I wonder if the Turkey Vulture was headed to the Huge gathering I saw on I-89 s. just before exit 12.  I counted way over 20, I am guessing over 30 soaring around West of the hwy, and more coming in from the East.  I can't imagine what kind of catastrophe got that many birds so excited! 

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On Mar 9, 2012, at 6:27 PM, george clark <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Today was notable for the numbers of blackbirds around the backyard here in Norwich village.
> By far the largest "black bird" was a Turkey Vulture, which flew low over the yard while moving in a northward direction this morning. Another new-for-the-year-here species today was a male Brown-headed Cowbird. The numbers of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles substantially exceeded previous yard counts so far this year. A conservative estimate within the yard today was 60 red-wings and 20 grackles.
> 
> Other bird species seen in the yard today included a Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, 8 Blue Jays, 2 American Crows, Black-capped Chickadees, a White-breasted Nuthatch, a European Starling, 6 Dark-eyed Juncos, 2 White-throated Sparrows, and a pair of Northern Cardinals.
> 
> George Clark
> Norwich, VT