During this morning Ed Hack and I first checked the Lake Runnemede  
area and then went on to the prison farm area along Marton Road, all  
in the town of Windsor, VT.  For the prison farm area, we thank  
several earlier arriving birders, including Ted Boze, Becky Cook, and  
Ken Cox, for their guidance which greatly helped us.

Highlights among the more than 60 bird species Ed and I found this  
morning in Windsor included a singing first year male Orchard Oriole  
in the vegetation along the eastern shoreline of the peninsula at Lake  
Runnemede, a Black-billed Cuckoo vocalizing at the prison farm, and a  
silent migrant female Blackpoll Warbler also at the farm. All  
together, a dozen species of warblers were among our total of species  
for this morning.

Not far from the location where we eventually saw the Blackpoll, a  
female Vermivora "Golden-winged" warbler was carrying large leaves for  
nest construction on or near the ground, while a male "Golden-winged",  
which sang a "Blue-winged song". was present nearby. This "Golden- 
winged" pair and the nest building was pointed out to us by Ted and  
Becky. Today's "Golden-wings" were in the same vicinity where a male  
"mostly Golden-winged Warbler" was photographed this spring by Kent  
McFarland on May 11.

Later, in the prison farm overgrown orchard, across the prison farm  
fields to the north from that Vermivora nesting location, we saw a  
Blue-winged Warbler singing a Blue-winged song. We also earlier had  
heard a "Blue-winged song" coming from an unseen singer in overgrown  
farm fields along Marton Road well to the south of today's nest  
building site.

Hybridization between the Blue-wings and Golden-wings often provides  
challenges in putting names on birds which can potentially sing, and  
respond to, each other's songs and which, in their plumages, sometimes  
show either obvious or subtle hybrid features.

Near the site of the Vermivora nest building mentioned above, Ted and  
Becky pointed out to us a female Baltimore Oriole in the early stages  
of building a pendulous nest high off the ground.

At Lake Runnemede this morning, other species of particular interest  
included Canada Geese (one flock of 11), a Wood Duck or two, a Great  
Blue Heron, a Green Heron, and gnatcatchers which were found again by  
Ed at the site previously reported on May 21.

At the prison farm, additional finds of particular interest for us  
this morning included one Wild Turkey, a Wilson's Snipe, an Eastern  
Bluebird, a sharp-looking Magnolia Warbler in song (and another heard  
singing at the same time), a singing Field Sparrow, a singing Savannah  
Sparrow, and the over-the-top aerial singing display of a male Bobolink.

George Clark
Norwich, VT

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