After Lake Runnemede I went to Marton Road in Windsor, Kestrel was noisy around nest boxes. Mike.

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From: "Chris Rimmer" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2012 8:38:40 PM
Subject: [UVB] Lake Runnemede

A record 26 birders attended this morning's Windsor Quest outing at Lake
Runnemede.  It was an excellent, if not spectacular, morning, with
highlights below among the 33 species.

Wood Duck  2
Ring-necked Duck  6
Lesser Scaup  1 female
Common Merganser  7
Double-crested Cormorant  3     flyover heading north
Northern Flicker  2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  1
Tree Swallow  8
Carolina Wren  1     singing
Song Sparrow  16
Swamp Sparrow  2     singing
White-throated Sparrow  1
Dark-eyed Junco  3
Purple Finch  1     singing
Pine Siskin  2
Evening Grosbeak  1

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/vt)


A few of us stopped at The Simon Perarce floodplain site afterwards and
had a male Red-bellied Woodpecker along the river, but little else of note.

I've been keeping tabs on an Eastern Bluebird nest in Hillside Cemetery
off Hopson Road in Norwich.  I returned on March 25 from a week away and
found a fully-constructed nest in the usual box (3 successful broods
last year).  The weather immediately turned cold, and stayed that way
for almost 2 weeks, and I saw almost no further activity, other than the
female bringing some nest lining on April 3.  The pair was rarely
visible nearby during this entire time.  On April 11 at 7:30 am, a
single egg was in the nest.  On the 12th at 7:30 am the female was
sitting tight and I did not check the contents.  Yesterday at 7:40 am 2
eggs were present, and there was no sign of either adult.  I checked
again at 6 pm - 3 eggs were in the cup and the female was inside the box
perched on the rim (I didn't realize it until I opened the box, but she
was completely unperturbed).  This evening at 7:45 pm she was in the box
again, presumably incubating.

Last year the female (probably the same bird) laid her first egg on
April 16 and was incubating 4 eggs on the 19th.  In 2010, she also laid
her first egg on the 16th and was incubating 4 eggs on the 20th.  So,
she's only a few days ahead of schedule this year after her false start
during the balmy late March spell.

Chris

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