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Vermont

Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus ŠCal Vornberger http://www.calvorn.com/index.htm

Vermont, the Green Mountain State, is a small New England state with a wide range of birding habitats within a single day`s drive.

In the extreme southeast of the state, several southern species reach the northern limit of their range, such as the Red-bellied Woodpecker that nested for the first time in Vermont in 2001 in Brattleboro.

In the extreme north, the boreal forests host northern species like the Boreal Chickadee, Gray Jay and Black-backed Woodpecker.

The Lake Champlain valley provides lake, river, and marsh habitats and is a stopover Spring and Fall for migrating waterfowl and shorebirds. Recently it has been discovered that this in-land waterway is also a Fall flyway for seabirds, including Jaegers and Gannets.

The Connecticut River Valley is a rich riparian area, highlighted by Herrick`s Cove Important Bird Area near Bellows Fall. Several hawk watches monitor migrating raptors in the Fall, notably on Mt. Philo south of Burlington, and Putney Mountain near Brattleboro; at the latter friendly volunteer hawk watchers readily trade bird gossip between hawk flights.

Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area in Addison provides year round birding treats, but none better than the presence of thousands of Snow Geese during late October migration (with an occasional Ross` Goose mixed in). At the right time of year, the endangered Bicknell`s Thrush can be lured out of hiding in the spruce forests on the mountain tops where research on this species also, and unexpectedly, turned up nesting Boreal Owls.

The rich birding opportunities provided by Vermont is found in the most rural and environmentally progressive state in the union. Small villages hearken back to the early nineteenth century, long before sprawl took over, and small cities retain evidence of the early industrial age, a time before bigness became the norm.

contributor

Chris Petrak
(South Newfane)
chrsptrk@svcable.net or rrbb@svcable.net
http://svcable.net:8100/~rrbb/index.html

numbers

Number of bird species:365

useful reading

Birdwatching in Vermont

Ted Murin & Bryan Pfeiffer University Press of New England
ISBN: 1584651881
Buy this book from NHBS.com

useful information

State Bird

Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus

clubs

Ascutney Mountain Audubon Society

http://www.sover.net/~mwalsh/
Serving the communities of Andover, Bridgewater, Cavendish, Chester, Grafton, Hartland, Londonderry, Ludlow, Plymouth, Reading, Rockingham, Springfield, Weathersfield, Westminster, Weston, West Windsor, Windsor, and Woodstock, Vermont. Acworth, Alstead, Charlestown, Claremont, Cornish, Langdon, Unity, and Walpole, New Hampshire.

Audubon Society in Vermont

http://www.audubon.org/chapter/vt/
The usual list of local chapters.

Green Mountain Audubon

http://www.naturecompass.org/audubon/
Our 230-acre Nature Center in Huntington, Vermont, boasts a diversity of terrain and wildlife. Fields, ponds, forest, swamp, river and streams are home to an abundance of birds, plants, insects and animals.

Nature Conservancy in Vermont

http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/vermont/
This website is in its development stage - but it is in the newly established and very attractive house style of the NC.

Otter Creek Audubon Society

http://ottercreekaudubon.org/
Serving the communities of Addison County, including Addison, Brandon, Bridport, Bristol, Cornwall, Ferrisburg, Goshen, Granville, Hancock, Leicester, Lincoln, Middlebury, Monkton, New Haven, Orwell, Panton, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham, Starksboro, Vergennes, Waltham, Whiting, and Weybridge...

Rutland County Audubon

http://www.rutlandcountyaudubon.org/
Our mission is to foster an enjoyment of birds and the preservation of their habitat...

Southeastern Vermont Audubon Society

Southeastern Vermont Audubon Society serves the southeastern corner of Vermont. Activities include free monthly programs (third Tuesday); trips for the endangered Bicknell`s Thrush, co-sponsor (with Ascutney Mountain) of the autumn Putney Mountain Hawk Watch. Contact chris@rockriverbb.com

museums

Birds of Vermont Museum

http://www.birdsofvermont.org/
The Birds of Vermont Museum is a unique resource for Vermont - a natural history museum based on wood carvings of the state`s birds. A private, non-profit educational organization, the Museum was created by the vision and dedication of founder Robert N. Spear, Jr. Bob, who is a talented naturalist and artist, and a native Vermonter, has spent 17 years creating the first 170 exhibits. They depict Vermont`s nesting species in their natural habitats as well as North America`s endangered and extinct species in a special exhibit hall of individual carvings.

Southern Vermont Natural History Museum

http://www.vermontmuseum.org/about.htm
Our natural history collection includes over 600 native New England birds and mammals in 150 small dioramas, one of the largest collections of its type in the Northeast...

reserves

Eleanor Ellis Springweather Nature Area

http://www.sover.net/~mwalsh/springweather/
A Cooperative Project of the Ascutney Mountain Audubon Society and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Springweather Nature Area overlooks North Springfield Lake on the border of Springfield and Weathersfield, VT. Trails meander through 70 acres of fields and forests, and provide many opportunities to enjoy the natural world.

Lake Champlain Birding Trail

http://www.lakechamplainbirding.org/
This trail is a highway-based trail (approximately 300 miles) which unifies and connects 87 birding sites along the Lake Champlain shoreline and uplands in Vermont and New York...

Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge

http://missisquoi.fws.gov/
Here, the Missisquoi River meanders through beds of wild rice and stands of wetland plants such as arrowhead, bulrush and wild celery. In addition to 500 acres of natural marsh, the refuge includes 1,800 acres of managed wetlands formed by three diked impoundments. These pools are a mix of open water and rich stands of emergent plants, shrubs, and wooded swamps that offer food and cover for waterfowl. Although refuge waters attract waterfowl most of the year, peak use is in the fall, when thousands of ring-necked ducks settle in to feed with hundreds of green-winged teal, black ducks, and mallards.

North Springfield Bog

http://www.sover.net/~mwalsh/bog/
The North Springfield Bog is a boreal kettle bog, an artifact of the last glacial age 10,000 years ago. Bogs lack drainage, and precipitation is the only source of water. Bog water is acidic and lacks oxygen. Sphagnum mosses are the dominant plants forming a thick layer of peat...

The Connecticut River Birding Trail

http://www.birdtrail.org/
Connecticut River Birding Trail, 104 Railroad Row, White River Junction, VT 05001 Tel:(802) 291-91- ext. 107
The mission of the Connecticut River Birding Trail (CRBT) is to encourage visitors and residents of the region to bird watch and enjoy natural history by unifying the outstanding natural resources of the Upper Valley region of the Connecticut River through a connection of 70+ birding sites via a highway-based trail. The trail extends from Woodsville, New Hampshire to Springfield, Vermont and includes sites east and west of the river.This watershed has many special and significant natural areas with excellent resources available to the public. It is blessed with a wonderful seasonal variety and diversity of plant and animal species...

Weathersfield Great Blue Heron Rookery

http://www.sover.net/~mwalsh/rookery/
In 1985, a Great Blue Heron rookery was discovered in a beaver pond in Weathersfield, Vermont. At the time, the rookery was composed of four active nests. The rookery grew to a high of 12 nests and 38 fledglings in 1992. In order to protect this very sensitive site, AMAS, in cooperation with the landowner, successfully petitioned the Vermont Water Resources Board to expand the wetalnds buffer around the rookery...

trip reports

Travelling Birder
http://www.travellingbirder.com
The Travellingbirder.com birding trip report search engine guides you to 7,000+ birding trip reports on the Internet. You can search for trip reports from a specific country and time of year. Not all these reports are in English. So, if you cant find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page give them a try!

1996 [July] Ken Gale - Boreal Forest of Vermont

http://www.comicbookradioshow.com/vermont.html
Cast of characters: Ken Gale - your humble narrator and hardcore birder trying to reach 500...

1997 [June] - Billie W. Taylor

http://www.billietaylor.com/NETR.html
You may recall that last March I sent out a plea for help to finish up the Basham Class 1 birds on my list. Many of you responded with suggestions for sure fire locations and I was successful in rounding up the last of them except for the Nelson`s Sharp-tailed Sparrow. We left on June 14 to spend a couple of weeks in New England to look for it.

2000 [August] - Paul Blakeburn

http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/maybank/Canada/PQ-07-2000.htm
Based on very helpful advice from BirdChatters, we decided to try for Bicknell`s Thrush first on Vermont`s Mt. Mansfield, keeping other sites in mind if this didn`t pan out...

tour operators

Birding Pal

http://birdingpal.org/vt.htm
Local birders willing to show visiting birders around their area...

Vermont Bird Tours

http://www.vermontbirdtours.com/about.html
Vermont Bird Tours believes in conservation, outdoor education and unadulterated fun. Based in a renovated farmhouse near Bartlett Hill in Plainfield, Vermont, we`re a small business with a youthful passion about wildlife and wild places. We simply love to play outside. We also teach. So as our group gazes at a Scarlet Tanager foraging in a sugar maple, for example, we not only gawk at the sight, we talk about the threats posed to this other migratory songbirds. Our groups are small and friendly. And our guides are not only skilled at finding plants, birds and other critters, they`re experts at making sure you see and enjoy them all.

places to stay

Inn at Buck Hollow Farm B&B

http://www.buckhollow.com/rates.htm
Whether you decide to walk our wooded trails, cuddle a spring lamb, listen to a brook, or simply sit by the heated pool and watch the birds, we believe you will appreciate the special country atmosphere of spring and summer in this northern Vermont location.

Riverbend B&B

http://www.riverbendvt.com/birding.html
Closest to the Riverbend is the Lake Memphremagog area. The lake is the state`s second largest and straddles the Vermont-Quebec border. It is a place for migrating loons, grebes and waterfowl...

Rock River B&B

http://svcable.net:8100/~rrbb/index.html
Located in the peacful green hills of southeastern Vermont, the home of Chris and Nissa Petrak offers a warm family atmosphere and a quiet retreat from the busy-ness of life. We have three distinctive bedrooms and serve a full country breakfast. Birding (we`ve counted over 70 species while standing in our gardens)... Chris Petrak is a birding hobbyist who writes Tailfeathers for the Brattleboro Reformer, a local newspaper in southeastern Vermont. He lives in South Newfane where his home is the Rock River Bed & Breakfast... rrbb@svcable.net

Ryegate House B&B

http://www.innsite.com/inns/A105076.html
Ryegate House is a completely renovated 150+ year old farmhouse just three miles from I-91. Year round fun & relaxation. Birds, flowers, fresh air, & vegetables in the Spring and Summer. Foliage tours in the Fall. Skiing, etc or just sitting by the fire in the Winter.

Westhill House B&B

http://www.westhillhouse.com/
Put your feet up on our farmhouse front porch, the sunny back deck or the airy gazebo. Read a book or watch the critter shows as birds and chipmunks, deer and an occasional moose entertain you.

mailing lists

VTBIRD

http://www.uvm.edu/~ebuford/vtbird.html
To post to list:vtbird@list.uvm.edu
List contact:Ernie Buford VTBIRD-request@LIST.UVM.EDU
To subscribe to list:listserv@list.uvm.edu
To unsubscribe:Blank
SUBSCRIBE VTBIRD + your name
Discussion group & Mailing List - To see the past messages sent to the list (the list archives) look on the Web at http://list.uvm.edu/archives/vtbird.html

Backyard Birding

http://www.vtbirds.com
My wife and I have been birding for a very short time. We mostly stay in the Champlain Valley...

Bird Watching in the Jay Peak Area of Vermont

http://www.riverbendvt.com/birding.html
Colder and wilder than most of the state, greater Jay Peak are is Vermont`s boreal playground. Extensive fir-spruce forests, bogs, and wetlands give the image of places much farther north...

Birds of New England

http://www.nenature.com/birds.htm
Some excellent photographs... Over 200 species of birds either breed, are resident, or winter in New England. This includes both inland birds and coastal birds. Some of these birds have a small New England range (for example, the Acadian Flycatcher) and other birds are found throughout the region.

BLOG - Chris Petrak - Tails of Birding

http://tailsofbirding.blogspot.com
I am a writer and birding hobbyist who combines the two interests in a weekly column in this blog and in a weekly column in the "Brattleboro Reformer." I write about birds, birding, birdwatching, and life. I may weigh in on other birding matters as well...

BLOG - It's About The Journey

http://www.carolandpetes.blogspot.com
Birds, Birding, nature and Photography of BFOs - Beautiful Flying Objects...

Vermont Birding News

http://www.vermontbirdtours.com
Some news and links...

Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas

http://www.uvm.edu/~vbba/
If you are not an experienced birder and want to participate in the Atlas, we strongly encourage you to start becoming familiar with the species that occur in Vermont by sight and sound...

VT Birding

http://www.vtbirder.org/info.html
Forum, photos etc...

artists

Photographer - Ted Shiffman

http://www.imageartisan.com/gallery8.html
Some brilliant wildlife shots from this Vermont based photographer.

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