George Clark, Ed Hack, Kyle Jones and I had a memorable 2+ hours this morning scouring the massive weedy patch at Foxstand (Royalton Hill Bridge Road is the named eBird hotspot). Among the 10 sparrow species we found was a Nelson's Sparrow, which provided excellent looks at close range over several minutes. This bird was along the northwest edge of the patch. To locate this spot, go south along the patch edge directly across the road from the abandoned yellow house. When fiorst found, it was only 50-75 yards south of the road. The bird was solitary when we found it, unlike the hundreds of other sparrows inhabiting this patch. This was by far the largest and most impressive sparrow concentration I've ever seen in Vermont, or just about anywhere else! Highlights below, with counts of Savannah and Song sparrows definitely lower than actual. Chris Red-tailed Hawk 2 Carolina Wren 1 Palm Warbler (Yellow) 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 17 Chipping Sparrow 7 Field Sparrow 2 Savannah Sparrow 71 Nelson's Sparrow 1 subspecies uncertain but likely 'interior' Song Sparrow 91 Lincoln's Sparrow 5 Swamp Sparrow 7 White-throated Sparrow 39 White-crowned Sparrow 9 Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 6 Indigo Bunting 2 Red-winged Blackbird 24 Brown-headed Cowbird 60 View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15434204 -- Chris Rimmer Vermont Center for Ecostudies P.O. Box 420 Norwich, VT 05055 802-649-1431 ext. 1 www.vtecostudies.org