annual meeting, program and potluck - june 27

Black-and-white WarblerThe Annual Meeting of the Rutland County Audubon Society will be held on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 6 PM. In keeping with tradition it will include a potluck supper the Proctor Library. Allon Wildgust will present a program on his trip to Alaska, which includes many beautiful photos.

This year’s slate of officers and directors, in keeping with the guidelines of our constitution and bylaws, is as follows:

Co-presidents:     Roy Pilcher and Marvin Elliott

Secretary              Kathleen Guinness

Treasurer             Open

Director                Fred Bates

Director                Marsha Booker

Director                Tracey Busony

Director                Susan Elliott       

Director                David Jenne

Director                Renee Warren

Director                Mary Lou Webster

Director                Sue Wetmore                

We invite all interested parties to let us know if they would like to serve as an Officer or Director. We will vote on this slate at the meeting as well invite nominations from the floor.

This is also a time to recognize two people who will be stepping down from their positions. Angele Brill has been on the board for many years, most recently serving as our Treasurer. Angele feels it is time to step down and give someone new a chance. She will help us to get a replacement trained.

In addition, Susan Elliott is stepping down as Secretary, but will continue assisting us with other support functions (the RCAS website, Facebook, eBird reporting, etc.)

We thank Angele and Susan for all their service. We also thank Kathleen Guinness for accepting the nomination to serve as secretary.

We always need volunteers so please let us know if you have an interest. Our goal is to follow the old saying that “many hands make light work.”  By having more volunteers we can spread out the work and allow more time for the part of Audubon we enjoy the most – watching birds. We would also like help with maintaining West Rutland Marsh, monitoring Mountain Top Farm (our conservation easement), helping at the State Fair Forestry Building and many other potential projects. Please contact me at vtbirdhouses@yahoo.com or 775-2415 if you would like to discuss it further.

Hope to see you at the meeting! Bring a dish to share. Beverages and utensils will be provided.

thank you Green Up volunteers!

A big thank you to the thirteen(!) RCAS members who volunteered their Saturday morning to clean up West Rutland Marsh during this year’s Green Up Day! With all your hard work the marsh is sparkling again and ready for the spring migrants that are pouring into the marsh and beyond.

Joining with other community members, we picked up everything from computer parts to tires to things too disgusting too name. Meanwhile West Rutland highway department employees worked hard patrolling the roads picking up the trash with their front-end loaders and trucks.

Always with our ears to the birds, we managed to compile a list of 33 species, many of them first of year birds for us. The che-bek of the Least Flycatcher was heard across from the boardwalk. The beautiful Baltimore Orioles are back at several of their usual spots along Marble Street. A Veery was heard along Whipple Hollow Road, where volunteers were also serenaded by a Winter Wren. Great Blue Heron, Osprey and Belted Kingfishers flew over. 

Each year we shake our heads in wonder that such thoughtless dumping occurs. By mid-day we are glad we made the effort again and can enjoy the marsh and its amazing birds in this best season of the year.

april bird update

Surprisingly Rutland County ended April with 139 species, nine short of what was recorded this time last year. What happened? The weather, mostly, with a north wind holding back many migrants at month-end. Click here for a full list of what was seen in April. 

White-winged Scoters on Kent PondWaterfowl continued their strong showing through most of the month with many of the highlights being observed at the Lake Bomoseen/Hubbardton IBA. These included Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail and Ruddy Duck. Ring-necked Ducks, as many as 220, were also present for much of April at this spot. American Coots were also noted after a two and a half month hiatus. 

With Kent Pond free of ice, two Common Loons wasted no time in returning, possibly the same pair that nested successfully last year. Greater Scaup, White-winged Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Pied-billed and Red-necked Grebe also put in an appearance. Three Spotted Sandpipers and seven Greater Yellowlegs were observed at Kent Pond as well as a surprising Vesper Sparrow, the same week one was seen in Danby. 

A Golden Eagle, an unexpected treat, was seen in Danby. Osprey and Broad-winged Hawks are back so our expected complement of raptors is accounted for. 

A Great Egret was seen at Long Swamp in Brandon and Great Blue Herons are on their nests in several locations. We await the first report of the Green Heron. 

A Solitary Sandpiper (just one!) was seen in Brandon as was a very early Least Flycatcher. The first of the vireos, the Blue-headed, appeared at several locations by mid-month. 

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers have returned to their usual spot at the Kehoe Fishing Access on Lake Bomoseen as have the Northern Rough-winged Swallows that nest in the old quarry behind the upper parking lot. Bank Swallows were seen cruising along the riverbank behind Green Mountain College. 

Eight species of warblers – Louisiana and Northern waterthrush, Black-and-white, Yellow-rumped, Palm, Pine and Black-throated Green warbler appeared the last week in April with many more to come in the next couple weeks. 

Vesper Sparrow at Kent PondField Sparrows and Eastern Towhees are back on the power lines singing away to claim their territories. Hopefully the Prairie Warblers are not far behind. Brown Thrashers were seen in several locations. 

Two Horned Larks, a bird in short supply this year, were reported in Danby. 

Although fewer  eBird checklists were submitted in April of this year (260) than last (284), there are some new eBirders out there. Hope you are one of them!

time to visit the marsh

The final days of April are here and the floodgates of migration are wide open. In the past two weeks several species have returned to Rutland County. And plenty more are on the way! Saturday’s trip RCAS trip to West Rutland Marsh is a good example of why it’s a great time to get out there and go birding.

Despite unfavorable weather predictions, 27 participants joined RCAS for the April 21 monthly monitoring walk around the marsh. Fifty species were tallied, well above our April average of 41 species. The marsh birds are back – American Bittern, Virginia Rail, Marsh Wren and Swamp Sparrow. All we need is now is Least Bittern and Sora to complete the picture.

Highlights of the walk included a large number of American Bitterns (5), seen in flight and heard “pumping.” Unusually high numbers of Wilson’s Snipe (7) were observed as well. Besides Marsh Wren, both Carolina and Winter wrens were heard. A female Northern Harrier was flying gracefully over the marsh.

Warblers are putting in their first appearance of the year. Both Northern Waterthrush and Yellow-rumped Warbler were heard along Whipple Hollow Road. And the group had a good look at a bird that would have been a fitting subject for Ansel Adams - the Black-and-white Warbler.

In keeping with this week’s reports from around the state, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, Brown Thrasher and Chipping Sparrow were all seen and/or heard. Click here for a full list of what was seen during the walk.

West Rutland Marsh, as always, needs our help. May 5 (Saturday) will be your chance to pitch in. RCAS spends each Vermont Green Up Day picking up the trash that has accumulated over the winter. Meet us at the West Rutland Town Hall at 9 a.m. to join in the effort. Trash bags are provided and work gloves suggested. If you need any encouragement, Least Bittern was heard during last year’s clean up.

May and June tie for the best months at West Rutland. Plan to join us on May 17 (Thursday) or June 23 (Saturday) for our monthly monitoring walk around the marsh. Meet at the West Rutland Price Chopper at 7 a.m.

march bird update

female Common Mergansers on Lake BomoseenWaterfowl continues to be the biggest contributor to the high number of species seen so far in Rutland County this year. With most bodies of water completely open by mid-March, ducks and geese are now free to move out to smaller lakes and ponds  Some of the species that have been reported, and that will disappear as spring moves into summer, include Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, both scaup, Red-breasted Merganser and Ruddy Duck. While Common Merganser is abundant, the less common Red-breasted Merganser has been spotted at Lake St. Catherine, Lake Bomoseen and Kent Pond.

With only one quarter of 2012 behind us, Rutland County has already tallied 101 species, about half what we see in any given year. Even more amazing, it is 13 species MORE than what we saw as of March 2011. Click here to see a full list of this year’s species.

Common Loon returned to Lake Bomoseen late in the month after a short hiatus since early January. Very shortly they will start to be seen on our smaller ponds and lakes, claiming some for their nesting activities. Pied-billed Grebes have been spotted on Lake Bomoseen and also a pond in Benson.  Horned and Red-necked grebe have also been seen on Lake Bomoseen.

At long last Barred Owl made it onto this year’s Rutland County list with reports from Hubbardton, Chittenden, Mendon, West Rutland and Clarendon. Red-shouldered Hawk has been spotted in Danby and also Bomoseen State Park. Reports of American Kestrel, while seen off and on over the winter, have increased.

While Black Vulture sightings have increased in Vermont over the past several years, they certainly can’t be counted on. Fortunately, one was spotted along Route 7 in Wallingford. It’s worth taking a second look when you see any vulture  - the Black Vulture’s silhouettte is distinctly different than that of the Turkey Vulture.

Improbable as it seems for insect eaters, Eastern Phoebe, Tree Swallow and Eastern Meadowlark are all back as are Killdeer. Perhaps staking out an early claim for nesting territory is worth the risk.

Winter Wren appeared by mid-March and has begun to fill the woods with their improbable song with reports from Lake St. Catherine State Park, Lefferts Pond and Aitken State Forest among others. There have been two reports of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker so far, at West Rutland Marsh and in Danby.

Song Sparrows are back in full song and Fox Sparrows have begun to move through.

So far 227 eBird checklists have been submitted this year. Keep up the good work, eBirders!