This morning I intended to take a brief but brisk bike ride through the hills  
in Norwich before sitting down to a day's indoor (unfortunately) work.  However,  
the ride proved to be neither brief nor brisk, as I was brought up short every  
few feet by bird song.  Highlights included:

* A singing Louisiana Waterthrush near the bottom of Bragg Hill (in the same spot  
where I've heard waterthrushes in past years)
* Two singing Savannah Sparrows
* A Broad-winged Hawk on Hopson Road (to whose presence overhead I was alerted  
by its plaintive cry)
* Nothern Mockingbird (atop Bragg Hill, at the same spot where I saw one last  
week)
* Two beautiful singing Baltimore Orioles
* Black-throated Blue Warbler
* Singing Bobolink (this is a little earlier than I usually see them)
* Singing Brown Creeper heard on the descent along Beaver Meadow
* Great look at a low flyover of a Sharp-shinned Hawk (which, like the Broad-winged,  
I would never have seen from the bike if it had not been vocalizing)
* Two Least Flycatchers
* A pair of Eastern Bluebirds

In addition, many birds that I had expected to see/hear on yesterday's outing  
but didn't were out in force today: there were Gray Catbirds everywhere, several  
Warbling Vireos, Chestnut-sided Warblers, Black-throated Greens, a singing Northern  
Parula, etc.

	It was a glorious morning to be out, even if I didn't get much exercise!

				David Webb
				Hanover