Beginning with this issue, the GMAS newsletter will publish a report of an unusual bird sightings in our area. We’d love to hear from you! Want to see your picture and experience featured in future issues? Email Luciemlehmann@gmail.com.
Ruddy Shelduck ~ Tadorna ferruginea
Submitted by Ken Copenhaver
August ~ GMAS Board Member Ken Copenhaver and fellow sharp-eyed birder Tom Hargy first saw and reported the Ruddy Shelduck pictured here and snapped by Ken on August 13th in St. Albans Bay. A probable escapee from a zoo or home, the bird, which breeds in southeastern Europe and Central Asia, hung around long enough for many happy Vermont birders to get their own shots of the handsome waterfowl.
A Ruddy Shelduck wades in the waters of St. Albans Bay. Photo Credit: Ken Copenhaver
Yellow-throated Warbler ~ Setophaga dominica
Submitted by Ali Wagner
November ~ My mother always told me not to chase boys. Instead, I chase birds...but only on rare occasions when a very special one happens to show up, not too far from home...like today. I needed to go to Starksboro this morning, which happened to be “on the way” to a Yellow-throated Warbler at Thompson’s Point, discovered a few days prior by Paul Wieczoreck. His excellent hearing and curiosity led him to finding this rare visitor, which should be basking in the warmth of the southern U.S. or Central America. Paul’s eBird report led others to the site and more birders shared their observations of it hanging out with year-round residents. It gave me (and others) a good place to start the scavenger hunt: find chickadees, TUTIs (Tufted Titmice), nuthatches, and woodpeckers.
On rare occasions when on a chase, a birder will arrive to find folks already on the target. You can tell when it’s been found simply by body language and smiles. This is followed by finger pointing, or an offer to step up and take a look in a scope (with the bird front and center). This is what I call “parasitic birding.” But today’s quest would require patience and persistence, and it gave me a great opportunity to visit with others. I met up with fellow birders Henry and Claire Trombley, Hank Kaestner, Michael Blust, Ian Burgess, and John Peckham. Together we patiently poked around in hopes that we’d get at least a glimpse. Eventually some folks had to give up, whittling the crowd down to three. Now, all birders know what can happen when people leave.
John and I had wandered off but returned and met up with Ian one last time. Light rain was starting to soak in, and we were close to giving in. That is when Ian mentioned hearing the warbler that he tracked down but couldn’t get on. Of course, we gave it one last try. (Now, all birders know what rarely happens when people give it one last try.) We walked down towards the boat landing when we heard the incessant call notes others had described on previous days. Soon we were rewarded with fantastic looks of the warbler, gleaning who-knows-what along the shore, flitting from vegetation to rocks, calling, and allowing John’s and Ian’s cameras to capture this moment of beauty and brightness on a gray day. It was way more than I had hoped for.
Thanks, Paul, for paying attention, hearing this bird, realizing its call notes were not in your auditory memory files, persisting until you landed on it, and sharing this rare gem with others. I cannot imagine a more beautiful bird to see on a drab November day than this brilliance in white, black, and yellow we know as the Yellow-throated Warbler.
Photo by John Peckham