I've anticipated birding in Buel's Gore since I started this project.  It's one
of 4 gores (land grants that are not part of any chartered town) in Vermont, and
sits astride the spine of the Green Mountains.  VT Highway 17 winds its way up
one side of the ridge to Appalachian Gap (mountain pass), then winds its way
down the other.  You must go slow in order to negotiate the hairpin turns and
the steep slopes.  If you have car troubles and you're traveling west, you can
have your car serviced at Buel's Garage; if you're traveling east, you need to
descend all the way down to Waitsfield, about a dozen miles away.

Buel's Gore is a gem of a spot. The Long Trail crosses the highway here, and there are
lovely views to the east and west.  Nestled just below the pass is a secluded
beaver pond. 

On my hike down from the pass to the pond, I observed a
female Magnolia Warbler, and a pair of Common Raven flying overhead.  All of the
other birds were heard from the nearby woodlands.  I plan to return and hike on
the trails up to the rocky summit.

My checklist:
Common Yellowthroat
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
American Robin
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-eyed Vireo
White-throated Sparrow
Common Raven
Brown Creeper

The beaver pond on the west side of Appalachian Gap

see also my Gallery of Vermont Scenes for other views

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

I've heard several accounts of how a Cuckoo will lay its egg in another species'
nest, and how the Cuckoo chick will overtake the nest and dominate the parents,
in their effort to feed the chick. Well on this day, I had an opportunity to see
this first-hand.  While hiking down the Falls Park river trail on a very hot
July day, I could hear a plaintive call coming from a low tree up ahead.  There
on a branch was a young Yellow-billed Cuckoo, calling for more food.  Its mother
was a Yellow warbler; this tiny little bird flew back and forth with insects for
her enormous chick, never getting a rest and never satiating its appetite. 


I would not be surprised if the Warbler succumbed to exhaustion and the
heat of that week.

My checklist:
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (chick),
Yellow Warbler (fem)
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
Gray Catbird
American Redstart
Song Sparrow
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch

Lake Champlain is the largest lake in Vermont, something on the order of 125
miles long. There are 5 towns in the islands which are organized into Grand Isle
County.  I spent a wonderful afternoon birding up in the Islands on 17-June, and
logged reports in all 5 towns in a half-marathon between 2 and 8pm.

The
highlights of the day were the 5 Osprey nests along US-2 in Milton, an Eastern
Meadowlark in North Hero, and Scarlet Tanagers in Alburg.  I did the "Life Bird
Boogie" twice that day -- for the Meadowlark and for the Tanagers!

The
Meadowlark sighting was definitely serendipity.  I was driving up the highway
with my windows open (it's been a hot summer this year) when I spotted what I
thought might be a hawk, sitting on a phone line overlooking a wet field.  After
finding a safe place to pull off the highway, I trekked back to the field.  The
Meadowlark's song told me that this was no hawk, but I was truly surprised by
the size of this bird; I had expected Meadowlarks to be Robin or Blackbird
sized, but this was definitely on the scale of a Crow.  Unfortunately, even at
15X zoom, my camera couldn't do justice to the golden yellow bird on the wire.

My checklist:
Mallard
Wood Duck
Osprey (5 occupied nests)
Turkey Vulture
Great blue Heron
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Easter Wood Pee-wee
Tree Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Belted Kingfisher 
American Crow
Common Raven
Downy Woodpecker
Marsh Wren
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
European Starling
American Robin
Hermit Thrush
Veery
Cedar Waxwing
Mourning Dove
American Redstart
 Yellow Warbler
Song Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Bob-o-link
Red-winged Blackbird
Northern Cardinal
Scarlet Tanager
American Goldfinch

Here's that Eastern Meadowlark.  It was at least 100 yards away, so the photo is not great... but good enough to serve as proof!

The morning of June 17th started out with the best of intentions, but the second
town on my hit list - Weathersfield - threw me a spanner.  I selected the
outflow meadow below the Stoughton Pond dam as my birding area; but instead of
spending 20-30 minutes birding there, I was there for 2 hours.


Insectivores were everywhere that morning.  Flycatchers, Swallows,
Warblers, Vireos, and even a Hummingbird and a Bluebird came into range of my
binoculars.  The nest boxes in the meadow were very busy, and I had many objects
of my avian affection try to drive me off as I walked down the trail. 


This particular meadow did not suffer badly from last summer's devastating
floods, but the stream channel below showed signs of a major battle between the
water and the land.  Trees downed, a bridge out, and a reconstructed road all
bore witness to nature's destructive power when the sluice is opened
fully.

My checklist:
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male)
Eastern
Bluebird
Eastern Wood Pee-wee
Eastern Phoebe
Least Flycatcher

Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cedar Waxwing
Red-eyed
Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Common Raven
American Crow
Blue Jay

Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Downy Woodpecker
Ovenbird

American Redstart
Pine Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Common
Yellowthroat
Black-throated Green Warbler
Gray Catbird
American
Robin
Veery
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Song Sparrow

American Goldfinch