After stopping for coffee in Island Pond, Peg Ackerson and I arrived at Wenlock WMA in Ferdinand, VT before 7 am. Peg followed the faint drumming past the swamp on South American Pond Road and called me over to see a Black-backed Woodpecker.
After a while it moved to a downed tree before heading over the treetops into the marsh and out of sight and sound.
Not long after a pair of Boreal Chickadees made a very brief appearance.
But birds were few and far between–just a group of 5 Red-breasted Nuthatches. So we headed back up the road to the spot where a Northern Hawk Owl had been living. I guess we were a week too late. But while searching for it a trio of Hairy Woodpeckers entertained us and a Red-breasted Nuthatch posed briefly in a branch cavity of a tree.
Back on South American Pond Road we checked out the swamp and came up dry. We donned snowshoes and headed to Moose Bog. The bog was beautiful. Then a sound like a truck backing up. “Northern Saw-whet Owl” said Peg just before I exclaimed, “Gray Jay”. “No, a Saw-whet Owl.” I pointed and said, “look to your left, a Gray Jay”. It quietly flew in and sat tall and proud watching us as we listened to the very loud and persistent calling of a Northern Saw-whet Owl. It’s mate joined in and made this a special moment at a very special place.
Off to Victory Bog with a stop at the falls of the Moose River.
At Victory Bog, another pair of Gray Jays and more ankle bracelets. And as we were leaving, a backlit candelabra in the field.
