Date: 2/28/26 10:37 am From: Nita <nita.hwf...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] so many big flocks of little birds!
Wow!
On Sat, Feb 28, 2026 at 1:35 PM Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> wrote:
> Yesterday and this morning I did some birding in the Addison area. I have
> never in my life seen so many Snow Buntings and Horned Larks! I counted one
> bunting flock one by one and came up with 136. I tried to count a Horned
> Lark Flock on Gage Road, ended up counting by fives and got over 400. There
> were also good-sized (but much smaller than those two examples) of Eastern
> Bluebirds and American Robins - but surprisingly (to me) few raptors.
> Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
Date: 2/28/26 10:35 am From: Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> Subject: [VTBIRD] so many big flocks of little birds!
Yesterday and this morning I did some birding in the Addison area. I have never in my life seen so many Snow Buntings and Horned Larks! I counted one bunting flock one by one and came up with 136. I tried to count a Horned Lark Flock on Gage Road, ended up counting by fives and got over 400. There were also good-sized (but much smaller than those two examples) of Eastern Bluebirds and American Robins - but surprisingly (to me) few raptors.
Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
Date: 2/26/26 5:41 am From: Allan Strong <Allan.Strong...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Who else is protected by Bobolinks?
Hi VT Birders,
Did you know that we have recorded over 100 species of birds while monitoring fields that are enrolled in The Bobolink Project? We tend to think that this program just protects grassland birds, but there are benefits for many species.
On Monday 2 March from 1:00-2:00, Hyla Howe and I will be giving a presentation entitled: "The Bobolink Umbrella: A look at the avian diversity of our hayfields"
We'll talk about some of the "other" species that The Bobolink Project supports and how these fields contribute to conservation at the landscape scale.
Date: 2/23/26 5:36 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] 23 February 2026: Hurricane Hill (1,100 feet), WRJ
6:17 a.m. (eighteen minutes before sunrise). Nineteen degrees, wind North six miles per hour gusting to nineteen. Monochrome sunrise. Cloud ceiling, shapeless and low, scrapes the New Hampshire skyline; two linear clouds below the summit of Smarts Mountain, which rises like an island into a gray sea. Night cedes to daybreak, ever so slowly.
Overnight dusting, an inch (no more). Evergreen limbs sag, weighed down by Friday's wet snow. A serried fortress of green and white blocks the wind. Doves inside a spruce murmur. Juncos inside a cedar, twitter.
Deciduous limbs, an iteration of white on brown. Squirrels stay put.
6:23 a.m. crow above the White River caws.
6:37 a.m. raven grunts.
6:39 a.m. Tuned to light, not weather, inside an open-field rhododendron, leaves curled against the cold, crown rounded and capped in snow, a single chickadee ... singing. The resilience on a bleak, colorless morning.
Eventually, titmice and nuthatches join the drone of woodland sounds.
*What a Difference a Day Makes: *The primacy of a clear morning. Yesterday, seventeen bluebirds in the crown of a maple framed by the fireworks of sunrise, which highlighted their bellies and made the snow on nearby spruces blush. A flock of cedar and Bohemian waxwings and a lone pine grosbeak raid a patch of highbush cranberries. Bits of red fruit littered the road and stuck to their beaks. (Waxwings fed like my grandkids, and wore what they consumed.) Hairy and downy woodpeckers on dead limbs, simulcasting, the drumbeat of exuberance, one louder than the other. Pileated called in flight. Blue jays, everywhere and noisy. Purple finch. Goldfinch. Brown creeper, whispered. And the wild genus of a barred owl, an all-morning visit from George.
Date: 2/22/26 8:15 pm From: Mamuniaangel <000002fe774c7bcd-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Free nature - and more - slideshow Piermont March 1
Is that Piermont, NH?
On Sunday, February 22, 2026 at 06:05:51 PM EST, R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> wrote:
In what town is the Piermont Library? Ruth Stewart
On Sun, Feb 22, 2026 at 5:23 PM Ian Clark <ian...> wrote:
> The Piermont Library will be hosting me to present a slideshow of my
> favorite images from 2025. Lots of nature from around New England -
> including the loon families. In the fall I traveled to Alaska, British
> Columbia and the Yukon. Along the way I spent several days photographing
> brown bears and a steam locomotive on the White Pass & Yukon Route.
>
>
>
> Sunday March 1 at 2 pm in the Old Church Building - across the street from
> the Library & fire station. Free and everyone welcome
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
> %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
>
> Ian Clark
> PO Box 51
> West Newbury, VT 05085
> (848) 702-0774
>
> www.IanClark.com <http://www.ianclark.com/> >
> @UpperValleyPhotos
> <https://www.facebook.com/uppervalley.photos> Facebook
>
>
> Follow my blog: http://blog.ianclark.com <http://blog.ianclark.com/> >
> Or follow the antics of my doggies:
> https://www.facebook.com/Dexter.and.Romeo/ >
>
>
Date: 2/22/26 3:05 pm From: R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Free nature - and more - slideshow Piermont March 1
In what town is the Piermont Library? Ruth Stewart
On Sun, Feb 22, 2026 at 5:23 PM Ian Clark <ian...> wrote:
> The Piermont Library will be hosting me to present a slideshow of my
> favorite images from 2025. Lots of nature from around New England -
> including the loon families. In the fall I traveled to Alaska, British
> Columbia and the Yukon. Along the way I spent several days photographing
> brown bears and a steam locomotive on the White Pass & Yukon Route.
>
>
>
> Sunday March 1 at 2 pm in the Old Church Building - across the street from
> the Library & fire station. Free and everyone welcome
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
> %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
>
> Ian Clark
> PO Box 51
> West Newbury, VT 05085
> (848) 702-0774
>
> www.IanClark.com <http://www.ianclark.com/> >
> @UpperValleyPhotos
> <https://www.facebook.com/uppervalley.photos> Facebook
>
>
> Follow my blog: http://blog.ianclark.com <http://blog.ianclark.com/> >
> Or follow the antics of my doggies:
> https://www.facebook.com/Dexter.and.Romeo/ >
>
>
Date: 2/22/26 2:23 pm From: Ian Clark <ian...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Free nature - and more - slideshow Piermont March 1
The Piermont Library will be hosting me to present a slideshow of my favorite images from 2025. Lots of nature from around New England - including the loon families. In the fall I traveled to Alaska, British Columbia and the Yukon. Along the way I spent several days photographing brown bears and a steam locomotive on the White Pass & Yukon Route.
Sunday March 1 at 2 pm in the Old Church Building - across the street from the Library & fire station. Free and everyone welcome
Date: 2/17/26 6:22 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] 17 February 2026: Hurricane Hill (1,100 feet), WRJ
6:23 a.m. (twenty-two minutes before sunrise). Twenty-four degrees, wind
South-southeast three miles per hour, gusting to seven. Flurries, few and
far between, almost countable, at the mercy of the wind. (Catching one on
my tongue requires patience.) Uniformly gray, shapeless clouds, horizon to
horizon. Waiting, hopefully, for the dregs of night to dissipate, for the
sun to burn through. Morning awakens slowly, incrementally, haphazardly.
Circadian baby steps are noticeable to crows and nuthatches, which sing
lustily, but not to me. Then, a blood-orange bloom in the east, vibrant and
ephemeral. An atmospheric thought, quickly graying over. Blink, and it's
gone.
6:29 a.m. Lone crow headed west toward Deweys Pond, where, on
Valentine's Day, devoted eagles visited last year's nest, high in a white
pine.
6:37 a.m. Morning dove bolts from the density (and security) of a roadside
spruce, wings louder than voice.
6:41 a.m. While orange momentarily stains the eastern rim of the sky,
chickadee and titmouse sing.
6:48 a.m. Brown creeper singing in the pines, barely audible.
7:02 a.m. Raven, silent as falling snow, heads toward the sun, grazing the
treetops.
*Among the Others: *Cedar waxing, red-breasted and white-breasted
nuthatches, pine siskin, American goldfinch, dark-eyed junco,
red-shouldered hawk, first of the year (FOY), common grackle (FOY).
*Annals of a Successful Hunt: *Yesterday, mid-morning, the barred owl I've
taken to calling George, which, in reality, could be any barred owl of any
sex, perched on a horizontal maple branch fifteen feet above the ground,
fifteen feet from the corner of my deck, a gray-brown, striated, football
of a bird. Feathers fluffed against the cold. George slowly bobbed and
weaved, tilted his head slowly, and leaned into a sound beyond my range of
hearing. Up and down, a feathered triangulation. By now, I'm on the deck.
George couldn't have cared less.
Below the deck, across the narrow meadow, a red squirrel had left the
hemlocks and moved through a subnivian tunnel. The squirrel popped up once,
mid-meadow, a periscoping rusty head. The owl crouched, unfluffing his
feathers. Streamline and hungry. Then, the squirrel submerged and continued
along the tunnel. The owl launched, wide wings extended and bent. Barely
flapping. Tail slightly fanned—a low, silent glide, a sound-seeking
missile of a bird. Just under the branches of an azelea, the owl hit the
snow, feet first, wings stretched in front of his head as though delivering
a benediction.
The owl held his position for several minutes, head tucked to his feet. He
rose from the meadow, limp squirrel in talons, and flew about thirty feet
to the edge of the woods. Crash-landed by a hemlock sapling, wings extended
horizontally. Fussed with the squirrel several more times and flew up
into a hemlock. Above and below the owl, chickadees and titmice protested.
Goldfinches and juncos did not. Then, the owl disappeared into
the benevolence of hemlocks to breakfast in peace.
Date: 2/15/26 7:09 pm From: Ken Copenhaver <copenhvr...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Missisquoi NWR Bird Monitoring Walk
Please join us for our monthly bird monitoring walks on the refuge. Ken Copenhaver and Julie Filiberti lead the walks on various refuge trails on the 3rd Saturday of each month (except December and May when it is on the 2nd Saturday). The purpose of the walks is to gather long-term data on the presence of birds, their abundance, and changes in populations. Observations are entered into the Vermont eBird database where the Cornell Lab of Ornithology stores the data. These walks are appropriate for birders of all skill levels and provide a wonderful opportunity to learn about birds throughout the seasons. After 190 months of walks, we have recorded 167 species of birds.
This month's walk will be on *Saturday, February 21, from 8:00 to 10:00 AM a**t the Discovery Trail*. Meet at the Visitor Center parking lot on Tabor Rd.
*Trail Description**:* The trail is about one mile long and consists of grassy and gravel paths and long sections of boardwalk. It is mostly level except for a gradual incline near the parking lot.
*Trail Conditions:* The trail is currently snow-covered. Snowshoes are optional but not required since the trail is used frequently enough for the snow to be packed down. That being said, the trail could be slippery and spikes could be useful.
If you have any questions, contact me at <copenhvr...>
Date: 2/15/26 1:31 pm From: Sue Wetmore <000006207b3956ac-dmarc-request...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Fwd: Hearing aid
Sent from my iPod
Begin forwarded message:
> From: Sue Wetmore <iibirdvt...>
> Date: February 15, 2026 at 4:26:12 PM EST
> To: <vtbird...>
> Subject: Hearing aid
>
> I found an oticon hearing aid today along the road on Rt 74 in Shoreham.
> Contact me at my email:
> <iibirdvt...>
> Sue Wetmore
>
> Sent from my iPod
On Thursday, February 12, 2026 at 05:05:48 PM EST, Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> wrote:
Thanks so much for making this available, Rich and friends! This year’s event was lively and diverse and fascinating.
Maeve Kim
> On Feb 11, 2026, at 10:18 AM, Rich Kelley <rich...> wrote:
>
> Last week the Friends of Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge hosted their annual "Evening of Bird Tales" event. If you missed it, or want to re-watch, it's now available on the Friends YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ClDp0BA3dkc. This year's theme was winter birding.
>
> On behalf of the Friends of Missisquoi NWR, I want to extend our thanks to our presenters, several of whom are well known on this list.
Date: 2/14/26 1:31 pm From: Suzanne Fredericks <spfspf...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] H.758 rodenticides are poisoning birds of prey
done. thanks for making it so easy to send an email to all those who need to hear this.
suki fredericks
> On Feb 14, 2026, at 3:41 PM, Brenna <dbgaldenzi...> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> The Vermont Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and Forestry has
> agreed to hear testimony and vote on H.758, a bill to prohibit the sale and
> use of the most dangerous rodenticides in our state. Committee members need
> to hear from Vermonters now to know that there is strong public support for
> this bill.
>
> The data are clear: anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are impacting
> non-target wildlife. When rodents consume poisoned bait and exit the bait
> box, they are often eaten by other wildlife, including raptors, bobcats,
> and other animals. The same characteristics that make ARs lethal to rodents
> also poison wildlife, causing disease, prolonged suffering, and, too often,
> death.
>
> Species such as fisher and bobcat, generally elusive by nature and living
> in heavily forested areas away from people, are impacted by ARs. VT Fish &
> Wildlife Department (FWD)'s data
> <https://us.list-manage.com/KT_KYHkAIUj?e=7ba1951114&c2id=43663023f628fd92b474690d90612279> > collected
> between 2018-2024 confirms the presence of ARs in fisher (85-100% of
> samples tested in 2018-2024) and bobcat (70% in 2021 - 2025). Recently, FWD
> added otter to the species analyzed and again detected ARs in 12% of
> samples in 2024-2025. *It is noteworthy that each time FWD has expanded
> testing to include a new species, the presence of ARs is detected.* There
> is no safe level of poison in any animal.
>
> H.758 would prohibit ARs and other types of rodenticides, while still
> allowing limited use during legitimate agricultural, environmental, or
> public health emergencies. The bill also promotes safer, more effective
> approaches rooted in Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
> TAKE ACTION!
> Please call or email all members of the committee and urge them to support
> the rodenticide reform bill. Lawmakers are reviewing this legislation now,
> and hearing directly from constituents can make a critical difference.
> Rep. David Durfee (Chair): <ddurfee...>
> Rep. John L. Bartholomew (Vice Chair): <jbartholomew...>
> Rep. Richard Nelson (Ranking Member): <rnelson...>
> Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun: <mboslun...>
> Rep. Gregory “Greg” Burtt: <gburtt...>
> Rep. Jed Lipsky (Clerk): <jlipsky...>
> Rep. John O’Brien: <jobrien...>
>
> Simply cut & paste their email addresses below:
> <ddurfee...>, <gburtt...>, <jlipsky...>,
> <jbartholomew...>, <jobrien...>,
> <mboslun...>, <rnelson...>
> Every voice counts. Together, we can protect Vermont’s wildlife, pets,
> children, and communities from toxic rodenticides.
>
> For the wild,
> Brenna
>
> Brenna Galdenzi
> *President*
> *Protect Our Wildlife **POW *
>
> *A Vermont Non Profit Organization*
>
> *www.ProtectOurWildlifeVT.org <http://www.ProtectOurWildlifeVT.org>* >
>
> *Only if we understand can we care. Only if we care will we help. Only if
> we help shall they be saved.*
> ~Jane Goodall
Date: 2/14/26 12:42 pm From: Brenna <dbgaldenzi...> Subject: [VTBIRD] H.758 rodenticides are poisoning birds of prey
Hi all,
The Vermont Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and Forestry has
agreed to hear testimony and vote on H.758, a bill to prohibit the sale and
use of the most dangerous rodenticides in our state. Committee members need
to hear from Vermonters now to know that there is strong public support for
this bill.
The data are clear: anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are impacting
non-target wildlife. When rodents consume poisoned bait and exit the bait
box, they are often eaten by other wildlife, including raptors, bobcats,
and other animals. The same characteristics that make ARs lethal to rodents
also poison wildlife, causing disease, prolonged suffering, and, too often,
death.
Species such as fisher and bobcat, generally elusive by nature and living
in heavily forested areas away from people, are impacted by ARs. VT Fish &
Wildlife Department (FWD)'s data
<https://us.list-manage.com/KT_KYHkAIUj?e=7ba1951114&c2id=43663023f628fd92b474690d90612279> collected
between 2018-2024 confirms the presence of ARs in fisher (85-100% of
samples tested in 2018-2024) and bobcat (70% in 2021 - 2025). Recently, FWD
added otter to the species analyzed and again detected ARs in 12% of
samples in 2024-2025. *It is noteworthy that each time FWD has expanded
testing to include a new species, the presence of ARs is detected.* There
is no safe level of poison in any animal.
H.758 would prohibit ARs and other types of rodenticides, while still
allowing limited use during legitimate agricultural, environmental, or
public health emergencies. The bill also promotes safer, more effective
approaches rooted in Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
TAKE ACTION!
Please call or email all members of the committee and urge them to support
the rodenticide reform bill. Lawmakers are reviewing this legislation now,
and hearing directly from constituents can make a critical difference.
Rep. David Durfee (Chair): <ddurfee...>
Rep. John L. Bartholomew (Vice Chair): <jbartholomew...>
Rep. Richard Nelson (Ranking Member): <rnelson...>
Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun: <mboslun...>
Rep. Gregory “Greg” Burtt: <gburtt...>
Rep. Jed Lipsky (Clerk): <jlipsky...>
Rep. John O’Brien: <jobrien...>
Simply cut & paste their email addresses below:
<ddurfee...>, <gburtt...>, <jlipsky...>,
<jbartholomew...>, <jobrien...>,
<mboslun...>, <rnelson...>
Every voice counts. Together, we can protect Vermont’s wildlife, pets,
children, and communities from toxic rodenticides.
Date: 2/12/26 2:13 pm From: Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] An Evening of Bird Tales
Thanks so much for making this available, Rich and friends! This year’s event was lively and diverse and fascinating.
Maeve Kim
> On Feb 11, 2026, at 10:18 AM, Rich Kelley <rich...> wrote:
>
> Last week the Friends of Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge hosted their annual "Evening of Bird Tales" event. If you missed it, or want to re-watch, it's now available on the Friends YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ClDp0BA3dkc. This year's theme was winter birding.
>
> On behalf of the Friends of Missisquoi NWR, I want to extend our thanks to our presenters, several of whom are well known on this list.
Date: 2/12/26 12:04 pm From: turtlefeathers <turtlefeathers4...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] VTBIRD Digest - 8 Feb 2026 to 11 Feb 2026 (#2026-27)
An Evening of Bird Tales
Thanks to all involved for another great event!
Jo Anne Wazny
"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." M. L. King
On Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 12:00 AM VTBIRD automatic digest system < <LISTSERV...> wrote:
> There is 1 message totaling 17 lines in this issue. > > Topics of the day: > > 1. An Evening of Bird Tales > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2026 15:18:00 +0000 > From: Rich Kelley <rich...> > Subject: An Evening of Bird Tales > > Last week the Friends of Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge hosted their > annual "Evening of Bird Tales" event. If you missed it, or want to > re-watch, it's now available on the Friends YouTube channel: > https://youtu.be/ClDp0BA3dkc. This year's theme was winter birding. > > On behalf of the Friends of Missisquoi NWR, I want to extend our thanks to > our presenters, several of whom are well known on this list. > > ------------------------------ > > End of VTBIRD Digest - 8 Feb 2026 to 11 Feb 2026 (#2026-27) > *********************************************************** >
Date: 2/11/26 7:18 am From: Rich Kelley <rich...> Subject: [VTBIRD] An Evening of Bird Tales
Last week the Friends of Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge hosted their annual "Evening of Bird Tales" event. If you missed it, or want to re-watch, it's now available on the Friends YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ClDp0BA3dkc. This year's theme was winter birding.
On behalf of the Friends of Missisquoi NWR, I want to extend our thanks to our presenters, several of whom are well known on this list.
Date: 2/8/26 6:57 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] 08 February 2026: Hurricane Hill (1,100 feet), WRJ
6:38 a.m. (seventeen minutes before sunrise). -14 degrees. Wind,
North-northwest five miles per hour, gusting to nineteen. Trees converse,
creaking and moaning. A Pleistocene sunrise, a throwback to the Ice Age.
The half-moon, polished silver, shines in the clear west, scraping the
treeline. In the east, the sediments of night, muddied blue and gray, thin
as tissue. Then, morning cracks and the sun trims the dregs, emaciated
orange light spilling between the ribs of trees. I face the east, eyes wide
and tearing, and urge the sun ... like coaxing warmth out of the freezer.
Inside the woods, yesterday's three inches of snow outlines sheltered
trunks and branches. Outside the woods, along the road and in the meadow,
limbs scoured. In a tangle of blackberry vines, last summer's snow-capped
nest. Perhaps a catbird or a cardinal.
6:43 a.m. Below my deck, more than a dozen goldfinches emerge from the
shelter of a pair of northern white cedar—short, rounded, and densely
foliated—the benevolence of evergreen lollipops.
6:51 a.m. Chickadee calls. In less than half an hour, two others raise the
stakes and sing. A duet (for me). A duel (for them). Chickadees disputing
territory on the coldest morning of the year. Who listens beside me?
6:58 a.m. Titmouse sings, a truncated version of *Pe-ter, Pe-ter*—more
lite *Peet,
Peet.*
7:09 a.m. White-breasted nuthatch either calls or sings. To me, they sound
the same, but they certainly know the difference.
*Among the other birds*: downy woodpecker (feeding); pine grosbeak
(calling) from the far end of the meadow, where a few mummified apples
dangle from an tree; red-breasted nuthatch; blue jay (first I've heard in a
month) screams; and red crossbill (maybe two or three, I couldn't tell)
calling in flight—*gyp, gyp, gyp, gyp*.
Crossbills pressed for breakfast. Hurricane Hill's white pine cones are in
short supply this winter. Hemlock and spruce cones, maybe. But seeds are
tiny, and many are needed to keep their fires going.
*Among the missing*: crows and ravens, for morning all winter.
Date: 2/7/26 6:28 am From: Neil Buckley <bucklenj...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] [External] Re: [VTBIRD] question about ferry crossings and birds
The Grand Isle ferry dock has a little open water where there is a stream
flowing in to the right of where the cars line up. Yesterday, there were a
four or five common mergansers present, about 20 mallard, two or three
black duck and a male goldeneye.
Neil Buckley, Colchester
On Sat, Feb 7, 2026 at 7:30 AM Helen Ostermiller <hostermiller...>
wrote:
> "Due to ice accumulation in McNeils Cove in Charlotte Vermont, the
> Crossing is closed.” --Ferry website. The Charlotte Beach was iced over
> when I last looked a week or so ago.
>
> Helen Ostermiller
>
> > On Feb 7, 2026, at 7:19 AM, Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> wrote:
> >
> > Good morning, everyone - And another very wintry morning! - eBird
> doesn’t show many ducks at either the Charlotte or Grand Isle Ferry
> Landings. Has anyone taken the ferry over and back recently? Are many ducks
> using the open path, now that so much of the lake is frozen?
> > Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
>
--
Dr. Neil Buckley, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Associate Dean, School of Arts and Sciences
Professor of Biology
101D Ward Hall
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
518 564 3150
[image: image.png]
Date: 2/7/26 4:33 am From: Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] question about ferry crossings and birds
Thanks, Helen!
Maeve
> On Feb 7, 2026, at 7:30 AM, Helen Ostermiller <hostermiller...> wrote:
>
> "Due to ice accumulation in McNeils Cove in Charlotte Vermont, the Crossing is closed.” --Ferry website. The Charlotte Beach was iced over when I last looked a week or so ago.
>
> Helen Ostermiller
>
>> On Feb 7, 2026, at 7:19 AM, Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> wrote:
>>
>> Good morning, everyone - And another very wintry morning! - eBird doesn’t show many ducks at either the Charlotte or Grand Isle Ferry Landings. Has anyone taken the ferry over and back recently? Are many ducks using the open path, now that so much of the lake is frozen?
>> Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
Date: 2/7/26 4:30 am From: Helen Ostermiller <hostermiller...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] question about ferry crossings and birds
"Due to ice accumulation in McNeils Cove in Charlotte Vermont, the Crossing is closed.” --Ferry website. The Charlotte Beach was iced over when I last looked a week or so ago.
Helen Ostermiller
> On Feb 7, 2026, at 7:19 AM, Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> wrote:
>
> Good morning, everyone - And another very wintry morning! - eBird doesn’t show many ducks at either the Charlotte or Grand Isle Ferry Landings. Has anyone taken the ferry over and back recently? Are many ducks using the open path, now that so much of the lake is frozen?
> Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
Date: 2/7/26 4:19 am From: Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> Subject: [VTBIRD] question about ferry crossings and birds
Good morning, everyone - And another very wintry morning! - eBird doesn’t show many ducks at either the Charlotte or Grand Isle Ferry Landings. Has anyone taken the ferry over and back recently? Are many ducks using the open path, now that so much of the lake is frozen?
Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
Date: 2/5/26 11:03 am From: Terry Marron <00000d129fea9673-dmarc-request...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Bohemian waxwings
Just saw 150 Bohemian waxwings in Williston on South Rd just past the Siple Farm heading towards Mud Pond. A few cedar waxwings too according to Merlin. Maybe these are the same birds Ali saw last week.
Unfortunately they are eating buckthorn berries.
Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2/4/26 6:41 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] 04 February 2026: Hurricane Hill (1,100 feet), WRJ
6:42 a.m. (twenty minutes before sunrise). Fourteen (balmy) degrees, beyond
the cold wall of unforgiving weather. Wind West-southwest three miles per
hour, gusting to six. Flurries, an anemic of snowfall, microflakes,
drifting like dust, aimless and arbitrary. On again. Off again. In the
east, a subtle haze, purple grades to peach, then to pewter. In the west,
the waning moon slides behind a thin screen of clouds.
6:50 a.m.: A fuss of goldfinches emerges from roadside spruce and backyard
cedar. Noisy.
6:57 a.m.: Chickadees singing, first one, then another. I stand in the
middle of a stereophonic echo, saluting the *new *day. For years, the
merlin had been my totem. Now, gliding through my seventies, I hitch my
star to chickadees, the solemn glory of birds that sing in winter, that
remind me that the days are getting longer and brighter (if not warmer). I
embrace the moment, pedestrian as a snowflake, but a gift (nonetheless)
that gives morning after morning—the impregnable voice of a bird that
weighs no more than a Number-2 pencil. I embrace chickadees, emblems of
Ansel Adams' Zone System: black, white, and middle-tone gray. In their
case, *ordinary* and *plain* are synonymous with joyous. They've got my
attention. My devotion.
7:06 a.m.: two crows, one half-hearted *caw*. Headed northwest.
A smattering of white-breasted nuthatches calling out of sight from behind
the dark, green veil.
Doves scramble across the morning, wings conversing.
*Department of Presumed Intent: *Yesterday, mid-afternoon, deep snow lured
a barred owl into the maple behind my deck. Perched on a horizontal limb,
eyes closed. Brownish gray and football-shaped. Luxuriating in sunlight.
Below the deck is a thoroughfare where red squirrels cross the meadow,
porpoising through two feet of powder or navigating tunnels below the
surface. Now and again, a squirrel pops up, a reddish Jack-in-the-Box in
unblemished white. I imagine, tuned to the squirrels, the owl had launched,
wings arced, gliding like a shadow, then plunged—punctuations on the
surface and feather prints where the great wings had slapped. I'd give
short odds that the owl, gorged on squirrel, was digesting in sunlight,
then slipped into an afternoon nap ... I can relate.
