Hello Vermont Birders:

I ventured south from Burlington today hoping to catch up to a Snowy Owl.
I had plenty of raptor activity but no luck with my target.  For several
hours in the middle of the day, I patrolled most of the roads in Panton and
Addison.  What I did see for raptors was a lot of fun:

Merlin 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Bald Eagle 2
Rough-legged Hawk 6 (3 dark morph)
Red-tailed Hawk 8
Northern Harrier 14 (and I was careful not to double-count)

Photos of the Merlin and a Rough-legged are at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emhimages/6591818173/in/photostream/
and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emhimages/6591819903/

In a corn stubble field along Route 7 in Charlotte, just north of Lime Kiln
Road, I observed a Canada Goose with a neck collar among a flock of 294.
The collar was orange with white lettering and it read H8U2.  I will report
it to the banding lab, just curious if others have seen it around before.

Good birding,

Eric Hynes
South Burlington