150 Waterbury resurveyed - A Day with Canadian Avians

Ah, winter birding in Vermont!  Take away the leaves and the warblers, and there's quite a bit to see. And we're close enough to the Canadian boreal forest that we get some wonderful winter visitors.  Snow Geese start the season off with their fall migration, making a stop-over in the town of Addison, which is dominated by wide open farm fields.  Over the course of the season, one can expect to see Iceland, Glaucous, and Little Gulls, Bohemian Waxwings, Gray Jays and Crossbills, the occasional Boreal Chickadee,  and a nice suite of raptors. Snowy Owls are relatively common and always attention-getters, with 8 ringing in the New Year in Addison.  Last year there was a Great Gray Owl in Hanover NH.  Rough-legged Hawks can frequently be seen around fields and marshes.  And for the only the second time in my birding life, I had the privilege today of viewing a Northern Hawk-Owl.  

As an indication of how rare NHOW's are, when I arrived to view this owl, there was a couple who had driven up from Philadelphia - just to view this bird!  By the time I moved on, several other birders had arrived on the scene.  I found a nice area a mile further along the road, where I could do a more standard woodland survey, and there I encountered the 'usual suspects'.

After leaving Waterbury, I headed over to Lake Champlain to see what raptors and waterfowl could be seen between Shelburne Bay and Crown Point Bridge.  It was a pleasant and successful day, with over 30 bird species observed; my total number of species for Vermont in just 2 weekends is now 45.  The end of the day was highlighted by a spectacular Snowy Owl sitting up in a tree, right along the highway where everyone could safely get off the highway to enjoy.  This owl had been in the same location since New Years Day when I first viewed him.  Owl bookends!

CHECKLIST FOR WATERBURY:

Northern Hawk-owl     Common Raven     American Crow     Black-capped Chickadee     Blue Jay     White-breasted Nuthatch     Downy Woodpecker