A Stupid Gull Trip

A few years ago Bryan Pfeiffer and Ted Murin occasionally embarked on a "Stupid Gull Trip". While amusing, these superb birders had a serious intent. Gulls are endlessly fascinating. Identifying species is challenging, plumages vary considerably between juveniles and adults, and occasionally rare species show up, such as the Ivory Gull reported recently in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

So yesterday I embarked on my own stupid gull trip to Burlington's Intervale. I was not disappointed. I counted 187 gulls feasting on the smoking compost piles at the Intervale Compost Project. As required by the state of Vermont, the Intervale Compost Project has taken steps to reduce the number of gulls feeding at the site. But they still have to turn the stuff over and when they do the gulls feast.

Most of the gulls that I identified, not surprisingly, were Ring-billed Gulls. But handsome Great Black-backed Gulls were very prominent members of the flock, accounting for 27 birds. In addition, I counted 10 Herring Gulls. Of greatest interest to me were the pale gulls-2 small juvenile Iceland Gulls and 1 large Glaucous Gull. These uncommon gulls of the north (Greenland, not Iceland, in the case of Iceland gulls) seem to be reported with increasing frequency in Vermont both at the Intervale and at the Burlington waterfront, the two prime locations for spotting gulls in the winter in this area. Frankly, at times I have difficulty picking out these rare species among the large number of common gulls. In this case it is not the gulls who are stupid. It's me.

The Incredible Shrinking Lake

Lake Champlain is 120 miles long. Right? Wrong! As ice carpets the lake the open water shrinks to a fraction of its former size, concentrating the flocks of waterfowl that refuse to move further south until the open water is reduced to zero. That time may not be far off. The lake is frozen solid from Thompson's Point south and from the Colchester-South Hero Causeway north.

I drove in to the Causeway from the Allen Point (South Hero) end last week. There was ice from shore to shore. Of course, the Grand Isle ferry operates all year and clears a track of ice water from Grand Isle to Cumberland Head. And a few ducks congregate in this slush and in the small patch of water around the outflow from the Ed Weed hatchery. Likewise, in the small pond behind the hatchery maybe 50 Mallards, Black Ducks, and Common Mergansers find sufficient nourishment to ride out the wintry weather. As Spring gets closer the variety of ducks at the hatchery pond will increase, but for now it is quite limited.

Which brings me to Charlotte. This afternoon I visited the Charlotte Town Beach for an hour or so. I estimate that there were over 2000 Common Goldeneyes congregated there. There were a few Bufflehead, Common Mergansers, and the omnipresent Ring-billed Gulls to be sure. But the goldeneyes ruled. Large flocks of goldeneyes flew back and forth 100-500 yards off the beach making a truly accurate count impossible. Were there Barrow's Goldeneyes mixed in with the Commons? Probably. Other less common species? Possibly. But there were so many birds clustered together it was impossible to pick out the odd Barrow's, Canvasback, Scaup, or Redhead. I was awed simply by the number of birds that I saw there. Maybe I'll return to Charlotte tomorrow to look for the rarities. For today I was satisfied to take in the majority of birds still holed up on the incredible shrinking lake.

On The Waterfront

Winter birding is all about waterfowl. To be sure I spend time tramping through the woods or riding the circuit looking for winter songbirds. But ducks are my passion and the Lake Champlain waterfront is where to find them. Shelburne bay is socked in with ice right now and the lake south of Thompson's Point is frozen, too. But the broad lake at Charlotte Town Beach, Shelburne Town Beach, Shelburne Point, and the Burlington waterfront beyond the breakwater is open for business.

So what's there? At Charlotte Town Beach Common Goldeneye by the hundreds-and perhaps a Barrow's or two. At Shelburne Town Beach-Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, and Common Mergansers. At Shelburne Point-Mallards, Black Ducks, and a lone Hooded Merganser. And in Burlington gulls-including a few Iceland Gulls-Mallards, American Black Ducks, a few hybrids of indeterminant lineage, and today-ta da-a Snowy Owl. No, the excitement is not all about ducks.

I'm anxiously awaiting the annual Long-tailed Duck at Charlotte or perhaps a Harlequin Duck at Shelburne Point. But no matter. Scanning the water for winter ducks, watching them swirl in the north wind, and enjoying the bizarre courtship antics of the goldeneyes while looking closely at each bird for a rarity or-well-an odd duck is entertainment enough for me.

Greetings from the Frozen North

We complain about winter in Vermont, but one of the delights of winter is the appearance of winter birds-owls, ducks, raptors, and songbirds that are far to our north in the warmer months. I've described my sightings of Snowy Owls and the Northern Hawk Owl in Eden in previous posts. Today I'll cover a few songbirds that I've seen recently.

One of the most highly anticipated northern birds that visits Vermont regularly is the Bohemian Waxwing. These handsome birds with a cardinal-like crest, gray-brown body feathers, and striking yellow and red wing and tail markings are a sight to behold. Bohemian Waxwings are slightly larger than their Cedar Waxwing cousins and, unlike Cedars, have reddish-brown undertail coverts. I spotted a mixed flock of Bohemian and Cedar Waxwings feeding on frozen cherries at UVM this past week.

Even more exciting was a report of Common Redpolls and White-winged Crossbills at Deerfield Drive in South Burlington. I went there yesterday and quickly found the redpolls and a flock of Cedar Waxwings. But no crossbills, my main quarry. Luckily for me, my friend Henry Trombley was there to take me by the hand and show me a half dozen crossbills tearing apart cones from a spruce tree near the corner of Overlook Drive and Deerfield Drive. Thomas Ford-Hutchinson has posted some great pictures of these crossbills on his flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/77523243@N00. These birds have a crossed beak adapted specifically for ripping the seeds out of spruce cones. Last year I traveled 90 miles to Moose Bog in Ferdinand to try to find White-winged Crossbills with no success. How satisfying to see them just a few miles from my home. Cold comfort!

Eagles and Owls

This has been a spectacular year for Bald Eagles and Snowy Owls. Shelburne Bay has been a particularly good spot to see eagles in flight. This past weekend I was fortunate to be invited to participate in Audubon Vermont's annual eagle survey-and in prime territory along Lake Champlain starting at McNeil Cove (Charlotte ferry landing) and ending at the Champlain Bridge. Carl Runge, Sean Beckett, and I traveled a route laid out by Mark LaBarr. The weather was chilly, 1 degree F. to start, but thankfully there was no wind to speak of. And there were eagles. Seventeen to be exact. We got a great start when Sean spotted 2 Bald Eagles in flight from the car just before we reached the ferry landing. At the ferry dock I spotted another eagle flying east and Carl spied a fourth eagle flying west. Others turned up on the ice at Thompson's Point (2), Kingsland Bay (2), Sumner Point (5), Button Bay (3), and Arnold Bay (1). We celebrated our success by having lunch at the Bridge Restaurant at the junction of Routes 17 and 125. A good time was had by all.

On Sunday afternoon, spurred to action by reports of a Snowy Owl in South Burlington, I took a ride to the Chittenden Cider Mill on Dorset St. and the development off of Cider Mill Drive. Sure enough, a Snowy Owl was receiving visitors on the roof at 148 Crispin Drive. This was my third Snowy Owl sighting this year-all in Chittenden County. For excellent photos of Snowy Owls take a look at Peter Manship's blog at http://beautifulflyingobjects.blogspot.com. Spectacular.

Owl-less in Peru

This winter we have witnessed an extraordinary influx of boreal owls from the north, especially Snowy Owls. Recently, a report of a Hawk Owl in Peru, New York caught my attention. The photographs of this cooperative owl that appeared on various blogs and websites added to the excitement. So yesterday, my wife, Pam, and I took the plunge, so to speak, and dutifully traveled to Peru. While waiting for the Grand Isle ferry I noted a handsome Red-breasted Merganser swimming with a small contingent of Common Mergansers-surely a good omen for future success.

Alas, this was not the case. We found the spot where the owl had been reported without difficulty-the corner of Mannix Road and Clark Road in Peru. But the owl was nowhere to be seen. We rode up and down Clark Road several times, scanning the fields, orchards, telephone poles, and fence posts without success. I thought that this was supposed to be easy! We expanded our search to include much of the nearby countryside. No luck. After an hour of fruitless meandering we surrendered-owl-less in Peru. We are not disheartened, though. Another Hawk Owl has been reported in Eden, VT. Now where exactly is Eden located. In paradise, no doubt.

On Eagles Wings

The GMAS field trip to Shelburne Bay and Shelburne Town Beach on Saturday was moderately successful despite a wicked wind from the west. Most spectacular was an aerial display by two adult Bald Eagles at Shelburne Bay. Alternately soaring and descending together, these birds danced in the air for a good 5 minutes before heading for Shelburne Point. Altogether 4 Bald Eagles were spotted at Shelburne Bay. Otherwise, the fare consisted of the ducks, grebes, and gulls that I saw on the previous Friday.

For the past few afternoons I have been walking the Intervale road. I enjoy birding in the Intervale in the winter in contrast to other times of year when there is too much human activity for my taste. In winter it's quieter with only the occasional jogger, dog walker, or crosscountry skier to contend with. And there are birds. Starlings, crows, and gulls to be sure, but also songbirds (cardinals, titmice, nuthatches, and chickadees), woodpeckers, and especially Red-tailed Hawks. A few days ago I went eyeball-to-eyeball with a hawk that was perched in the bushes near the compost piles about 10 feet away from me. Yesterday, I encountered Ann and Fred Curran, who bird the Intervale frequently as well. After admiring the songbirds flitting through the scrubby bushes and trees for a moment, Fred spotted an Intervale specialty, a small flock of American Tree Sparrows. These winter sparrows are often found foraging along the Intervale road or in the barren fields nearby.

The Intervale hosts an impressive variety of birds throughout the year including Bald Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, Merlins, Wood Ducks, Common and Hooded Mergansers, Mallards, Great Blue and Black-crowned Night Herons, Pileated Woodpeckers, and, in summer, Indigo Buntings and many species of warblers. Rick Renaud, a notable local birder who works at Gardener's Supply, compiled an informative brochure a few years ago listing the birds of the Intervale. If I recall correctly, Rick identified at least 50 species that are regularly found there during the year. This brochure may still be available in the store. As the "old perfesser" Casey Stengel used to say-you can look it up!

A New Year in Old Haunts

It's a new year, so naturally I am birding at my old haunts-Shelburne Bay and the Shelburne Town Beach, partly to prepare for tomorrow's GMAS field trip. As usual, the ice shelf at Shelburne Bay follows the whims of the weather. Last week it was nonexistent; today it extends far out into the bay. No matter. Hoards of Common Mergansers are swimming at the edge of the ice and a sizeable flock of Ring-billed Gulls is resting on the ice itself. Hopefully, there will be a greater variety of birds tomorrow, but it's a start.

Shelburne Town Beach is better. In addition to 100 Common Goldeneyes I picked out Common Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, American Black Ducks, Mallards, Bufflehead, and Horned Grebes. Not to mention a huge flock of Wild Turkeys in the field near Wake Robin. We should be OK tomorrow. Time will tell.