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 The
Sightings Archive 2001
January
February
March
April
August
September
October
November
December
January
Sightings
Jan.
16
Drove up
22A to the Addison/Panton area today and saw 4 Bald Eagles north of
the ice line at Potash Bay. All four were perched in the same tree on
the edge of the bay off Lake Rd. The two mature birds were on the highest
limbs and two, what appeared to be 2nd year birds, were perched below
them as befit their juvenile status.
I was also
privileged to observe a pair of Red Foxes. They were very cooperative
and allowed me time to train a spotting scope on them before retreating
under an abandoned house.
Harold
Smith
Danby, VT.
Jan.
8
Some highlights
from a Saturday afternoon outing to the Ferrisburg-Panton area:
at least
12 bald eagles on ice edge at Ft Cassin Point taking turns snacking
on a huge fish (including at least 3 adults).
rough
legged hawk on Little Chicago Road.
20-30
horned lark, 20-30 snow buntings along Little Chicago and near entrance
to Kingsland bay.
dark morph
rough legged and many red tailed's in Dead Creek area near Gage road
(also many more larks and buntings)
Kestrel
on Greenbush road near rte 7
2 more
bald eagles at Potash bay, along with a huge number of mergansers.
1 adult
bald eagle at Button Bay (fly over).
--team
dp
Jan.
3
Notable
birds from the Champlain Valley today included:
Common Loon - 1 at the Charlotte Town Beach
Horned Grebe - 2 at Button Bay
Common Goldeneye - many in flocks scattered on the lake from Addison
to Burlington
Barrow's Goldeneye - 1 female on the lake off private property in Panton
Common Merganser - An astonishing flock of roughly 1400 just north of
Potash Bay in Addison near the ice line on the lake. (The lake is frozen
south of Potash Bay and open north of there.) Also seen (on land) from
Potash Bay was a Red Fox investigating the shoreline.
Red-breasted Merganser - 1 male among a goldeneye flock seen from private
property in Panton
Bald Eagle - 3 cruising that large merganser flock in Addison
Cooper's Hawk - 1 (immature) along Route 22A just south of Route 17
and another 1 immature flying across Route 7 just south of Route 17
Red-tailed Hawk - A total of 8 from Addison to Charlotte
Rough-legged Hawk - 3 seen from the geese viewing area on Route 17 in
Addison, including a handsome dark-phase male.
Northern Shrike - 1 in first-winter plumage on the road to the Tri-Town
Water District Plant in Addison.
Eastern Bluebird - 7 along Nortontown Road in Addison
American Robin - 1 along Nortontown Road in Addison
White-throated Sparrow - 2 in a mixed flock, which included American
Tree Sparrows and a few Northern Cardinals, along Lake Street near its
intersection with Allen Road, which I believe is in Addison.
Other birds here and there included Horned Larks and Snow Buntings,
but they did not appear as common as I might have expected. Other duck
species scattered in good numbers on the lake included Bufflehead, Mallard
and American Black Duck.
By the way, Purple Finches seem abundant this winter, perhaps owing
to the good cone crop. They were everywhere on the Island Pond Christmas
Count and I watched a flock of about 25 feeding on the seeds of Hop
Hornbeam (Ostrya) here in Plainfield on Sunday. Are folks seeing
lots of Purple Finches?
Enjoy the long, green (and white) path,
Bryan Pfeiffer
February
Sightings
Feb.
17
Rutland
County Audubon had a trip through the
lower Champlain Valley today 2/17 and spotted the
following, among others:
6 Red-tailed
Hawks
2 Northern Harriers
1 Peregrine Falcon (in a mid-air confrontation with a raven in Shoreham)
5 Rough-legged Hawks
1 Great Blue Heron (stone bridge in Ferrisburgh)
4 Bald Eagles (one mature and one immature at Potash Bay and one mature
and one immature at the stone bridge)
8 Bluebirds
20+ American Robins
19 Brown-headed Cowbirds
several Horned Larks and Snow Buntings
1 singing Cardinal!
March
Sightings
Mar.
23
Saw 5 Great
Blue Herons on the ice 1/4 mile below the falls on Otter Creek off MacDonough
Dr. in Vergennes looking out of place without open water. Long time
resident, Bill Larrabee, saw 9 yesterday and has never seen them at
that location this time of year. Showy Red Tail hunting in the bright
sun. Hundreds of Snow Geese headed south toward Addison.
Dozens
of Horned Larks and 2 Kestrals on Walker Rd.
Bob Turner
Charlotte
Mar.
4
A flock
of about 100 snow buntings were gathered around some feeders along 22A
just a couple of tenths of a mile north of the intersection with Rt.
73 in Addison. They took flight frequently but kept returning to the
area.
Also in
the Champlain valley, lots of robins out on the lawns and fields now
that there are bare patches.
April
Sightings
April
1
Ray &
I did a fast swing from Georgia, thru St Albans, Swanton, across to
Alburg, down thru the Islands and back home on April 1.
Highlights:
-many
ROBINS all along the bare ground near the roads
-2 RED-TAIL HAWKS one in St Albans and 1 in Swanton
-COMMON MERGS and GOLDEN EYES in the open water near the Swanton-Alburg
bridge and the Isle La Mott bridge
- 1 KILLDEER on the edge of the ice near the small area of open water
Isle La Mott Bridge
- 2 KESTRELS on telephone wires, 1 in Grand Isle and 1 in So. Hero
- 40 SNOW GEESE just north of the Grand Isle State Park entrance
- and 4 TURKEY VULTURES, 1 in St. Albans and 3 in Colchester
Liz Alton,
Georgia, VT
August
Sightings
August
27
A mini-fallout
at the southern end of Burton Island this morning included:
Nashville
Warbler (2), Yellow Warbler (2), Magnolia Warbler (1),Black-throated
Blue Warbler (1), Yellow-rumped Warbler (6), BlackpollWarbler (1), Black-and-White
Warbler (2), American Redstart (2) and Wilson's Warbler (1).
Burton
Island also displayed good numbers of fresh Painted Lady butterflies,
and along the Missisquoi River in Richford on Wednesday evening (Aug.
22) I noticed about 10 Common Nighthawks. Monarchs are on the move as
well.
Happy Migration,
Bryan Pfeiffer
August
11
Brilyea
Access to Dead Creek birds of note:
1 Great
Egret, 13 Great Blue Herons, 86 Canadian Geese, 10 Greater Yellowleogs,
2 Lesser Yellowlegs
Jean Arrowsmith
August
3
At least
two (probably three) Caspian Terns made a showing at Shelburne Bay this
morning.
About 30 Cattle Egrets were hanging out with the cattle at Shelburne
Farms.
Gotta go (too hot to type)
Bryan Pfeiffer
Canoed
in the Little Otter WMA today and saw the following:
4 osprey
8 great blue heron
1 green heron
3 Virginia rail
2 common moorhen
Also, wood duck, kingfisher, spotted sandpiper, eastern wood pewee,
great-crested flycatcher, eastern kingbird and numerous cedar waxwings.
Sue Elliot
September
Sightings
September
20
Here's
the report from Mt. Philo, witnessed between 11:00 and 4:30 on 9/19
2 Bald
Eagle
2 Harrier
5 Sharp-shinned
2 Cooper's
184 Broad-winged
12 Red-tailed
51 Osprey !!
20 Kestrel
1 Merlin
1 Peregrine
2 UR's (unidentified raptors)
numerous Turkey Vultures
numerous Ravens
Total count: 282 (not counting the uncounted species listed)
Susan Sussman
Middlesex
September
11
A group
of hawkwatchers, stunned at news of Tuesday's terrorism, did manage
to see some movement at Mt. Philo:
4 Osprey
1 Bald Eagle
5 Northern Harrier
3 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Northern Goshawk
66 Broad-winged
4 Red-tailed
5 Kestrel
17 unidentified raptors
Bryan Pfeiffer
September
8
A good
turnout for Rutland County Audubon's trip to Mt. Philo yesterday, Sept.
8. Unfortunately, no one told the hawks.
Seen migrating:
one American kestrel, one peregrine falcon and one broad-winged hawk.
Also seen were three or four red-tailed hawks, two ravens, two kestrels,
one turkey vulture, and one northern harrier. A flock of about 20 turkeys
was viewed in one of the farm fields below.
Sue Elliot
October Sightings
October
28
At Dead
Creek in Addison, the annual SNOW GOOSE convention is peaking with thousands
(estimates run over 20,000) in the fields along Route 17 west of Addison
Four-Corners. Up to 3 ROSS'S GEESE were seen. In addition, there was
a small CANADA GOOSE, in all likelihood the RICHARSON'S race. One dark
and one light-morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK were seen over the weekend.
Wayne Scott
October
26
Missiquoi
Bay birding report from Dick LaVallee
RR = Rock River
DC = Dead Creek
MR= Missisquoi River
MB= Middle Branch (Shad Island)
WB= West Branch (w. of Metcalf Island)
23 Black-bellied Plovers (1 RR, 17 DC, 5 MB)
9 Killdeer (8 RR, 1 DC)
82 Greater Yellowlegs (5 RR, 16 DC, 14 MB, 47 WB)
20 Lesser Yellowlegs (3 RR, 2 DC, 8 MR, 1 MB, 6 WB)
2 Least Sandpipers (RR)
2 Semipalmated Sandpipers (1 DC, 1 WB)
53 Pectoral Sandpipers (28 RR, 19 DC, 1 MB, 5 WB)
11 White-rumped Sandpipers (2 DC, 8 MB, 1 WB)
21 Short-billed Dowitchers (3 RR, 3 DC, 15 WB)
9 Hudsonian Godwits (All at WB, I saw 2 at DC earlier, but I'm not counting
them)
1352 Dunlin (64 DC, 1210 MB, 78 WB)
There were between 600 and 1000 at WB when I got there, but only 78
after a Merlin came
through. I assumed the rest of them ended up at MB)
2 Ruddy Turnstones (1 DC, 1 WB)
1 Stilt Sandpiper (WB)
2 Sanderlings (DC)
2 Common Snipe (WB)
15 Species
68 Coot (DC)
160 Green-w. Teal (DC)
6 Shovelers (WB)
15 Pied-billed Grebes (DC)
1 Merlin (WB)
1 Red-shouldered Hawk (MR)
1 Rough-legged Hawk (MR)
October
2
Missisquoi
Bay
3 HUDSONIAN
GODWITS - West Branch
1 Peregrine - Dead Creek
14 Great Egrets - (5 Rock River, 7 Dead Creek, 2 Middle Branch)
4 Harriers - (1 Dead Creek, 3 Middle Branch)
20-30 Pied-billed Grebes (well dispersed)
17 Bonaparte's Gulls - Dead Creek
7 Killdeer (2 Rock River, 5 West Branch)
19 Semipalmated Plovers (4 Middle Branch, 15 West Branch)
22 Black-bellied Plovers (8 Rock River, 14 West Branch)
136 Dunlin (68 Rock River, 3 Dead Creek, 23 on the river, 42 West Branch)
14 Greater Yellowlegs (7 Rock River, 3 on river, 4 West Branch)
3 Lesser Yellowlegs (1 Rock River, 2 on the river)
7 Short-billed Dowitchers (5 Rock River, 2 West Branch)
2 Dowitcher sp (Rock River)
21 Pectoral Sandpipers (13 Middle Branch, 8 West Branch)
18 Semipalmated Sandpipers (West Branch)
3 Least Sandpipers (West Branch)
1 Baird's Sandpiper (West Branch)
22 White-rumped Sandpipers (2 on the river, 20 at West Branch)
Middle
Branch = the tributary coming out at Shad Island
West Branch = the tributary coming out at Metcalf Island
November
Sightings
November
30
60 BOHEMIAN
WAXWINGS were at Sandbar State Park on the 23rd. Also present nearby
was the SNOWY OWL that has been present along the Route 2 causeway from
Milton out to South Hero at least through the 26th. 310 BONAPARTE’S
GULLS were also counted on the 25th.
November
26
A snowy
owl has been hanging around Sand Bar WMA and State Park for the past
few weeks.
Look for
it perched on logs and rocks along the causeway.
November
15
West Rutland
Marsh monitoring for November 15 20 species and 263 individuals were
tallied:
Common
raven(2), Am crow(13), blue jay(22), house finch(5), purple finch(3),
black-capped chickadee(18), mallard(5), Canada goose(99-one group),
downy woodpecker(3), hairy woodpecker(1), northern flicker(1), mourning
dove(42), Am Robin(2), northern cardinal(5), starling(1), pine siskins(25),
song sparrow(1), belted kingfisher(1), Am goldfinch(11), red-tailed
hawk(1)
Sue Elliot
December
Sightings
December
18
Colchester
Pond CBC highlights from this past weekend. A NORTHERN SHRIKE gave us
a few great views from multiple perches including one near full FOV
in the scope. Down the pond we then saw a few large flotillas of COMMON
MERGANSERS with a handful of HOODED MERGANSERS thrown in for variety.
After searching out a dog owl :) that had our ears perked we were then
treated to a superb view of an adult BALD EAGLE as it soared down the
ridge between Indian Brook and Colchester Pond and pirouetted while
right above us then tucked and dove off through the horizon. Otherwise
mostly the usual suspects out and about......
Silas Miller
December
14
The The
flock of 16 TUNDRA SWANS at Delta Park in Colchester was seen as recently
as last Saturday, 12/8. Delta Park is located on the Colchester side
of the mouth of the Winooski River.
There was
a report of a GOLDEN EAGLE on the 4th from the area about 2 miles west
of Dead Creek where Route 17 curves sharply south. A NORTHERN SHRIKE
was found near the entrance to the goose viewing area on Route 17.
The Sandbar
SNOWY OWL continued to be seen through last weekend along the Route
2 causeway from the mainland over to South Hero. The bird has been regular
just west of the entrance to Sandbar State Park. Also present at Sandbar
was a drake NORTHERN PINTAIL.
December
10
At about
3 o'clock today there were hundreds of Mallards on the east side of
the causeway. There were a few Pintails mixed in, as well as 10-12 Common
Goldeneye. Quite a sight!
-- Sherry
Sandbar
Snowy was especially cooperative, perched on the big log right next
to the northern end of the parking area on the west side of the road.
He posed for photos for a while, flew up almost into the embankment
at road height, then went back to his log. A few minutes later he headed
north and landed on a snag in the water near the flag.
All the
above, plus my first visit to Plum Island yesterday where I saw
a female adult Snowy Owl, a Mute Swan, and a raft of about 700 Common
Eider, made for a lovely birding weekend.
--
Birds seen
at AuSable Point this weekend:
On the first roadway in the campsite area there were two pileated woodpeckers
on the same tree.
On the way out by the bridge was a great blue heron.
On Route 9 just after the WMA entry- there were two bluebirds on the
wires.
Other birds seen or heard:
2 Hairy woodpeckers
WB Nuthatches
chickadees
1 Tufted titmouse
tree sparrows
crows
a few ducks way out
blackback gulls & other gulls
December
7
A snowy
owl has been hanging around Sand Bar WMA and State Park for the past
month. Look for it perched on logs and rocks along the Route 2 causeway.
Also several others have been seen in various locations around the Islands.
December
6
At the
Dead Creek goose viewing area along Route 17 west of Addison, there
were still 1500-2500 SNOW GEESE plus one Richardson’s race of CANADA
GOOSE. Eight ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS were also tallied in the area.
December
4
Ted Murin
reports 15 TUNDRA SWANS at Delta Park (mouth of the Winooski River)
in Colchester yesterday (12/3).
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