Most people associate Middlebury with the massive marble buildings of the college campus, or the bustling shire-town with its shops and narrow streets; or perhaps they think of the miserable traffic trying to wind its way thru and around the poorly-designed road network of Middlebury. I am like all of those people too, but I knew if I was going to have an interesting bird report for this Town, I would have to look elsewhere. Fortunately, there's a covered bridge on the south side of the town, and that's where I decided to go.

Three Mile Bridge Road is river-bottom farm country, south of the falls and mills and stores and college. The fields and meadows are expansive, the river is hidden by a snake of cottonwood trees. I managed to find a parking area at a boat launch, and set out to bird. My interest was first piqued by the river and the calls of a pair of Belted Kingfisher. But, as I approached the river's edge, a commotion in the water downstream caught my attention. There a pair of female Common Mergansers perceived me as a threat, and hurriedly shuttled their 9 juveniles to the downed tree branches on the opposite shore. Those chicks which were obedient, stayed right with their mothers; those who were unruly (or overly alarmed) dove under the water and surfaced ahead of their families. So comical, but alas humans ARE a threat during hunting season.

Continuing down the road, I came upon a section of road edge which hosted a dozen or so plants of Canada Lily (Lilium canadense). The lighting was good and the sky was a clear blue, so I shot photos of the yellows and the oranges.

A passing couple stopped and asked me about my activity, and then indicated that osprey were nesting along the river a bit to the south. Sure enough, further down the road I saw an Osprey soaring over the river, but it was far enough away that I could only observe it with binocs.

Checklist for Middlebury's Three Mile Bridge Rd:
Common Merganser: 2 females, 9 juveniles
Kildeer: 4
Wilson's Snipe: 1
Osprey: 1
American Kestrel: 1
Downy Woodpecker: 1 female
American Crow: 1
Eastern Phoebe: 2
Eastern Wood Pee-wee: 1
Least Flycatcher: 1
Warbling Vireo: 4
Belted Kingfisher: 2
White-breasted Nuthatch: 1
Cedar Waxwing: 4
Barn Swallow: 18
Yellow Warbler: 2
Mourning Dove: 3
Red-winged Blackbird: 11
Baltimore Oriole: 1
American Robin: 4
Song Sparrow: 10
American Goldfinch: 1

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