Vermont Weekly Bird Notes 11/24/2006

Many don’t even notice the smallest loon in the world as it migrates through the Champlain valley each fall. It takes patience and often a spotting scope to find the red-throated loon as it wings down the middle of the lake or splashes down far from shore.

On the southern end of Lake Champlain keen observers found 57 red-throated loons on November 18th. Two were even found in Brattleboro at Retreat Meadows near the mouth of the West River.

We should have known they were coming. Nearly 200 were seen on the Ottawa River just five days earlier. The migration wave was rolling out of the north bound for the Atlantic coastal wintering grounds.

In North America the red-throated loon nests on remote coastal tundra farther north than any of the other five loons of the world. It may only have three months to build a nest, hatch its eggs, and raise its young to fledging before winter arrives again.

Most loons must paddle and “run” across the water surface for long distances to take off. The small red-throated loon is able to take off directly from the ground by springing from its feet into the air, a great adaptation for living on small tundra ponds.

Loons are reported to be among the oldest groups of birds still living today, with a history some think stretches back more than 50 million years. But recently, populations of this loon have declined in North America. Red-throated loons in Alaska have declined over 50% in the last 20 years. The birds are extremely vulnerable to oil spills, fouling in fishing gear, mercury contamination and other environmental problems.

Thousands of common loons also migrate down Lake Champlain. Over 110 common loons were also seen on the 18^th on the southern end of the lake and 26 off Grand Isle.

These two loons are relatively easy to tell apart in late fall. The red-throated loon has a slender bill usually held upward, a paler face, and neck without a gray collar. Double-crested cormorants have longer necks and hooked bill tips.

The highlight for rare bird reports this week was the sighting of a young drake king eider off Grand Isle on November 15th. Others included a cackling goose hidden among 77 Canada geese below Ledyard Bridge in Norwich on the 19th, four purple sandpipers at the Colchester Causeway on the 13th and 14^th and a little gull in Vergennes on November 11th. Most of our winter waterfowl regulars have arrived with ten species on Lake Champlain last week.

Late season songbirds included two marsh wrens at West Rutland Marsh on the 18^th and a hermit thrush in Rutland on the 19th. A red-bellied woodpecker was seen in Brattleboro on the 18th.

You can explore all the birds reported last week in Vermont and add your own sightings at www.ebird.org/vins.

Kent McFarland, VINS Conservation Biologist

Weekly Bird Notes -- 17 November 2006

There’s nothing like a flock of Snow Buntings to brighten a barren November landscape. These small, energetic, passerines – sporting white, black and rust-colored plumage – frequent open habitats across Vermont between late-October and mid-March. Highly nomadic, their abundance in northern New England can vary from one winter to the next. In a good year, large flocks consisting of hundreds of Snow Buntings can be observed descending on weedy fields across the state. In other years, they may only be found reliably in agricultural areas of the Champlain Valley. Winter flocks of Snow Buntings are consistently restless, frequently flushing and swirling around like a sudden snow squall, before settling back down to feed.

Snow Buntings breed on the high arctic tundra from Alaska, across northern Canada, to Greenland, Iceland and northern Europe, including Finland, Norway and Russia. Most populations are migratory, over-wintering from the central plains, to agricultural and coastal areas of the northeastern U.S., to western Europe. Females appear to migrate south earlier and travel farther than males, as the wintering populations in Greenland are primarily male while those in western Europe are mainly female.

Typical for arctic breeders, Snow Buntings tend to ignore trees, even roosting on the ground during the winter in slight scrapes they make in the snow. Unlike other small passerines however, they have not been observed to huddle together for warmth, even under extreme conditions. This may due to the fact that their lower critical temperature – the temperature below which they need to generate heat to maintain normal body temperature – is 10°F below the lower critical temperature expected for passerines of this size, suggesting that Snow Buntings may be better insulated against heat loss.

Recent Snow Bunting sightings include a flock of 50-60 birds on a farm in Shoreham, and 3 individuals at Shelburne Bay Park. Other birding highlights during the past week include a Common Eider, along with White-winged and Black Scoters off the west shore of Grand Isle, and a Brant, Pied-billed Grebe and an American Wigeon at the Shelburne Bay boat access. A flock consisting of hundreds of American Pipits, Horned Larks, and at least 1 Lapland Longspur were seen off Nortontown Road in Addison, and in Essex, an adult Golden Eagle was observed drifting south along with a male Northern Harrier.

You can explore all the birds reported last week in Vermont and add your own sightings at www.ebird.org/vins.

Weekly Bird Notes - 10 November

The Palm Warbler is one of the last wood-warblers to depart Vermont in autumn and one of the first to arrive in spring. Second only to Blackpoll Warbler as North America's most northerly breeding warbler, the species inhabits bogs and fens across the boreal forest of Canada and the northern United States.

A small nesting population occurs in the Yellow Bogs area of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. Palm Warblers winter primarily along coastal regions of the southeastern United States and Gulf of Mexico, as well as on islands of the Caribbean Greater Antilles. The species' common name is a misnomer, as few birders ever encounter palm warblers within view of a palm tree. Pastures, dry scrub, and pine woodlands are its primary winter habitats.

Two subspecies, or forms, of the Palm Warbler exist, and they are easily identified in the field. Although their breeding ranges are separate, both occur in Vermont as migrants. The "yellow" Palm Warbler breeds from western Quebec through Newfoundland, including northeastern Vermont. The "western" subspecies breeds from eastern Ontario through Alberta, but is much more common as a migrant in Vermont, especially in fall, with peak migration occurring during October. Yellow Palm Warblers have entirely yellow underparts, while westerns are duller overall, with yellow only on the throat and under the tail. Both forms are characterized by their rusty caps, tail-wagging behavior, and terrestrial habits.

A late western Palm Warbler was observed in Woodstock on Nov. 7. Very rarely, this species lingers through early winter in Vermont, attesting to its hardiness.

Other notable bird sightings during the past week included numerous reports of Horned Grebes on Lake Champlain and as many as three Red-necked Grebes at various locations statewide. Up to 2,000 Snow Geese continue to be present at Dead Creek in Addison, and birders wanting to see this spectacle should not wait. An impressive southward movement of Black Scoters, with smaller numbers of Surfs and White-wingeds, was noted on Lake Champlain. Additional waterfowl observed on the lake were up to 40 Brant and a single Common Eider, the latter a very unusual occurrence in Vermont, being found almost exclusively in coastal areas.

American Pipits continue to move through the state, with 100 near Kingsland Bay State Park on Oct. 29 and 30, in Grand Isle on Nov. 2. Late migrant sparrows included three Chipping Sparrows in Proctor and two Vesper Sparrows in Charlotte. American Tree Sparrows have arrived en masse from their subarctic nesting rounds and are now the dominant sparrow statewide. Snow Buntings have appeared at scattered locations, foreshadowing the oncoming winter.

You can explore all the birds reported last week in Vermont and add your own sightings at www.ebird.org/vins.

Chris Rimmer, Conservation Biologist

Weekly Bird Notes - 3 November 2006

Scoters are delighting birdwatchers across the state with their bright orange bills and striking black-and-white plumage. White-winged scoters are the most likely scoter to be seen on inland lakes and rivers in migration, with Black and Surf Scoters more restricted to coastlines. All three can be seen in Vermont, but their stay is brief. The best time to see scoters is the last week of October and first week of November.

White-wings are the largest and most studied of the scoters. The core breeding area of White-wings is the boreal forest of northwestern Canada, concentrated in the Northwest Territories. The female locates her nest on an island or away from the shore of freshwater and brackish lakes. She creates a slight depression for her eggs under dense, thorny vegetation. Despite these tactics to discourage predation from gulls, ravens, and crows, very few young survive. Nestlings have an estimated 1.4 percent to 10 percent chance of surviving to fledgling age.

A large patch of white in the wing easily discerns White-wings from the other scoters. Birders cue into their southward migration by looking for rapid moving strings of dark ducks flying low over the water. When resting, they often disappear for up to a minute while they dive for mollusks and crustaceans. Lake Champlain provides an abundance of zebra mussels for hungry scoters.

White-wings spend the winters in bays and inlets along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts where they congregate in large flocks. Flocks of 100,000-400,000 birds have been recorded off Cape Cod and Nantucket Island. Despite these impressive numbers, winter surveys indicate population declines, possibly resulting from a combination of specific life history traits, hunting pressures, habitat loss and contaminants.

Oct. 27 was a great day for sighting sea ducks across Vermont. Observers at the Charlotte Town Beach counted 53 White-winged Scoters, 375 Black Scoters, and six Long-tailed Ducks. Seventy Black Scoters hung out on the south end of Lake Iroquois in Hinesburg, while further south along the Connecticut River, observers saw 79 Black Scoters, four Surf Scoters, and a Long-tailed Duck. A large flock of unidentified scoters was also seen at Herrick's Cove in Bellows Falls that day.

High numbers of Snow Geese at Dead Creek attracted raiding coyotes Monday. Three Red-necked Grebes were observed at Charlotte Town Beach on Oct. 27. More than 20 White-winged Crossbills were seen in Westmore, launching what might be a great winter for seeing finches in the state.

You can explore all the birds reported last week in Vermont and add your own sightings at www.ebird.org/vins.

-Julie Hart

Vermont's Hardy Butterflies

Here's your chance to make Vermont Butterfly Survey history. Our latest butterfly record during the five years of the survey happens to be 1Nov2003 -- a Clouded Sulphur spotted by David Hoag in South Hero. Chip Darmstadt tied the record yesterday with a Clouded Sulphur at the North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier! So did Lori Barg with another Clouded Sulphur in Plainfield today. Congratulations, Chip, Lori and David!

But here's some better news: If we include historic data -- mostly from museum specimens -- we find that butterflies can fly in Vermont from March through December. Here's proof (only a few examples):

    3Nov1994 - Milbert's Tortoiseshell in Burlington
    11Nov1971 - Crescent sp. in Manchester
    19Nov1998 - Red Admiral in Grand Isle
    9Dec1981 - Monarch in Brandon
    1Dec1984 - Compton Tortoiseshell in South Hero
    11Nov1982 - Atlantis Fritillary in Starksboro
    26Dec1982 - Orange Sulphur (adult male!) in Burlington

We've got several late records from 1982. Must have been a warm fall -- and a very Merry Christmas. So keep your net handy until New Year's Eve! We suspect our VBS late butterfly record could fall this year. 

The Wingbeat - VT Breeding Bird Atlas Quarterly

The Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas is heading into its 5th and final year of data collection. The Wingbeat is the quartly newsletter designed for atlassers. Click above to see the entire Wingbeat archive, including the latest fall 2006 issue. Each winter Wingbeat issue contains up-to-date species diostribution maps based on the latest data collected by over 300 vulnteers throughout the state. Keep an eye out for the 2007 winter issue!