251 Birds

Williamstown (Washington County)
Staples Pond and Marsh
Town #35

I’ve been unable to post anything for a week or so due to some very bad things (the internet has been out at home, and our laptop has been out of commission) and some very good things, including a trip to Wilmington for the excellent  Vermont Historic Preservation and Downtown Conference.  The laptop issue turned out to be not-so-serious, and the conference trip permitted a wonderful overnight at Grout Pond in Stratton.  I’ll have a post on Stratton as soon as I’m able to process the photos (on my working laptop!).

A few weeks ago I was able to make a brief visit to Williamstown.  I’ve never spent much time there, but with abundant ponds, a large swath of state forest, and a mysterious undeveloped state park that seems to have disappeared from the Vermont State Parks website, it probably bears a future visit when I have more time.  On this day, though, I stopped for a bit by Staples Pond, a chain of open water and marsh along Route 14.  The area is easily accessed by Tripp Road, a little-traveled dirt road that skirts the north side of the wetland complex.

Being there in late May was perfect- the bugs weren’t too terribly oppressive, dragonflies were everywhere, and the yellow pond lilies and yellow flag iris were beginning to bloom.

The birds weren’t terribly active in the mid-afternoon, but I did find abundant flycatchers, including 3 alder, 1 least, 1 eastern phoebe, and 2 very aggressive eastern kingbirds.  One of the alder flycatchers was even nice enough to come out of the shrubbery for a few minutes, though he didn’t come too close.  Still, this is probably the best look I’ve had at this species.  It’s an empid all right…

While I was watching the flycatcher a pair of common yellowthroats arrived in the scrub on the north side of Tripp Road.  They weren’t too confiding, but I did get a good look at the male.

Here’s the full list for my walk along Tripp Road:

• broad-winged hawk (1)
• alder flycatcher (3)
• least flycatcher (1)
• eastern phoebe (1)
• eastern kingbird (2)
• red-eyed vireo (2)
• blue jay (2)
• American crow (1)
• black-capped chickadee (1)
• veery (1)
• American robin (3)
• ovenbird (2)
• black-and-white warbler (1)
• common yellowthroat (6)
• yellow warbler (2)
• chestnut-sided warbler (1)
• black-throated green warbler (3)
• red-winged blackbird (12)
• common grackle (2)

Tags: 251 birds, alder flycatcher, barn, common yellowthroat, staples pond, vermont, washington county, williamstown, yellow flag iris, yellow pond lily