Bird-On! at the Refuge
Join me and my co-leader, Ken Copenhaver this Saturday to monitor a variety of bird species at Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge. Last month I saw a Rough-legged Hawk on this trail along with some American Tree Sparrows. After 21 months of walks we have observed 106 species. Hope to see you there!
This month’s Bird Monitoring Walk will be on Saturday January 21, 2012 on the Maquam/Black Creek Trail. Meet at 8:00 AM at the parking lot at the former refuge headquarters. Heading west on Route 78 from Swanton, the parking lot is on the left at the first signs for the refuge.
The monthly walks gather long-term data on the presence of birds, their abundance, and changes in populations. The information we gather will be entered into the Vermont e-Bird database where data is stored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. These walks are appropriate for all levels of birders and provide a wonderful opportunity to learn about birds throughout the seasons.
Check out the Friends of the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge who sponsor this walk!
Photo of Rough-legged Hawk courtesy of USFWS
A Wren & A Moorhen
We had a Marsh Wren on this months walk at the Missisquoi Wildlife Refuge just like this one. Got to see it up close at just about 5 feet away singing his heart out, incredible! Other highlights were the Common Moorhen and the fact that my ears still recognized Blackpoll, Tennessee and Nashville warblers. A great walk!
Here’s our eBird report:
Location: Missisquoi NWR—Stephen Young Marsh
Observation date: 5/21/11
Notes: Monthly bird monitoring walk; 7 participants.
Number of species: 49
Canada Goose - Branta canadensis 9
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos 5
Ruffed Grouse - Bonasa umbellus 1 heard only
Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura 2 flyover
Osprey - Pandion haliaetus 3 flyover
Common Moorhen - Gallinula chloropus 1 first of year; new on list
Wilson’s Snipe - Gallinago delicata 1 heard only
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Sphyrapicus varius 1
Northern Flicker - Colaptes auratus 2 heard only
Pileated Woodpecker - Dryocopus pileatus 1 heard only
Willow Flycatcher - Empidonax traillii 1 heard only
Least Flycatcher - Empidonax minimus 2
Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe 1
Great Crested Flycatcher - Myiarchus crinitus 1 heard only
Eastern Kingbird - Tyrannus tyrannus 1
Warbling Vireo - Vireo gilvus 1 heard only
Red-eyed Vireo - Vireo olivaceus 1 heard only
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 7 flyover
Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor 50
Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica 5
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 2
Brown Creeper - Certhia americana 1 heard only
Marsh Wren - Cistothorus palustris 2 nice views! new on list
Veery - Catharus fuscescens 3
American Robin - Turdus migratorius 4 heard only
Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis 1
Tennessee Warbler - Oreothlypis peregrina 1 new on list
Nashville Warbler - Oreothlypis ruficapilla 1 new on list
Yellow Warbler - Dendroica petechia 10
Magnolia Warbler - Dendroica magnolia 2 heard only
Black-throated Green Warbler - Dendroica virens 3 heard only
Blackpoll Warbler - Dendroica striata 3 heard only
Black-and-white Warbler - Mniotilta varia 2 heard only
Ovenbird - Seiurus aurocapilla 3 heard only
Northern Waterthrush - Parkesia noveboracensis 3 heard only
Common Yellowthroat - Geothlypis trichas 12
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia 1 heard only
Swamp Sparrow - Melospiza georgiana 5
White-throated Sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis 1 heard only
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - Pheucticus ludovicianus 2
Bobolink - Dolichonyx oryzivorus 3
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus 50
Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula 4
Brown-headed Cowbird - Molothrus ater 2
Baltimore Oriole - Icterus galbula 3
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis 4
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/vt)
Monthly Bird Walk at Missisquoi
BIRD-ON PEOPLE! This weekend we’ve got our monthly bird walk at the Missisquoi Wildlife Refuge in Swanton, Vermont from 8-10am. Spring has sprung regardless of how much snow is still on the ground. And, if a Rusty Blackbird drops into view, you might get to see me do the Life Bird Boogie.
Details on the Friends of the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge website!
Monthly Bird Walk at Missisquoi
This is how Russ enjoys birding on the Stephen Young Marsh Trail. This morning was bright and gorgeous, a bit chilly and the birds were sparse. We had a total of 5 species, but a lovely little flock of 20+ American Tree Sparrows.
We also found this:
Which we think is a muskrat jaw bone. Russ actually took it home to try and clinch the id. I’m going with muskrat, my second guess was rabbit. Not much else left in the area to solve the mystery but some body fat…ewwwww. (See the milky blobs in the upper right corner of the photo below.)
First of the season Fox Sparrows spotted on this weekend’s monthly bird walk at the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge in Swanton, VT. Bummer you didn’t join me…turns out only Ken, the other walk leader and I showed up! The heavy rains on Friday from the N’oreaster kept people away but not the sparrows. Here’s the eBird report:
Due to the soggy weather, we had just 2 observers on Saturday's walk. We found 16 species and a total of 318 individual birds. New species added to the list this month were Yellow-rumped Warbler and Fox Sparrow. After 8 months of bird monitoring walks, 90 participants have observed 85 species and 1497 individual birds.
Location: MNWR-Old Railroad Passage Observation date: 10/16/10
Canada Goose 12 flyover Northern Harrier 1 flyover Ring-billed Gull 100 flyover; one large, loose flock Mourning Dove 2 Blue Jay 4 American Crow 3 Black-capped Chickadee 8 House Wren 1 American Robin 6 European Starling 80 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Fox Sparrow 2 Song Sparrow 3 White-throated Sparrow 3 White-crowned Sparrow 2 Red-winged Blackbird 90 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/vt)
September at Missisquoi
Saturday was our monthly bird monitoring walk at the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge in Swanton, VT. As Friends of the MNWR, Ken Coppenhaver & I started these walks back in March. We rotate trails every month and this month we were at the Stephen Young Marsh on Tabor Road.
New species added to the list this month were Common Merganser, Wilson’s Snipe, Canada Warbler, and Blackburnian Warbler. After 7 months of bird monitoring walks, 88 participants have observed 83 species and 1179 individual birds.
Here’s our report to eBird:
Location: MNWR - Stephen Young Marsh
Observation date: 9/18/10
Notes: Monthly Bird Monitoring Walk. Walked clockwise around trail (usually walk counter-clockwise).
Number of species: 23
Canada Goose 11 flyover
Mallard 10 flyover
Common Merganser 1 flyover
Ruffed Grouse 1 flushed
Great Blue Heron 1 flyover
Wilson’s Snipe 2 flyover
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 3
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 7
Black-capped Chickadee 10
American Robin 2
European Starling 44
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1 heard only
Blackburnian Warbler 1 probable
Common Yellowthroat 3
Canada Warbler 1
Song Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 1 heard only
White-throated Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 115
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/vt)
