Most people associate Middlebury with the massive marble buildings of the
college campus, or the bustling shire-town with its shops and narrow streets; or
perhaps they think of the miserable traffic trying to wind its way thru and
around the poorly-designed road network of Middlebury. I am like all of those
people too, but I knew if I was going to have an interesting bird report for
this Town, I would have to look elsewhere. Fortunately, there's a covered
bridge on the south side of the town, and that's where I decided to go.
Three Mile Bridge Road is river-bottom farm country, south of the falls
and mills and stores and college. The fields and meadows are expansive, the
river is hidden by a snake of cottonwood trees. I managed to find a parking
area at a boat launch, and set out to bird. My interest was first piqued by the
river and the calls of a pair of Belted Kingfisher. But, as I approached the
river's edge, a commotion in the water downstream caught my attention. There a
pair of female Common Mergansers perceived me as a threat, and hurriedly
shuttled their 9 juveniles to the downed tree branches on the opposite shore.
Those chicks which were obedient, stayed right with their mothers; those who
were unruly (or overly alarmed) dove under the water and surfaced ahead of their
families. So comical, but alas humans ARE a threat during hunting
season.
Continuing down the road, I came upon a section of road edge
which hosted a dozen or so plants of Canada Lily (Lilium canadense). The
lighting was good and the sky was a clear blue, so I shot photos of the yellows
and the oranges.
A passing couple stopped and asked me about my
activity, and then indicated that osprey were nesting along the river a bit to
the south. Sure enough, further down the road I saw an Osprey soaring over the
river, but it was far enough away that I could only observe it with
binocs.
Checklist for Middlebury's Three Mile Bridge Rd:
Common Merganser: 2 females, 9 juveniles
Kildeer
Wilson's Snipe
Osprey
American Kestrel
Downy Woodpecker
American Crow
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Wood Pee-wee
Least Flycatcher
Warbling Vireo
Belted Kingfisher
White-breasted Nuthatch
Cedar Waxwing
Barn Swallow
Yellow Warbler
Mourning Dove
Red-winged Blackbird
Baltimore Oriole
American Robin
Song Sparrow
American Goldfinch
college campus, or the bustling shire-town with its shops and narrow streets; or
perhaps they think of the miserable traffic trying to wind its way thru and
around the poorly-designed road network of Middlebury. I am like all of those
people too, but I knew if I was going to have an interesting bird report for
this Town, I would have to look elsewhere. Fortunately, there's a covered
bridge on the south side of the town, and that's where I decided to go.
Three Mile Bridge Road is river-bottom farm country, south of the falls
and mills and stores and college. The fields and meadows are expansive, the
river is hidden by a snake of cottonwood trees. I managed to find a parking
area at a boat launch, and set out to bird. My interest was first piqued by the
river and the calls of a pair of Belted Kingfisher. But, as I approached the
river's edge, a commotion in the water downstream caught my attention. There a
pair of female Common Mergansers perceived me as a threat, and hurriedly
shuttled their 9 juveniles to the downed tree branches on the opposite shore.
Those chicks which were obedient, stayed right with their mothers; those who
were unruly (or overly alarmed) dove under the water and surfaced ahead of their
families. So comical, but alas humans ARE a threat during hunting
season.
Continuing down the road, I came upon a section of road edge
which hosted a dozen or so plants of Canada Lily (Lilium canadense). The
lighting was good and the sky was a clear blue, so I shot photos of the yellows
and the oranges.
A passing couple stopped and asked me about my
activity, and then indicated that osprey were nesting along the river a bit to
the south. Sure enough, further down the road I saw an Osprey soaring over the
river, but it was far enough away that I could only observe it with
binocs.
Checklist for Middlebury's Three Mile Bridge Rd:
Common Merganser: 2 females, 9 juveniles
Kildeer
Wilson's Snipe
Osprey
American Kestrel
Downy Woodpecker
American Crow
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Wood Pee-wee
Least Flycatcher
Warbling Vireo
Belted Kingfisher
White-breasted Nuthatch
Cedar Waxwing
Barn Swallow
Yellow Warbler
Mourning Dove
Red-winged Blackbird
Baltimore Oriole
American Robin
Song Sparrow
American Goldfinch
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