Bob Heitzman -- The 251 Town Birder
email me
  • Home
    • 251 Town Blog
    • Towns Surveyed
    • Gallery of Vermont Scenes
    • Birds of Vermont Sampler
  • Diversions
    • Cape May - May 2015
    • Iceland - May 2017

77 Dummerston - Bluebirds amongst the Colonials

8/27/2012

0 Comments

 
Common Nighthawks had been congregating in large flocks each evening during this
past week's sunny muggy weather, down in in the southeastern town of
Westminster. Tonight was the first evening I'd had the opportunity to get down
to that part of the state, but the weather had changed, and the Nighthawks were
not mine to be had.

But I did take the opportunity to explore the nearby
town of Dummerston, seeking an area for my 'official' birding location. 
Eventually, I settled on the Dummerston Center Cemetery along the East-West
Road.  The cemetery sits on a short hillside road, and faces a large meadow. 
Maple trees line the route of the road.  The cemetery's setting seemed like a
good spot for some woodland's edge & meadow birding.

The birding
wasn't too special:  a family of Eastern Bluebirds and a loose flock of Chipping
Sparrows were the most notable sightings, but what really caught my interest
were the tombstones. 

Many were of slate, the stone of choice during
the 1700s and early 1800s.  These early tombstones are in very good shape
considering most are 200 years old; very few have flaked or collapsed.  The
stones are large - often 3 feet wide and 4 feet tall - with inscriptions in
fine, bold fonts.  The early settlers of this town were very well esteemed.  One
prominent tombstone from 1799 noted that the deceased was the "Major of the 1st
Company of the 1st Regiment of the State of Vermont" and passed away in his 41st
year.

I want to go back to Dummerston Center Cemetery on a sunny day,
and photograph some of these tombstones in better light.

Dummerston's checklist:
Eastern Bluebird (adults & juveniles)
Chipping Sparrow (a loose flock of 32)
Gray Catbird
American Robin
0 Comments

76 Colchester - Birders of a Feather

8/25/2012

0 Comments

 
I'd been reading in my eBird Alerts that folks had been observing Baird's
Sandpipers, Phalaropes, and other interesting shorebirds up at Delta Park, and
today was finally my chance to see them.  I'd never been to Delta Park, and when
I arrived I found quite a bit to explore: the river banks and boat launch, the
bike path bridge over the river to Burlington, and from there, on the shoreline,
I could see boaters, kayakers, and birders.  Birders with spotting scopes...
that's the spot I was looking for!

As I came out onto the shoreline, I
spied a massive flock of large black birds flocking over the water.  Cormorants,
I learned from veteran birder Roy Pilcher; almost a thousand of them.


Over the rest of the midday, I only managed 7 shorebird species* during my time
on the shore, but for me the far greater find were the birders.  Four men who
share my passion for birds and birding, and whose names are always at the top of
the eBird tallies.  Jim Osborn, Jim Mead, Matt Cafield, and Larry Clarfeld; each
of these gents were good spirited, enthusiastic towards birding and nature, and
open to sharing their sightings and stories with the newcomer in their midst. 
In the 8 years that I've been birding, I have not yet met someone I wouldn't
bird with again.  Whether they drove a Toyota Corolla or a Lincoln Navigator,
everyone has been enthusiastic to share what they've seen and where.

Today's checklist - 22 species:
Osprey
Ring-billed gull
Common tern
Double-crested Cormorant
Greater Yellowlegs*
Lesser Yellowlegs*
Baird's Sandpiper*
Least Sandpiper*
White-rumped Sandpiper*
Semipalmated Plover*
Sanderling*
Belted Kingfisher
Pileated Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
American Crow
Northern Cardinal
Mourning Dove
Black-throated Green Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
0 Comments

63 Guildhall - Bobwhite

8/25/2012

0 Comments

 
Guildhall is one of Vermont's smaller towns, with only 261 residents.  Most of
the settlement in this town is along a highway corridor through the north of the
town; however, since I live in the south-central part of the state, I targeted a
southern section of the town that could be accessed from neighboring Lunenburg. 


The one road that crossed into Guildhall from the south crossed a
natural gas pipeline and then a small swampy area, before climbing up a small
hill.  This seemed like an area that would provide a diversity both of habitats
and of bird species. 

Well, it was not a rich bird habitat.  The wooded
hillside yielded only 2 Black-capped Chickadees and 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch. 
The swamp yielded only 3 warblers, 1 Blue Jay, and 1 Hermit Thrush -- all
totally common for this time of year.

I returned to my car totally
disappointed, and decided to give a gravel road a try.  After half a kilometer,
I hear a unique and different call... "bob WHEET" repeated 3 times over a 1
minute period!  I checked my iBirdPRO app and confirmed I had a Northern
Bobwhite out thru the woods; this was a new bird for my lifelist and my first
quail!  I followed the well-spaced calls thru the woods to the pipeline
corridor, and then slowly zeroed in on the area from which the call was coming. 
  Finally, there!  In the low grass of a mountain bike path thru the treeless
corridor I saw a black & white striped head.  The Bobwhite is a beautiful
bird, and I was thrilled to see it  Unfortunately I didn't have my nice 8MP
camera, so I had to settle for record photos from my 3MP iPhone's
camera.

All of the range maps (Sibley, Peterson, iBird) show Northern
Bobwhites ranging up into Connecticut and Rhode Island, but eBird.org shows at
least 20 reports in Vermont, as well as in Maine and Massachusetts. It turns out that
there is a game bird breeding farm in the Northeast Kingdom, and it is believed that
these are escapees; it's not known if they're now established or still new introductions.
Picture
 

0 Comments

62 Lunenburg -  Not many birds, but lots of Moose!

8/25/2012

0 Comments

 
Normally when I'm out birding, I expect to see birds, and occasionally a
beaver or deer.  Where I stopped to bird in Lunenburg, the signs of birds were
scarce, but the signs of Moose were plentiful. 

This section of highway
had been freshly re-paved only 2 or 3 days earlier; the asphalt on the shoulder
was still soft, and the traffic control signs were still lying along the side of
the road.  One side of the highway was a peaty bog; on the other a wet
woodland.

All along the highway were fresh peaty moose tracks.  Somehow
these moose had learned the fundamentals of safe pedestrianship along a highway: 
 1) stay outside the traveled lane striping, 2) walk against the flow of traffic
so you can see oncoming vehicles, and 3) cross where you can be seen in both
directions.

As I walked walked along, I couldn't help but laugh as I
thought about a group of moose walking single-file along the highway, and then
crossing single file... rather like the Beatles on their Abbey Road album cover. 


I also gained a renewed appreciation for highway warning signs such as
"Moose Crossing Next 6 Miles"... one of the moose was quite large, with hooves a
hand-span wide.
Picture
 

0 Comments

70 Rutland Town -- An Old Cemetery with Ancient Trees

8/17/2012

0 Comments

 
I stumbled onto a real gem last weekend, when I walked thru Evergreen
Cemetery in Rutland Town.  Evergreen straddles the line between my hometown -
Rutland City - and the surrounding Rutland Town; the trees visible from the road
had always intrigued me, but I had never ventured in to explore.  So I decided
to make it my 251 Town Birder site for Rutland Town, and see what lay within.  I
was not disappointed.

Most cemeteries - both early and modern - are
designed to maximize the number of burials within a given parcel of land. 
Evergreen is one of those cemeteries which opened in the 1870s and was designed
as a parkland, offering both the living and the deceased a peaceful and
beautiful place to spend an eternity.  The cemetery hosts many of Rutland's
prominent families, expansive plots that were planted with cedars, pines and
ornamentals, and boasting monuments that seek to outdo the others.  After 100+
years, the cedar hedges have become living colonnades, the pines offer high
canopies, and the oaks would be envied by shipbuilders. 

In addition to
the impressive monuments and plantings, Evergreen Cemetery offers innumerable
quiet plots, sequestered in woodland glades and little hollows.  I swear, this
cemetery has more nooks and crannies than a Thomas's English Muffin!  Rarely
used paths go off up and around every hill, and explore every glade; I was there
an hour, and surely saw only half of the cemetery. I'll add photos
shortly.

Evergreen Cemetery is located on US-4 Business in Center
Rutland, at the City/Town line.  It is worth the visit.

A typical woodland checklist:
American Crow
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
American Robin
Mourning Dove 2 (how appropriate)
Gray Catbird
Common Grackle
Northern Cardinal
 Winter Wren
Eastern Phoebe
American Goldfinch

There is a photograph in my Vermont Scenes gallery
0 Comments

69 Westminster - Glossy Ibis in Vermont

8/17/2012

0 Comments

 
Every once in a while a bird comes thru the area who makes everyone sit up and
take notice.  They then put the eBird report location into their TomTom nav
unit, and take off right after work... or take the day off altogether. 


In the last year I've had the privilege of seeing a Harris's Sparrow in Norwich
VT, an American Avocet who was blown into Seabrook NH, a Cape May Warbler who
over-wintered in Portsmouth NH, and a Northern Gannet who was dropped 100 miles
inland by Tropical Storm Irene.

This week, I was fortunate enough to
observe the Glossy Ibis down in Weathersfield VT.  It's a somewhat timid bird,
but periodically takes flight and swoops around the marsh.  For neighbors it has
a Great Blue Heron and 1 or 2 Green Herons.  This ibis is a surprisingly fast
flier... I had considerable trouble tracking it and getting a worthwhile photo;
in the end, only this silhouette was worth keeping.  I'll try again on our next
sunny day, as Weathersfield is only an hour away.
0 Comments

66 Brookline - 1822 Round Schoolhouse

8/17/2012

0 Comments

 
I'm thoroughly enjoying my quest to visit every town in the state. Many of these
towns are very small in population, but some contain historical gems. 


Brookfield is located in Windham County, in southeastern Vermont.  It's a long,
narrow town and has only one main road, which runs from Newfane in the south to
Athens at the north.  Roughly midway thru this town-with-no-side-roads is the
town office which offers the only parking area, and opposite it is the unique
Round Schoolhouse.  There wasn't another place to park, and there certainly
wasn't a more curious place to explore.  The farm fields and streams were
highlighted by a male Indigo Bunting, singing his song.

Checklist:

American Crow
Pileated Woodpecker
Alder Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Common Yellowthroat
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Bob-o-link
Cedar Waxwing
Gray Catbird
Song Sparrow
Indigo Bunting
American Goldfinch
0 Comments

    Author

    I've been a life-long 'naturalist' -- interested in every aspect of the natural world.  I began birding in the early 1990s, and have been a serious birder for over two decades.

    Archives

    March 2021
    December 2020
    July 2020
    November 2019
    May 2015
    July 2014
    June 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    November 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.