Hello everyone and Happy New Year,

I am thinking of going to see the TS tomorrow or Friday.  Has
anyone seen it lately?  I noted that one kind birder watched the
other day for quite a while with no luck.  Does anyone know if there
is a good time of day to make our chances better?  Also, is the
varied thrush still in Montpelier?  I tried once for that one but no
luck.

Thanks for your reply directly to me.    Jo Ann Lafayette Burlington
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On 28 Dec 2003 at 6:47, Roy Pilcher wrote:

> It is not yet 5 a.m. and I am unable to sleep!
> Time to be up, have a cup of tea and 'spread the
> word' in the hope that some birder(s) may have the
> good fortune to confirm our 'find' of a Townsend's
> solitaire observed yesterday morning, Saturday,
> during Rutland County's Christmas Bird Count. The
> solitaire was observed in the immediate company of
> two Eastern bluebirds, and fortunately for our
> group of five, one of the observers while out West
> this past fall had encountered the species.  This
> observer notes his first observation of a
> Townsend's solitaire goes back to Water Canyon,
> NM, in 1996, obviously, nothing in Vermont!
>
> The bird was observed off Pleasant Street, West
> Rutland.  Pleasant Street runs north/south.  Enter
> Pleasant Street from Route 4A West/East.  If
> approaching from the east it is just before the
> rail crossing, Artistic Memorials will be on the
> corner, take a right turn.  If approaching from
> the west it will be just after the railway
> crossing, make a left turn at Artistic Memorials.
> Continue along pleasant Street past the Catholic
> church, keep going, the black top will change to
> gravel.  The road continues downhill until it
> crosses a small stream.  On your right, (east),
> there is a row of old maples and the ground rises
> fairly steeply, on your left, (west), the ground
> falls away to and open pasture.  If you have gone
> as far as a sharp turn to the left, west, you have
> gone too far.  The bird was sighted in the company
> of the bluebirds approximately 30 m from the road
> on the east side and some 50-100 m beyond the
> stream. (This is an area in which we have
> encountered bluebirds in the past since there is
> usually and abundance of wild fruit.)
>
> It would be wonderful to have a second
> confirmation!
>
>
> Roy Pilcher
> Proctor, Vermont.
>
> Speaking the Same Language