Hi everyone,
I want to explain what Quest is to people who have recently joined. More for you old hands below.
Bird Quest is a more-or-less mild competition between the counties of Vermont. Who can count the most species? But it is more than that. The whole state will have an energized use of E-bird and we will collect huge amounts of data. There will be prizes (most yet to be determined). Vermont Eco-studies will figure out a way to weight what we find to make it  a more fair competition against the Lake Champlain counties. 
We here in Bennington County have already made a great start. Your captains, Kevin Hemeon, Randy Schmidt (Manchester) and I will be on hand to answer questions if there are any. 
At the moment we are in third place with 60 species, but I do want to emphasize that we want all birds counted - not just "good birds" or a new species to the list. 
To find more information go to www.vtecostudies.org  There is a list of participating counties, their captains, rules to live by, etc. 
To find our Bennington County web site that Randy Schmidt of the Vermont Bird Place has created, go to
http://store.thevermontbirdplace.com/vermontcountyquest.aspx  Many, many thanks to Randy! The site will have more items as we grow. Go there for more information and links. Events can be listed there. Do you have one? Put it up. Do you want someone to bird with? Put it on the board.
Kevin has suggested that we all choose a day this weekend (or both days) to count birds at our birdfeeders. You can then register with Vermont E-bird - if you haven't already - and enter your data. If you have problems you can ask your captains for help. There are many people using E-bird so there will be other people to ask as we find out who they are! 
Let your birding friends know what we are doing and invite them to join. 
Questions? That's what your captains live for! You can reach us here:
Randy Schmidt     [log in to unmask]

Kevin Hemeon      [log in to unmask]   Do not let the 'Marie' in his address throw you off.

Bonnie Dundas     [log in to unmask] 

A Barred Owl perched all morning in a tree behind the house. It seemed to enjoy the sun. The other birds ignored it - even the crows. 
Happy birding.
Bonnie