I was delightfully treated with a Phoebe on our office building when I 
arrived this morning. I have been waiting for one to show up since I 
heard a Mockingbird do a perfect imitation of a Phoebe in Hadley, MA, on 
March 18th. When I mentioned it to a colleague, Ken Rosenberg with the 
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, he said that there is some evidence that 
Mockingbirds anticipate the arrival of spring migrants by imitating 
their songs about a week before they arrive. It still needs to be 
studied more to see how well this holds true, but it has kept me on the 
lookout for a couple weeks now, esp after reports in southern VT a week ago.

Also on the drive in to work this morning, a small group of grackles in 
North Hartland. No time to check for a Rusty Blackbird, but they are 
probably around in one of the farm fields.

Happy birding (and mud season),
-Julie

-- 
Julie Hart
Vermont Center for Ecostudies
PO Box 420 • Norwich, VT 05055
802-649-1431 x 6
http://www.vtecostudies.org/ 

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