My previous blog about Campbell Flat was Part 3 of “three reports from this great spot.” But I couldn’t stay away. It actually was not the rare Western Kingbird that attracted me but a chance to capture more of the migration and hard-to-identify sparrows.
I was rewarded by getting a quick photo of one of my favorite birds, a Brown Creeper. This tiny bird is not rare and is around all year, but it is rarely seen and ever more rarely photographed. It flies to the base of a tree and quickly works its way upwards picking food from the bark as it goes. It has a different biological niche than nuthatches which grab insects while facing downward.
Maybe I like Brown Creepers because they are so hard to photograph. This one was not out in the open but buried deep in brush and only visible for a few seconds.
Campbell Flat in October yielded some very nice birds, including some rarely seen. These included two sparrows: a Lincoln’s Sparrow — though it was around in amazing numbers at Campbell Flat this fall — and a Savannah Sparrow.
There were a pair of Rusty Blackbirds deep in the shrubs along the Ompompanoosuc River at Campbell Flat. I think they are beautiful birds. I have never gotten as good an opportunity to photograph them as this time. They stayed put for quite a while, and I was able to maneuver to get relatively clean shots.
I was only marginally looking for the very rare Western Kingbird that spent five days at Campbell Flat. I figured I would have a better chance finding it when more people arrived later in the morning with more eyes and optics scanning the treetops. But I did look up occasionally high above the sparrows to see what might lurk in the tree tops.
Up high I photographed one of the very many robins and a male and female Red-winged Blackbird. I still remember years ago at a presentation showing a photo of a female Red-winged Blackbird, labeled as a Red-winged Blackbird. Someone in the audience shouted, “that is no Red-winged Blackbird!”
Last fall on Monhegan with VCE, I decided Yellow-rumped Warblers were the chickadees of the warblers. They were everywhere. Reliably, there were some at Campbell Flat. Here are two.
The ever-present Song Sparrows were around in abundance.
And there were plenty of Swamp Sparrows.
And the beautiful White-throated Sparrow.
And some White-crowned Sparrows.
I got a photo of a beautiful, and normally rare, Lincoln’s Sparrow.
And a somewhat rare Savannah Sparrow. It looks a bit like a Lincoln’s, but then most sparrows look alike to me. Please let me know it any of these IDs are wrong.
After a nice loop around the recently cut corn field, I got back to a group that had now gathered to look for the rare Western Kingbird. Chris Rimmer arrived and immediately pointed it out in the top of a tall tree far across the field. It seemed almost like he brought it with him. I’m not sure if others spotted it before he did.
I looped around to the left hoping to get closer with the sun at my back. I slowly approached, taking a few very distant photos as I did. I was still very far away with branches in the way when the bird flew. Here are a few of the marginal photos I got of this fourth-ever reported sighting in Vermont.
The kingbird flew to another tree, then shortly after disappeared over the Pompy. I’m not sure if it was seen again. But folks kept looking.
While heading to Campbell Flat, I stopped at Pompy Oxbow and joined Chris Rimmer and Nathaniel Sharp in a sparrow-filled field.
I found a nice Carolina Wren. My first incorrect reaction was Northern Waterthrush. I concentrate on getting photos and worry about the IDs later.
There were some warblers, including an American Redstart.
There were several Yellow-rumped Warblers present. Here is one.
Numerous Swamp Sparrows were around.
And of course, Song Sparrows.
There was a White-crowned Sparrow.
And a Savannah Sparrow.
Both Campbell Flat and Pompy Oxbow are great spots in Norwich, not far apart.
If you would like to see earlier photos from Campbell Flat and other places, you can get to them if you can CLICK HERE and then click on the blog you would like to see.