Drive Around Shelburne Farm on a Windy Evening 2/8/19

I left the UVM campus around 4:00pm and drove towards Shelburne Farm. One of my buddies told me that this was a great place to go birding so I had to check it out. I entered the farm on a muddy road and drove for about a mile before I met Shelburne Bay. The temperature was around 32 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind was quite strong; so strong that my hat blew off multiple times. I would soon find out how the wind would affect my first birding excursion. There was about 50 percent cloud cover and the sun was low in the sky. The setting sun cast an orange light on the clouds above and it was stunning.

As I drove up to the water, I noticed that the dirt road I was driving on was surrounded on both sides by and icy watery mix. It was frozen in some places and still liquid in others. The reason why there was water on both sides was because the water from Lake Champlain must have come over the road at one point and flooded a small, football field-sized area. I saw the 5 Mallards in this flooded area. There were 2 males with bright green heads and 3 females which were a more brown/white mix. They were sitting or standing on the ice. I got out of my car and grabbed my binoculars. I sat on the frozen grass for about 20 minutes watching their lack of behavior. They seemed comfortable where they were so I turned my focus to the water. Through my binos I noticed about 10 Gulls. I don't know much about identifying Gulls unfortunately and I couldn't get a picture because of the distance I was from them. They were soaring high above the lake and were barely ever flapping their wings. The the wing ratio on these birds was large, contributing to a great amount of lift. After watching for about 10 minutes, I got back in my car and continued down the road.

After about a quarter mile of driving, I noticed movement in a field about 200 yards from where I was. I pulled over the car and got out. I used my binos to watch as a Red-tailed Hawk flew up to a high branch of a White Pine and perched. I got the chance the observe the Hawk perched for about 10 more minutes. This was a large bird about the size of an eagle. It had a reddish bottom and a brown body. I then got in my car to get a bit closer. As I pulled up to my parking spot, the Red-tailed Hawk took flight. The wingspan of this bird was quite impressive. As it flew, it moved its wings very minimally. I'm not sure if this is just because it was windy or if this is the typical flight pattern of this bird. As the bird got closer I noticed that its primary wing feathers were spread out and each acted as its own air foil. I assume this contributes a lot to the lift these wings create. This must add to its ability to soar with little flapping. Its flight pattern was slow but steady. It barely lost any elevation. It flew about 50 yards above my car and then continued on northeast over a large stand of White Pine. It was here that I lost visual of the bird.

I walked around the farm for another 45 minutes with little luck in finding any other bird species other than the ones mentioned above. I assume this is because the high wind speeds deter other species to be active at this time. Once the sun went down on the horizon i left the farm and drove back to campus. My first birding expedition was exciting despite the lack of diversity observed.

Posted on February 8, 2019 11:25 PM by joeg170