Date: 4/13/26 10:47 am From: Toni Mikula <wldlfgrl...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Vermont Center for Ecostudies seeks help for whippoorwill study
From VCE:
We’re looking to connect with landowners who have *regularly heard
whip-poor-wills on their property in recent years* and are willing to host
a recording unit from *mid-May through mid-August, 2026*.
The devices only record audio and are:
· small and weatherproof
· easy to deploy (just strap to a tree)
· no maintenance required
We’ll ship everything needed (or drop it off), and cover return shipping.
Landowners don’t need to collect data or manage the device—just host it on
a tree where Whip-poor-wills can be heard.
We’re hoping to identify ~12 host sites for this summer’s pilot, with
additional interested landowners considered for future years when we hope
to expand this project.
Date: 4/11/26 6:06 am From: Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> Subject: [VTBIRD] spring birding in Addison area
I just got back from three days of total birding immersion (a birthday gift from wonderful Bernie, who got me two nights at the Strong House in Vergennes). Spring is bursting out in that area. Tulips are many inches tall, daffodils are blooming, and bird noise is everywhere. It’s hard to choose highlights, but I loved seeing Northern Shovelers in several places, I was startled and delighted by a Virginia Rail at Bristol Pond, there were two Pied-billed Grebes at Ft. Cassin, and Ring-necked Ducks were everywhere. Here’s the trip report: https://ebird.org/tripreport/499190 Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
Date: 4/11/26 4:53 am 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 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 192 months of walks, we have recorded 169 species of birds.
This month's walk will be on *Saturday, April 18, from 8:00 to 10:00 AM a**t the Old Railroad Passage Trail*. Meet at the parking lot on Tabor Rd, about 1 mile south of the Refuge.
*Trail Description**:* The walk starts at a gravel parking lot and proceeds on a grassy path to the old railroad bed. From here the trail is level except for a short section that loops away from the rail bed, up a short rise (where there is a bench at the top), and back down again to the rail bed. The remainder of the trail is level, but the trail surface is uneven and has exposed tree roots. If we go the whole way to the end of the trail, the distance out and back is about 2.4 miles.
*Trail Conditions:* Since the trail will likely be wet in places, waterproof boots or hiking shoes are advised.
If you have any questions, contact me at <copenhvr...>
Date: 4/10/26 6:27 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] 10 April 2026: Hurricane Hill (1,100 feet), WRJ
5:50 a.m. (twenty-four minutes before sunrise). Thirty-three degrees. Wind
out of the south-southeast at three miles per hour, gusting to eight. A
brilliant half-moon hangs low in the southeast, a fading tribute to the
imaginary cusp between night and day, between winter and spring. Here for a
moment—a silver half coin—then …
A line of purplish clouds gathers behind the New Hampshire hills. Then
brushstrokes of color—rose and tangerine—cross an otherwise immaculate sky.
An impeccable morning—feels like spring, looks like spring, sounds like
spring.
Red maple buds are swollen and about to open, a red haze along the edge of
somber woods. Within the hemlock shadows, a hermit thrush harmonizes with
himself—the richest, most ethereal voice, the promise of an April morning.
In a grove on the hillside, a stream bound for the White River purls. I
pause and listen and listen and listen to the thrush and to the wash of
water. What else can I do in the immensity of a new day? Thrush and stream,
bird and water, in agreement with the calendar. The sweet spot of sunrise.
The sky brightens, lumen by lumen.
A crow in the crown of a roadside maple supervises the sun. Black feathers
glisten in vestal light. It looks down at me and caws, following me with
its eyes, head slightly turning. Never stops staring. Never stops cawing.
Dark bird with a bright agenda. It keeps calling long after I pass.
At the top of the hill, in the northeast corner of the pond, off the
southeast side of the road, masses of wood frog eggs litter the shallows—a
hundred clusters, maybe more. Thousands upon thousands of dark embryos,
dots in amorphous, water-swollen jelly sacs, tiny solar collectors
entrusted with the next generation. Last evening, the frogs chorused. Now
they lie buried under a blanket of drowned leaves, reticent as rock,
waiting for the day to warm—for March to turn to April again.
*Vernal ensemble, thirty-one species: *pileated, delirious laughter; hairy
woodpecker; yellow-bellied sapsucker, arrhythmic, unbalanced drumming;
phoebe*, *calling from the corners of every off-road outbuilding; robins,
everywhere and noisy; hermit thrush, one bird, one song from the shadow
where the owl hides; bluebird; blue jay; crow; raven, proclaiming; mourning
doves; blue jays; white-breasted and red-breasted nuthatches; chickadees,
always cheerful (they have a lot to be cheerful about—it's a five-star
morning); tufted titmice; red-winged blackbirds; cowbirds; Carolina wren,
ever so loud for a tiny bird; brown creeper; golden-crowned kinglet; purple
finches, flame-colored voices; house finches, not so bright, not so
musical; song sparrow; white-throated sparrow (truncated song); fox
sparrows, like Mr. Natural, just passing through; cardinal; goldfinches,
clouds of awakening yellow—aerial dandelions; pine siskins; juncos,
trilling (nothing to confuse them with…yet); cedar waxwings, whispering in
the aspens.
Date: 4/7/26 11:31 am From: Kent McFarland <kmcfarland...> Subject: [VTBIRD] The 2025 eBird Vermont Awardees!
Many birders strive for the eBird Vermont County 150 Award and some even go for the Vermont 250 Award. Who joined the ranks in 2025? Check out this blog post at eBird Vermont and find out!
Congrats to everyone for a great year of eBirding, the 23rd year for our portal! One of the goals for starting eBird Vermont was to see if we could detect population changes in Vermont using all the bird observations we all collected each year. The answer decades later is yes! It is unbelievable to be able to look at these trends, and spatial to boot! If you have not played with it, check it out here - https://science.ebird .org/en/status-and-trends/species?regionCode=US-VT. And then you can navigate to a species. like our state bird...which...isn't doing so well... https://science.ebird .org/en/status-and-trends/species/herthr/trends-map?regionCode=USA-VT.
Finally, don't forget to add breeding bird codes to your checklists too! Learn more about that at the eBird Vermont Blog - https://ebird.org/region/US-VT/posts
Thanks for eBirding, Kent ____________________________
Kent McFarland (he/him) Vermont Center for Ecostudies PO Box 420 | Norwich, Vermont 05055
Date: 4/5/26 1:23 pm From: John Snell <jrsnelljr...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Turkey vultures in Montpelier
A kettle of a dozen Turkey vultures returned to Montpelier about two weeks ago using the same roosting area they have used for about thirty years. Yesterday, however, at dusk, a much larger group, probably 75, came to town, circling and presumably landing in the same roost. Perhaps they are migrants passing through? It was a surprising sight!
Date: 4/5/26 11:36 am From: Barbara Powers <barkiepvt...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Saw Whet Owl
Sent from my iPad
Begin forwarded message:
> The owl was calling in the field outside my house last tonight at 11:30.
> Barbara Powers
> Manchester Center
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
Date: 4/2/26 11:43 am From: Peterson, Bruce <00000eb693714f81-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] ALDER FLYCTCHER
Sorry. I’ve complained about this myself. Now I’m guilty. We’re in Middlebury, behind Hannaford. For what it’s worth I have NOT heard the Alder today. It may well have stopped in and continued on to wherever it was going. Bruce Peterson
From: Vermont Birds <VTBIRD...> on behalf of Eugenia Cooke <euge24241...>
Date: Thursday, April 2, 2026 at 12:53 PM
To: <VTBIRD...> <VTBIRD...>
Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] ALDER FLYCTCHER
What town are you in?
On Thu, Apr 2, 2026, 12:45 PM Peterson, Bruce <
<00000eb693714f81-dmarc-request...> wrote:
> Actually yesterday. Not April fool. Singing heroically in the small
> marsh behind our house. Bruce Peterson
>
Date: 4/1/26 3:47 pm From: Kate Olgiati <2grackle...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] It isn't a bird, but...
Thank you, John. I will check that out!
On Wed, Apr 1, 2026 at 5:57 PM John Snell <jrsnelljr...> wrote:
> From iNaturalist there are several postings on Union Village Road.
>
> > On Apr 1, 2026, at 5:45 PM, Kate Olgiati <2grackle...> wrote:
> >
> > Dear colleagues,
> > Does anyone know a reliable spot in Windsor County for Skunk Cabbage?
> > I don't want to dig it up, just sketch it.
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Kate.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Katherine Olgiati
>
Date: 4/1/26 2:57 pm From: John Snell <jrsnelljr...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] It isn't a bird, but...
From iNaturalist there are several postings on Union Village Road.
> On Apr 1, 2026, at 5:45 PM, Kate Olgiati <2grackle...> wrote:
>
> Dear colleagues,
> Does anyone know a reliable spot in Windsor County for Skunk Cabbage?
> I don't want to dig it up, just sketch it.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Kate.
>
>
>
>
> --
> Katherine Olgiati
Date: 3/31/26 7:44 am From: FlyAway Birding <flyawaybirding...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Plum Island birding trip with FAB in May
Hi folks, I hope you're all enjoying the start of spring and the arrival of blackbirds, grackles, woodcock, Osprey and Killdeer! So great to hear bird song again.
If you're excited for spring migration, you might want to check out our weekend trip in May to Plum Island in Massachusetts, one of New England's most famous migration hotspots! The island's Parker River NWR has sandy beaches, wetlands, and thickets, making it the perfect spot for shorebirds, waders, and 20+ species of migrating warblers.
Date: 3/30/26 3:40 pm From: Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> Subject: [VTBIRD] make your yard part of VT's natural habitats
Join us for a free program this Thursday at 1:30 PM at the Richmond Library: Yards That Sing, and Buzz, and Bloom! How to Make Your Yard Part of Vermont’s Natural Habitats. For many people, our yards are as personal as our living rooms. They can be havens, private and secluded sanctuaries, places to meet with friends and enjoy the quiet of a summer afternoon. But yards can be even more! They can be an important part of habitat in the state, helping to support a healthy, vibrant and diverse ecosystem. You’ll learn many ways to brighten your back, front and side yards so they attract more and more beautiful birds and more of our state’s all-important pollinators. Lots of beautiful photos!
Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
Date: 3/30/26 6:07 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] 30 March 2026: Hurricane Hill (1,100 feet), WRJ
6:23 a.m. (eleven minutes before sunrise). Thirty-nine degrees, wind from
the south at four miles per hour, gusting to eleven. A lone, ambitious, and
steadfast robin in a maple beyond the outbuildings sings without pause,
eyeing the shed shelves and the idle dog pen, where disheveled nests mark
time like old calendars. A relentless serenade with the sun still well
below the New Hampshire skyline. No other robins sing, though a few call
from the edge of the hemlocks, sharp and repetitious, stuck in the shadows,
waiting for their chance.
The sky is an overcast, untextured blue-gray, slowly brightening. Baby
steps. A faint pink in the east is swallowed back into the colorless seam
between night and day. Squandered. The sun arrives without announcement.
Knuckles of maple buds swell—a kind of seasonal arthritis—rounder, fuller
with each passing day.
6:34 a.m. A crow flies southeast, laboring into the wind—a slow-motion
journey above a landscape just waking up.
6:36 a.m. A song sparrow in a tangle of briers stands boldly upright, bill
to the sky, calling ... *tick, tick, tick*. Just slow enough not to become
a trill.
The sunrise gangs of crows have scattered. Couples slip out of last week's
crowds. One pair calls and chases, filling the air with devotion, then
lands on a limb facing each other. Another, a cockamamie pest, harries
the couple, calling, chasing, landing on nearby limbs, until finally,
perspective reset, he's chased away.
6:55 a.m. Mid-meadow maple. Bell-toned notes of a blue jay ring out, its
head thrown back, crest erect.
*A Constellation of Birds: *a male northern cardinal, an ornament in a
grapevine; American tree sparrow; black-capped chickadee (of course);
tufted titmouse (also, of course); winter wren, a tireless singer;
golden-crowned kinglet (an ornithological hearing test); red- and
white-breasted nuthatches; pine siskin; American goldfinch (a cloud);
common raven, wings flat, sailing the firmament; downy woodpecker drumming
like impatient fingers on my desk.
Date: 3/30/26 5:18 am From: Kate Olgiati <2grackle...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Robins! In the Upper Valley
Yesterday afternoon on the way to Newbury from Barnard we spotted hundreds (thousands?) of robins in fields, pastures and lawns. They are on the move. -- Katherine Olgiati Dory Rice
First heard woodcock in Milton 1 week ago. Tonight, "peenting" and doing
flight display! So cool!!
Liz Alton and Milton, VT
On Sun, Mar 29, 2026 at 3:51 PM boydenvl <boydenvl...> wrote:
> Almost stepped on one in the back of our field in Marlboro on
> Friday.Pieter van Loon Marlboro, VT
> -------- Original message --------From: Charlie Teske <
> <cteske140...> Date: 3/29/26 10:58 AM (GMT-05:00) To:
> <VTBIRD...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] woodcock Had one in Hyde Park
> also.On Sun, 29 Mar 2026 10:22:33 -0400, Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...>
> wrote:Performing last night in No. Pomfret.
--
Liz Alton:
"Keep a green tree in your heart; perhaps a singing bird will come."
A month ago Connecticut Audubon presented a program about Osprey focused on the poor nesting success in Chesapeake Bay in 2025 (down 80%) and Connecticut (down 50%). The decreased nesting success in the Bay might be attributed to the lack of forage fish (menhaden). The chicks starved in other words. In Connecticut there might have been food shortages coupled with unfavorable weather conditions. I looked at Vermont's data in VT eBird and saw no discernible pattern of population increase or decline. However, although the recovery of Osprey in Vermont has been robust, it is fragile. I encourage all Vermont birders to keep a close eye on Ospreys as they return to Vermont in April. In particular, I encourage birders to monitor nests and enter the results of breeding success or not into VT eBird. Bruce MacPhersonSouth Burlington, VT
Almost stepped on one in the back of our field in Marlboro on Friday.Pieter van Loon Marlboro, VT -------- Original message --------From: Charlie Teske <cteske140...> Date: 3/29/26 10:58 AM (GMT-05:00) To: <VTBIRD...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] woodcock Had one in Hyde Park also.On Sun, 29 Mar 2026 10:22:33 -0400, Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> wrote:Performing last night in No. Pomfret.
Date: 3/28/26 12:01 pm From: Veer Frost <0000038039fb4cf6-dmarc-request...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Advice re Upper Valley thrush-finding?
Hi, I am hoping to find a reliable UV spot for hearing Hermit thrush song... limitations on driving so not too bushwhack-y (of course those are best!).Thank you! Veer FrostBellows Falls
Thanks for the reminder Ruth, I saw a bat on Wed n.ear the E Dorset Store around 2:PM. I thought I was seeing things ..
On Friday, March 27, 2026 at 04:46:05 PM EDT, R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> wrote:
I have seen at least a half dozen bats flying around my house and Morse
Hill Rd. today despite the temperatures being in the 30s. The sun is
shining, though. I live just below the Mt Aeolus hibernaculum/bat cave.
Does anyone have information about who would care about these sightings or
to whom I should report them?
Date: 3/27/26 3:24 pm From: R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Bats not birds...
There are 3 right now, 6:22pm at 23 deg that are flying around the louvred
vent at the west end of my house. Burr.....
On Fri, Mar 27, 2026 at 6:15 PM A Calfee <vtforestman...> wrote:
> Hi Ruth.
>
> Alyssa Bennet at VTF and W would be interested.
>
> Contact: Essex Office, 802-353-4818, <alyssa.bennett...>
>
> Alan
>
> On Fri, Mar 27, 2026, 12:05 PM R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> wrote:
>
> > Thanks, Tim. i-Nat sometimes is not much help if there is no photo.....
> > which there is not. ruth
> >
> > On Fri, Mar 27, 2026 at 5:45 PM John Snell <jrsnelljr...> wrote:
> >
> > > Yes, definitely report the sightings on iNaturalist. It is easy and
> > > important.
> > >
> > >
> > > > On Mar 27, 2026, at 4:59 PM, Tim Holland <timothyholland...>
> > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Hi Ruth,
> > > >
> > > > I don't know about bat research specifically in the area, so perhaps
> > > > someone will weigh in who does. But in general, I think the default
> for
> > > > non-bird nature observations is to submit them to iNaturalist (A
> > > Community
> > > > for Naturalists · iNaturalist <https://www.inaturalist.org/>). I
> think
> > > many
> > > > researchers who are interested in collecting citizen-science data
> will
> > > keep
> > > > an eye on iNat observations - and in many cases there are projects
> > within
> > > > iNaturalist that you can add observations to.
> > > >
> > > > But again, I'm just saying this as a general point, so please anybody
> > > with
> > > > more specific info, let us know.
> > > >
> > > > Best,
> > > > Tim
> > > >
> > > > On Fri, 27 Mar 2026 at 16:46, R Stewart <2cnewbirds...>
> wrote:
> > > >
> > > >> I have seen at least a half dozen bats flying around my house and
> > Morse
> > > >> Hill Rd. today despite the temperatures being in the 30s. The sun is
> > > >> shining, though. I live just below the Mt Aeolus hibernaculum/bat
> > cave.
> > > >> Does anyone have information about who would care about these
> > sightings
> > > or
> > > >> to whom I should report them?
> > > >>
> > > >> FOY - Fox Sparrow here today too.
> > > >>
> > > >> --
> > > >> Ruth Stewart
> > > >> E. Dorset VT
> > > >>
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Tim Holland
> > > > 510-847-9891
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Ruth Stewart
> > E. Dorset VT
> >
>
Date: 3/27/26 3:21 pm From: Ron Payne <rpayne72...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Bats not birds...
Alyssa Bennett, the Small Mammals Biologist at Vermont Fish & Wildlife would probably be interested in hearing this report. Her email is: <alyssa.bennett...>
--
Ron Payne
Middlebury, VT
On Fri, 27 Mar 2026 16:45:45 -0400, R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> wrote:
I have seen at least a half dozen bats flying around my house and Morse
Hill Rd. today despite the temperatures being in the 30s. The sun is
shining, though. I live just below the Mt Aeolus hibernaculum/bat cave.
Does anyone have information about who would care about these sightings or
to whom I should report them?
On Fri, Mar 27, 2026, 12:05 PM R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> wrote:
> Thanks, Tim. i-Nat sometimes is not much help if there is no photo.....
> which there is not. ruth
>
> On Fri, Mar 27, 2026 at 5:45 PM John Snell <jrsnelljr...> wrote:
>
> > Yes, definitely report the sightings on iNaturalist. It is easy and
> > important.
> >
> >
> > > On Mar 27, 2026, at 4:59 PM, Tim Holland <timothyholland...>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi Ruth,
> > >
> > > I don't know about bat research specifically in the area, so perhaps
> > > someone will weigh in who does. But in general, I think the default for
> > > non-bird nature observations is to submit them to iNaturalist (A
> > Community
> > > for Naturalists · iNaturalist <https://www.inaturalist.org/>). I think
> > many
> > > researchers who are interested in collecting citizen-science data will
> > keep
> > > an eye on iNat observations - and in many cases there are projects
> within
> > > iNaturalist that you can add observations to.
> > >
> > > But again, I'm just saying this as a general point, so please anybody
> > with
> > > more specific info, let us know.
> > >
> > > Best,
> > > Tim
> > >
> > > On Fri, 27 Mar 2026 at 16:46, R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> wrote:
> > >
> > >> I have seen at least a half dozen bats flying around my house and
> Morse
> > >> Hill Rd. today despite the temperatures being in the 30s. The sun is
> > >> shining, though. I live just below the Mt Aeolus hibernaculum/bat
> cave.
> > >> Does anyone have information about who would care about these
> sightings
> > or
> > >> to whom I should report them?
> > >>
> > >> FOY - Fox Sparrow here today too.
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >> Ruth Stewart
> > >> E. Dorset VT
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Tim Holland
> > > 510-847-9891
> >
>
>
> --
> Ruth Stewart
> E. Dorset VT
>
Date: 3/27/26 3:05 pm From: R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Bats not birds...
Thanks, Tim. i-Nat sometimes is not much help if there is no photo.....
which there is not. ruth
On Fri, Mar 27, 2026 at 5:45 PM John Snell <jrsnelljr...> wrote:
> Yes, definitely report the sightings on iNaturalist. It is easy and
> important.
>
>
> > On Mar 27, 2026, at 4:59 PM, Tim Holland <timothyholland...>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Ruth,
> >
> > I don't know about bat research specifically in the area, so perhaps
> > someone will weigh in who does. But in general, I think the default for
> > non-bird nature observations is to submit them to iNaturalist (A
> Community
> > for Naturalists · iNaturalist <https://www.inaturalist.org/>). I think
> many
> > researchers who are interested in collecting citizen-science data will
> keep
> > an eye on iNat observations - and in many cases there are projects within
> > iNaturalist that you can add observations to.
> >
> > But again, I'm just saying this as a general point, so please anybody
> with
> > more specific info, let us know.
> >
> > Best,
> > Tim
> >
> > On Fri, 27 Mar 2026 at 16:46, R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> wrote:
> >
> >> I have seen at least a half dozen bats flying around my house and Morse
> >> Hill Rd. today despite the temperatures being in the 30s. The sun is
> >> shining, though. I live just below the Mt Aeolus hibernaculum/bat cave.
> >> Does anyone have information about who would care about these sightings
> or
> >> to whom I should report them?
> >>
> >> FOY - Fox Sparrow here today too.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Ruth Stewart
> >> E. Dorset VT
> >>
> >
> >
> > --
> > Tim Holland
> > 510-847-9891
>
Date: 3/27/26 2:45 pm From: John Snell <jrsnelljr...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Bats not birds...
Yes, definitely report the sightings on iNaturalist. It is easy and important.
> On Mar 27, 2026, at 4:59 PM, Tim Holland <timothyholland...> wrote:
>
> Hi Ruth,
>
> I don't know about bat research specifically in the area, so perhaps
> someone will weigh in who does. But in general, I think the default for
> non-bird nature observations is to submit them to iNaturalist (A Community
> for Naturalists · iNaturalist <https://www.inaturalist.org/>). I think many
> researchers who are interested in collecting citizen-science data will keep
> an eye on iNat observations - and in many cases there are projects within
> iNaturalist that you can add observations to.
>
> But again, I'm just saying this as a general point, so please anybody with
> more specific info, let us know.
>
> Best,
> Tim
>
> On Fri, 27 Mar 2026 at 16:46, R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> wrote:
>
>> I have seen at least a half dozen bats flying around my house and Morse
>> Hill Rd. today despite the temperatures being in the 30s. The sun is
>> shining, though. I live just below the Mt Aeolus hibernaculum/bat cave.
>> Does anyone have information about who would care about these sightings or
>> to whom I should report them?
>>
>> FOY - Fox Sparrow here today too.
>>
>> --
>> Ruth Stewart
>> E. Dorset VT
>>
>
>
> --
> Tim Holland
> 510-847-9891
Date: 3/27/26 1:59 pm From: Tim Holland <timothyholland...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Bats not birds...
Hi Ruth,
I don't know about bat research specifically in the area, so perhaps
someone will weigh in who does. But in general, I think the default for
non-bird nature observations is to submit them to iNaturalist (A Community
for Naturalists · iNaturalist <https://www.inaturalist.org/>). I think many
researchers who are interested in collecting citizen-science data will keep
an eye on iNat observations - and in many cases there are projects within
iNaturalist that you can add observations to.
But again, I'm just saying this as a general point, so please anybody with
more specific info, let us know.
Best,
Tim
On Fri, 27 Mar 2026 at 16:46, R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> wrote:
> I have seen at least a half dozen bats flying around my house and Morse
> Hill Rd. today despite the temperatures being in the 30s. The sun is
> shining, though. I live just below the Mt Aeolus hibernaculum/bat cave.
> Does anyone have information about who would care about these sightings or
> to whom I should report them?
>
> FOY - Fox Sparrow here today too.
>
> --
> Ruth Stewart
> E. Dorset VT
>
Date: 3/27/26 1:46 pm From: R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Bats not birds...
I have seen at least a half dozen bats flying around my house and Morse Hill Rd. today despite the temperatures being in the 30s. The sun is shining, though. I live just below the Mt Aeolus hibernaculum/bat cave. Does anyone have information about who would care about these sightings or to whom I should report them?
Date: 3/26/26 5:56 am From: kfinch <kfinch51...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Spring birds
FoYs at our Chester home this morning: American Kestrel, and 4 Hooded Mergansers (2M, 2F) on our little quarter-acre pond -- despite it being only about 15% ice-free.  Ken Finch
Date: 3/25/26 8:54 am From: Kate Olgiati <2grackle...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Searching for waterfowl to sketch
Thank you, Roy! An expedition awaits.
K
On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 11:47 AM Roy Pilcher <
<00000022ffe6db53-dmarc-request...> wrote:
> Lake Pineo, Quechee.Cheers, Roy Polcher
> On Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 09:29:22 AM EDT, Kate Olgiati <
> <2grackle...> wrote:
>
> Dear fellow birders,
>
> It has been a long winter, and we are anxious to get outside and see some
> waterfowl. Ice is beginning to go out. Does anyone have a suggestion in
> the Barnard/Woodstock area?
>
> Thanks!
>
> --
> Katherine Olgiati
>
>
Date: 3/25/26 8:47 am From: Roy Pilcher <00000022ffe6db53-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Searching for waterfowl to sketch
Lake Pineo, Quechee.Cheers, Roy Polcher
On Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 09:29:22 AM EDT, Kate Olgiati <2grackle...> wrote:
Dear fellow birders,
 It has been a long winter, and we are anxious to get outside and see some
waterfowl. Ice is beginning to go out. Does anyone have a suggestion in
the Barnard/Woodstock area?
Date: 3/25/26 8:43 am From: Kate Olgiati <2grackle...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Searching for waterfowl to sketch
Thanks, Ted, we're on it!
On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 11:20 AM Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> wrote:
> Kate, there are hooded and common mergansers on the bend in the
> Ottauquechee River, just below the Deweys Pond pullout, off the Quechee
> Road across from Mrshland Farms.
>
> Ted
>
> On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 9:29 AM Kate Olgiati <2grackle...> wrote:
>
> > Dear fellow birders,
> >
> > It has been a long winter, and we are anxious to get outside and see
> some
> > waterfowl. Ice is beginning to go out. Does anyone have a suggestion
> in
> > the Barnard/Woodstock area?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > --
> > Katherine Olgiati
> >
>
Date: 3/25/26 8:21 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Searching for waterfowl to sketch
Kate, there are hooded and common mergansers on the bend in the
Ottauquechee River, just below the Deweys Pond pullout, off the Quechee
Road across from Mrshland Farms.
Ted
On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 9:29 AM Kate Olgiati <2grackle...> wrote:
> Dear fellow birders,
>
> It has been a long winter, and we are anxious to get outside and see some
> waterfowl. Ice is beginning to go out. Does anyone have a suggestion in
> the Barnard/Woodstock area?
>
> Thanks!
>
> --
> Katherine Olgiati
>
Date: 3/25/26 6:29 am From: Kate Olgiati <2grackle...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Searching for waterfowl to sketch
Dear fellow birders,
It has been a long winter, and we are anxious to get outside and see some waterfowl. Ice is beginning to go out. Does anyone have a suggestion in the Barnard/Woodstock area?
Date: 3/24/26 5:44 am From: Charlie La Rosa <charlie.larosa...> Subject: [VTBIRD] siskins, geese
The evening grosbeaks continue to come several times a day here. About 25.
Last week, I noticed a single siskin mixed in with the daily large flock of goldfinches. Over the weekend, there was a small group of siskins. Now the number has grown to nearly equal the number of goldfinches. Twenty on average.
Yesterday on the White River, not far downstream from So. Royalton, there was a large group of Canada geese, probably 1000. Later in the day, the number had dwindled considerably.
Also encountered six red-tails over the course of the day.
A sharp-shinned hawk dismembered a chickadee in the apple tree while a second chickadee remained stone still while hunkered down in a tray feeder and watched the demise of his buddy from only a few feet away.
Other than that, it's been the usual suspects plus a brown creeper. The tom turkeys are taking on their breeding colors. Spring must be getting closer.
Charlie LaRosa So. Washington
If the law is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then I say, break the law. - *Henry David Thoreau*
Date: 3/23/26 6:25 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] 23 March 2026: Hurricane Hill (1,100 feet), WRJ
6:31 a.m. Sixteen minutes before sunrise. Twenty-six degrees, wind south at
five miles per hour, gusting eleven. Flurries, river fog: erasing Hurricane
Hill, smudging the New Hampshire skyline, curtaining the borderland along
the White River—Jericho and Dothan hills, ghosted. Flurries fatten into
squalls of tiny, stinging flakes. They cling to trunks and limbs. They burn
my eyes.
6:38 a.m. A robin calls from the hemlocks, a crow answers from the sky.
6:45 a.m. Chickadee, titmouse, the first rough edges of song.
*On the Road to Obscurity*: white-breasted nuthatch hitching along the
maple’s trunk; pine siskin drifting with goldfinches; purple finch, a
sudden liquid warble from nowhere; dark-eyed juncos trilling (such an
obvious song when pine warblers and chipping sparrows aren’t around); a
lone pine grosbeak—heard, not seen—descending whistle threading the
meadow’s rim.
7:29 a.m. A garbage truck slews sideways across the road, damming morning
traffic: a boy headed to high school, a woman bound for work. The boy
snakes his pickup around the truck (barely). The woman waits out the delay,
patient for the sand truck. Robins, in chorus, oversee the snarl. Two
crows, too proud to gawk and already above the treetops, angle northwest,
reading snow, wind, and an ambiguous horizon.
*Eagle Cam, a Sign of the Twenty-first Century:* I visited the
Ottauquechee eagles yesterday afternoon. One sat in the white pine nest,
cackling, feathers darkened by rain. Two Canada geese stood on the ice of
Dewey’s Pond, honking. Five common mergansers and seven hooded mergansers
loitered around a bend in the river, beyond the eagle nest. Song sparrows
and robins flitted back and forth across the trail, landed, then scratched
through soggy leaves.
Cold rain, and when I’d had enough, I drove two miles home and turned on
the VINS eagle cam—now my screen saver.
Two views to choose from: looking west toward the river, or east toward the
still iced-over pond. I left the sound on. My office filled with honking
(geese) and cackling (eagles).
The image of the bird in the nest, contour feathers matted by rain, was
bright and tack-sharp. She, or he—I need them side by side to know who’s
who—rose, fussed with the egg (there did not appear to be two), then
settled down again to incubate. Off-camera, her (his) mate called. She (he)
answered.
Colors draining with the gathering twilight, the cam slipped to
black-and-white. Still, details stayed sharp in the infra-red light. I
watched the changing of the guard: one bird replacing another on the nest.
5:27 a.m. I turned on the computer and watched an eagle, bill tucked under
wing, sleeping, snow on its back. Peaceful, like every songbird or barnyard
chicken I’ve ever watched.
*H*ome from my walk up Hurricane Hill, both eagles on my screen, both
eagles in my head. One in the nest, the other on a supporting branch a few
feet off the rim. Their voices fill my office. They trade roles without
ceremony: one to the egg, the other to breakfast. I sit and watch them loop
the morning between us—pixel and feather, branch and computer screen, here
and there blurring into the same thin air.
Date: 3/20/26 6:46 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] 20 March 2026: Hurricane Hill (1,100 feet), WRJ
6:31 a.m.—twenty-one minutes before sunrise, four hours and fifteen minutes
before the vernal equinox, and still it feels like December. Twenty-four
degrees. Wind south-southwest at two miles an hour, gusting to four. Damp.
Damp. Damp. The sky marbled in the east, pale rose, blue-gray; a faint
blush to the west; elsewhere, clear, nearly colorless.
Road puddles frozen. Streams mostly open. Here and there, water slips under
clear ice; dark bubbles flattened against its glassy underside, like a lava
lamp with ambition.
All pretense of clouds gone with the sun. Incandescent yellow light, two
F-stops overexposed, seeps through open woodlands, oozes down hardwood
trunks, turns hemlock, pine, spruce a startled, radiant green. A soft haze
rides with the light, blurring the New Hampshire skyline. Rhododendron
leaves loosen—appear greener, denser, a heart-shaped heart in the meadow. I
hear, barely, juncos inside, silhouettes in the bush's dark interior.
6:33 a.m. Barred owl (maybe George) enlivens the hemlocks, a shadow within
shadows. Calls four times. I stop. He stops ... and the day continues.
6:36 a.m. Two crows head west, the village criers.
6:45 a.m. Four mallards under a bird feeder, grazing on the endowment
goldfinches left behind. They freak out when they see me and arrow due east
toward the open water.
Freed (for the moment) of the bodily grind of migration, a mob scene of
robins dominates sunrise. In the trees. On the hard ground. Singing.
Calling. Idling in the sun, breasts on fire. Robins spread from one valley
to the next, from southern Appalachia to the foothills of the Green
Mountains ... and far beyond. Rumors of changes to follow, expectant birds
on the threshold of a new season.
*The background ensemble:* brown creeper in the pines, high, squeaky voice
like sneakers skidding on the hardwood. Common grackle. Common starling.
Cedar waxwing, scarcely a whisper. Chickadees being chickadees, singing and
chasing; flock coherence disintegrates. Song sparrow, barely enunciating.
American goldfinch and pine siskin. Both species of nuthatches, red- and
white-breasted. Mourning doves sit tight, face the sun. Blue jays, loud and
garrulous (robins' rival for the airwaves). Flyover red crossbills, half a
dozen (unquestionably a highlight).
Date: 3/19/26 8:22 pm From: Barbara Powers <barkiepvt...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Miller Pond, Arlington
I stopped by there today and even though there was some ice 🧊, there also was open water.
I saw 3 common mergansers, 2 mallards 🦆, 2 black ducks, 2 geese and 3 hooded mergansers. I also saw an eagle flying near Clear Brook Farm in Shaftsbury.
Barbara Powers
Manchester Center
Sent from my iPad
Date: 3/18/26 6:43 pm From: Mark Marroni <mjmarroni...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Missisquoi NWR Bird Monitoring Walk
I am an avid birder from North Shore MA. I love birding the NE Kingdom. I
have some business cancellations and would love to take the down time in
doing an overnight trip to the NE Kingdom. Can anyone please give me some
local intel? Is the snow mostly gone or will I need snowshoes? I'm
thinking Moose Bog and Peanut Dam Rd along with side trips along the way.
I have a high-clearance 4-wheel drive vehicle but just want to make sure
I'm equipped for all expectations.
Thank you so, so much!!!
Also, if anyone on this listserv needs info on birding Essex County, MA
especially Plum Island and the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, I
would be happy to help.
Mark Marroni
North Andover, MA
978-689-6940
On Mon, Mar 16, 2026 at 9:04 AM Ken Copenhaver <copenhvr...> wrote:
> 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 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 data is
> stored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. These walks are appropriate for
> birders of all skill levels and provide a wonderful opportunity to learn
> about birds throughout the seasons. After 191 months of walks, we have
> recorded 167 species of birds.
>
> This month's walk will be on *Saturday, March 21, from 8:00 to 10:00 AM
> a**t
> the Jeep Trail*. Meet at the Louie's Landing parking lot on Rt 78, about
> 3.5 miles west of Swanton village. We will then open the gate and drive
> back to the trailhead at Mac's Bend.
>
> *Trail Description**:* The walk starts at a gravel parking lot at Mac’s
> Bend. The trail follows the river and thus is level. The trail is very
> close to the riverbank edge in one section. The trail surface is uneven,
> with many roots, rocks, and ruts. There are no benches. We usually walk
> about a mile and turn around, making it approximately a 2-mile walk.
>
> *Trail Conditions:* Depending on the weather this week, the trail should be
> clear of ice and snow, though mud is possible in places, and there could be
> downed trees to navigate over or around.
>
> If you have any questions, contact me at <copenhvr...>
>
> --Ken Copenhaver
>
> For information on other refuge events, visit: http://friendsofmissisquoi.
> org/
>
