The Hermit Thrush Newsletter
GMAS outings continue to be well attended and are spread out geographically among the three counties to make it easy for as many people as possible to participate. Below are some of the highlights from recent fall and early winter outings:
Twenty-four people covered more than three miles on Shelburne Farms on a mild October day that yielded 26 species, including the usual gulls, loons, and woodpeckers, a few Common Mergansers, some Eastern Bluebirds, and several dozen White-throated Sparrows.
On a mild but cloudy day in December, 75 birders braved gusty winds to count birds in the greater Burlington area for the 76th annual Winter Bird Count (known nationally as the Christmas Bird Count – the name change only applies locally, but follows several other Vermont counts in embracing a more inclusive moniker). Two teams also contributed to the count’s owling effort, and a team of 11 birders took on the behemoth task of counting the Burlington area crow roost. In addition to several record-high bird counts, this year we were excited to set a record for the number of volunteers! In total, volunteers documented 68 species and 15,042 individual birds!
Trish O’Kane used her quiet but powerful voice in service of many causes in her distinguished career as a journalist and activist. Whether it was documenting human rights abuses in Central America or working to fight racial and economic injustice in the American South, O’Kane, now a Senior Lecturer at the University of Vermont’s Rubenstein School for the Environment and Natural Resources, was a fearless chronicler of wrongs big and small. But what she didn’t do, she admits, was pay “any attention to environmental issues,” which she saw as separate from the global problems she worked on.
Centennial Woods Natural Area is a 65-acre natural area owned by the University of Vermont and managed by the Vermont Land Trust. It contains many different types of plants, trees, and wildlife, including 152 reported bird species. It has a network of trails that covers about 2.5 miles, crossing over conifer stands, mixed hardwoods, fields, rocky ledges, packed dirt, boardwalks, marshes, and ponds. Located on the densely populated Burlington/South Burlington boundary, it offers a reprieve from the nearby hustle and bustle.
As we move into autumn, I find myself reflecting on our very wet summer. Extreme weather events in Vermont and elsewhere inflicted large costs in terms of life, livelihoods, and property. Unfortunately, these events do not appear to be what we previously called “100-year events.” We need to prepare for them to be part of the annual rhythm of our lives.
A location that is small and very easy and rewarding to explore is Lagoon Road in Hinesburg. It’s less than a mile west of the Route 116 (Hinesburg Road) and Charlotte Road traffic light intersection. The village of Hinesburg has the fortune of having several great birding hotspots within a couple of miles of Lagoon Road, like Geprag Community Park, Russell Family Trails, Hinesburg Village Cemetery, and Carse Wetlands.
