Christmas Bird Count: Lake Champlain/St. Albans (VTCS Count Circle), Vermont (preliminary)

Black-capped Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee

We’re reposting several preliminary Christmas Bird Count results from neighboring towns. Email us at museum@birdsofvermont.org if you want us to post yours, too. Final results may become available on the VTBIRD mailing list and/or at Audubon’s 110th Christmas Bird Count pages. We’ll be happy to post final tallies when we receive them.

Lake Champlain/St. Albans, Vermont (preliminary)

from Ken Copenhaver, via e-mail
Here are preliminary results from the Lake Champlain/St. Albans CBC held on Dec. 20. Counts from several groups, including feeder-watchers, are not yet available. The VTCS count circle includes North Hero, Isle La Motte, and parts of Alburgh, Swanton, St. Albans, Georgia, Grand Isle, and Point Au Roche (NY).

Species

Continue reading “Christmas Bird Count: Lake Champlain/St. Albans (VTCS Count Circle), Vermont (preliminary)”

Christmas Bird Count: Saxton’s River, Vermont (preliminary)

We’re reposting several preliminary Christmas Bird Count results from neighboring towns. Email us at museum@birdsofvermont.org if you want us to post yours, too. Final results may become available on the VTBIRD mailing list and/or at Audubon’s 110th Christmas Bird Count pages. We’ll be happy to post final tallies when we receive them.

Saxton’s River, Vermont (preliminary)

from Don Clark, via e-mail

Pine Siskin
Pine Siskin

A belated, tentative (pending full details) Saxton’s River CC held 12/19/09

Species Seen

Continue reading “Christmas Bird Count: Saxton’s River, Vermont (preliminary)”

Christmas Bird Count: Bennington, Vermont (preliminary)

We’re reposting several preliminary Christmas Bird Count results from neighboring towns. Email us at museum@birdsofvermont.org if you want us to post yours, too. Final results may become available on the VTBIRD mailing list and/or at Audubon’s 110th Christmas Bird Count pages. We’ll be happy to post final tallies when we receive them.

Bennington, Vermont (preliminary)

from Kevin, via e-mail December 28, 2009
With only one or two possible counters left to give results[, we saw] 55 spp. yesterday, 12/27/09. Winter finches have yet to get down here but, a few “shoulda-been-gones” made up for them. Over all numbers down due to a wet morning.

Species

Continue reading “Christmas Bird Count: Bennington, Vermont (preliminary)”

Christmas Bird Count: Middlebury, Vermont (preliminary)

We’re reposting several preliminary Christmas Bird Count results from neighboring towns. Email us at museum@birdsofvermont.org if you want us to post yours, too. Final results may become available on the VTBIRD mailing list and/or at Audubon’s 110th Christmas Bird Count pages. We’ll be happy to post final tallies when we receive them.

Middlebury, Vermont, preliminary summary

from Jim Andrews, via e-mail December 21, 2009
As a group, our species numbers were on the low end (58 so far), primarily as a result of the loss of our open water. A Savannah Sparrow was one of the best birds of the count.

Note from Erin:

Parts of Lake Champlain (shores of Shoreham and Bridport ) are part of the [Middlebury] circle. When the lake isn’t frozen we get many more species of ducks, gulls, etc. That is why Ferrisburgh and Burlington almost always have a higher species count because they get those species!

Christmas Bird Count: Randolph, Vermont (preliminary)

We’re reposting several preliminary Christmas Bird Count results from neighboring towns. Email us at museum@birdsofvermont.org if you want us to post yours, too. Final results may become available on the VTBIRD mailing list and/or at Audubon’s 110th Christmas Bird Count pages.

Randolph, Vermont

The third Randolph CBC was conducted on Dec. 19, tallying 34 species/2094 individuals. Temperature at sunrise was -12[°F], only warming to -7 by 10:30 AM on Braintree Hill, eventually rising to a balmy +17. Numbers would have likely been lower this year without the addition of several new feeder watchers. The single new species for the count was a Carolina Wren which showed up at my feeder 3 days before the count, and is still present. (Luckily I [the poster] have the bird on video, negating the need for me to ask myself for a rare bird documentation form).
Continue reading “Christmas Bird Count: Randolph, Vermont (preliminary)”

Christmas Bird Count: Ferrisburgh, Vermont (preliminary)

We’ll be reposting several preliminary Christmas Bird Count results from our neighboring towns. Email us at museum@birdsofvermont.org if you want us to post yours, too. Final results may become available on the VTBIRD mailing list and/or at Audubon’s 110th Christmas Bird Count pages.

Ferrisburgh, Preliminary Results

posted to VTBIRD on December 23, 2009
The 50th Ferrisburgh Christmas Bird Count took place on Sat. Dec. 19th. About 45 people participated in field or at feeders, yielding a preliminary total of 71 species (listed below), plus a count period Osprey.

Highlights included:

VEERY
REDHEAD
LONG-EARED OWL

Data are still subject to verification and may change, and [the poster hasn’t] yet had a chance to add up numbers.

SPECIES LIST:

Continue reading “Christmas Bird Count: Ferrisburgh, Vermont (preliminary)”

Big Sit! 2009

On Sunday,  October 11, the Museum participated in yet another Big Sit! We recorded a record 31 species! Thanks to Jim for coordinating the event, and all the volunteers who joined in.

the “official”  TIME SHEET for the 2009 “BIG SIT” (Notables inBOLD): Continue reading “Big Sit! 2009”

June 14, 2009 bird walk

Walking on the managed side of the road two birders went for an early morning bird walk and saw Blue Jays (4), Great-crested Flycatcher(2), Downy Woodpecker (3), Song Sparrow(1), House Wren (10), American Crow (2), Evening Grosbeak (2), Eastern Phoebe (1), Hairy Woodpecker(4), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (3), Brown-headed Cowbird (2), Eastern Bluebird (2), White-breasted Nuthatch (1), Brown Creeper (2), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker(3), Eastern Wood Peewee (1), Ovenbird (6), Winter Wren (2), Least Flycatcher(1), American Robin (3), Veery (1), Louisiana Waterthrush (1), Blue0head Vireo(1), TWO WOODCOCK CHICKS!!, Black-throated Blue Warbler (1), Black-throated Green Warbler (1), Red-eyed Vireo(1), Barred Owl (1), Mourning Dove(1), Chipping Sparrow (1), White-throated Sparrow (1), Black-capped Chickadee (3), and a Baltimore Oriole(1).

Our next scheduled bird walks are on June 21 and June 28 at 7:00 am. We will meet in the Museum parking lot, 900 Sherman Hollow Road, Huntington, VT 05462. See http://www.birdsofvermont.org/map.php for directions. Please join is after the walk for bird-friendly coffee.

May 31st bird walk

On May 31, 2009, a beautiful Sunday morning, we walked on both sides of the road. Our group saw and heard (*heard only) Blue Jay, Eastern Phoebe, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Evening Grosbeak, *Brown Creeper, Scarlet Tanager,*Great-crested Flycatcher,
Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker,*Belted Kingfisher, Louisiana Waterthrush, *Baltimore Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Crow, *Ovenbird, Wood Thrush, *Black-and-white Warbler, *Veery, Red-eyed Vireo, *Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Black-capped Chickadee, Blackburnian Warbler, Northern Goshawk, Blue-headed Vireo, Tufted Titmouse, Common Grackle, and Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Our next scheduled bird walks are on June 7, June 21, and June 28 at 7:00 am. We will meet in the Museum parking lot, 900 Sherman Hollow Road, Huntington, VT 05462. See http://www.birdsofvermont.org/map.php for directions. Please join is after the walk for bird-friendly coffee.

Outing: Winter Birds of the Lake Champlain Basin

Join us on  Saturday, February 7, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.,  when Jim Andrews will lead our Feburary Birding Outing.

Jim is a herpetologist and long-time Champlain Valley birder, and his outings are great fun. Last year we saw Great Black-backed Gulls, Eagles, Goldeneyes, Scaups, and flocks of Horned Larks and Snow Buntings, just to name a few species. We drove around the Lake Champlain Basin and stopped many times to set up our spotting scopes for better views of our winter birds.

We’ll meet at the Vergennes Green, and then will car pool from there. We are limiting the size of the group to three or four cars, so please call to reserve your spot (and feel free to stuff your cars with friends!).

To reserve your spot or get more information, call the Museum at 802-434-2167. Leave a message if no one is available to pick up. You can also e-mail us at museum@birdsofvermont.org

This event is appropriate for adults and older children.

Fee: Members $20; non-members $25.