Usually I go out birding with no objective other than to get some exercise and see what’s happening avian-wise. This morning, after finding this Common Merganser perched on a log, I decided to see what else I could find — perching. Here’s the results from a productive hour just up the road from our home.
This morning on a dog walk at the airport, I heard and then saw Killdeer — a neat sign of spring and a diversion from the terrible news around us. The striking plumage, frenetic feeding, and noisy chatter are a nice tonic.
Birds are bringing us a special bit of joy during this tough period of our lives.
Snow Geese are relatively uncommon in this part of the state so it’s sort of a big deal when some show up, which they did late last week. Reports ran as high as 60 birds with a mix of blue morphs and after a couple of days, I was able to swing by and check them out. The photos are not great but you can get the mix of young and adult birds, perhaps see a blue morph in one photo, and see why these birds, often found in flocks of thousands, are fun to have locally in small groups.
Over the weekend, the dog and I took several nice walks through the neighborhoods of Montpelier. I had my camera along so we had pee stops (her) and photo stops (me.)
I took a drive in the van, perhaps one of the last, up to a local tourist highlight – The Morse Farm – which is known for maple syrup and all sorts of items, but also has some good birds. I was looking for Cliff Swallows and Wilson’s Snipe and saw/heard them along with my first American Bittern of the year. A great spot, a lovely morning, and several hours well-spent.
Mourning Dove
