Vermont Birder

Birding Greenbury Point

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Richard

Each time I come to Maryland, I try to get over and bird the Navy’s Greenbury Point Conservation Area, an environmental treasure is located underneath the familiar radio towers you can see on the Annapolis skyline. Greenbury Point has lots of grassland, a variety of other habitats including wooded coves, shallow wetland ponds, forests and scrub/shrub areas. It is a wonderful 231 acre peninsula at the mouth of the Severn River and popular with birders, runners, dog walkers, while being a training ground for midshipmen. I went there yesterday morning for a few hours of leisurely birding in near-80 temperatures.

My FOY Chipping Sparrow greeted me as I walked in the access road.

As I was trying to find the CHSP in my camera lens, this Eastern Bluebird landed in a nearby tree, with nesting material in his beak.

A Field Sparrow was trilling away, partially hidden in some brush. I pished it and got it to climb a little higher.

There is a network of trails weaving throughout the property and as I started down the paved path which I’ve birded many times, a Carolina Chickadee sang away. I usually hear a lot of chip sounds but this was a clear morning song.

I saw numerous birds on the interior loops including a Marsh Wren, my first Eastern Towhee in several years, and a number of Rough-winged Swallows.

This American Goldfinch was singing away, high up on a bare tree, as I walked by.

As I approached the water, dozens of Ospreys circled and swooped. There are dozens of nesting platforms available and all seemed to be in use. Buffleheads, Scaup, gulls, terns, and cormorants made their appearance while a pair of grebes — I’m calling them Horned Grebes — dove and hid in the morning sun as I tried to photograph them.

This Carolina Wren watched me as I stopped to photograph it.

This is likely the last time I’ll bird in this area but I highly recommend it. It is free, easy to access, and full of neat grassland, woodland, and water birds. It’s a favorite of local birders and it’s easy to see why. I saw 35 species this morning and enjoyed the easy walking, the nice breeze, and the warmth. It is wonderful to see a former military site being conserved and used by such a diverse group of people.

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Posted in Maryland birding | Tagged Greenbury Point, Maryland birds | 4 Comments

Birding with Robb & Dane

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Richard

My son, grandson, and I went out to the National Wildlife Visitor Center at Patuxent Wildlife Refuge yesterday for a few hours of great birding in 60 degree temperatures. We saw 24 species including our FOY Eastern Bluebird and Yellow-rumped Warbler.

The bare trees made spotting birds easy. Here Dane (l) and Robb search for a house finch up ahead.

There were hundreds of Barn Swallows feeding and nesting. The air was full of them.

As we finished, a noisy Red-bellied Woodpecker greeted us.

Since my gang is leaving for California soon, this is probably the last East Coast outing with them. Next birding stop will be San Diego County which I’m looking forward to exploring with Dane.

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Posted in Maryland birding | 2 Comments

Ospreys at the Naval Academy

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Richard

I took another long hike yesterday morning down to the U.S. Naval Academy for some birding. It was interesting to remember that the many times I was here before, when our Marine son and family lived there, I was not a birder. So today, I walked some of the same routes I’ve taken in past years, past the grave of one my squadron commander (killed in North Vietnam) and by the apartments where the kids and their babies lived. It was a pretty morning but the wind was tough and the Severn River had whitecaps.

I encountered a nice mix of waterfowl (ducks, grebes, gulls, cormorants) and birds (tree sparrows, starlings, mockingbirds, cardinals) as I made my way around the perimeter of the academy grounds. Lots of young runners, older walkers, and patrolling campus security on a nice Maryland Sunday morning.)

As I neared the end of the walk on the southern edge, adjacent to Annapolis Harbor, I heard a gull crying overhead. I’d seen a Greater Black-backed, a few Herring, and several Ring-billed gulls but couldn’t spot this one, which seemed right overhead. I walked further and it was behind me — then I spotted the Osprey nest on a tall light tower and a juvenile begging for food.

This noisy juvenile was waiting for his parents. It looks like an owl decoy on the platform as well — not working too well.

One of the parents came back with a fish — not this one.

And the other parent just hovered over the scene in the stiff breeze, giving me some great looks.

I did not attend the academy but through Robb and Mary’s work there, have come to appreciate it as a lovely, historic campus adjacent a neat little city. As I expected, it’s a pretty decent birding site as well. Hope to get back before we leave.

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Posted in Vermont Birding | Comments Off

Urban Birding in Annapolis

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Richard

We are down in Maryland for a short trip to see our son Robb and his family before they leave for San Diego. The temps are about 20 degrees warmer than Vermont, the forsythia is blooming as are the cherry blossoms, and there are all sorts of birds singing their hearts out. What’s not to like?

I had just unloaded our luggage and went out to the back door where two Fish Crows welcomed me (FOY) as well as a House Finch and several Cardinals. It was a foretaste of the local birding — a good sign.

I’ve taken a couple of long walks with the camera to get some exercise and some camera practice. Here are a few shots with the SX-50 from those outings:

Northern Mockingbirds, while pretty rare in our county, are all over the place — showing off their repertoire of songs and calls — delightful to listen to and to observe.

Perhaps the most common song is from the Song Sparrow. They are everywhere and delightful.

Just as common are House Sparrows which seem to monopolize the area bird houses. Since they are relatively sparse up my way, they are fun to watch.

Northern Cardinals are also everywhere, singing away. A morning walk is just filled with Cardinal music.

Annapolis harbor was filled with boats and Mallards which are well fed by visitors. The charter sailboat was readying for a brisk Saturday morning excursion.

It was nice to see some Lesser Scaup and Bufflehead — and hope we’ll be getting them in VT in a few weeks.

This Turkey Vulture with his buddies, was working the open Dumpster after the Navy/Maryland lacrosse game. Good pickin’s!

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Posted in Maryland birding, Photography | Comments Off

Common Loon Reproductive Success in Canada

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Richard

Bird Studies Canada recently published an article in the journal Avian Conservation and Ecology summarizing patterns in Common Loon reproductive success between 1992-2010 across southern Canada, using data collected by participants in BSC’s Canadian Lakes Loon Survey. The reproductive success of the Common Loon is a good indicator of the health of waterways, especially in relation to mercury and acid precipitation. The overall goal of the study was to indirectly describe the health of lakes in southern Canada in relation to these pollutants.

Photo: Frank & Sandra Horvath

The authors found that the number of young produced was higher in the western provinces than in Atlantic Canada; was lower in 2010 than it was 19 years earlier; was higher in larger lakes than in smaller ones; and was lower where lake acidity was higher. These relationships are likely linked to mercury exposure and acid-related reductions in food. The results show that citizen science is powerful for monitoring ecosystem health, and indirectly support action to reduce emissions of mercury and the harmful components of acid precipitation.
Visit the ACE website to read the full article by Dr. Doug Tozer, Myles Falconer, and Debbie Badzinski. For a summary of the research from BirdWatch Canada, select this link.

Posted in Bird conservation | Tagged Bird Canada, Common Loon | Comments Off

Drilling for “oil” in the nursery

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Richard

A disturbing article on the effect of tar sands on birds from Canadian blogger Sharon McInnes:

Some of Enbridge’s oil tanks are decorated with illustrations of lovely Canada Geese in flight. Let’s just hope they don’t land in the tar sands tailing ponds.

Almost all the largest oil companies are currently mining and drilling in the Boreal forest and wetlands where more than half of the birds of North America nest. According to The Boreal Forest Region: North America’s Bird Nursery the Boreal Forest is the preferred breeding ground (i.e. they do over 50% of their breeding there) of 96 Western Hemisphere bird species. And a total of 276 species breed within the area when you count species that do at least 5% of their breeding there.

Boreal Forest. Photo by Olga Oslina. Flick’r CC image.

Here’s the bad news: according to the National Resources Defence Council’s December 2008 report, Danger in the Nursery: Impact on Birds of Tar Sands Oil Development in Canada’s Boreal Forest, over the next 30 to 50 years between 6 million and 166 million more birds could be lost as a result of tar sands development, this in addition to the ever-increasing number of species already declining at alarming rates.

Tar sand deposits lie under 141,000 square kilometres of boreal forest and muskeg. NASA photo 2011

Let’s be clear: tar sands are not oil. They are a mixture of approximately 10% bitumen mixed with sand, clay, silt, and water. Bitumen is “what a desperate civilization mines after it’s depleted its cheap oil.” (Tar Sands, Andrew Nikiforuk, 2010) Getting it from its raw state to a state in which it will flow through a pipeline takes a mind-boggling amount of fresh water, a complex network of roads, pipelines, well pads, compressor stations, energy generation facilities, and tailing ponds. It means the devastation of the forest covering the tar sands along with every living thing that called that forest home. Whether the tar is extracted by open-pit mining using 400-ton 3-story high trucks and electric shovels worth $15 million each, or by ‘in situ’ drilling, the result is the same: massive habitat loss and fragmentation, contaminated air and water, loss of huge volumes of water from wetlands, lakes, and rivers, and greenhouse gas emissions triple those of conventional oil drilling. Global warming is just one of the nasty results.

Read the rest of the post

Posted in Bird conservation, Conservation | Comments Off

Songs of Spring

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Richard

As the days get into the 40’s and the snow slowly melts, it’s great for Vermont’s maple syrup producers but also a spring tonic for birds and birders. Suddenly, there’s a lot more avian vocal activity in our woods and it is heartening. Yesterday morning on an early walk, I noticed all the different calls and songs coming from the ubiquitous Black-capped Chickadees who have toughed it out all winter and ready to celebrate.

Then, further up in our woods, I heard the distinctive call of a Red-shouldered Hawk off in the trees. I listened for five or ten minutes but when I tried to get a little closer, either the dog or I may have spooked it. Mary thinks she saw it later in the day. We’ve had a family or two of RSHA’s in the area for the last few years and it’s nice to have them back.

I heard some tentative singing from what sounded like a Golden-crowned Kinglet mixed in with chickadee calls. I had my iPhone and played a recording briefly, and that kinglet just let it fly. It sang for five or ten minutes but other than a brief glimpse, I never did get a good look. I moved on as it merrily kept cranking out it’s territorial song.

This Common Merganser was one of the quiet birds I saw yesterday.

It was only a week or so ago when I was searching for Red-winged Blackbirds and excited to see my first of the year. Now, they are everywhere. At Berlin Pond yesterday, dozens sang from trees and cattail stalks in a wonderful chorus of Konk-kor-ree’s. I even saw a dozen or more fly over this morning on their way further north. They are truly a sound of spring.

One of the many RWBBs that I saw, and heard, yesterday.

This morning, out again early with the dog, I heard, over the tin horn tooting of a Red-breasted Nuthatch, some Canada Geese. Sure enough, a small skein of honkers noisily flew over on their way north. It’s a little unusual — we are not on a normal flight path for them so it was fun to watch them, and hear them, drown out the other birds as they motored north. Now, to hear some Eastern Bluebirds, White-throated Sparrows, and the first warblers.

A small skein of Canada Geese overflying the woods this morning, honking all the way. They are right in the middle of the photo.

Posted in Local Birding, Vermont Birding, Washington County | 1 Comment

The Art of Birdering

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Richard

Here’s a humorous post from a blogger on the West Coast:

Last winter, I joined Dennis Vollmar for an epic birding trip to Washington. We saw EMPEROR GOOSE, KING EIDER, YELLOW-BILLED LOON, NORTHERN HAWK-OWL, GYRFALCON, and COMMON REDPOLL. The birding was amazing throughout, however Damon Point provided excellent opportunity for some birdering.

Birdering is of course the sport of watching birders; the nerdier, the better. As I walked along the mile peninsula to the huge concentration of birders gathered at the end, I knew that conditions were perfect for a once in a lifetime morning of birdering. Winter storms had drawn the birders here from around the country and they were so focused on the birds that they allowed extremely close approach. However, every time I lined up the perfect shot of a birder, the same SNOWY OWL would fly right through the shot, photobombing it all the way. This occurred time and time again until I finally gave up all efforts of documentation and left the birders to their strange and poorly understood rituals.

Notice the fine winter plumage of this pair. Facial hair is usually a reliable field mark which can be used to sex birders in the field during the winter season. The birder on the right foreground is a male and the other is presumably his mate.

Read the whole blog post.

Posted in humor | 1 Comment

Birding on the First Day of Spring

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Richard

We got about a foot of new snow Monday and all day, the birds hit the feeders pretty hard. It was interesting to see some of them pause under the feeder’s eaves to take a break out of the snowfall. One Red-breasted Nuthatch sat there, nearly motionless, for about 15 minutes before finally flying off with his sunflower seed.

So Tuesday, the first day of spring, was beautiful but not too birdy. Chickadees, like this one, were active as usual and doing all their spring calls as we took our first walk.

Nothing stops chickadees from getting their breakfast.

As the dog and I started out to the drumming of a Hairy Woodpecker, we headed up into the red pine grove. I was on snowshoes and Penny ranged ahead — until some gusts of wind started dumping snow off the trees. Here she is heading back to me all a dither. It only lasted for five minutes.

The Vizsla does not like surprise snow dumps like this one.

We weren’t seeing a lot of birds but it was a good workout in the new snow. We made a long loop and came out on a west-facing slope where I found several birds’ nests that overlook the Shady Rill brook and road. Here’s my favorite with an old barn below.

Bird Rm with vu. Avail May.

When we returned to the house, about an hour and a half later, we found the thistle feeder and feeders covered with Common Redpolls.

Posted in Backyard birds, Birding With Penny, Local Birding, Vermont Birding, Yard birds | Comments Off

Happy Spring – Not!

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Richard

Normally, we’d still be in Texas this time of year, enjoying some of the early migrating birds, and planning our trip back to Vermont. This year we stayed home – and yesterday’s late snowstorm of a foot or more (and still coming) did not give us a “Hey, it’s the first day of Spring!” feeling when we awoke this morning. The Airstream may not be dreaming of being in warmer climes – but we are.

Posted in Vermont Birding | Comments Off

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