Back in Action: A Trip to the Islands

What good is a blog if you don't update it? Not much good at all. I'm still working on learning all the many features, and with some difficulty, may even start making updates on a regular basis. Now I will test out some video.

I took a nice trip up to South Hero today to check for migrating ducks. It's still a little early (a week left of winter) and the weather was harsh, but I did manage to find some Common Mergansers and a flock of close to 20 Common Goldeneye (male pictured below). A lone Song Sparrow (my first of the season) was skulking in the shrubs along the causeway, presumably taking cover from the winds?



Perhaps my highlight of the day was a flock of 22 Wild Turkey in a small field behind the South Hero Cemetery. A single tom was displaying to the many females, who didn't seem to take much interest in him. Notice how in the video, even a slight glance at the females excited him and gave him an "erection" of the feathers. But despite being unable to solicit a response, he continued to display none-the-less, offering an opportunity to take some photos and snap a quick video via digiscoping. As the whole event unfolded, a male Common Grackle (also my first of the season) sang from his perch across the street. Each day seems to bring a new sign of spring (including all the previous days that I haven't been posting). The video can be viewed below... enjoy the show!