As Shakespeare wrote in his play Romeo and Juliet, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” This old saying has become relevant to the Audubon family just recently, and I want to share some information about that with our membership, although you may already have heard the news. Last year, the board of directors of the National Audubon Society authorized an evaluation of the positive and negative associations with the “Audubon” name. They did so as a possible precursor, depending on the results of that evaluation, to a name change for the National Audubon Society. 

Freya McGregor describes herself as an “occupational therapist, a disabled birder, an Australian living in the US, a military spouse, a writer, a researcher, a consultant, and an advocate for access and inclusion in birding and the outdoors.” She is one of the most articulate and outspoken advocates for disabled birders, and she is a frequent contributor to publications, including Audubon magazine.

March and April can be exciting times to experience the many waterfowl species migrating back to their breeding grounds in the Arctic: Colorful Wood Ducks, improbably-billed Northern Shovelers, Gadwalls, American Wigeons pausing on their way to the tundra and boreal forest, elegant Northern Pintails, both kinds of teal, the diminutive Green-winged Teal, North America’s smallest dabbler, and the later-arriving Blue-winged Teal, the male’s blue upper-wing patch stunning in flight. These “dabblers” feed by head dipping.

Geprags Community Park is a fantastic 80-acre property owned and managed by the town of Hinesburg that hosts myriad bird species and Spring ephemeral wildflowers. It contains different habitats including grasslands, shrublands, and mature northern hardwood forests that are attractive to many bird species. The latest eBird species count there is 163, with 1581 checklists submitted. The main perimeter trail is about 1.1 miles long; if you explore all the side trails you will cover almost 2 miles and gain 134’ of elevation. This park is one of the best places in Vermont to find breeding Golden-winged Warblers, Blue-winged Warblers, and some of the hybrids like Golden-winged X Blue-winged Warbler, Brewster’s Warbler, and Lawrence’s Warbler. A collaboration started over a decade ago between the Hinesburg Conservation Commission (HCC), Audubon Vermont, and Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department has successfully managed this habitat.

In mid-December each year, people in the Burlington area flock to tally which birds make this part of Vermont their home. This past year on December 18th, a calm winter morning greeted 74 participants as they made their way outdoors on foot, by car, by snowshoe, or from the comfort of their homes, to count. From Williston to the waterfront, and from Mallets Bay to the middle of Shelburne, birds were identified and recorded as part of the “Christmas Bird Count.”