Author Archives: Richard

A Couple of Walks

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Our local walks are getting a lot less “birdy” with migration well underway. Hummers are still here and on every outing we see and hear Gray Catbirds like this one.

Later, on the same walk, Ginger encountered a young Groundhog, and after a short showdown, it ran and hid. Since then, she sniffs the encounter spot but that’s it.

I don’t chase birds these days. However, we have had one or two juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons reported downtown on the river. Ginger and I took a long walk Wednesday and sure enough, this “continuing” bird was fishing patiently.

Just downstream, below a gas station, a Great Blue waited.

And then, as I was heading out, seven small diving ducks flew in. They were juvenile Hooded Mergansers. They settled for a rest stop and likely headed out shortly later.

We had a three mile outing around the city on a beautiful August day. High above capitol, a kettle of 36 Turkey Vultures circled, on their way south. This is a good place to live, and to bird.

What Was Your Spark?

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One of my more interesting posts came about a dozen years ago when Gerry Cooperman posted a query on the MASSBIRD list serve in which he asked:

“take a moment to step back and look at why you do what you do. What was the spark that got you started?”

I was intrigued by Gerry’s questions and wrote to him asking to use his posting on my Vermont Birder blog.  I figured that I’d use a few of the responses he might get as guest posts. Bloggers are always looking for interesting content.

I had no idea. Gerry didn’t either. The next few weeks of postings would be full of individual stories from all over Massachusetts. There were also stories from other parts of the Northeast.  Once I got started, I decided to keep plugging away and have ended up with over fifty “sparks.”

I have put the links to each group.

Part 1  (Paul, Kathleen, David, Steve)

Part 2  (Catherine, Tom, Gerry, Jessica)

Part 3   (Doug, Stuart, Walt)

Part 4 (Dana, Dick H, Jim, Leslie, Fred)

Part 5   (Carolyn, Darin, Tom, Dee)

Part 6  (David, Sarah, Gian, Glenn)

Part 7  (Jean, Ann, John, Henry, David)

Part 8  (Jo-Anna, Kevin, Mike, Jim)

Part 9  (Lori, Jo-Dee, Amy, Greg, Mark)

Part 10  (Suzanne, Warren, Marjorie, Bruce)

Part 11  (Margie, Tim, CJ, Paul, Josh)

Part 12  (Denise, Myer, Jim, Linda)

Part 13  (Jeff, Michael, Dave)

Part 14  (Matt, Scott, Gerry)

This turned out to be a much bigger project than I expected. Like many MASSBIRD readers, I got hooked by the interesting diversity of people and stories. There are many themes — some being “starting early,” “mentoring,” rekindling the spark … I invite you to re-read these and see what you find.

This has got me thinking about my spark bird and after more review, I’ll let you know.

Farewell To The Lake

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We had a great experience at the camp on Woodbury Lake. I saw nearly 100 bird species and we found many back roads and trails to explore. The foliage made photos tough to get, like this shot of a Hairy Woodpecker.

And we found all sorts of interesting items like this cache of vehicles and boats far from any road.

On one of our last mornings, I took my camera along in the kayak. I joined these Mallards having a breakfast outing.

And had a last encounter with the loon family.

Vermont is a great place to live and summers are special. It was a great July for us.

Mixed Flock

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We bird nearly every day and with a camera and a dog, there are mixed results. For example, yesterday a lovely four-point buck with antlers in velvet strolled across the road. Then, it watched me from just within the woods. Until Ginger saw it and she went wild, as did he. 

Here are some shots from recent outings, starting with an Indigo Bunting.


Early one evening, this Belted Kingfisher entertained us at a small nearby lake.



A Cedar Waxwing was also foraging and also not willing to perch close by.


A Cedar Waxwing was also foraging and also not willing to perch close by.



A Veery is a plain-looking bird with a lovely song.

And you never know what you”’ see driving the back roads of Vermont.

More Loon Shots

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Recently, our pair of loons apparently lost one of their chicks. We have been hearing a lot of mournful calls for hours at a time at night. Frankly, I have no idea of this is related to a loss or just normal summer Common Loon activity.  

Here is the solo chick about a week ago.


With a parent


Getting a snack right next to our raft.


A week later, it’s easy to  see how fast chicks grow. 

A Mini-Fallout

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After a strong cold front passage the other night, we awoke to find these two Herring Gulls on our raft. They’re a little unusual here and this pair seemed pretty tired. 


They rested all day despite the passing paddlers and party boats. Sometime that evening, they departed to their next destination. Glad we were able to provide a safe place to stop. 

Some Dog Pond Road Birds

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As I wrote in my last post, Dog Pond Road is one of our favorite spots. Here a some photos from the last few days.

One of many Song Sparrows
A silent Veery

This guy, a little brown job until it sang. Swamp Sparrows are persistent.

I had trouble finding Common Yellowthroats close by so this guy is at the end of the camera range.

We took a different route home. We came upon this 1903 barn extension. It is a place where you drive underneath the pathway that cows and hay wagons once took. It’s great to see it maintained in good shape.

Driving Dirt Roads With Ginger

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Driving along dirt roads on early summer mornings, I often come upon interesting sights. One of my favorites here is called Dog Pond Road, named after a local small pond (aka Valley Lake.)

Early one morning I came upon these two Great Blue Herons, hunting near one another.

The second bird, fishing nearby this one, appeared disheveled.

Thinking of the heat and humidity this week, I remembered our 2023 local heron. It waited until January to migrate. 

I trust that the Dog Pond Road fishers will be older and wiser. 

Loon Watching

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Common Loons have made great gains in Vermont in the last decade. As I watch the pair here at Woodbury Lake, I wonder how they survive and thrive with fireworks, concerts, boat traffic, and many loon watchers. To keep my contact minimal, I use a kayak carefully to avoid getting too close. My telephoto point & shoot also helps me to keep my distance.

The other day I took a short paddle to see the family. They seem to have left the nesting area and are cruising the lower pond.

I found the parents and chicks easily and floating along with them, took some family photos. Note that the male is carrying a small fish.

One Loon moved off to fish and the mom guided the kids, with both of them diving on their own.

It was a very calm look at some beautiful birds, and a bit of upper strength paddle work.

Our Local Eastern Kingbird

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Eastern Kingbirds are fun to see and hear. They love to perch. Their song and calls are unique and watching them grab insects out of the air is a delight. Yesterday morning here at camp, this one sat patiently waiting for the hatch to start on the lake.

These birds, who arrived in May, will leave for South America in September. So, we’ve got a couple of months to enjoy them.

Here is our morning view from the deck.