10 Reasons I haven't been Updating

Everything happens in May. Birthdays, bird migrations, weddings, wildflowers... between it all there just isn't enough time for everything, let alone a blog update. Here's 10 reasons I haven't had time to update the blog in almost two weeks:






















1. Exploring a shorebird concentration (7 species!) in drained beaver pond in Hinesburg. [Solitary Sandpiper and Killdeer (left to right) shown above]

2. Observing some late-departing Scaup in Island Pond. [shown below]

3. Unexpectedly encountering a Philadelphia Vireo in Bolton.

4. Watching the sun set to the sounds of Northern Saw-whet Owl, Barred Owl,
Wilson's Snipe, and American Woodcock in Chittenden.

5. Witnessing copulating Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in Berlin.

6. Scrutinizing over unfamiliar birdsong at Moose Bog (eventually determined to be Blackburnian Warbler, White-winged Crossbill, and Lincoln's Sparrow!)

7. Tallying rare grassland species (Grasshopper and Vesper Sparrow) during a 24-hour birding marathon in Highgate.

8. Being engulfed by the sounds of elusive birds (including Sora, Common Moorhen, Virginia Rail, and Marsh Wren) in West Rutland.

9. Finding the rare boreal breeders (Spruce Grouse, Black-backed Woodpecker, and Boreal Chickadee) or the Northeast Kingdom in North Ferdinand.

10. Perplexing over the disgruntled wails of a nesting pair of Red-shouldered Hawks in Essex, ultimately determining that they were distressed by a nearby Red-tailed Hawk.



These 10 accounts from 10 Vermont towns encompass only those in the realm of birds, and only from the last 72 hours. Furthermore, these highlights include only unusual encounters, or those which took significant effort, travel or otherwise. For better or worse, much else has happened over the last several weeks, and a lot more to come over the next several. I hope to post more detailed blog entries (including a discussion of Nicaragua) in due time, but now I must rest up for another day of May Madness.