I had an E. Wood-Pewee sing several times at our house in Norwich last 
evening.

Also, on Monday, the VCE team did its annual hike-bike Birdathon, 
starting from the GMC hut on Pico Peak at dawn, hiking 0.5 mile up to 
the summit, then down to Sherburne Pass on Rt. 4, where we jumped on our 
bikes and pedaled 37 miles over hill and dale to So. Royalton.  I don't 
think we could have picked a more challenging day birdingwise, and our 
paltry total of 87 species reflected the cool, windy, wet weather. We 
had it all - rime ice on Pico's summit, snow and sleet at various times, 
spitting rain almost the entire day, several tantalizing but very brief 
appearances of sun, and a steady chilling north wind.  Bird vocal 
activity was low, and we didn't encounter a single bone fide passage 
migrant.  However, we spent an entire day outdoors, got plenty of 
exercise, had our share of laughs, and managed a few good birds.  
Highlights were a reticent Bicknell's Thrush on Pico (but no Blackpoll 
Warblers there or anywhere else), a pair of Common Loons on Kent Pond, a 
fantastic look at an American Bittern in the Killington wetlands, a pair 
of nesting kestrels in Stockbridge, a Broad-winged Hawk carrying a snake 
(or very flimsy twig), and a tight group of 5 male Bobolinks at close 
range in a Royalton hayfield.

Chris

-- 
****************
Chris Rimmer
Vermont Center for Ecostudies
P.O. Box 420
Norwich, VT 05055
802-649-1431 ext. 1
www.vtecostudies.org

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