My Blue Heron

My cousin, Suzanne, is not a birder, but she is an excellent, amateur photographer. We are killing time during her visit to Vermont and I offer to take her "birding by car". She is skeptical. I think that she has heard this before. But she is game, or perhaps bored, so she grabs her camera and off we go.

My thought is that we will intercept Muddy Brook at various points along its course where there is easy public access. Muddy Brook flows north out of Shelburne Pond, forming the boundary between South Burlington and Williston. During its five mile run to the Winooski River Muddy Brook can be interdicted at several points. First we turn onto River Cove Road in Williston and stop at Muddy Brook Park. No dice. Usually Common Mergansers, Mallards, and American Black Ducks swimming in the Winooski River can be seen from the road, but today the VELCO trucks are in the field noisily installing new power poles. Suzie sighs.

Next we swing by Technology Park in South Burlington. Muddy Brook flows as a nice freestone river along the eastern border of the property. I am told that American Woodcock can be found along the riverbank, but today we see only Red-winged Blackbirds, European Starlings, and American Robins. I insist that Red-tailed Hawks are almost always seen here, but Suzie is not impressed. "We see plenty of them on the Cape.", she skoffs.

We stop by the Muddy Brook Reserve on Van Sicklen Road on the off chance that Suzie will want to do some hiking. But no. It's starting to rain and besides it's buggy and I have forgotten to bring the insect repellant (again). Suzie caustically notices that one of the signs marking the road into the housing development across the street is called Blue Heron Drive, which probably means there isn't a blue heron within five miles of here, she says. She's wrong. I pull out my ace.

Turning left on Hinesburg Road I head for the pull off just south of Cheesefactory Road where Muddy Brook meanders under the road and forms a large cattail marsh. Turning slowly into the lot I hear Suzie gasp. "There's a Great Blue Heron standing right by the beaver dam." she exclaims, fumbling for her camera. I roll down the car window on her side and she gets a great shot. Click. A Green Heron takes off. Click. A Black-crowned Night Heron lurks in the bushes at the water's edge. Click. Tree Swallows swoop down picking off insects. Click. A female Wood Duck corrals her brood of ducklings into the reeds. Click. Click. In the field a pair of Canada Geese stand erect, watching us with suspicion. Click. I feel vindicated, but try to stay humble. As we drive off Suzanne is impressed. "What a great spot", she says, "And what dumb luck that you found it.".

Photograph courtesy of Suzanne Dupont.

Marsh Madness

May is my busy season-prime time in Vermont for birds and birding. Hence, my blog has been gathering dust recently while I canvas my favorite birding spots. And highest on my list of favorite spots is the South Hero marsh. The marsh is so good that I have tried to keep it secret with some success. Although I occasionally run into bikers, joggers, and wayward dogs on the trail, I seldom see birders there. Big mistake. From March through September the South Hero marsh is a superb site for finding birds.

Shirley Johnson and Chip Wright introduced me to the marsh a few years ago, though at the time neither of them had explored its full potential. I liked its accessibility and the variety of habitats it offered. Since then, I have visited the marsh dozens of times recording over 100 bird species on my eBird list. Mallards, Wood Ducks, and Canada Geese nest there regularly. Last year I spotted a pair of Northern Shovelers that visited the marsh throughout the breeding season. And this year I practically tripped over a female Hooded Merganser leading her newly-hatched brood of four out of harm's way. This year,too, a pair of Blue-winged Teal that has turned up regularly on my visits to the marsh. I am looking forward to meeting their offspring. Likewise, a pair of Gadwall has been acting suspiciously of late. Stay tuned for future birth announcements.

With all this waterfowl activity it would be easy to overlook the other birds that turn up regularly in the marsh. But no-Great Blue Herons, Black-crowned Night Herons, Green Herons, and American bitterns will not be ignored. Likewise, nesting Osprey, hunting Harriers, and soaring Red-tails will make their presence known. Topping off the menu is a nice selection of warblers enhanced by the occasional Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark. There's more, but you will have to make the discoveries yourself. Last week Shirley Johnson and I birded the marsh together and she discovered a bird that I had not seen there before-a handsome male Scarlet Tanager.Wow!

The birding at the South Hero marsh is tremendous until it ends abruptly during the first week of October. Bang! Duck season. End of casual birding for the year. Baseball fans know the feeling. In October the season is over. Wait until next year.

Falcon's Nest

Driving on the Bolton Notch Road in April is hazardous at best. It's mud season, you know. Still, Shirley Johnson seems to be in control of the vehicle and besides, I'm not looking. Finally, we reach the spot we've been searching for. Chip Wright and Larry Haugh are there already. And a few minutes later Margaret Fowle drives up. We are gathered at the foot of one of the many cliffs visible from the Bolton Notch Road. But this one is special. It has been the site of a Peregrine Falcon nest for the past several years. We are here to receive training from Margaret for the Peregrine Falcon Monitoring Project, the follow up to the Peregrine Falcon Recovery Program that concluded a few years ago.

Peregrine Falcons are amazing birds. They can dive through the air at a speed of more than 200 miles per hour to catch their prey. But not too many years ago the Peregrine Falcon population was decimated by the pesticide DDT. Peregrine Falcons are perched at the top of the food chain. As a result, when DDT seeped into the food chain, it accumulated over time in the flesh of the falcons. The result was a marked decrease in egg production. DDT caused the eggs to be thin-shelled, fragile, and often non-viable. As time went on the population of Peregrine Falcons dropped precipitously as older birds died and were not replaced by fledged chicks. In fact, the eastern population was entirely extirpated. In the west, fewer than 400 nesting pairs of falcons remained, roughly 10% of the number found in better times.

Enter the U.S. government. In the 1972 the use of DDT was banned and Peregrine Falcons were placed on the Endangered Species list. In the late 1970's the Peregrine Falcon Recovery Program was begun. Over the next 20 years the Peregrine Falcon population increased dramatically. Currently, there are over 1600 nesting pairs in North America, far exceeding the program's goal of 631 nesting pairs. A few years ago Peregrine Falcons were delisted, but until 2013, there is a continuing need to monitor the falcon population to be sure that this increase is sustained.

That's where we come in. Margaret tells us that last year there were 38 Peregrine Falcon nesting spots in Vermont. This is one of them. I stare at the face of the cliff. The cliff stares back. I see nothing. Suddenly, Margaret says, "I saw a feather move." Huh! "Up there. To the right of the bush at 1 o'clock halfway up the cliff." I look through her scope. Sure enough I see the tail of a bird moving up and down. A falcon? Yes! A majestic male falcon flies into view and lands on a snag 25 yards from the nest site. A few minutes later he flies to the nest site. The female immediatey flies off. This is what passes for courtship behavior among falcons. For the next few hours we watch the pair fly back and forth putting on a nice aerial show. Margaret patiently educates us on falcon lore, the recovery project, and our role in the monitoring program. We watch and listen.

By 1:30 P.M. it's over. One of the birds has left the site and the other is hidden in a cranny. Peregrine Falcons spend a lot of time conserving energy, Margaret assures us. No matter. We have learned what we need to know. Next week we will meet at Snake Mountain to begin our own monitoring, watching the falcons nest.

Photograph by Dave Kynor.

Hero's Welcome

I do a lot of my birding in South Hero. Throughout the year there is always something to see and somewhere to go. The South Hero marsh trail is one of my favorite spots from April until October when the duck hunters move in and the birds move out. Round Pond on East Shore Road has nice habitat, including meadows, wetlands, brushy early succession forest, and, after a short walk through the forest, a nice view of Mallett's Bay. And the approach to South Hero passing by the Sandbar WMA is a hot spot for migrating ducks and geese right now. But my favorite spot at this time of year is the Colchester-South Hero Causeway at Allen Point.

Why? For some reason this spot is a magnet for winter waterfowl, especially Greater and Lesser Scaup. Some years the lake side of the Causeway stays open throughout the winter and the ducks are here in huge numbers if you can get out to the Point. This year, though, the lake froze from shore-to-shore. Only in the past few weeks has there been enough open water to attract waterfowl. Stimulated by a recent posting on the VTBird list that reported Scaup, Common Goldeneyes, American Wigeon, Northern Pintails, and a few Tufted Ducks at Allen Point, I made my way out to the Causeway. Sure enough the large raft of Scaup was swimming far off shore-too far to distinguish between Greater and Lesser Scaup or to pick out Tufted Ducks, even with my spotting scope. A smaller flock of Common Goldeneyes and a few Common Mergansers showed up, too, but the big surprise was a group of three Double-crested Cormorants heading north-a dubious distinction at best. Walking the path out to the "cut", I spotted a small flock of Cedar Waxwings eating buckthorn berries-a pleasant surpise.

Despite the meager results, I enjoyed visiting the Causeway for the first time this year and look forward to regular birding visits to South Hero for the next six months. Call it Hero's welcome.

Spring Forward

I've been house-bound for the past week after a nasty episode of persistent vertigo. No driving, no walking, no birding. Ugh! Still I am able to look out my kitchen window and-hurray-I see signs of Spring. Specifically, today I saw my first Brown-headed Cowbird of the season. Some folks might think that the Brown-headed Cowbird is a pest, a problem, a parasite. There is some truth to this point of view. Cowbirds parasitize the nests of other songbirds, competing with their offspring for food, and, in some cases, threatening their very existence. For example, nest parasitism by cowbirds has been implicated in the sharp decline of Kirtland Warbler and Black-capped Vireo populations. In fact, it is likely that brood parasitism by cowbirds is a contributory factor to the decline of many Eastern songbirds, especially the ground-nesters like Ovenbirds and Eastern Meadowlarks. For a description of Brown-headed Cowbirds take a look at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Bird Guide at:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide.

So, I should not be thrilled to see a Brown-headed Cowbird in my yard. But I am. He looks so stylish with his glossy black body and brown head. All dressed up for Spring. And he seems to be alone, though he may be scouting the territory. Whatever. He is the first bird heralding Spring as far as I am concerned and at the moment he is not causing trouble. That comes later.

March Madness!

What's not to like about March? The days are longer, the weather is milder, and the migratory birds are returning. March is an excellent month for ducks. The winter ducks are still with us-Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Common Mergansers, and Scaup-and the migratory ducks are slowly coming back. For example, this week I saw my first Gadwall of the year at Converse Bay, swimming with a large flock of goldeneye. Included in the goldeneye flock was a Barrow's Goldeneye male, one of several that have turned up this winter. To see a photo of a Barrow's Goldeneye compared to a Common Goldeneye go to Julie Water's website at http://juliesmagiclightshow.com/4242.php.

At the moment there is also a nice group of Ring-necked Ducks at the Shelburne Town Beach as well as a small number of Hooded Mergansers at Converse Bay, Charlotte Town Beach, and Shelburne Town Beach. At the Muddy Brook marsh open water is beginning to appear and today I spotted a pair of male Wood Ducks and three handsome Hooded Mergansers (2 males; 1 female). I have seen reports on the VTBird list of Green-winged Teal, Pintail, and Wigeon, though I have seen none of these species myself. That's the duck story.

Otherwise, the South Burlington Snowy Owl is still present and devouring rodents. And an adult Bald Eagle has taken up residence in the Intervale. And I saw my first Brown Creeper of the season at the Intervale today. And Bohemian Waxwings are everywhere. Whew!

And let's not forget about ice fishing. Last Thursday I caught a gigantic Largemouth Bass through the ice at Keeler's Bay-my first ever caught by ice fishing. As I brought this bass through the ice hole, the hook pulled out of its mouth. But the fish was so large that it couldn't turn around. So I reached down and lifted it out by its jaw, took a cell phone photo of the fish, and returned it to its native habitat. I am sure that this fish is still wondering what the hell happened.

I love March!

The Great White Owl

Vermonters have been blessed this winter with an influx of Snowy Owls. From Whiting, Vermont to the south to West Charleston, Vermont in the northeast Snowy Owls have turned up regularly. And here in Chittenden County we have seen Snowies, too. I have spotted them at Delta Park, the Burlington waterfront, and right here in South Burlington, most recently this evening. A Snowy Owl has been a regular visitor to the roof tops of the houses behind the Chittenden Cider Mill on Dorset St. At times a flock of Snow Buntings in the nearby fields has added to the fun.

What gives? First of all, these birds appear to be well fed, unlike the Barred Owls that turned up everywhere last year. Apparently, the lemming season in northern Canada was unusually robust, resulting in a highly successful breeding season for Snowies. Young males, in particular, have been forced to go south to find a productive source of food. No problem. These birds may prefer mice, voles, moles, and lemmings in their diet, but apparently will attack even larger game such as ducks. The persistence of the South Burlington Snowy in one location this winter suggests to me that he (she?) has found a reliable food source, possibly prompted by the new construction in this development. Who-o-o-o knows.

Vermont is not the only beneficiary of the Snowy Owl irruption. In Massachusetts, a large number of Snowies have turned up at Logan Airport, where the terrain in winter apparently resembles the Arctic tundra, the Snowy Owl's breeding grounds. And mice and rats are abundant there. Perfect! Except for the air traffic. Massachusetts Audubon has been busily capturing these birds (17 so far) and transporting them to the more hospitable digs at Plum Island in Newburyport.

This evening, a beautiful Vermont winter evening, I basked in the glow of the sunset with a Snowy Owl in my sights. Does it get any better than this? I doubt it. Here is a photo of the South Burlington Snowy Owl courtesy of Judy Brook.