On Nov 21, 2013, at 12:00 AM, VTBIRD automatic digest system wrote:

> There are 7 messages totaling 227 lines in this issue.
>
> Topics of the day:
>
>  1. Ross's Gull in Quebec & Shelburne Bay, 11/19
>  2. VT CBCs (3)
>  3. Snowy Owl
>  4. Speaking of Large Pale Birds
>  5. La Mouette Rose
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 19 Nov 2013 21:07:15 -0800
> From:    Kyle Kittelberger <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Ross's Gull in Quebec & Shelburne Bay, 11/19
>
> Hey everyone,
>
> Tuesday morning I left my dorm fairly early and drove several hours  
> to the wastewater treatment plant at Chambly in Quebec to search for  
> the Ross's Gull. I was a little nervous that the weather would not  
> be favorable, as the forecast called for strong winds and I ran into  
> some snow/sleet while driving across Vermont, but we ended up having  
> decent weather in Quebec (though it was still fairly windy early  
> on). I joined half a dozen or so other birders a little before 9:00  
> am in searching for the gull in the cold weather, but I did not have  
> to wait long before success. The bird was first seen by a couple of  
> us around 9:15 am, sitting on the back mound of the second treatment  
> cell. While it was sitting with its back to us, you could clearly  
> see the pinkish underside of the bird. The bird then started flying  
> when the other gulls it was sitting with became airborne, and I saw  
> the pinkish underside of the bird as well as its smaller shape. The  
> gull flew to the
> third cell and disappeared behind the front mound. However it did  
> not take long before the Ross's and some Bonaparte's flew above the  
> mounds, allowing everyone to observe the bird in flight and see the  
> the pinkish breast and dark gray underwings. Over the next hour we  
> observed the bird frequenting different portions of the treatment  
> area; it reappeared in the back of the first cell (the cell closest  
> to the observation area) before flying to the second and then third  
> cells. On the water the Ross's was easy to distinguish from the  
> other gulls, due to its smaller size, grayish/pinkish breast  
> (depending on light), lack of prominent earspot, unmarked wings, and  
> different posture and shape, with its head appearing more dove-like  
> compared to the Bonaparte's. I last saw the Ross's Gull around  
> 10:15/10:20 before slowly making my way back home.
>
> A terrific experience and well worth the trip! Below is a link to my  
> flickr set with pics and videos of the gull, as well as my eBird  
> list for the area. I like how my videos of the bird turned out.
> http://www.flickr.com/

> /hawk-eagle/sets/72157637862180776/
>
> http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15713197
>
>
> On my way back to New Hampshire I took a slight detour and traveled  
> to the boat launch area at Shelburne Bay to try for the Little Gull  
> that was last seen a couple days ago. While I spent a couple hours  
> waiting and observing, I had no luck. No sign of the Little Gull.  
> Best birds for the area were probably 4 female Common Goldeneyes and  
> two pairs of Gadwall. Below is my list for Shelburne Bay:
> http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15712814
>
>
> Cheers,
> Kyle Kittelberger
> Dartmouth
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Wed, 20 Nov 2013 11:50:40 -0500
> From:    Kent McFarland <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: VT CBCs
>
> Hello birders,
> I am slowly adding dates for all the CBC counts in Vermont as I get  
> them.
> Check it out on Vermont eBird at
> http://ebird.org/content/vt/news/the-114th-christmas-bird-count-in-vermont/
> .
>
> Also, if you like to add your sightings to Vermont eBird from a CBC,  
> check
> out these tips at
> http://ebird.org/content/vt/news/adding-your-cbc-data-to-vermont-ebird/ 
> .
>
> Thanks
> Kent
> ____________________________
>
> Kent McFarland
> Vermont Center for Ecostudies
> PO Box 420 | Norwich, Vermont 05055
> 802.649.1431 x2
>
> [image: VCE Logo] <http://www.vtecostudies.org/>
> Visit Our Pages: [image:
> Facebook]<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vermont-Center-for-Ecostudies/56930912454 
> >
> [image:
> YouTube] <http://www.youtube.com/user/VCE14> [image:
> Blogger]<http://vtecostudies.blogspot.com/>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Wed, 20 Nov 2013 12:02:59 -0500
> From:    Durand <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: VT CBCs
>
> Hi Kent......Mt. Abe's count date will be Dec. 14 , 2013  .  
> Thanks .--Randy
> On Nov 20, 2013, at 11:50 AM, Kent McFarland wrote:
>
> Hello birders,
> I am slowly adding dates for all the CBC counts in Vermont as I get  
> them.
> Check it out on Vermont eBird at
> http://ebird.org/content/vt/news/the-114th-christmas-bird-count-in-vermont/
> .
>
> Also, if you like to add your sightings to Vermont eBird from a CBC,  
> check
> out these tips at
> http://ebird.org/content/vt/news/adding-your-cbc-data-to-vermont-ebird/ 
> .
>
> Thanks
> Kent
> ____________________________
>
> Kent McFarland
> Vermont Center for Ecostudies
> PO Box 420 | Norwich, Vermont 05055
> 802.649.1431 x2
>
> [image: VCE Logo] <http://www.vtecostudies.org/>
> Visit Our Pages: [image:
> Facebook]<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vermont-Center-for-Ecostudies/56930912454 
> >
> [image:
> YouTube] <http://www.youtube.com/user/VCE14> [image:
> Blogger]<http://vtecostudies.blogspot.com/>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Wed, 20 Nov 2013 16:05:14 -0500
> From:    Bob Dill <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Snowy Owl
>
> We had a good view of a Snowy on the Colchester Causeway.  It was
> between the bridge and the cut.  There might have been two but the
> 'second' was probably the first one a second time.
> Bob
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Wed, 20 Nov 2013 17:14:58 -0500
> From:    Bruce MacPherson <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Speaking of Large Pale Birds
>
> I spotted a Glaucous Gull at Shelburne Bay this afternoon. This  
> large pale gull was pulling on something (a dead fish perhaps) in  
> the water near the shoreline and was harassing any Ring-billed Gulls  
> that tried to get a piece of the action. This gull was uniformly  
> pale overall-almost white-with white wing tips and underwing. It was  
> half again as large as the Ring-billed Gulls and comparable in size  
> to a nearby Great Black-backed Gull.
>
>
> The bird lifted off about 4 P.M. and so did I.
>
>
> Bruce MacPherson
> South Burlington
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Wed, 20 Nov 2013 18:17:32 -0500
> From:    Sally Laughlin <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: VT CBCs
>
> Hello Kent and any interested birders
> The Woodstock Xmas Count will be on Wednesday 18 December - our 39th  
> Count!
> Please let me know if any of you are interested in joining us;
> Sally Laughlin
> [log in to unmask]
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kent McFarland
> Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 11:50 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [VTBIRD] VT CBCs
>
> Hello birders,
> I am slowly adding dates for all the CBC counts in Vermont as I get  
> them.
> Check it out on Vermont eBird at
> http://ebird.org/content/vt/news/the-114th-christmas-bird-count-in-vermont/
> .
>
> Also, if you like to add your sightings to Vermont eBird from a CBC,  
> check
> out these tips at
> http://ebird.org/content/vt/news/adding-your-cbc-data-to-vermont-ebird/ 
> .
>
> Thanks
> Kent
> ____________________________
>
> Kent McFarland
> Vermont Center for Ecostudies
> PO Box 420 | Norwich, Vermont 05055
> 802.649.1431 x2
>
> [image: VCE Logo] <http://www.vtecostudies.org/>
> Visit Our Pages: [image:
> Facebook]<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vermont-Center-for-Ecostudies/56930912454 
> >
> [image:
> YouTube] <http://www.youtube.com/user/VCE14> [image:
> Blogger]<http://vtecostudies.blogspot.com/>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Wed, 20 Nov 2013 22:47:55 -0500
> From:    Michele Patenaude <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: La Mouette Rose
>
> The Ross's Gull was seen today in Chambly -- in the morning at the  
> Chambly Rapids Park and in the afternoon at the marina. It was not  
> seen at the sewage lagoons where it had been seen in the last few  
> days.
>
> Unfortunately, my friend Jan St.Jean and I were in all these places  
> today but never when the Pink Gull was present. Ironically we had  
> just left the lagoons after having been there all morning and went  
> to search for the gull at other locations were it had been seen.  
> After we left, the group of birders gathered at the lagoons were  
> called by another birder who had also gone to search for the Ross's  
> Gull and had found  it at the marina. They all went running.
>
> (We didn't find all this out until we read about it after returning  
> to Vermont in the evening and reading the Quebec bird listserves.)
>
> We had gone to the marina and the fort but we never saw the bird. My  
> friend Jan is going back to Chambly tomorrow. I, on the other  hand,  
> am going to work.
>
>
>
> Michele Patenaude
> 172 Woodbury Road
> Burlington, VT 05408
> 802-862-4085
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of VTBIRD Digest - 18 Nov 2013 to 20 Nov 2013 (#2013-321)
> *************************************************************