Hello all,

Dwight Cargill and I birded a good sized section of the western Champlain 
Valley yesterday (from Shelburne to Orwell). It was as great a pre-Spring day 
as one could hope for with temperatures reaching the upper 40's with little to 
no wind and a clear blue sky. We were hoping for some early migrant arrivals 
but will have to wait a bit more for them. Some of our highlights:

Shelburne Point (west of shipyard) at 8:19 a.m.
Common Goldeneye- 50+
Red-breasted Merganser- 26

Meach Cove in Shelburne at 8:40 a.m.
Horned Grebe-5

Orchard Rd. in Charlotte at 8:57 a.m.
Red-bellied Woodpecker- 1

Charlotte Town Beach at 9:10 a.m.
Common Goldeneye- 200+ (scattered)

McNeil Cove in Charlotte at 9:24 a.m.
Common Loon-1
Canada Goose- 1

Town farm Bay in North Ferrisburgh @ 10:00 a.m.
Canada Goose- 2
Bald Eagle- 3 

Ferrisburgh Town Beach (on trail that starts at end of park. lot) at 10:56 a.m.
Bald Eagle- 3 flying
Ruffed Grouse- 1
Song Sparrow- 1
White-throated Sparrow- 1 (white-striped) This bird probably wintered there 
because I also saw one there on Feb. 10th.
Red-winged Blackbird- 25+ (all female) I think these may have wintered there 
because I also saw 15+ (all female) there on Feb. 10th.

Walker Rd. in Ferrisburgh at 11:56 a.m.
Eastern Bluebird- 2

Button Bay in Ferrisburgh at 12:26 p.m.
Lesser Scaup- 1
Bald Eagle- 1

Oven Bay in West Addison at 1:01 p.m.
Bald Eagle- 9

Open water area SE of Chimney Pt. along Rte. 125 in Addison at 1:21 p.m.
Mallard- 100+
Canvasback- 2 males (great job by Michael Benjamin Lester spotting these 
from the ferry on Friday!!) 
Bald Eagle- 6

Lapham Rd. in Shoreham at 2:00 p.m.
Rough-legged Hawk- 1 (dark morph)

Rte. 22A in Shoreham at 2:06 p.m.
Rough-legged Hawk- 1 (light morph)

Dead Creek Wildlife Management Viewing Area (N side of Rte. 17) at 3:15 p.m.
Rough-legged hawk- 1 (light morph)

Enjoy Birds,

Jim Mead