Cub Scouts And Feathered Friends
On Saturday, April 22, 2006, Board members Chip Wright, Margy Holden, Carl Runge, Eric Lazarus, and Shirley Johnson traveled to Knight Point State Park to meet a Grand Isle Cub Scout troop to help them learn about birds during “Feathered Friend’s Month”. Kathy Buermann asked GMAS to present a program about birds and lead a birdwatching trip for a group of about 10 Grand Isle Cub Scouts, accompanied by parents and siblings.
Cub Scout Justin Lafayette tries out a field scope
Armed with games supplied by the Audubon Vermont Education program, we played “Dress the Bird” and talked about birds’ feathers, skeletons, beaks, and feet. We hiked around the park and saw an English Sparrow manning the entrance to a nest box with anxious Tree Swallows hovering close by. We also saw Song Sparrows, Ring-billed Gulls, Black-capped Chickadees, and American Robins. The highlight for all was watching two Turkey Vultures hover directly overhead. The Cub Scouts enjoyed looking through spotting scopes set up by Carl and Eric. At the end of the hike, we played another game, finding mates by calling out bird songs. By the end of our time together, we hoped the Cub Scouts knew a little bit more about birds, but the GMAS trip leaders were all amazed at how interested the kids were and how much fun it was to be part of this kind of outing! - SJ
Impressions Of A Walk On Mt. Philo
On Saturday, May 13, at 7:00 AM, about 20 people and 1 mild-mannered dog named Henry, met at the base of Mt. Philo for a spring bird walk. There were a number of people fairly new to birding, a few more of us intermediates, and a couple of old hands.
Our designated leader had been called elsewhere the day before, so we were a little less directed on this day, and made our way slowly up the Mt. Philo Road. With no leader, our group had multiple and shifting centers, with those of us who thought we recognized a particular bird song, announcing it, and receiving a second, or an alternate motion. For a while, the birds were far enough back in the trees that we could only go by bird song, which kept us alternately quiet and attentive, and then calling out the species, and describing the characteristics of the song that identified it as Oven Bird, Chestnut-sided Warbler, American Redstart, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, American Robin, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Song Sparrow, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Towhee, Baltimore Oriole, Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Carolina Wren, Winter Wren, and many others. High above us for most of the walk up, ravens were engaged in noisy interchange. After a while we did get great looks at most species. - E
Vermont has certainly had its share of overcast, drizzly days this spring. Contrary to popular opinion, however, these conditions provide some excellent birding. The lack of the contrasting bright light and shadow of sunny days, and the often relatively light wind, make it easier to find the birds among the leaves, and their colors can seem even brighter. Our amble up Mt. Philo demonstrated this well.
The hike on May 27, which was only foggy and damp, and not raining until about nine, provided some beautiful birds. Although the blues weren’t blue, other colors seemed accentuated. We delighted in the scarlet red of the tanager, the reds and yellows of the redstarts, the rusty red of the towhees’ sides, the contrasting orange and black of the orioles, the white cheeks and chestnut sides of the Chestnut-sided Warblers, and the splendid fire orange throat of the Blackburnian Warbler. Forty species were identified. So don’t stay home on these otherwise bleak days, as a world of color awaits! - CW
Snake Mountain Field Trip
On Saturday, May 20, after almost two weeks of daily rain culminating in about 2 1/2 inches of rain on the 19th, twelve brave birders skidded through the mud to park their cars at the base of the mountain, looked up at the clouds, donned their boots and raingear and started climbing. Once again, our fearless trip leader, Andrew Webbe, heard the birds and whenever possible found them for us hiding behind the leaves. Our first big treat was a Scarlet Tanager at the top of a tree. At some beaver ponds midway up the mountain, we enjoyed seeing Rose-breasted Grosbeak, American Redstart, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Baltimore Oriole, and Song Sparrow, some of them perching in a dead tree WITHOUT LEAVES! Additional species seen and/or heard included Wood Thrush, Nashville Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Ovenbird, Black-and-white Warbler, Veery, Great Crested Flycatcher, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Flicker, Wild Turkey, American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, Gray Catbird, Dark-eyed Junco, Merlin, Solitary Sandpiper, Mourning Warbler, Northern Parula, Black-capped Chickadee, and Eastern Phoebe. The view from the top of the mountain showed a very green, wet Vermont below us with views of the Lemon Fair River and east and west Branches of Dead Creek well over their banks on the landscape below. - SJ
Searching For Bicknell’s Thrush On Mt. Mansfield
Friday evening, June 9th, on the summit of Mt. Mansfield, a small group of GMAS members met Chris Rimmer, Director of Conservation Biology at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS). Since 1992, VINS has conducted a landmark study of the Bicknell’s Thrush during its June breeding season on this summit, and more recently on Stratton Mountain. Birds are caught, sampled, and banded; and nesting behavior is observed with the help of remote cameras. In addition, Chris and other VINS biologists have conducted studies of Bicknell’s Thrush on its wintering grounds, primarily on the island of Hispaniola.
Bicknell’s Thrush is a northern forest nester, and such habitat (Balsam Fir and spruce) mainly occurs in Vermont above 3,000 ft. [See Bicknell’s Thrush -– A Hidden Jewel in the Montane Forest, by Bruce MacPherson, “The Hermit Thrush”, May 2006.] High elevations of Vermont, New York State, New Hampshire, and Maine; and the forests of northern Maine and Atlantic Canada, are the primary breeding habitat for this bird, currently ranked by Partners in Flight as the top conservation priority among neo-tropical migratory songbirds in the Northeast. Estimates range from 20-50,000 total population for this species, which in New Hampshire’s White Mountains suffers about a 7% loss every year. In Vermont, the decline is closer to 1%.
As we arrived on the summit, Chris set up four mist nets on various wooded trails, locations already proven to be good places to intercept avian traffic, including Bicknell’s Thrush. A cold drizzle had started, which meant Chris had to check all the nets at five minute intervals. That evening, male and female Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, and Blackpoll Warbler were trapped, and deftly extracted from the entangling net. Chris gave us close looks at these birds and revealed the incubatory patch, covered by downy abdominal feathers, on the female Yellow-rump, indicating this bird was ready for nest duty. After banding, he quickly released it.
On the summit, robins were numerous and vocal. We also heard the call and song of Swainson’s Thrush, the high-pitched song of Blackpoll Warbler, the virtuosic whistle and trill of Winter Wren, the haunting song of White-throated Sparrow.
As dusk settled, we heard Bicknell’s Thrush calling and singing, and at least two counter-sang back and forth. None approached the net, however. As drizzle turned to rain, and quiet and dark-ness prevailed, we retreated to a warm hospitable fire at the base lodge.
At 5:30 the next morning, when we again met Chris on the summit, heavy rain had set in, but Chris had earlier set up a mist net and caught a Bicknell’s Thrush, the bird we had all come to see. Its incubatory patch revealed it to be female. We were struck by the crisp beauty of this bird, regarded as the plainest of thrushes. With the Bicknell’s Thrush comfortably tucked into a small cloth bag, we quickly found our way to the Ski Patrol building. As we gathered around a table, Chris began his work. He plucked two tail feathers, the second from the outside on both sides (they grow back), to be sent for mercury testing. He drew a blood sample, checked its weight, and took various measurements, including wing, tail, and bill length, bill width and depth, and the length of the metatarsal, the fused bone between the toes and the ankle.
As Chris gently took samples and measurements, he told us the story of this long lasting study, and described many of its findings:
- The discovery for example, that Bicknell’s is polyandrous, the females mating with multiple males, who then also join in feeding her chicks.
- That males outnumber females and, on their wintering grounds, may edge out females in competition for the most productive feeding territories with their slightly larger size.
- That two birds banded in Vermont were later captured again by VINS biologists on their wintering grounds in the Dominican Republic.
All this Chris discussed with the deep enthusiasm and interest of a scientist devoted to his work. Chris also showed patience and generosity as he answered our questions and guided us through this story of many years spent in the field, both here and abroad, by many dedicated people: scientists, interns, volunteers; all in the effort to understand, and just possibly save, our high mountain thrush. - EL
Fern Walk
On Saturday, July 29, nine people braved heat, humidity, mosquitoes, and poison ivy to look at ferns in Burlington’s Ethan Allen Park. The park was created over 100 years ago, and despite heavy usage by bikers, kids, joggers, and dogs and dog walkers, there are some remarkable plants, including many species of incredible ferns. The 16 species we saw included Northern Maidenhair Fern, Walking Fern, Wall Rue, Maidenhair Spleenwort, Lady Fern, Bulbet Fern, Fragile Fern, Hayscented Fern, Ostrich Fern, Sensitive Fern, Marginal Wood Fern, Interrupted Fern, Royal Fern, Purple-stemmed Cliffbrake, Common Polypody, Christmas Fern, and Bracken. We all enjoyed the wilderness right in the middle of the city! - SJ
Birdwatching 101 and Birdwalk for Beginners
On Saturday, July 8, a morning for beginning birders was held at Catamount Family Center in Williston. Chip Wright, Shirley and Bob Johnson, Eric Lazarus, Bruce MacPherson, and Carl Runge led the session which attracted about a dozen new birders. Carl started with an indoor presentation on what to look for in binoculars, field guides and other resources, and birdwatching tips in the field. We then moved outdoors to explore this beautiful area for birds. We concentrated on matching bird songs with bird sightings at close range. This was particularly successful for Bobolink, Red-winged Blackbird, American Goldfinch, Yellow Warbler, and Common Yellowthroat. In addition, good views were had of Eastern Kingbird and Cedar Waxwing, and deep in the woods everyone learned the call of the Ovenbird. We hope that we started some folks on a rewarding new adventure. - CR
