mdpalmer's Journal

Thursday Morning, with the nice weather, I went out on a bike ride to Leddy Park. I biked along the bike path out to Leddy. Even on the Bike path there were more bird calls and songs then on previous birding days. The warm weather has brought forth many new birds. As I walked down toward the beach from the ice rink you walk past many bushes and trees. All of these were filled with various species of birds. I saw a whole bunch of cedar waxwings in a tree. Some where at the base and a couple were up in the tree. As you walk down the steps closer to the beach there are some denser bushes. It was in these bushes along the forest edge that I saw the black-capped Chickadees and some house finches. Once down on the beach there weren't too many birds close by that I could identify. It is often difficult because I forgot to grab binoculars from home so identification at distance is close to impossible for a new birder such as myself.
There were clearly some water birds out in the water near one of the islands but I couldn't tell what they were. During my whole walk there were ring-billed gulls all around walking along the beach. In the parking lot, they were really everywhere. I saw probably 15 or more gulls during my hour on the beach. I spent an hour or so walking along the beach and just sitting. A lot of the birds were far out. I did see a flock of geese fly overhead. It seemed as though they were spooked, the formation was pretty chaotic.
Overall it was a successful, warm morning out on the waterfront. I was hoping to see more water birds close up but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Hopefully next time out!

Due to class cancellation today I made a quick trip home to Hartland Vermont. It was here that I had the luxury of sitting outside on the forest edge, right where it opens up to our field. Pervious observations have shown that to be a high bird population due to the multiple lilac bushes and the tall maple trees. Today sitting out here around 12 it got a bit warmer and the activity levels spiked a bit. There were many birds the most abundant being the chickadees and the american goldfinches. There was a flock of 8 or so chickadees all in the lilac bush. The chickadees were fluttering about, nothing really exciting was going on with them they seemed rather content in their environment. The one thing that interested me was how easily these chickadees shared the lilac bush with the goldfinches. There were probably 10 goldfinches also occupying the same lilac bush. Some of the goldfinches were extremely vibrant in color whereas others were more of a dull mustard yellow.
Occupying another bush were a cluster of house finches. It was in this bush that there was a little bit more confrontation happening. There were many squalls between house finches during which one would also succumb and move to alternative location in the bush. On the nearby power line there was a row of European Starlings simply creating a loud environment with there unique mimicry calls. Over head I heard the familiar rapping of a woodpecker on a tree. I walked a bit to position myself in a better location at which point I could easily identify the woodpecker as a downy due to its smaller stature and red patch on the back of its head.
I heard the familiar call of a nuthatch; however, I still have a hard time identify the difference between red-breasted and white-breasted calls. About 10 minutes after hearing the nuthatches I saw one land on the ground near the base of a tree. It was during this time that I could identify it as a white-breasted nuthatch. The last bird that I saw during my visit outside was the dark-eyed junco. One of my favorite birds due to their appearance. They always look as though they have no neck. There were about 4 dark-eyed juncos hoping on the ground in the field alongside the woods.
All in all it was a good day to see some of Vermont's typical winter residents still out and about with the warming weather.

March 18, 2016
This afternoon at approximately 2 pm I went to Mount Philo State Park and hiked up to the top observing the birds along the way. Due to the snow squall last night there was very little activity. As I began the walk I could hear multiple crows (2 or 3) and just before entering the trial head, a crow took flight above me. There rest of the way up the mountain there was really nothing to be seen or heard. I didn't even see any squirrels or other small mammals during the walk. Once reaching the summit I stayed there for about 10 minutes observing my surroundings. It was hear that I saw another crow in flight about 1/4 of the way down the hill. I also had two Black-capped Chickadees in the large section of bushes behind me.
On the way down the mountain, I once again saw no birds; however, I did see a grey squirrel about 1/4 of the way up a tree. Other than that squirrel I saw and heard nothing in the woods. The trail was also quiet with people. I only passed one other person during my hike on the trail. On the drive back I did see 2 Canada Geese by the pond right before the Golf Course on Spear Street. They were eating grass very casually near the road. Other than those 6 birds it was a very quiet first day of spring.

February 19, 2016
On a last minute decision I decided to go for a walk this morning around 8 am. It was about 15 degrees outside, yet felt much colder. I had a friend drop me off at the entrance of the Centennial Woods Park area. As soon as I began on the trail I heard a woodpecker pecking a tree. In a search to find out what it was a followed the noise into the woods just a little bit and rather close to me was a Hairy Woodpecker. It was medium in size and appeared to be female; however, I am not confident on that sexual identification.
As soon as I continued on the path I could hear a variety of birds most of which were chickadees and what I believed was red-breasted nuthatches. I identified the call as red breasted because it sounded more hollow or nasally than the white-breasted. Further into my walk I did see a red-breasted nuthatch up in a tree. There were many other bird calls in the woods at that time; however, I was unable to identify what they were. There was a call that sounded as though it may have been a finch based on what I know thus far.
After about 25 minutes of walking or so I decided to turn around and head back toward campus. I continued to hear many birds but was not able to see very many. One thing that I noticed was how the birds have acclimated to the sounds of the airplanes taking off and landing. Even when airplanes went overhead the birds did not stop their calls. As I was exiting the woods I did see a pair of crows right along the edge of the woods.
All in all it was good to get out there and see some birds; however, I was hoping to get my eyes on a few more species while out there. The Hairy Woodpecker was by far the highlight of my walk seeing as it was the closest bird I got to all morning. It was neat to see a Hairy Woodpecker up close. I do wish I had a chance to capture it on camera, but by the time I had thought of taking a picture it was too late.

February 5, 2016
Today was a rather brisk day compared to yesterdays mild 50 degrees outside. The wind picked up in the afternoon as I walked out to Centennial around 12 o’clock. It was about 20 degrees outside after the wind chill. On my walk to Centennial I cut across the UVM Medical Center parking lot and down onto East Ave. On East Ave I noticed a rather large bush in front of one of the houses and in that bush were approximately 4 or 5 Black-capped Chickadee. They were rather still and their feathers were very fluffed in order to stay warm I presume.
Once I got into Centennial woods it was pretty quiet. I saw a walker on the trail and did not notice a lot of activities within the woods. I walked for about 15 minutes and noticed a few squirrels scurrying around. It was here that I ventured off of the trail a bit to see if I could observe more bird activity. It was out here that I stayed for roughly a half an hour. During this time I heard a woodpecker searching for food somewhere and followed the noise. That is when I saw my first bird in Centennial, which I identified, as a Downy Woodpecker. It was not overly large in size and had spotted patterned black and white wings. It pecked a tree for a few more minutes before moving on. The woods were still rather quiet. There were very few bird songs or calls that I heard.
On my way out of the woods I noticed fluttering a ways in front of me. I saw what I think was two Tufted Titmice. They were rather far in front of me and it is possible there could have been three. I noticed that they had a crest and where mainly grey. They did not stay in their tree very long as I approached I think I may have startled them. Other than those few birds I did not notice anything else going on in the woods. It was a rather quiet day. I stayed out for roughly an hour before the chill started setting in.