Winter Woodpeckers - Downy & Hairy

The Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers are common year round residents in VT especially visible at winter feeding stations offering suet. Both species have white bellies and a white strip down the back; both males have a red patch on the back of the head which females lack. While these black and white look-a-likes can be told apart by their differences in size, there are some other subtle clues.

The Downy is the small woodpecker at 6.5". The bill is 'dainty', about 1/3 as long as the distance from the base of the bill to the back of the head. The white outer tail feathers show black barring which the Hairy does not have.

The Hairy is much larger at 9.5" with a hefty, chisel-like bill that is as long as the head. There is usually a prominent black comma-shaped black mark that extends from the shoulder onto the breast.

Woodpeckers search for insects in any crook or cranny using their stiff tail feathers as a third leg as they sidle up, down and around tree branches. Suet, sunflower seeds and nuts are great food offerings for these entertaining birds of winter.

Northern Harrier

The Northern Harrier, formerly known as a Marsh Hawk, is one the common migrant raptors of the season. The male is gray on the back and light below with black wing tips. The larger female is brown on the back and striped brown and white below. Its most distinctive field mark is a white rump patch readily seen while cruising low and buoyantly over fields and meadows on upraised wings hunting for small mammals/rodents and birds. Unlike other hawks the Northern Harrier relies heavily on auditory cues as well as visual ones to capture prey. Harriers seen overhead are large birds with unusually long tails.

The Harrier is a common summer resident of the Champlain valley. During the recent Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas, Harriers were confirmed as breeding in 16 blocks, although their presence was documented in many others. Fall is a great time to watch for Northern Harriers as they make their way to their wintering grounds in the southern U.S. and Central America.

Ring-necked Ducks

The Ring-necked Duck is one of those birds who seem to be mis-named. Its most distinctive field mark is a white ring around the BILL, but it gets its name from a chestnut collar on the black neck which is only noticeable when the bird is in the hand. The male is a dark colored duck with white/gray sides and belly; the female a uniform dark brown with a distinct narrow white eye ring. These birds gather in large mixed flocks in during fall migration and are common on VT lakes. The breed further north and winter in the southern U.S. and Mexico.

Ring-necks may be in the company of other look alike fall migrating ducks, the Greater and Lesser Scaup. The males show the same black and white body pattern of the Ring-necked Duck so look for the female nearby to help separate these ducks. They are all brown but show a bold white ring around the base of the bill.

Broad-winged Hawks and Fall Migration

Migration is the exclamation point at the end of the breeding season. When birds begin migrating in the fall, they tend to scattered, but not so with raptors and other birds of prey. These birds look for weather that will give them lift to assist their long migratory flights, some to the southern end of South America.

Putney Mountain, at the top of the ridgeline running down the eastern part of Vermont, is a good place to watch for migrating hawks. September brings large numbers of Broad-winged Hawks looking for thermals that form over the mountains. Birds catch these warm air pockets that spiral upward and use them to glide towards their wintering grounds in northern S. America. These large flocks are called "kettles" and can range from a couple of individuals to thousands.

The Broad-winged Hawk is a medium size compact bird showing rounded wings and a broad, short black and white tail in flight. It's a common, forest nester throughout the northeast. Both parents build the nest about 25-40 feet up using deciduous or coniferous tree. The female incubates while the male brings her food. Likewise, it is the female who feeds the nestlings, with males leaving prey at the side of the nest. It is during September that we can see large numbers of the Broad-winged Hawk.

At this time of the year bird watchers look for weather fronts to bring new species into the yard or across the mountain tops Like foliage season, migration is the big show before the relative quiet of winter, and the birds are terrifically accommodating.

Belted Kingfisher

August is the 'finishing' month - time to finish raising those chicks, finish fattening up, finish singing and interacting, finished with the VT breeding grounds. It's a time when a lot of the birds we might see don't look like the ones we saw in the spring.

The Belted Kingfisher, however, continues to be easily recognized by its size, plumage and vocalizations in flight. It is a medium sized, white breasted bird with a bluish gray back, head and crest and neck collar. Additionally, it is one of the few species of birds where the female is more colorful than the male - she with an added rusty brown belt across the belly and flanks.

Kingfishers are common along lakes, ponds and steams emitting their loud, dry rattle as they fly overhead looking for prey. When feeding they will watch from a perch or hover over the water and then plunge in headfirst to catch a fish in the long, oversized bill.

These birds nest in 1-8' long tunnels made in banks of sand or clay which can be some distance from the water. Both the male and female participate in all phases of the breeding cycle.

The Belted Kingfisher breeds throughout North America and winters in the southern states and Mexico. It will often remain in its northern range as long as the waters remain open.

A Teacher in the Forest

"Teacher, teacher, teacher…." It's one of the most recognizable songs still being heard in the forests of summer. It belongs to one of the elusive wood warblers, the Ovenbird. Ovenbirds have boldly streaked spots on a white breast, an olive-brown back, white eye ring, and a bright orange crown bordered by black stripes. They might be mistaken for a thrush, but are distinguished by their smaller size and orange-and-black striped crown and echoing song.

Ovenbirds are so-named for the covered nest they build that resembles a Dutch oven. While many birders would love to find one of these construction marvels, they are extremely well camouflaged amongst the leaf litter. The parents are usually sneaky around the nest as well, landing and taking off some distance from the nest and walking along the ground to the entrance. If you see a brown bird flush from the forest floor, look around closely on the ground. It could be an Ovenbird or one of several forest floor nesters such as a Winter Wren or a Northern Waterthrush.

Bobolink - "Dink-a-link-a-link...."

You will probably hear them before you see them! Male 'skunk birds', Bobolinks, have returned to meadowlands and are frantically engaged in 'sing'/showoff antics to attract a mate. Whereas the breeding male sports a black breast and face with cream colored head/nape and white back and wing bars, the female is a yellowish, large sparrow looking bird. Before the end of the breeding season, both adults will be alike.

Bobolinks are declining in much of their range. Early cutting of hayfields often destroy ground nests and birds that have not fledged. Until recently the extent of the Bobolink's wintering range was unknown. But recent studies done by Roseline Renfrew of the VT Center for Ecostudies have discovered thousands of Boblinks wintering in Boliva and Argentina. Huge flocks are unwelcome diners in the rice fields of the southern U.S. during migration. Once on their wintering territory they are susceptible to pesticide poisoning used on the rice crops and are shot as pests. Bobolinks are one species that has adapted the changes man has made in its environment, but is also declining because of these changes.

Osprey

The Osprey is a large bird of prey with a white head and belly, dark back and wings. A dark strip from its eye towards is back is visible even in a flying bird, but the M, bent shape of the wings is a better clue to identifying this bird in flight. This fish-eating specialist has barbed pads on the soles of its feet to help it grip slippery fish. Osperys return to VT usually by mid-April to breed generally occupying the same nest year after year.

Breeding Osprey had disappeared from VT in the early 70s due to thin, weak egg shells from the pesticide, DDT and loss of suitable nesting sites. T Since 1988, the VT Fish and Wildlife Department and the Central VT Public Service have worked cooperatively to install artificial nesting platforms mostly in the northwestern part of the state. In 2006 there were 82 active nests in VT. The species has now been removed from the state's endangered species list.

But it's May now and all our migratory species are flocking back to their breeding grounds. Look high, look low, listen and enjoy Vermont's spring flowers, budding trees, calling frogs, courting birds and silent butterflies.

The Plight of the Little Brown Bat

Ducks are moving. Backbirds, hawks, sparrows, robins and killdeer have all arrived in Vermont. But what is really attracting attention in the Dorset area are BATS! Since early March bats have been seen flying around in the daytime in temperatures 40 degrees or less. They are starving, have no fat stores and are coming out of their caves, fruitlessly looking for insects.

What is causing this aberrant behavior and die off is unknown, but scientists are calling the malady 'white-nose syndrome' for the white substance found on the bats' noses. Last year, some 8-11,000 bates died in areas in NY. This year mortality is very high in known caves in southern VT, notably one on the south side of Green Peak, known as the Aeolus Cave. Because bats migrate hundreds of miles to their summer range, disease in bats can have significant implications for many areas in the NE.

Large numbers of dead little brown bats have been counted at cave openings during March surveys. Other species affected are northern long-eared, Eastern pipistralle and the endangered Indiana bat. How this massive die off will affect the insect/mosquito balance is yet to be determined. If you think you are seeing a tree swallow swooping across your favorite pond in April, look again; it may just be a bat.

Rusty Blackbird

Vermonters are already reporting sightings of Red-winged Blackbirds and Rusty Blackbirds. Whereas the black Red-winged Blackbird, with its red and yellow shoulder patches might be easily recognized, the Rusty Blackbird is often overlooked. The all black Rusty Blackbird has a slightly longer , squared off tail than the Red-winged, a long slender bill and yellow eye. The rusty feather coloring which gives the bird its name is more evident in fall birds. Females of both blackbird species might be mistaken for large sparrows, although the differences in the bills will separate the families - long and slender=blackbirds; cone shaped=sparrows.

During migration large flocks of Rusty Blackbirds frequent cultivated fields and wet woodlands, made conspicuous during feeding by their 'rusty door hinge' squeaks. Recent data collected for the VT Breeding Bird Atlas indicate Rusty's are in decline. They breed in northern boreal forest habitat, favoring wet areas with spruce and hemlock. As large flocks of blackbirds start to arrive, look for Rusty Blackbirds among the Redwing Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, and Common Grackles, all announcing SPRING.

Barred Owl

Barred Owls have been on the prowl in VT this winter. Step outside some evening during the next couple of months and listen for their distinctive "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?" hooting interspersed with a raucous jumble of cackles, hoots, caws, and gurgles as both the males and females 'converse' about their readiness to mate. Breeding can occur anytime between March and August. Pairs mate for life and territories and cavity nest sites are maintained for many years.

Horizontal barring on the chest gives the Barred Owl its name. It is a medium sized brown streaked bird with a round-head, dark eyes and yellow beak. As in most raptors, both the male and female look alike but the female is the larger. Barred Owls are residential year round in VT.

Although a nocturnal hunter, the many daytime sightings of Barred Owls this winter probably signal a time of hardship. These are likely first year birds who have headed south from Canada where there has been a significant crash in rodent populations. If you hear a flock of crows kicking up a fuss over something in a tree, check it out. You may be rewarded with the excitement of seeing rather than just hearing a Barred Owl.

Pine Grosbeak

Pine Grosbeaks look like large Purple Finches They have strong, thick, aptly-named beaks and two white wingbars. The male's raspberry head, breast, and belly (top) are a contrast to the olive-green and gray female. Although these northern breeders make their way into Vermont each winter, this would be call an 'irruptive year' because of diminished cone/seed foods in Canada. They are most likely to be seen in roads picking up sand and salt, or in fruit or cone bearing trees and bushes.

An unusual characteristic of Pine Grosbeaks is the pair of buccal pouches in the lower jaw on either side of the tongue. This built-in storage area holds a paste of insects and vegetable matter that is regurgitated to young. Pine Grosbeaks feed their young mostly insects, but this adaptation allows them to also provide vegetable matter in a digestible form.