Vermont Birdwatching Report from my backbacking trip in the Northern Green Mountains (Goshen, VT; Rutland County).

Hello all those 1 people who have read my blogs.....

 

I just got back from an amazing camping/backpacking trip in the northern Green Mountains in Vermont.  There is a great, primiti9ve and rustic campsite that sits right next to Silver Lake, which is on the other side of RT 53, while the much larger and popular Dunmore Lake is on the other side.... and Fern Lake is before both.

The campground I went to was called Silver Lake campground, and is only accesible by hiking down a 1 mile trail from a parking lot inside Moosamaloo Recreation area (lot #9).  My buddy and I stayed there on night, left just our tent and stuff that we didn't need, and backpacked down Leichester Hollow Trail (4.4m), back up Colchester Ridge Trail (about 4 miles), around Silver Lake (about 1m), down the trail that leads to the Falls of Lana (lame), then about 3 miles onto a Green Mountain National Forest Trail until we found a absolutely unbelievable place to camp.  The rules of the GMNF prohibit camping within 200 feet of a trail, road, body of water, etc...  but we didn't =). Thee was a CRYSTAL clear brook that ran through these woods, and about RIGHT on the back was a perfectly flattened, no rock covered area that would fit both of our one person tents and a fire quite easily.  It was great....falling asleep to the sounds of owls and a truely untouched natural spring.  I put the water through my purifier anyway...but I really don't think I needed to.

 

When we woke up and had our breakfast, we hiked the 12+ miles back to the campground and floated around Silver Lake in snow tubes fro about 3 hours......until a Bald Eagle started soaring over the lake..... then I had to run back to camp to grab my binoculars.

 

The birding here was much better than I had expected....  because I have been stuck in a VT birding pattern.  The first trip was great birding, second bad, last trip was great, then this trip should have sucked...but was probably the best, as species go.

 

Here is a list of species I saw over the weekend....

** = have photo               $ = new bird for my life list

1) Northern Parula (m/f)

2) Black-Throated Blue Warbler (m/f) ** (female only)

3) Common Yellowthroat (m/f) **

4) American Robin

5) Broad-Winged Hawk

6) Scarlet Tanager (m/f) **

7) Barn Swallow

8) Bank Swallow

9) Northern Flicker

10) Eastern Wood-Peewee **

11) Pileated Woodpecker (m)

12) Tree Swallow

13) Black-Capped Chickadee **

14) Tufted Titmouse

15) Swainson's Thrush

16) Hermit Thrush

17) Veery **

18) Chestnut Sided Warbler (m/f) ** (both)

19) American Goldfinch (m/f)

20) House Finch (f)

21) Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker (m/f) $

22) Indigo Bunting (m/f) ** (both)

23) Common Grackle

24) Ring-billed Gull

25) Mourning Warbler (m/f) ** (both) $

26) American Crow

27) American Redstart (m/f) ** (both)

28) Belted Kingfisher

29) Northern Mockingbird

30) Blue Jay

31) Canada Warbler  $

32) Blue-Headed Vireo  $

33) Turkey Vulture

34) Hairy Woodpecker

35) Bald Eagle

36) Red-eyed Vireo

37) Philadelphia Vireo  $

38) Golden Crowned Kinglet

39) Cedar Waxwing

40) Wild Turkey

41) Northern Waterthrush  $

42) Yellow-throated Vireo

43) Yellow-rumped Warbler (m) **

44) Yellow Warblers

45) Black Throated Green Warblers (m/f)  $

46) Black and White Warbler (m) **

47) Black Vulture

48) Common Mergansers (one female with 6 offspring)

49) Northern Rough Winged Swallows

 

Mojo's New Sightings re-cap.....

The birds new to me I saw on this trip were the Northern Waterthrush, Philadelphia Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Canda Warbler, Mourning Warbler, and the Yelow-bellied Sapsucker.

I had thought I saw a Sapsucker in CT where I live last winter, but I was very new to birding and was not sure at all....since I started birding in late winter, and the YB Sapsucker leaves my area after winter, I didn't see one until I went north.