The Birds Are Back In Town

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Even if you aren’t on the lookout for spring birds,
you’ve probably noticed a few in the last couple of weeks. Robins are
everywhere. And maybe you’ve also spotted phoebes, red-winged blackbirds, pine
warblers and others. Unlike the weather, the return of these birds is a sure
sign of spring. Monday on Vermont Edition, it’s our annual spring bird show.
Self-proclaimed "bird diva" Bridget Butler discusses bird behavior,
spring migration patterns and shares tips on birding.

Some stumpers from the show:

Laurie in Dummerston writes: "We watched a different woodpecker this winter.  It seems to have moved on now, but we couldn’t identify it.  The size was somewhere between a downy and a hairy but mostly brown in color, no crest, and it was not a flicker.  What do you think?"

And Bob in Bennington writes: "I know that goldfinches go through a spring molt. But how is it that the
males seem to transform from their winter plumage to their mating
plumage seemingly overnight?"

If you have answers, post them in our discussion forum below for everyone’s benefit!

 

Also on the program, we talk to Burlington Free Press
reporter Candace Page about a new effort to protect Vermont’s small rattlesnake population.  The two-year study will attempt to determine
how many of the endangered snakes are in Vermont, where they live, and the travel corridors they use
for mating, reproduction, and foraging.

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