Date: 4/8/25 5:29 pm From: Chip Darmstadt <chipd255...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Harlequin ducks at Shelburne Bay
What a wonderful sighting Teage! The Harlequins were still at Oakledge this
morning, I was happy to see. My son Sam and I watched them diving in the
rocky cove, almost like we were standing on the coast of Cape Ann or
Ogunquit!
And speaking of the unexpected, I was walking my dog at Calahan Park this
morning and saw two loons fly over, one giving a tremolo call as it winged
overhead. Calahan Park is not far from the lake, as the loon flies, but
still a thrill to hear and see in my local patch.
Cheers, Chip
Chip Darmstadt
<Chip...>
On Mon, Apr 7, 2025 at 10:30 PM Teage O'Connor <badger.meli...>
wrote:
> Like many of you, I've spent hundreds of hours flipping back and forth
> through the pages of my well-worn Sibleys trying to ID some LBB or
> nondescript gull. There are tons of birds in there that I've never
> encountered out in the wild, but seeing them over and over again on those
> pages builds up a search image. And it's the rare but magical experience of
> seeing a mysterious bird out in the field and just knowing
> immediately, without having to look it up, what species it is.
>
> I remember this about 10 years ago with a bushtit in California and
> yesterday, while down at Oakledge Park in Burlington, it happened again. I
> spotted a couple of ducks about 100' away bobbing up and down in the water.
> From a distance, I couldn't quite tell what they were and my brain started
> sifting through a list of possibilities. But nothing quite fit. I made my
> way along the cliffs with my kids, and when we finally got another good
> luck from about 20' away, I said with great glee (that I don't think they
> quite appreciated), "Harlequin ducks!!!"
>
> Teage O'Connor (he/him)
> CrowsPath.org <https://crowspath.org/> >
> *Wild Burlington natural history newsletter*
> - https://crowspath.org/newsletter > *Natural History field guides*
> - https://crowspath.org/field-guides >
