Lyme Disease in Vermont: An Occupational Hazard for Birders

November 1 was a warm, sunny day in Vermont a few seasons ago. As I walked out of the woods at the LaPlatte River Natural Area in Shelburne, I looked down at my pant legs and saw them-ticks-a dozen or more on each leg. As I brushed the tenacious ticks away I thought,  “Vermont-we’ve got a problem”. Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the country, accounting for over 30,000 new cases each year. In recent years Lyme disease cases in Vermont have skyrocketed. In 2013 nearly 900 probable or confirmed cases were reported to the Vermont Department of Health, placing Vermont first in the country in terms of the incidence of this disorder. Other states with a high incidence of Lyme disease included Maine and New Hampshire. What is going on here?

In North America Lyme disease is caused by a spirochete called Borrelia burgdorferi. This microorganism is transmitted by the bite of black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis), formerly known as deer ticks. These ticks are commonplace in our forests and are increasing, due in part to reforestation of the landscape and perhaps the effect of climate change. But this is not the whole story. Ixodes ticks have a complicated life cycle. These ticks do not live forever, thank God. Rather, they live for two years during which they undergo three successive molts, that is transformation to a larger size and different form.  After hatching from an egg these stages of development are called larva, nymph, and adult. At each one of these stages the tick must ingest a blood meal from an appropriate host or else it dies. Many hosts can serve as blood donors-mice, chipmunks, deer, even birds, especially birds that nest or forage on the ground like sparrows, robins, thrushes, and ovenbirds.  Once the ticks ingest a blood meal they drop off the host, hide in the leaf litter while they undergo a molt to the next stage of development, and lurk in the brush waiting to attach like a burr to their next victim. Ultimately, adult male and female ticks meet on a host and reproduce. White-tailed deer appear to be the preferred host for adult ticks. At this point the pregnant female, after ingesting a third blood meal, drops off the host and lays her eggs on the ground.

If the ticks are infected with B. burgdorferi they can transmit this spirochete to their blood donors. However, not all of their hosts are “competent” to serve as a reservoir for this infection in nature. To qualify as a reservoir three conditions must be met-availability, poor grooming behavior, and an ability to tolerate chronic infection with B. burgdorferi. The mammals that best fit these qualifications are white-footed mice, chipmunks, and shrews. White-footed mice, in particular, are the most abundant and competent reservoir host. 

Interestingly enough, black-legged tick larvae are not infected at birth. Rather, they acquire Borrelia from a reservoir host during their first blood meal. Subsequently, the ticks are infected for life and can pass this infection on to other animals and to you. However, many animals, including deer, clear the infection rapidly and do not pass the spirochete on to ticks or to other creatures. Birds carry ticks, too, but efficiently remove them and kill them with their bills during the process of grooming. Birds also recover quickly from Borrelia burgdorferi infection and do not transmit the organism to other animals. Thus, sustaining Borrelia infections in nature involves a complicated process in which the infected reservoir population, and therefore the density of infected ticks, is regulated by the availability of food, the presence or absence of predators and competitors for that food, and the diversity and number of available hosts for black-legged ticks, only some of which serve as a reservoir for B. burgdorferi.

So what about you? If you are a Vermont birder who spends time in the woods you are at significant risk of acquiring Lyme disease from a tick bite.  As soon as you enter the woods you intersect with the life cycle of the black-legged tick. That is, you have entered their environment. Both nymph and adult black-legged ticks are capable of transmitting B. burgdorferi to you, but the nymphs are more problematic because they are tiny and their bite may not be recognized. Adult ticks, in contrast, are larger and are often removed before they have attached and fed. The first nymphs appear in the spring, when the temperature exceeds 40 degrees F. Nymphs that have fed successfully drop off of their hosts and develop in the leaf litter into adults. The population of adult ticks peaks in the fall. Hence, the ticks that I found on my pant legs in November were adult black-legged ticks. 

How likely is it that a nymph or adult black-legged tick in Vermont is, in fact, infected with B. burdorferi? The short answer is “very”. First, according to tick surveys conducted by the Vermont Department of Health, black-legged ticks are the most common ticks found in Vermont, accounting for over 75% of the ticks submitted for identification, although American dog ticks and Lone Star ticks were identified in the survey, as well. In 2013 Alan Geise from Lyndon State and Erica Berl from the Vermont Department of Health conducted a survey of ticks obtained from 12 sites in Vermont-six in the eastern part of the state and six in the western part. Both northern and southern counties were represented in this study. With the exception of the northeastern corner of the state infected ticks were discovered in every county studied. In aggregate 27% of the captured nymphs were infected with B. burgdorferi as were 62% of the adults. These percentages tended to be higher in the southern and western counties in Vermont. Once you know that the percentage of infected ticks is high, though, the exact number becomes less important, since the density of infected ticks in specific habitats varies tremendously even within a given county. Smaller forest fragments with abundant understory and leaf litter and fewer predators and competitors tend to support larger populations of white-footed mice and a higher density of infected ticks. So be careful out there!

So what to do to prevent Lyme disease assuming that you are unwilling to stay out of the woods? The Vermont Department of Health makes wise recommendations for prevention encapsulated in the slogan “Repel-Inspect-Remove”. Wear light clothing to more easily recognize attached ticks. Tuck your pant legs into your socks. Spray Permethrin, an acaricide, onto your clothes. Apply 25%-30% DEET to your exposed skin. Shortly after returning from your walk in the woods check your entire body for ticks in front of a mirror. Shower within a few hours of returning home to wash off unattached ticks that you may have missed and to remove DEET. You can even toss your clothes into the dryer for an hour at high heat. Dry heat kills ticks. Each of these measures contributes independently to the success of prevention, so the more methods you use, the greater the likelihood of success.

If you do find a tick attached to your skin remove it with tweezers by grasping its mouth parts at the level of the skin and lifting steadily. Don’t bend, fold, or mutilate the tick if you can avoid it. Wash the wound with soap and water to avoid secondary infection. Black-legged ticks must be attached to your skin for at least 24-36 hours before infection with B.burgdorferi is transmitted to you. The reason for this time lag is that the spirochete resides in the mid-gut of the tick and is tethered to the cells lining the gut. Once the tick begins to ingest blood, though, the organism undergoes a reorganization of the surface proteins responsible for adherence, releases its grip on the lining cells, and migrates into the tick's circulation, ultimately appearing in the saliva. It is tick saliva that transmits the organism to you.

A newly-attached tick often stimulates a local inflammatory response in the skin surrounding the attachment site. This is not a sign of Lyme disease. Also, during feeding ticks become engorged with blood and increase significantly in size. At this point after removing the tick, a single dose of an antibiotic such as doxycycline given within 72 hours is often effective in preventing Lyme disease. Consult your primary care physician for advice. Don’t forget your pets. Dogs and other domestic animals can get Lyme disease and can bring ticks into the house from outside. Check your pets for ticks as well as yourself.

What if, despite all of your efforts at prevention, you develop Lyme disease? Lyme disease peaks in June, July, and August, mirroring the appearance of tick nymphs, and evolves through several stages-early manifestations, early disseminated disease, and late complications. Over 70% of Lyme disease patients develop a characteristic skin rash expanding from the site of the tick bite called erythema migrans. This rash occurs 3-30 days after the tick bite and may or may not have a characteristic “bulls-eye” appearance. This rash may be accompanied by constitutional symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, and fatigue.  A few weeks later other symptoms may develop such as a disseminated skin rash, stiff neck, headache, facial weakness (Bell’s palsy), or even cardiac symptoms such as palpitations. Weeks or months later asymmetrical arthritis occurs in about 30% of untreated patients, manifested by swelling of a large joint, typically one of the knees, with or without pain. Subtle cognitive disabilities may be present, as well. If the diagnosis of Lyme disease is established antibiotics can be effective in killing the spirochete. The earlier in the course of the disease that treatment is started the better.

A few other diseases are transmitted by black-legged ticks, although currently these diseases are rare or uncommon in Vermont. Anaplasmosis, a rickettsial disease manifested by flu-like symptoms and depression of white blood cells and platelets in the circulation, has been reported in Vermont mainly in Bennington and Rutland counties. Anaplasmosis responds to antibiotic therapy, but can cause severe illness if left untreated and occasionally can be fatal. The number of cases of Anaplsmosis reported in Vermont, while less than 100 cases per year, has been rising steadily.

Babesiosis is a parasitic disease like malaria and, like malaria, can cause severe hemolytic anemia. Babesiosis is transmitted by black-legged ticks. Only a single reported case of babesiosis that was acquired in the state (that is, not acquired by travel to other parts of the country where babesiosis is endemic) has been confirmed in Vermont.

Finally, Powassan-type virus infection can be transmitted by Ixodes ticks. This virus causes encephalitis that resembles West Nile virus infection. Only one case of Powassan virus infection has been confirmed in Vermont in 1999.

In conclusion Lyme disease is a multisystemic inflammatory disorder and is the most common tick-borne disease in the country. The incidence of Lyme disease has increased dramatically in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine during the past decade. Awareness of the risk of tick-borne diseases in Vermont is essential for individuals who spend a great deal of time outdoors. The risk of acquiring Lyme disease is best understood in the context of the life cycle of the black-legged tick and how you and your pets intersect with this life cycle.  Effective means of preventing Lyme disease are available and should be used. Remember Repel-Inspect-Remove and be careful.

For further information visit the Vermont Department of Health website at http://healthvermont.gov and the CDC website at http://cdc.gov and search for Lyme disease. Here is a link to my 2015 presentation about Lyme disease in Vermont and its prevention.

Lyme Disease in Vermont Presentation by Bruce MacPherson (PDF)

A Lost Loon and a Roadside Rescue

Everybody loves loons. Listening to their yodeling call on a summer evening at a remote northern lake is truly a memorable experience. Since the Common Loon was removed from the Vermont Endangered Species List in 2005, the loon population has steadily expanded and breeding success has improved. In 2015 Vermont's loons enjoyed their best breeding season ever with 87 breeding pairs producing 67 chicks.

But every chick counts. This idea was on her mind in August when GMAS Board member, Ali Wagner, came upon a lost loon chick cowering at the edge of busy route 105 in the Northeast Kingdom just east of Island Pond. How the chick found its way to this spot was a mystery. Regardless, it was in a precarious situation and Ali promptly went into rescue mode. Her companion, Tom Berriman, longtime NEK Audubon Board member, drove to the Silvio Conte NWR to access the VINS hotline, obtain permission to move the chick, and contact Eric Hanson, the conservation biologist at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies who spearheads VCE's Loon Recovery Project, while Ali tended the chick.

Coached by Eric Hynes on the phone, Ali carefully wrapped the loon chick in a towel to protect its wings and legs. Later she and Tom transported the chick to nearby Spectacle Pond and released it. The chick swam toward two adult loons on the pond, but all was not well. Loons are notoriously territorial and this couple had their own chick to worry about. Later that day the rejected chick, affectionately named Little Guy, was found hiding in the reeds by Eric Hanson, who had appeared on the scene to check out the situation. Eric scooped up the chick and headed for shore. Rescued again!

After another unsuccessful attempt to release the chick at a different location, Eric decided to take the bird to his home for a minnow dinner. The next day he transported the chick to a rehabilitation facility in Maine. Amazingly, this fortunate bird thrived in rehab and six weeks later it was released to the wild. This loon should be renamed. Instead of Little Guy, perhaps we should call this loon Lucky Guy.

Ali wrote a wonderful story about this rescue, which appears on the Vermont Center for Ecostudies blog at http:vtecostudies.org/blog/. To read this story and the later updates go to the VCE blog and scroll down to the entries for August 25, August 31, and October 13.

On Tuesday, December 8, Eric Hanson joined the members of the GMAS at the Richmond Free Library to present a program entitled The Natural (and Unnatural) History of the Common Loon. We  heard more details about this rescue from Eric and Ali and learned more about the Common Loon Recovery Project in Vermont and how we can become involved.

Passenger Pigeons: Gone, But Not Forgotten

During the month of September, we celebrated a grim centennial. On September 1, 1914 Martha, the last surviving Passenger Pigeon, fell from her perch at the Cincinnati Zoo and died at age 29. Of course, this species was doomed long before 1914. The last surviving male died in captivity in 1910, leaving Martha to contemplate her lonely fate. In fact, after 1900 the only Passenger Pigeons extant survived in captivity. Wild Pigeons had gone missing late in the 19th century.

How could this happen? How could a species that was once so abundant, numbering in the billions, disappear completely during the span of a human’s lifetime? In the early 19th century 3 billion or more Passenger Pigeons inhabited North America in the land east of the Mississippi River, creating an awe-inspiring spectacle as their huge flocks moved from place to place in search of food. In 1813 Audubon described one such flock in Henderson, Kentucky. Here is Audubon’s description:

…the birds poured in in countless multitudes….The air was literally filled with Pigeons; the light of noon day was obscured as by an eclipse; the dung fell in spots, not unlike melting flakes of snow; and the continuous buzz of wings had a tendency to lull my senses to repose.                                                                         

JJ Audubon, Library of America, 2001

Audubon calculated that there were over a billion birds in one of these incredible flocks.

Persecution of the Passenger Pigeons by humans was the main factor contributing to their demise. Wild Pigeons were hunted relentlessly by commercial hunters and amateurs alike. Audubon described one such “hunt” at a roosting site on the banks of the Green River in Kentucky. Hundreds of people gathered for the slaughter, surrounding the “city” of roosting pigeons. Trees were cut down or set on fire, birds were suffocated with fuming sulfur pots, thousands were knocked down by polemen, and shotguns tore holes in the dense flock knocking scores of pigeons to the ground with a single shot. The dead, wounded, and mangled pigeons were piled up in heaps, packed into barrels 300 birds to the barrel, and carted off to market. Any remaining birds on the ground were fed to the hogs. Modernity played its role in the carnage. The telegraph communicated the location of these gigantic roosts instantaneously. In addition, railroads connected rural hunting sites with urban restaurants, inns, and hotels. The pigeons never had a chance. By the early 1890’s the population of Passenger Pigeons was reduced from billions to perhaps a few million birds in widely scattered flocks.

Still a few million birds is a lot of birds. For example, a few million American Wigeon might represent a healthy, stable population. In fact, a few million cormorants might be considered excessive by some. But for Passenger Pigeons a few million birds weren’t enough. As David Quammen reminds us in his excellent book The Song of the Dodo (1997) abundance is relative. Maybe Passenger Pigeons needed more than a few million birds to find the scattered concentrations of acorns and beechnuts that kept them going. Maybe they needed the social stimulation of city-sized roosts to lay their single eggs and nurture their toothsome squabs. Perhaps a nasty winter or two further depleted the stock. And, of course, there was always relentless human persecution. Whatever. By the late 1800’s there were not enough survivors among the newborn squabs to offset pigeon mortality and Passenger Pigeons disappeared from the wild.

Unfortunately for Passenger Pigeons and for us the advent of the conservation movement was still in the future while the wild pigeon population was being decimated. A few feeble attempts by state legislatures at protecting the pigeon population were launched, but the laws that were passed were too little, too late and were poorly enforced in any case. Notions of wildlife conservation were nascent at the turn of the century. The first Audubon society was incorporated in 1905 and the first federal wildlife refuge, Pelican Island NWR in Florida, was created by Theodore Roosevelt in 1904.The Audubon Society was instrumental in securing the passage of the Migratory Bird Act in 1913 and promoted the enactment of the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty in 1918, which continues to protect waterfowl and shorebirds today. But by that time Martha was dead in her cage.

So what is the legacy of the Passenger Pigeon? On Wednesday, October 8, author and naturalist Joel Greenberg recounted the story of the Passenger Pigeon and its extinction in a lecture at Lafayette Hall on the UVM campus. Joel is the author of an excellent new book entitled A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight to Extinction in which he recounts the complicated factors leading to the Passenger Pigeon’s demise. The salient fact is that human activities contributed mightily to their decline.  Even today human activities continue to affect bird populations adversely in the form of climate change due to the burning of fossil fuels, as amply documented in a new report from the National Audubon Society. This report predicts that over half of North America’s birds will become threatened or endangered as a result of climate change before the end of the 21st century. In support of this prediction the recently released State of the Birds report currently has 230 bird species on its watch list for birds that are at risk of extinction or threatened to become so if swift conservation action is not taken. This list is growing.

On the other hand attitudes toward conservation have shifted since the 19th century. Today there are many more resources at hand that benefit birds and other wildlife. Conservation-minded organizations such as the National Audubon Society, the Nature Conservancy, the National Wildlife Federation and many others lobby vigorously on behalf of conservation. As a result of this effort federal legislation has been enacted to protect wildlife, most notably the Endangered Species Act, signed into law forty years ago this year. Furthermore, thousands of citizen-scientists participate in the Christmas Bird Count, the Great Backyard Bird Count, the National Breeding Bird Survey, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's eBird, providing a data base that scientists can use to track bird populations in real time. Given all this attention it is unlikely that a rapid decline in bird populations will go unnoticed. Moreover, conservation works. Witness the recovery of Bald Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, and Osprey from the ravages of DDT and the resurgence of a host of waterfowl whose populations were threatened by drought and habitat loss in the middle of the 20th century. Wetland restoration through the Federal Duck Stamp program was crucial to the success of this conservation effort.

But threats remain and we must act. The legacy of the Passenger Pigeon is the observation that common birds can disappear rapidly in the face of adverse environmental circumstances, many of which are caused by human activities. Thus, the idea of keeping common birds common is more than just a mantra. Rather, this concept embraces a philosophy that promotes the continuation of life as we know it.

Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz 2016

Rusty Blackbird populations have plummeted by over 85% in the past half century and no one knows why. Recognition of the catastrophic decline of this once-common bird eluded birders and conservation biologists until the past decade. Now a group of international investigators led by the International Rusty Blackbird Working Group plans to study this problem by collecting data during the Rusty Blackbird's spring migration.

Rusty Blackbirds breed in marshes and bogs in the boreal forests of Canada and the northern United States, including Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. Vermont is at the southeastern edge of the Rusty Blackbird's breeding grounds. During the Second Vermont Breeding Bird Survey nesting sites for this frequently overlooked bird declined in the western part of Vermont, but increased in the northeastern highlands, possibly due to increased effort directed toward finding their nests. Nonetheless, only 20 nests were recorded in the second atlas down from 26 in the first survey. In 2014, at the urging of several conservation groups Rusty Blackbirds were added to the list of Vermont's endangered species. Understanding the factors affecting Rusty Blackbirds on their breeding grounds, wintering habitat, and migration stopovers will be essential first steps toward stabilizing the population.

To study Rusty Blackbird migration the International Rusty Blackbird Working Group initiated the Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz in 2014 in cooperation with eBird, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. To begin the group assigned migration target dates for 38 states, 9 provinces, and 3 territories asking birders to visit likely stopover points and document their observations in eBird. For Vermont the target dates are March 15 through the end of April. In 2014, its inaugural year, 4570 birders submitted 13,400 checklists to eBird with Rusty Blackbird data, a huge success. In 2015 4885 birders submitted 13919 checklists. This study will be repeated for one more year in 2016.

For more information about this project and tips to help you identify Rusty Blackbirds visit the Rusty Blackbird Working Group website at: 

http://www.rustyblackbird.org/outreach/migration-blitz/

Let's get out there and find those birds! Every Rusty Blackbird counts.

Rusty Blackbird Fact Sheet

The Snowy Owl Blitz in Addison County February 16th in the Year of the Irruption

by Ian Worley

The amazing irruption of Snowy Owls in North America in this winter of 2013-2014 has brought these charismatic Arctic wonders to a number of locations in Vermont. Little did we know when a single owl arrived at Perkins Pier on the Burlington waterfront on November 23rd, that we would have a flood of owls and the chance to see several in a day here in Vermont.

Perhaps because the sprawling, flat, clayplain agricultural lands of western Addison County resemble the owls' summer Arctic breeding grounds, an aggregation of snowies soon built and has remained resident into the second half of February.

On February 16th, 2014, a fabulous winter Sunday, over 40 volunteer observers in teams and as individuals spent a few hours or from sunrise to sunset  attempting to chronicle all the owls that could be found in Addison County. While the renowned Snowy Owl at the Dead Creek WMA goose viewing area attended to passersby and owlers alike throughout the day, the owlers spread out and canvassed parts or all of 15 towns. Snowy Owls are characteristically quiet during the day and often in easy view, aiding the survey count.

Many of the birds located were at sites where they were known for many days and weeks, perhaps since December. A few new locations were found, as well. In order to help assure that the number of birds counted did not include the same bird twice, observers were sent to the known owl locations throughout the day. For the most part, this technique appears to have worked well. In the densest owl population of western Bridport, it was challenging to know in a few places exactly how many birds there were.

A total of 123 observations of Snowy Owls were made by the observers. These were carefully mapped along with the time of day seen. From that information we concluded that at least 24 individual birds were tallied. There was speculation that more owls would be discovered due to the concentration of birders, but such was not the case. In fact the area of birds was quite constrained, even though through this winter birds have been seen far beyond this area. However the total number is similar to counts of previous weeks. A map of the blitz-found birds can be found at:

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zIeM49kV5yLs.kVOVmUBkO3Yw

We found Snowy Owls in only four adjacent towns on Sunday – three owls in Panton, six in Addison, twelve in Bridport, and three in Shoreham. The heart of the distribution, “Owl-Alley” if you will, follows Basin Harbor Road and Jersey Street from Shoreham to Panton. It was possible to see 10+ owls in less than an hour if you were familiar with their locations.

The northernmost location was on Slang Road in Panton, the easternmost were three owls scattered at locations along or near Route 22A, and the southernmost were two birds in northern Shoreham near the corner of Basin Harbor Road and North Cream Hill Road. None were on the frozen Lake Champlain shoreline. Thus the area with birds is but 18 miles from north to south, and 3-5 miles wide.

We can thank the late stages of glaciation for this special topography. Large Lake Vermont, dammed by a glacier just to the north 10,000 years ago deposited extensive glacial-ground clays at its bottom creating today’s flat clayplain landscape of along Lake Champlain, which itself is a remnant of Lake Vermont. Over 200 years of farming have created the large open fields and the prey found at their margins and within.

Four day-long surveys by four different birders between February 6th and 12th yielded 23 Snowy Owls. Three of those birds were farther north, one each in Panton, Ferrisburgh, and Starksboro. Slightly over half of the birds seen in those weeks were seen in the same locations as birds seen during the blitz on February 16th. It would seem that while the general location of the birds has stayed pretty much the same through this month, some birds have repositioned. Perhaps that is because of food availability, social interactions, boredom, or who knows what ……

In some places the owls roost during the day well spaced from other owls, but a few territorial encounters have been observed. However, in other places it is possible to see two individuals quite close to each other. Where they spend the night seeking prey is unknown.

How long will they stay now that the days are lengthening rapidly and the temperatures will soon rise? Not long, you would expect. That duration will be discovered by those of you who seek or chance to see a Snowy Owl in the next days and perhaps weeks.

Many thanks to all the participants of the Blitz, to those who shared best wishes but could not attend, to those who assisted in the design of the project and the analysis to date, and especially to Ellie George who envisioned the concept and suggested we do it …. only four days prior!

The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds of Vermont

Have you seen it? Snowy Owl? Nope. The Northern Hawk Owl? No, no. The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds of Vermont-it's a beauty. Expertly edited by Roz Renfrew from the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, the Atlas is a birder's tour de force. This book represents the work of over 350 volunteers over the five year time span from 2003-2008, making it the largest citizen-science initiative ever attempted in Vermont. At 548 pages and 5 1/2 pounds the Atlas contains a treasure trove of information that will delight birders and conservationists alike. For my money the Atlas is the best book written about Vermont's birds in over twenty-five years, that is since the First Atlas of Breeding Birds of Vermont was published in 1985.

The introductory chapters cover the methods used to obtain the data, an introduction to Vermont's biogeology, and a description of the changes in Vermont's landscape during the past century that have affected Vermont's bird life. A must read chapter entitled Bird Conservation in Vermont identifies the primary threats aimed at Vermont's birds and discusses the strategies that might be implemented to ameliorate these threats. Invasive species, habitat loss, predators, and, of course, climate change are among the threats that will challenge Vermont's birds in the future.

But the heart of the book resides in the 200 plus species accounts that appear in the Atlas. Written by local experts, including the editor herself, the species accounts provide a detailed snapshot of the status of every breeding bird in Vermont. Each article contains text, easy to interpret graphs and tables, a map showing the population distribution of each bird, and gorgeous photographs. The photographs themselves are worth the price of the book. These summaries are not intended to  be read through in one sitting. Rather, they are intended to be savored one-by-one as Vermont's birds return to their breeding grounds.

So what do the results show? What's up and what's down? The first question is "How many birds breed in Vermont, anyway?". The short answer is 202 confirmed breeders give or take a species or two. In general, woodland warblers, wetland species, and raptor populations are holding their own. Reforestation, active habitat management, and elimination of the use of avicidal pesticides have stabilized these bird populations or in some cases allowed them to flourish. Bald Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, and Osprey (not to mention Common Terns) all have benefited from intensive interventional management.

On the other hand grassland and shrubland bird populations have decreased due in part to the loss of abandoned pastures and early succession forests that have steadily reverted to more mature woodlands. Grasshopper Sparrows, for example, are listed as Threatened in Vermont and Upland Sandpipers are Endangered. Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, and Golden-winged Warblers are Species of Special Concern in Vermont, whose populations have steadily declined.

Likewise, aerial insectivores such as Purple Martin and Common Nighthawk (Endangered), and Eastern Whip-poor-will (Threatened) have all shown significant population declines. In fact, data from the Breeding Bird Survey were instrumental in providing the documentation necessary to list these birds as Threatened or Endangered.

Special mention should be made of the boreal bird species in Vermont. Boreal forest represents only a tiny sliver of Vermont's habitat found mainly in the Northeast Kingdom. Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Spruce Grouse, and Black-backed woodpecker-the NEK Grand Slam-all showed population declines since the previous survey. Similarly, Bicknell's Thrushes, breeding in the rugged habitat atop Vermont's highest mountain peaks, are under pressure as the spruce-fir habitat that they prefer disappears as a result of climate change.

This summary does not do justice to the detailed information assembled in the Atlas. To learn more you will have to buy this handsome book. The editor, Roz Renfrew, is to be commended for driving this complex project to completion. Likewise the volunteers who contributed thousands of hours to the survey and the authors of the species accounts deserve kudos. The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds of Vermont is a triumph of citizen-science that will serve as the ultimate reference book for Vermont's birds for many years to come. The Atlas takes its place along side other regional and national breeding bird surveys to give us the most detailed picture yet of the status of our nation's bird life.

114th Christmas Bird Count 2013

The 66th Christmas Bird Count conducted in the Burlington circle and the 114th CBC overall is in the books and it was a good one. On a snowy December day 55 birders ventured forth, counting 13042 birds-not record-breaking for sure, but respectable. The highlight of the count was a pair of Long-eared Owls heard at MacCrae Park in Colchester by Allan Strong and the Midnight Hooters in the early morning hours. In fact, on their route from Shelburne to Colchester, Allan and the Hooters picked up six owl species (Great-horned Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, Barred Owl, Long-eared Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, and a Snowy Owl), showing that the owls are out there if you are willing to put in the time and energy to find them.

New records were set or tied this year for Peregrine Falcon (3), Rough-legged Hawk (9), Northern Saw-whet Owl (1), Horned Lark (39), Eastern Bluebird (13), Red-bellied Woodpecker (14), Winter Wren (3), Dark-eyed Juncos (346), and American Goldfinches (484). Other notable findings were a continuing pair of Gadwall at Shelburne Bay, 9 Bald Eagles, a Northern Goshawk, Iceland and Glaucous Gulls, and 2 persistent Yellow-rumped Warblers in Shelburne. During count week two additional species were added to the count-a Brown-headed Cowbird and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a new bird for our CBC. When these two birds are included in the count, we tied our previous record of 73 species set in 2005.

"Southern" species continued their march into northern New England. In addition to the record-breaking numbers of Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Cardinals, Tufted Titmice, and Carolina Wrens (13) were broadly represented in multiple sectors of the Burlington circle.

Conversely, Bohemian Waxwings, Common Redpolls, Pine Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, and Purple Finches-all of which were reported in last year's count-were conspicuous by their absence. Maybe next year.

The day ended with the usual round up of the teams hosted by Bob and Shirley Johnson and entertainingly orchestrated by Jim Osborn. Truly this event is the highlight of our birding year. Here is a link to the final report of the Burlington CBC compiled by Eric Lazarus.

 2013 Bird Count Chart (pdf)

Birding at the Green Mountain Audubon Center

The Green Mountain Audubon Center in Huntington is one of Vermont's outstanding birding destinations. The Center is one of 17 Important Bird Areas in Vermont and is listed among the "Hotspots" in the VT eBird database. For many years the members of the Green Mountain Audubon Society have performed bird surveys at two locations at the Center-the Old Meadow trail behind the office building and the Peeper Pond trail. During this time the Meadow has been managed to provide early succession habitat for a variety of breeding warbler species such as Chestnut-sided Warblers and Mourning Warblers. The Nature Walk section of this website also provides a detailed account of the Center and its habitat. For more information about the GMAC visit the Audubon Vermont website at http://vt.audubon.org/.

In 2013 the GMAS created a bird checklist for the Center based mainly on our monitoring surveys. Entries into the VT eBird database for the Center and Audubon Vermont staff observations were included in the checklist, also. A total of 115 birds appear in this checklist. Warblers, flycatchers, woodpeckers, and thrushes are particularly well-represented on the list, but an impressive variety of birds was seen throughout the year. We have not yet conducted a formal breeding bird survey at the Center, but 46 species were identified as confirmed or probable breeders based on our observations during monitoring surveys and reports by the Audubon Vermont staff.

The GMAS continues to monitor bird life at the Center regularly. These bird walks are free and open to the public. Specific dates and times for these walks will be posted in the Events section of this website.

The Green Mountain Audubon Center bird checklist is available in printed form at the Center and at events sponsored by the GMAS. A link to a PDF of the checklist can be found at the bottom of this page. We hope that this checklist will be a useful resource for everyone who visits the Center. 

Enjoy birds.

GMAC Bird Checklist (2013)