*Vermont
*Statewide
*10/03/03
*VTVT0310.03

This is the Vermont bird report for Friday, October 3, 2003.

It was a quiet week! Reports this week of shorebirds were scarce, hawk
migration has subsided in terms of sheer numbers, and passerine migration
seems to have taken the front seat (relatively), although fallouts are
still few and far between. However, there are still some notable and
interesting sightings....

Hawkwatching at Putney Mountain on September 30th brought the first
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK and the third GOLDEN EAGLE of the season. SHARP-SHINNED
HAWKS were the most frequent flyovers (80), and fewer BROADWING HAWKS (40)
came through than in previous observation days. Other species seen included
TURKEY VULTURE (3), OSPREY (8), BALD EAGLE (2), NORTHERN HARRIER (3),
COOPER'S HAWK (4), RED-SHOULDERED HAWK (2), RED-TAILED HAWK (3), AMERICAN
KESTREL (20), MERLIN (1), AND PERGERINE FALCON (2).

A flock of southbound BRANT were seen over Lake Champlain from Mt.
Independence in Orwell on Oct. 1st.  At least 30 individuals circled the
mouth of East Creek once and then continued south.  Other migrants seen
along the lake included 2 dozen (most likely BLACK) SCOTERS in Grande Isle
on the morning of the 2nd.

At the Brilyea access at Dead Creek on Sept. 29, a juvenile PEREGRINE
FALCON was seen chasing GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS, but came up
empty-footed despite repeated attempts. Also seen were: RED-TAILED HAWK, a
female and a male NORTHERN HARRIER, CANADA GOOSE, SNOW GOOSE, BLACK DUCK,
BLUE-WINGED TEAL, WOOD DUCK, BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON, GREEN HERON, GREAT
BLUE HERON, and EASTERN PHOEBE. Another PEREGRINE was seen flying over the
Intervale in Burlington on October 1st, carrying "lunch".

At Union Village Dam in Thetford, Oct. 2, sightings included a juvenile
BALD EAGLE and
13 HOODED MERGANSERS.

Migrants that have been reported from various locations in the state
include CEDAR WAXWING,  BLUE-HEADED VIREO, RED-EYED VIREO, OVENBIRD, GRAY
CATBIRD, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, GOLDEN AND RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, MAGNOLIA,
BLACK-THROATED BLUE, BLACK-THROATED GREEN, NASHVILLE, WILSON'S,
CHESTNUT-SIDED and MYRTLE WARBLERS, EASTERN TOWHEE, SONG SPARROW, SWAMP
SPARROW, and LINCOLN'S SPARROW. Also, WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS are coming
through in big numbers now in the southern part of the state.

Thanks to the following contributors whose observations are cited
above:  Dana Rohleder, Rick Renaud, Sue Wetmore, Matthew Toomey, Bill
Shepard, Beth Hughes, and David Hoag.

This message is also available by phone recording: call 802-457-1053 and
press 3. This will put you into a menu where you will be directed to press
5 to hear the RBA. If you have any interesting birds to report, you can
leave a message by pressing 6, or you can send your sightings to the RBA
via e-mail at: [log in to unmask]

Roz Renfrew, Kent McFarland, Chris Rimmer
VT RBA Compilers



Rosalind Renfrew
Director, VT Breeding Bird Atlas
Vermont Institute of Natural Science
27023 Church Hill Road
Woodstock, VT 05091
802-457-1053 ext. 127