With a risk of straying off topic for this list serve, I'll add a bit  
more to recent discussion.

Many thanks to Art Mudge and Bob Norman for contributing to  
clarification about the location of the New Hampshire-Vermont border.  
The question has arisen in connection with whether bird sightings are  
listed for NH or VT, with yesterday's Pied-billed Grebe near the  
Ledyard Bridge being one of many examples.

The following quote taken from the Connecticut River Joint Commissions  
website seems to represent the most commonly heard current view of the  
issue:

"The border between New Hampshire and Vermont was set by King George  
II in 1764 as the western bank of the Connecticut River. The U.S.  
Supreme Court re-affirmed this boundary in 1934 as the ordinary low- 
water mark on the Vermont shore, and markers were set. In some places,  
the state line is now inundated by the impoundments of dams built  
after this time."

I recall that not many years ago, when a landowner wished to place a  
dock extending from a Norwich property into the Connecticut River,  
authorization had to be obtained from Hanover.

In areas flooded by the Wilder Dam, such as between Hanover and  
Norwich, reporting the exact location of state and town for birds seen  
along the western side of the river can be a challenge. As far as I'm  
aware, there are no readily available maps showing the detailed  
position of the submerged boundary. Simply stating that birds were  
seen near the boundary between the states is not entirely satisfactory  
because so many compilations and descriptions of the distribution of  
birds are presented by state. It would seem generally OK to say that  
birds seen on or over the main body of the river constitute New  
Hampshire records.

However, when water levels are drawn down, the cove by Foley Park can  
be seen to be west of the main channel of the Connecticut River so  
that birds found in the cove would seem to be appropriately considered  
as Vermont records.

(In the Norwich 2010 Birding Quest program, the arbitrary rules for  
counting species state that birds found while the observer is standing  
in Norwich can be counted for the 2010 Norwich list, even though those  
birds may actually be in adjacent towns.)

George



George Clark

Norwich, VT



















On Sep 13, 2010, at 10:41 AM, Arthur Mudge wrote:

> REPLY:  I am sorry, George, but I have heard that no less an  
> authority than
> the United States Supreme Court has determined that all the  
> Connecticut
> River belongs to the State of New Hampshire, and that would include  
> the
> waters of contiguous coves.
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Upper Valley Birders [mailto:UV- 
> [log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of george clark
> Sent: Sunday, September 12, 2010 4:23 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [UVB] Norwich birds 9/12/10
>
>
>
> This morning a Pied-billed Grebe was in Vermont waters of the cove off
>
> the Connecticut River to the south of Foley Park in Norwich near the
>
> Ledyard Bridge.
>
>
>
> With water levels in the river and contiguous cove relatively high, at
>
> least one of the four Mallards in the cove was also diving, apparently
>
> for food. Diving by Mallards was previously noticed at that location
>
> on August 26, 2009, when water levels were also high.
>
>
>
> Three Green-winged Teal were at Pompy in Norwich this morning. The
>
> teal were distinctly smaller than nearby Mallards, and the speculum
>
> noted when a wing was extended.
>
>
>
> While the teal were being observed from the cul-de-sac on the east
>
> side of Pompy, a transient, mixed species flock of small and mostly
>
> silent land birds arrived and moved through the trees and brush along
>
> that road. Too many birds were present at one time to examine all as
>
> they passed by, but some of the species in that flock included Eastern
>
> Wood-Pewee (seen, and heard to call once), an Empidonax, Red-eyed
>
> Vireo, Black-capped Chickadee, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated
>
> Green Warbler, and Black-and-white Warbler. At least two other species
>
> of warblers unfortunately could not be seen well enough to enable
>
> definite identifications. Also present at the time, but not part of
>
> the mixed species flock, were 5 Mallards, nearby male and female Hairy
>
> Woodpeckers, and a Common Raven. A Belted Kingfisher was at Pompy
>
> shortly before the mixed species flock appeared and a soaring Turkey
>
> Vulture seen later.
>
>
>
> George
>
>
>
> George Clark
>
> Norwich, VT
>
>
>
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