This is a belated report of a VCE hike from the summit of Pico Peak to 
Rt. 4 in Sherburne Pass on Monday morning, from 5-7:30 am.  This was the 
first leg of our Birdathon, the second leg of which covered 50 miles on 
mountain bikes, ending us in Windsor.  You can see our full list at 
http://www.vtbirdathon.org/images/VCE%20Birdathon%202009.pdf.

The discovery of 6 Bicknell's Thrushes (all of them also found at dusk 
on the previous evening) suggests that many birds may be returning to 
breeding sites earlier than believed.  Our previous early date for the 
species in VT was May 15, but that was just a single bird.  With Bridget 
Stutchbury's recent work showing that Purple Martins and Wood Thrushes 
migrate northward in spring much more rapidly than expected, it may be 
that Bicknell's Thrushes leaving Hispaniola ~ May 1 (we've had a few 
records even beyond that date) arrive here < two weeks later.  We hope 
to have some insights on this and other aspects of the species' 
migration patterns a year from now, when we recover solar geolocators 
that we'll place on males this summer.

Location:     Pico Peak
Observation date:     5/18/09
Number of species:     24

Ruffed Grouse     1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker     1
Eastern Phoebe     1
Blue-headed Vireo     4
Red-eyed Vireo     3
Blue Jay     1
American Crow     1
Winter Wren     5
Golden-crowned Kinglet     1
Bicknell's Thrush     6
American Robin     12
Nashville Warbler     2
Magnolia Warbler     1
Black-throated Blue Warbler     11
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)     14
Black-throated Green Warbler     17
Blackburnian Warbler     1
Blackpoll Warbler     1
Ovenbird     19
White-throated Sparrow     9
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored)     11
Rose-breasted Grosbeak     2
Purple Finch     1
Pine Siskin     1

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/vt)


Also, yesterday on the dike separating Dewey's Pond and the Ottauquechee River were 3 singing Willow Flycatchers. 


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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