*Vermont

 

*Statewide

5.5.08

 

*VT0403.06

 

This is the Vermont Rare Bird Alert for May 5, 2008 covering the period
April 28-May 4, 2008.

 

The highlights of the week were a GLOSSY IBIS in breeding plumage at Grosse
Point off Sand Road in Ferrisburg on 5/3, a GOLDEN EAGLE in Danby on 5/4;
two DUNLINS on 5/3, one at Herrick's Cove and one in Windham and a report of
a western PALM WARBLER at Herrick's Cove on 5/3. 

 

(First of the year sightings have asterisks.)

            

As of 5/2 there were 24 GREAT BLUE HERONS on nests on Four Brothers Islands.
CATTLE EGRETS* returned to Shelburne Farms, with 6 spotted on 5/1 and 2 on
5/3.  There are three nesting pairs of GREAT EGRETS on Four Brothers
Islands.  In addition, a GREAT EGRET was seen at Mississquoi NWR as well as
one in South Burlington this week.

 

Two WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS were observed in Jacksonville on 5/3.

 

A MERLIN was seen in Windham on 5/2 and at the Ledyard Bridge in Norwich on
5/4.

 

An UPLAND SANDPIPER* was spotted in Vergennes on 5/4.

 

Sixty-one CASPIAN TERNS, some incubating eggs, were counted on Four Brothers
Islands, where they have nests for the past four years.

 

A CHIMNEY SWIFT* was sighted at the West Rutland Marsh on 5/3.
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS* returned to Rutland on 5/1 and Pownal on 5/4.

 

LEAST FLYCATCHERS* were seen in South Starksboro (5/1) and Richmond (5/3,
5/4).

 

WARBLING VIREOS* returned to Waitsfield (5/1) and Pittsford (5/3).  RED-EYED
VIREOS* were seen and heard at Lake Runnemede in Windsor (5/2) and in
Hartland (5/5).

 

Three CLIFF SWALLOWS* were spotted at the West Rutland Marsh on 5/4 and one
in Waitsfield on 5/3.

 

A WOOD THRUSH* was observed at the Union Village Dam on 5/2, in Pownal on
5/4 and in Hartland on 5/5.

 

An AMERICAN PIPIT was seen in Fairfax on 4/28.

 

Returning warblers include a  NORTHERN PARULA* at Herrick's Cove and in
Windham on 5/3 and one in Rutland on 5/4; BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLERS* in
Mt. Philo State Park on 4/30, Windham on 5/2, and along the West River on
5/3; A BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER in the Aitken State Forest on 5/1 and a NORTHERN
WATERTHRUSH* in Guilford on 4/30 and at the Green Mountain Audubon Nature
Center in Huntington on 5/2.  

 

This weekly Vermont birding report is a service of the Vermont Center for
Ecostudies (VCE).  VCE is a non-profit organization dedicated to the
understanding and conservation of birds and other wildlife.  With a reach
extending from northern New England through the Caribbean to South America,
our work in wildlife research and population monitoring unites people and
science for conservation.  Our offices are located in White River Junction.
Please visit VCE's web site at www.vtecostudies.org . 

 

Please report your sightings of rare or unusual birds to VCE, or email
reports to [log in to unmask]  Better yet, enter your sightings on
Vermont eBird at http://ebird.org/content/vt/.

 

Mary Holland

Chris Rimmer

Kent McFarland

Roz Renfrew

Vermont RBA Compilers,

Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE)

802-649-1431