew that I should know (lots of those) and sure enough, tracked down a Black-throated Blue Warbler which bounced around in the nearly-leafed-out trees but then posed for some photos. 

Ovenbirds are everywhere -- their singing rings through our wood lot.  Try to find them though -- I usually can only see them briefly when they flit off.  Likewise for Wood Thrushes -- probably a half dozen were singing away during my noon walk.  I did track one down but it saw me and was pretty jumpy, moving from branch to branch.

The star of the walk was a male White-throated Sparrow which I heard, and called in with the iPhone app.  He popped up next to me for a good photo op.
White-throated Sparrow

Add some Black-headed Juncos, a Chestnut-sided Warbler, and the standard Blue Jays, American Crows, Black-capped Chickadees, and an American Robin on a nest, and in spite of the black flies and mosquitoes, you have a nice walk.  Penny, the Vizsla, is giving me the evil eye for leaving her home but birding without a bird dog seems to go a lot better.  She has, and will have, plenty of chances to “help” me bird our property.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Check that crabapple tree

Yesterday, Ron Payne, a birder in Middlebury, made this post on the Vermont birding listserve:
"A Cape May Warbler has been in a apple tree across the street from my house on Weybridge St. since at least 7:00 AM this morning. If you have any blooming apple trees around, it might be worth while to see if there is anything making squeaking noises inside it."
Indigo Bunting (f)
Our old crabapple tree is blossoming and full of honeybees (I have several hives) and a variety of goldfinches and purple finches but I never really check it for new birds -- until I read the post.  So today, between rain showers and work, I kept an eye on it.  Mourning doves, hummers, finches, woodpeckers, chickadees, and nuthatches ... all the usual suspects.

Mid-day, I saw something different working away up in the blossoms -- saw some purple or blue, then it popped out and I got a look, and a photo, of my first Indigo Bunting.

I didn't realize that warblers and other birds like the blossoms but in any case, I'll keep my binoculars and camera handy for the next few days as the apple blossoms continue.  And hope that Mr. Bunting decides to pay a call.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Shorebird Season in Vermont

Vermont is in the midst of the wettest May on record and while it is a problem for farmers and owners of low-lying camps, it is a boon for birders.  It's created a shorebird season.

I got this email last night from one of my friends at North Branch Nature Center: "Spread the word amongst fellow WaCo birders, its shorebird season!  Along a short stretch of River Rd. between Montpelier and Middlesex (near where the Hawk Owl was seen) I had 1 Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, and a Solitary Sandpiper in the flooded fields.  It may be worth taking some time to scan some of these fields... when they dry up, so will our county's shorebird habitat! Good birding, Larry"

Solitary Sandpiper (l) and Greater Yellowlegs
This morning, a followup email from the center's director reported five sandpiper species.  I went to check it out.  A large cornfield off River Road in Middlesex has standing water and ducks, geese, and sandpipers. 

 The birds tend to blend into the stubble and I could have used another set of eyes but I managed to see a Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, several Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, a Killdeer, and a Common Merganser which came in for a nice landing right in front of me.  Mallards and Canada Geese were there as well.
Common Merganser

I took some digiscoped photos which are not great quality -- still learning to set up the camera and the scope.  It was a great chance to see some birds that don't normally make it into central Vermont.  I did not see the Least Sandpipers reported earlier -- either they left or were too tough to spot, even with a scope.

Rain is forecast for the next few days.  Time to look for other shorebirds.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

What's That Warbler?

Black & White Warbler
I went birding yesterday morning at Salisbury Beach State Reservation, a place where I go instead of Parker River WMA when I have the dog with me (which is most of the time.)  Driving slowly along the campground perimeter, I saw a warbler fly in front of the truck and pulled over.  I could see some Black & White warblers through the truck window so I parked and immediately walked into a gaggle of flitting birds. (It was a good day in the area -- at Parker River folks saw 22 species of warblers.)



Northern Parula
Black-throated Blue Warbler
The good news was that the trees are rather low and the birds close by.  The bad news is that for a second-year birder, just getting them in the binoculars is a task, and then getting identifying marks etc is a challenge.  Binoculars or camera, write notes or check Sibley's, -- oh for a knowledgeable birder along.  It's a good problem to have -- too many birds, not enough expertise -- that's how you learn.  I took my time, jotted down notes, shot a lot of photos, and came up with three new life birds.

Ovenbird
Ovenbirds where everywhere -- and unlike at home, easy to spot.  I think that was because there were so many of them.  Black-throated blue warblers likewise were putting on an aerial display going after insects like flycatchers.

I'm sure I missed a number of birds but it was demanding but fun -- even when a couple of kids on their bikes set up a BMX route on the trail I was using. 


Black-crowned Night-heron

Leaving the reservation, I spotted a heron-like bird in the marsh and pulled over, let a runner pass, and backed up to the spot.  I shot a couple of photos and tried to figure out what I was seeing -- it wasn't a Great Blue so I tried to make it into a Least Bittern.  It wasn't until I had a chance to look at the photos closely that I've decided it was a Black-crowned Night-heron.  What it was doing up and about in the morning I have no idea?

Migration is so fleeting -- a few weeks of birds passing through -- and if you miss them, or can't identify them, it's wait until next year.  But the flurry of frenetic activity, the chirps and calls, and the colors makes it a special time for birders.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Secretary Salazar Releases 2011 State of the Birds Report

The full report is available at www.stateofthebirds.org.
U.S. Department of the Interior
AMERICA’S GREAT OUTDOORS: Secretary Salazar Releases 2011 State of the Birds Report
Report Shows Public Lands and Waters Crucial to Birds; One Out of Four Birds Species on Public Land in Peril
05/03/2011

Contact: Hugh Vickery, DOI (202) 208-6414
Alicia F. King, FWS (571) 214-3117

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Harris Sherman today released the 2011 State of the Birds Report, the nation’s first assessment of birds on lands and waters owned by the American people. The findings indicate tremendous potential for bird conservation: these publicly owned habitats support at least half of the entire U.S. distributions of more than 300 bird species.
The report concludes that America’s public lands and waters, ranging from national wildlife refuges to national parks to national forests, offer significant opportunities to halt or reverse the decline of many species. More than 1,000 bird species inhabit the U.S., 251 of which are federally threatened, endangered, or of conservation concern. The report provides a scientific tool to help public agencies identify the most significant conservation opportunities in each habitat.
“The State of the Birds report is a measurable indicator of how well we are fulfilling our shared role as stewards of our nation’s public lands and waters,” Salazar said. “Although we have made enormous progress in conserving habitat on public lands, we clearly have much more work to do. The good news is that because birds so extensively use public lands and waters as habitat, effective management and conservation efforts can make a significant difference in whether these species recover or slide towards extinction.”
“The 2011 State of the Birds report reflects significant achievement by public agencies and all of our long-standing partners in improving bird habitats,” said Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Harris Sherman. “The USDA programs are innovative and creative. Over the last two years, the Natural Resources Conservation Service has played a critical role in working cooperatively with landowners to conserve migratory birds in the Gulf of Mexico, sage grouse in the great plains, and others. The Forest Service has developed a draft Forest Planning rule that will ensure our National Forests support birds and other wildlife for decades to come.”
The report assessed the distribution of birds on nearly 850 million acres of public land and 3.5 million square miles of ocean. It relied on high-performance computing techniques to generate detailed bird distribution maps based on citizen-science data reported to eBird and information from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Protected Areas Database of the United States.
The report highlighted the wide variety of bird habitats on public lands. These include:
Aridlands: More than half of U.S. aridlands are publicly owned. Thirty-nine percent of aridland bird species are of conservation concern and more than 75 percent of species are declining.
Oceans and Coasts: All U.S. marine waters are publicly owned and are home to 86 ocean bird species and 173 coastal species. At least 39 percent of U.S. bird species restricted to ocean habitats are declining and almost half are of conservation concern, indicating severe stress in these ecosystems.
Forests: Public lands include some of the largest unfragmented blocks of forest, which are crucial for the long-term health of many bird species, including the endangered Kirtland’s warbler, which has 97 percent of its U.S. distribution on public lands.
Arctic and Alpine: Ninety percent of boreal forest, alpine, and arctic breeding bird species in Alaska rely on public lands for habitat, including 34 breeding shorebird species of high conservation concern. There are more public lands in Alaska than in the rest of the U.S. combined, offering huge potential to manage lands for conservation.
Islands: More birds are in danger of extinction in Hawaii than anywhere else in the U.S. Public lands in Hawaii support 73 percent of the distribution of declining forest birds. Among declining Hawaiian forest birds on Kauai, about 78 percent rely on state land. Four endangered species in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands are entirely dependent on federal lands.
Wetlands: Wetlands protection has provided the “gold standard” for bird conservation. On the whole, 39 species of hunted waterfowl have increased by more than 100 percent during the past 40 years as nearly 30 million acres of wetlands have been acquired and management practices have restored bird populations.
Grasslands: Grassland birds are among our nation’s fastest declining species, yet only a small amount – 13 percent -- of grassland is publicly owned and managed primarily for conservation. Forty-eight percent of grassland-breeding bird species are of conservation concern, including four with endangered populations.
The 2011 State of the Birds report is a collaborative effort as part of the U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative, involving federal and state wildlife agencies, and scientific and conservation organizations. These include the American Bird Conservancy, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the Bureau of Land Management, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Department of Defense, the National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, the National Park Service, the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
The full report is available at www.stateofthebirds.org.

Great Adirondack Birding Celebration, 3-5 June

Mark your calendars and click on the following for all the latest info and registration for the 9th Annual Great Adirondack Birding Celebration:

We are thrilled to have Scott Weidensaul as our Sat evening keynote speaker in the Paul Smith's College VIC Theater. Sat & Sun field trips are loaded with boreal hotspots and something new this year is a Beginner Birder Workshop lead by Joan Collins of Long Lake. Also new this year is our Friday Boreal Ecology Workshop at Massawepie Mire & The Wild Center lead by top-notch naturalists/birders Kendra Omerod and Alan Belford.

Friday will feature an afternoon wetlands walk, evening dessert reception, birds of prey show, & Owl Walk all at the Paul Smith's College VIC. Sat will focus on field trips(lead by many members of Northern New York Audubon Society-a major sponsor of GABC) and afternoon bird-related workshops. Sunday allows you a second day of field trips giving another full morning to bird in the Adirondacks.

Hope you can make it!

Brian McAllister
Saranac Lake

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Visit to Moose Bog

Ever since returning from Texas, I've been hoping to get up to the Northeast Kingdom and look for a few birds up there that I've never seen.  Weather and commitments have held me back but I know that black fly season is coming on, so I took the long drive up to Island Pond today to do a little wet weather birding.  Penny, the Vizsla, came along for the ride but waited in the truck.

It wasn't a Vermont Life day: soggy with low clouds and still early spring.  We stopped north of Lyndonville for some exercise and departing the turnoff area, nearly hit a dark, wet moose.  From Island Pond, it's about ten miles, down past the grass airport at which I've landed many times, to the Moose Bog trail in the Town of Ferdinand.




My target bird was the Spruce Grouse although I was hoping for a Grey Jay or Boreal Chickadee as well.  I heard a number of winter wrens (saw one) and many yellow-rumps but after an hour or so, thought I'd be skunked.  I was walking the quiet trail in a light mist when up ahead, right on the path, I saw movement in a little spruce tree.  A big Spruce Grouse was standing there, eating away.  I had time to wipe off my camera lens, and get pretty close for shots.  I watched for some time and then turned around and left the bird to its meal.  I was surprised at how accomodating it was -- much different from a Ruffed Grouse.

It made the long drive worthwhile and gave me an incentive to get back up there later this year and look for the other birds.