Baille Birdathon 2009
I love participating in this
bird hunt around Lake Champlain!
There are so many great spots to go to, but not enough time to do them
all. Nevertheless, I racked up 128
species within the required 24 hours, including several hours sleep in the
middle.
I started out after breakfast
on Friday the 15th in Essex, NY, and finished on Saturday the 16th
in Port Kent, NY, having covered several areas down along the west coast of
Lake Champlain to the bridge at Crowne Point, over as far as Middlebury, back
up the east coast of the lake, and back across on the ferry and up to Port
Kent.
I picked up quite a few birds
in Essex, around my mother’s house and in the harbour. Then I drove along the lake shore
through Westport and down to Crowne Point. Here I made a stop at the Crowne Point Banding Station where
there are always lovely birds to find, and interesting people to talk with,
especially Mike Peterson and his associates and guests. I heard and saw a Tennessee Warbler, my
first in years. Mike was
delighted with the “Canadian” doughnuts I brought with me.
Next was another favourite
spot, Dead Creek in Addison, VT.
It never disappoints me. I
took the time to walk along the west trail and found a pair of Scarlet
Tanagers, again a species I haven’t seen in a long time. I then headed for Middlebury, passing
by Snake Mountain. I stopped at
the base of that trail and found my first ever Golden-wing Warbler, and a
Cerulean Warbler among others. I then drove up to Vergennes and the Otter Creek
complex. Caspian Terns, Bald
Eagle, many species to add to my list.
I continued on towards Shelburne Pond. Sometimes making an error is to one’s advantage, and so it
was for me. I missed the Pond Rd
and realized it shortly after. I
turned around at the next intersection.
While
driving back to my road, I
saw a Great Egret fise up out of the marshy area where Muddy Creek joins
Shelburne Pond. I did make it to
the Pond. I then chose to make my
way over to Shelburne Point and had Great Black-backed Gull and Fish Crow off
shore there. Back to the ferry at
Charlotte, and up to Willsboro Point.
What luck to have a Peregrine flying over from somewhere by the Point
towards the other side of the Bay, most likely 1 of the pair residing
there. I could also see a male
Bufflehead across from the boat launch.
Home for the night to
recharge my batteries! The next
morning I had reserved for Noblewood Park and Wickham Marsh. I was able to get Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
and a Wood Thrush in Noblewood, which was rather quiet this time. Then on to Wickham Marsh for my last
birds, Willow Flycatcher and Virginia Rail among others. I was done.
I can’t end without
mentioning non-bird sights: White-tailed Deer, Red Fox ( Crowne Point by the
barn ), goslings everywhere, turtles, camel ( Round Barn ), forsythia in full
bloom and lots of lilac bushes everywhere. What a beautiful land we live in!
Many “Thank You”s to my
sponsors! My list follows below.
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Heron
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Wood duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Bald Eagle
American Kestrel
Peregrine
Ruffed Grouse
Wild Turkey
Virginia Rail
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Wilson’s Snipe
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning dove
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Acadian Flycatcher
Adler Flycatcher
Willow flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Common Raven
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
European Starling
Blue-wing Warbler
Golden-wing Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-&-White Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson’s Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
Red-winged blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Eve Ticknor Peregrine Falcon Watch Coordinator Ottawa Field Naturalists Club 38-9 Gillespie Cres
Ottawa, Ontario
K1V 9T5 613-859-9545
613-737-7551
The road to the future is always under construction.
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