Yesterday the VCE team did its annual Birdathon, starting at dawn on foot around Lake Morey, continuing over to Lake Fairlee for a quick scan, then up to Bradford (via the Fairlee Palisades, and diner...), where we walked the RR tracks at the end of Depot Street (our most productive site of the day). While we benefited from 2+ hours of dry conditions at dawn, the subsequent moderate rain and cool NE breeze held off plans for a canoe-kayak trip down the Connecticut until 11:00 am, when we finally launched our 5 kayaks and one canoe in Orford. We paddled, stopping often to explore upland habitats, until 5:30 pm, when we took out in Lyme. We ended up with a respectable total of 109 species, starting with a calling Barred Owl outside my bedroom window in Norwich at 2:30 am and ending with a female Eastern Bluebird at the nest box in Hillside Cemetery. Selected highlights from the day included: Common Loon 5 on Lake Morey, including one yodeling Double-crested Cormorant -- 1 each on L. Morey and Fairlee Osprey -- a pair perched near the Lyme canoe take-out site. Possible beginnings of a mated pair?? Bald Eagle -- pair with their 2 eaglets in the Orford nest Blue-winged Teal -- one of the day's surprises, a pair along backwater in Bradford Alder Flycatcher -- 2 singing at north end of L. Morey, 1 in Bradford Willow Flycatcher -- 1 singing in Bradford, another along Conn R shore in Lyme Yellow-throated Vireo -- 1 singing along NW shore of Morey, another along Conn R in Orford Blackpoll Warbler -- 2 singing and foraging along Bradford RR tracks Mourning Warbler -- 1 singing edge of woods across road from L. Morey golf course Canada Warbler -- 2 singing N end L. Morey White-crowned Sparrow -- 2 in backyard south of canoe take-out in Lyme Evening Grosbeak -- a pair in same Lyme backyard A few glaring but inevitable misses included Broad-winged Hawk, American Woodcock (3 staked-out spots failed to produce at dusk -- too late now for courtship flights?), Golden-crowned Kinglet (a tough bird to find anywhere this spring), Nashville Warbler, and Purple Finch. Chris -- **************** Chris Rimmer Vermont Center for Ecostudies P.O. Box 420 Norwich, VT 05055 802-649-1431 ext. 1 www.vtecostudies.org **************************************************************** To post messages, send e-mail to: [log in to unmask] Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages. To contact the list owner: [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------- Web based archives and subscription management are available at: http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html ****************************************************************