west rutland marsh - may monitoring report

Today was the perfect convergence of birds, friends and beautiful Vermont weather at West Rutland Marsh. Fourteen participants tallied 69 species, four less than last year this time, but above our May average of 67.

As expected nesting activities are well underway. An Eastern Kingbird was carrying nesting material, Canada geese and Mallards already have young, and Eastern Bluebirds were bringing food to a nest box. Several of the nest boxes are occupied by Tree Swallows. Crows and ravens were conducting raids over the marsh and being escorted out by indignant kingbirds and blackbirds.

Both Alder and Willow flycatchers have returned as well as Great Crested Flycatcher.  A White-crowned Sparrow was singing and the song of a Scarlet Tanager led us to its location, resulting in life bird sightings for some observers. We were also treated to the song of two Wood Thrushes and a Veery.

Roy Pilcher zooms in for a shot of a Spring AzureA good number of warblers were heard along Whipple Hollow Road including two Canada Warblers. Other warblers of note along that portion included Northern Waterthrush and Blackburnian Warbler. A Winter Wren was also singing in its usual spot.

An adult Bald Eagle was spotted soaring high over the ridge. The only other raptor of the day was a Broad-winged Hawk.

Besides birds, there was also time for butterflies including a Spring Azure and a Juvenal’s Duskywing.

Click here to check out the butterfly photos and other pictures.

Today's list:

Canada Goose  8
Wood Duck  1
Mallard  16
Great Blue Heron  3
Turkey Vulture  1
Bald Eagle  1
Broad-winged Hawk  1
Virginia Rail  2
Killdeer  2
Rock Pigeon  1
Mourning Dove  12
Chimney Swift  2
Belted Kingfisher  1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  5
Downy Woodpecker  3
Pileated Woodpecker  1
Alder Flycatcher  3
Willow Flycatcher  1
Least Flycatcher  3
Eastern Phoebe  4
Great Crested Flycatcher  1
Eastern Kingbird  6
Blue-headed Vireo  1
Warbling Vireo  6
Red-eyed Vireo  10
Blue Jay  5
American Crow  9
Common Raven  4
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  2
Tree Swallow  9
Barn Swallow  1
Black-capped Chickadee  6
Tufted Titmouse  1
House Wren  3
Winter Wren  1
Marsh Wren  8
Eastern Bluebird  2
Veery  2
Hermit Thrush  1
Wood Thrush  2
American Robin  9
Gray Catbird  14
Brown Thrasher  1
European Starling  5
Ovenbird  10
Northern Waterthrush  1
Black-and-white Warbler  4
Common Yellowthroat  13
American Redstart  5
Blackburnian Warbler  2
Yellow Warbler  14
Chestnut-sided Warbler  2
Black-throated Green Warbler  3
Canada Warbler  2
Chipping Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  12
Swamp Sparrow  11
White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern)  2    
Scarlet Tanager  2
Northern Cardinal  3
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  2
Bobolink  2
Red-winged Blackbird  18
Common Grackle  5
Brown-headed Cowbird  2
Baltimore Oriole  6
House Finch  1
American Goldfinch  12
House Sparrow  1

green up day 2013

RCAS Secretary Kathleen Guinness and her grandson Cameron lend a handToday was a beautiful day to be at West Rutland Marsh especially since it was a chance to give back to the birds. Each year the first Saturday in May is Green Up Day in Vermont. RCAS joined other community members to help clean up the marsh, an Important Bird Area.

The daunting (and sadly never-ending) task was made easier with perfect May weather and cheery green trash bags. Both old friends and new participants, all in good humor, were there to make the work lighter. Our thanks goes out to all of you!RCAS Co-president Marv Elliott shares a laugh with his new friend Olivia

Of course on such a day it is impossible to ignore the birds completely and sharp ears picked out the songs of Marsh Wrens, Yellow Warblers, Swamp Sparrows and even a Virginia Rail among others. It’s great to have them back!

west rutland marsh - march monitoring report

the view from Water StreetDespite what the calendar indicates winter is not quite ready to give up its icy grip. Eight people were determined to prove otherwise on today’s West Rutland Marsh monitoring walk, our 140^th consecutive monthly walk.

Today’s tally fell five short of last year’s March walk. It is, however, right on target with our average of 28 for this month of the year.  

Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles are showing up in increasing numbers with many of the early bird males starting to take up what they are betting will be the best breeding area. Territorial chasing has already begun.   

Two pairs of Canada Geese circled the marsh in a futile search for a place to land. What water had begun to thaw last week is now frozen up again.

Mourning Dove feathersA male Hairy Woodpecker was excavating a hold in a large poplar tree. Much drumming by both Hairys and Downys was heard.

A few feathers of a luckless Mourning Dove were seen along the road, allowing for close examination.

The flock of Wild Turkeys is still present in the field on Pleasant Street, but it won’t be long until they disappear as the nesting season gets under way.

Canada Goose 4
Mallard 2
Wild Turkey 22
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Rock Pigeon 2
Mourning Dove 13
Downy Woodpecker 3
Hairy Woodpecker 3
Blue Jay 7
American Crow 5
Common Raven 1
Black-capped Chickadee 22
Tufted Titmouse 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
European Starling 5
American Tree Sparrow 4
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 5
Northern Cardinal 9
Red-winged Blackbird 32
Common Grackle 20
House Finch 1
House Sparrow 5

iNaturalist.org

White Oak, Quercus alba, leavesMany times you are out birding and something non-avian catches your eye (hard to believe, I know, but it happens). You take a photo and go home to thumb through guidebooks or surf the internet to identify exactly what it is. Sometimes you succeed and other times you are left wondering.

With the explosion of citizen science opportunities (the gold standard of which is eBird), our discoveries do not need to be tucked away in a notebook and forgotten in a desk. iNaturalist and the Vermont Atlas of Life to the rescue!

iNaturalist began as a master’s project at the University of California in 2008. Its objective was to create a way to collect records of any living thing anywhere in the world. This year the Vermont Center for Ecostudies created a project within iNaturalist called the Atlas of Vermont Life. It is an attempt to catalog the state’s wide diversity of living things from microscopic organisms to the largest of our mammals and trees.

And here is the great thing about the project: If you can’t identify something, you can still submit it and, by including the request ID Please, experts from within Vermont and outside may help you with an identification or at least a place in the taxonomic order of things.

Yellow Garden Spider, Argiope aurantiaSo how to participate? Click here and sign up for an account (easy, user name and password). Then upload a photo of your observation, plot it on a map, include a date and any comments (the more information, of course, the better). Check off the ID Please box if you don’t know or are unsure of what it is.

You can upload photos from your own files or from your Facebook, Flickr or Picassa accounts if you use those. And, yes, I have to say it, there’s an app for that – smartphone users can submit their observations from the field using their phone’s camera and GPS capabilities.

Although iNaturalist accepts bird sightings, eBird is the first place to go for those. But there is a lot more to see out there so please consider using iNaturalist - the perfect convergence of nature and technology!

west rutland marsh - february monitoring results

Cooper's HawkCaught somewhere between winter and early spring, 13 participants enjoyed today’s walk around West Rutland Marsh. A total of 23 species was counted, one more than last year this time and well above our average of 17 for February.

We started out at the boardwalk with the winter visitors, a large flock of Common Redpolls and a handful of American Tree Sparrows, taking advantage of the feeding station. In the tree above were 15 Red-winged Blackbirds singing konk-a-ree.

A second flock of redpolls was encountered further down the road with five Eastern Bluebirds and three American Robins nearby. A Hairy Woodpecker was heard drumming.

The usual flock of Wild Turkeys was in the field on Pleasant Street. Near the intersection with Whipple Hollow Road, the group had a long, satisfying look at a Cooper’s Hawk. It was close enough that we could see its red eyes.

Bobcat tracks were seen on the frozen river bed in the light coating of snow – clearly cat and clearly much larger than someone’s pet. On Whipple Hollow Road, a live caterpillar was found in a crack in the pavement.

All of today’s bird sightings were reported to eBird and this weekend’s Great Backyard Bird Count.

Mallard 2
Wild Turkey 32
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Rock Pigeon 1
Mourning Dove 26
Downy Woodpecker 1
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 7
Common Raven 1
Black-capped Chickadee 27
Tufted Titmouse 4
Carolina Wren 2
Eastern Bluebird 8
American Robin 3
American Tree Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 6
Red-winged Blackbird 15
House Finch 3
Common Redpoll 132 
American Goldfinch 16
House Sparrow 2