Rutland County Audubon Society - Birds and Bird Watching in Rutland County, Vermont, USA - Members' Gallery (click on photos to enlarge)

Members' Gallery (click on photos to enlarge) > Bird Photos From Around Vermont

Snow Bunting

Snow Buntings begin arriving in Vermont from their summer home on the northern tundra by the end of October and will stay through March. This photo was taken by Roy Pilcher at Shelburne Bay on October 20, 2010.
Dunlin

This photo of a first winter Dunlin was taken by Roy Pilcher at Shelburne Bay on October 20, 2010. Dunlin pass through Vermont in the fall from late September through October and winter along the east coast.
Purple Sandpiper

This Purple Sandpiper, taken on November 25, 2006 by Roy Pilcher, was taken at the same spot, Shelburne Bay, where he photographed the above Dunlin. As you can see from the eBird reports here, there are only a handful of Purple Sandpiper reports in Vermont in the past twenty years, all in October and November.
Sandhill Cranes

Roy Pilcher took this photo of a family of Sandhill Cranes at Bristol Pond (also known as Winona Pond) in Bristol in September 2010. Click on the image to see the full width of the photo. Sandhill Cranes, possibly the same pair, have nested successfully at this spot for several years. As you can see from the range map at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website All About Birds, this is well east of their normal range.
Red-tailed Hawk

The digital age is giving birders new ways to document and enjoy birds. This photo by Roy Pilcher was taken at the Intervale in Burlington on November 29, 2010. Roy photographed the hawk through his Kowa TSN 823 spotting scope (at 20x) using a Canon PowerShot SD 1200 IS digital camera, a technique known as digiscoping. Great detail at about 50 meters!
Carolina Wren

Marv Elliott photographed this Carolina Wren, one of two visiting his feeders. Carolina Wrens will sample most feeder offerings including suet, peanut butter, and peanuts. This species is becoming more common in Vermont. Click here to see an eBird map of Carolina Wren sightings in Vermont for 2010. The recent 2003-07 Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas confirmed 14 breeding Carolina Wrens, compared with one in the 1974-81 atlas.
Great Blue Heron

Finding a lingering "summer" bird during the Christmas Bird Count is always a highlight. Roy Pilcher photographed this bird during the count on January 2. Fortunately, the day was fairly warm and the heron found something to eat in the open water. Click here for sightings of Great Blue Heron during January in the past ten years.
Barred Owl

Sightings of Barred Owls increase in winter. Marv Elliott photographed this owl in Whiting on January 6. The owls are frequently seen perched near roads where there is open ground and snow covers the areas where they normally hunt. They are also seen near feeders, probably more interested in the rodents attracted by spilled seed than the birds. Click here to see January reports of Barred Owls over the past decade.
Eastern Screech-Owl

This Eastern Screech-Owl was seen sunning itself in the entrance hole of a Wood Duck nestbox in Ferrisburgh on January 22. With its cryptic markings and coloration, its identity still wasn't immediately obvious even in such an open location as this. The observers were fortunate to find it as Screech-Owls are more frequently heard than seen. Click here to see the distribution of sightings in Vermont over the past ten years.
Northern Saw-whet Owl

Joel Flewelling was snowshoeing near Mt. Aeolus in Dorset on January 23 and woke up this Northern Saw-whet Owl, asleep under a rock outcrop. Owl sightings seem to increase in winter with Barred Owls near feeders and visitors from the north such as the Northern Hawk Owl currently being seen near Montpelier. Click here to see the distribution of sightings of five species of owls in Vermont from December 2010 to January 2011.
Barred Owl, West Rutland, VT

This Barred Owl was perched near a group of bird feeders in West Rutland during the Feb. 2, 2011 snow storm. For more information about Barred Owls, see our Journal entry.
Horned Lark

Roy Pilcher took this photo of two Horned Larks relaxing in the sun in Poultney in February 2011. Horned larks feed on grass and weed seeds in open areas. They are often seen along roads in winter particularly near farms. Click here to see where Horned Larks are being seen in Rutland County this year.
Lapland Longspur

Sue Wetmore photographed this Lapland Longspur on Nortontown Road in Addison, a good spot to look for these winter visitors. They are sometimes seen in flocks of Horned Larks so check carefully.
Common Redpoll

Common Redpolls appear in large numbers some winters. They became more abundant as winter progressed in 2010-11. This one was photographed by Sue Wetmore in Brandon.
Green-winged Teal

Yah spring! The ice is starting to recede and waterfowl have been returning to ponds and lakes, boosting Rutland County numbers in this year's County Quest. This female Green-winged Teal was photographed in Benson. Click here to see where they are being seen this spring.
Eastern Kingbird

This Eastern Kingbird, photographed in West Haven by Sue Wetmore, was acting in a unflycatcherlike manner. It repeatedly landed on a pile of slate, catching bugs, and taking them off to feed young.
Black-billed Cuckoo 6-30-2011 sue wetmore

2011 is shaping up to be a cuckoo year, with reports of both Black-billed and Yellow-billed around the state. This Black-billed Cuckoo was photographed in West Haven by Sue Wetmore. It is distinguished from the Yellow-billed by, you guessed it, the color of the bill as well as its red orbital eye ring and undertail pattern. Click here to see this year's sightings of both species.
chestnut-sided warbler2 (wetmore).jpg

Warblers can cause much aggravation for birders in the fall. The hint of chestnut on the sides of this bird identifies it as a first winter male Chestnut-sided Warbler. Sue Wetmore took this photo on Hollow Road in Brandon.