Date: 6/3/26 6:26 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] 03 June 2026: Hurricane Hill (1,100 feet), WRJ
4:48 a.m. Twenty-one minutes before sunrise. Forty-three degrees. A
northwest wind at two miles per hour, gusting now and then to three.
Fragmented coral clouds gather in the east; elsewhere, the sky is clear and
bright. Pale lavender seeps westward, then the east turns molten as the sun
lifts over the New Hampshire hills, an epochal flare that lasts only a
moment.
The flowers are keeping their own calendar: Canada mayflower and false
Solomon’s seal. Dandelions and coltsfoot have already gone to seed, their
brief brightness already surrendered to both pollination and the wind.
Still too cold for frogs this morning, though peepers chorused last night
in vernal pools beyond my deck, those small woodland pools kept from the
sun by the kindness of hemlocks.
4:32 a.m. Robins kindled the morning, singing from the roof of the shed,
the crown of the garage, and the maples along the driveway's edge. Then a
hermit thrush called out of the hemlocks where the peepers sleep.
4:44 a.m. Red-breasted nuthatch, somewhere in the shadows, with a small
voice stitched into the dimness.
5:18 a.m. Along the roadside, an eastern wood pewee sings from the end of a
white pine stub, thirty feet up and close to the trunk. Bill barely open,
song shifting, directly above me. A plaintive whistle, rising and falling
... *pee-ah-wee, pee-ah-wee*—as if the bird gives his own name to the
morning. Tail twitching. Wings flicking. A small bundle of motion, perhaps
trying to warm itself. Preening and singing, singing and wing-flicking,
tail bouncing.
Though I saw several pewees in Costa Rica last month, singing from the
almond trees along the Caribbean, I rarely see them at home. They come late
to Vermont and linger deep into summer, often singing straight through the
day. Late May into September. Even the blunt heat of late-summer does not
silence a pewee. I stay until the bird slips away.
5:22 a.m. A northern house wren on the uppermost spruce twig, needles
pointing straight up, singing far beyond its size, as if the whole morning
had been tucked into so small a body.
5:29 a.m. Hairy woodpecker drums. Northern flicker cries out—a volley of
bright blows struck against the morning.
5:37 a.m. Indigo buntings, male and female, side by side in an oak. Silent.
The female hops to the next branch; the male follows dutifully, the two of
them moving through the leaves as if bound by an invisible thread. No
second male making a nuisance of himself. I want to find the nest. The
buntings want privacy. They lead me nowhere in particular. Slow, easy
movements, branch to branch. No feeding. No preening. Only dawdling in the
oak, brushed with buttery light.
r
*Among the chorus, thirty-five species: *mourning dove; eastern phoebe,
from nearly every outbuilding on Kings Highway; red-eyed and blue-headed
vireos; tufted titmouse, loud and insistent; black-capped chickadee;
white-breasted nuthatch; Swainson's thrush; common crow; blue jay; common
raven; and eight warblers, the residents—ovenbird and black-throated green,
both early risers, American redstart, northern parula, northern yellow,
common yellowthroat, pine, chestnut-sided. Gray catbird, as vocally
inventive as ever. Scarlet tanager—no longer a tanager, now a grosbeak.
Northern cardinal. American goldfinch, zipping over the road like stray
bits of sunshine. House finch. Song, chipping, and white-throated sparrows.
Dark-eyed junco.
The morning's mood is encouraging. The bird song and theatrics, thrilling.
As if fine wine were spilling out of the sky. No matter which way the worm
turns, no matter how torqued the nation has become, at the edge of a new
day, across a landscape lush with layered green, I find peace.
Date: 6/2/26 3:23 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Costa Rica 2027
*Costa Rica Natural History and Birding Adventure:*
* April 10 – 19, 2027*
*Arenal Volcano Extension April 19 - 22, 2027*
*Away from tourist centers: 321 species of birds in twelve days,
crocodiles, red-eyed tree frogs, toads the size of sneakers, tapirs,
anteaters, and four species of monkeys. Neotropical otters. Coatimundis.
Tayra. Kinkajou. We’ll visit cloud forests, old-growth jungles, the
timberline, both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, and take boat rides down
remote rivers along the southern Pacific coast.*
*Leaders:*
*1) Ted Levin—*Ted is a lifelong naturalist, whose work has appeared in
Houghton-Mifflin’s *The Best American Sports *Writing, *The New York Times,
The Guardian, **Audubon Magazine*, *Sports Illustrated*, *The Boston Globe
Magazine*, *National Geographic Traveler*, and *OnEarth,* among many other
publications. He is the author of eleven books, including *Liquid Land: A
Journey Through the Florida Everglades*, the 2004 Burroughs Medal winner,
the highest honor given to an American nature writer. *Forbes* chose *America’s
Snake: The Rise and Fall of the Timber *Rattlesnake, one of the ten finest
conservation books of 2016. *The Promise of Sunrise: Finding Solace in a
Broken World* was published in 2026. This will be Ted’s tenth trip to Costa
Rica, including hosting Vermont Public’s Citizens of the World Tour in 2010.
*Email: **<tedlevin1966...>* <tedlevin1966...>
*cellphone: 802 399 9398*
*2) Gil Calvo— *A naturalist and Neotropical birder extraordinaire, Gil has
created & led custom natural-history tours throughout Costa Rica for 30
years, including four with Ted for Hanover High School, Hanover, NH. In
2000, inspired by a lifelong passion for his native country, Gil created
Tropical Advisors Costa Rica, Inc. (formerly Tropical Angel Travel). Today,
Tropic Advisors has evolved into one of Mesoamerica’s premier custom tour
companies.
Curious? Please get in touch with Ted for lists, itinerary, and cost.
Date: 5/27/26 6:40 pm From: Russ Ford <russell.f.ford...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Ruddy Turnstones Green River Reservoir
Unexpected sighting while I was paddling on Green River Reservoir in Hyde Park this weekend: a tight flock of Ruddy Turnstones in flight over the water.
I heard from someone who works there that is it informally open.Not quite the same as open. Kay in Hinesburg
On Tuesday, May 26, 2026 at 05:22:03 PM EDT, Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> wrote:
Hello, fellow birders - Several people have reported shorebirds on Lagoon Road in Hinesburg. The last few times I’ve driven by, the road is marked Closed. Is it open again?
Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
Date: 5/27/26 5:19 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] 27 May 2026: Hurricane Hill (1,100 feet), WRJ
4:42 a.m. (thirty-two minutes before sunrise). Fifty-nine degrees, wind
west-southwest three miles per hour, gusting to seven. An altogether
delightful morning, cool enough to keep mosquitoes at bay. The sky is
lightly textured, a loose assemblage of thin, orange-grey clouds, open and
airy, a heavenly pastel wash. Windrows and patches drift overhead like a
favorite pair of worn jeans on the line. Smarts Mountain, Mount Cube, and
Mount Moosilaukee stand out in sharp relief, dark blue islands on the
paling horizon, moored in a brightening sea of sky.
*Seasonal Queue*:
A) The second wave of wildflowers: columbine, starflower, and
Jack-in-the-pulpit. Fringed polygala (*Polygala paucifolia*), like Babe
Ruth, is a collector of nicknames: gay-wings, bird-on-the-wing, and
flowering wintergreen. Unlike Babe Ruth, it hugs the forest floor, small,
purple, bilaterally symmetrical. It looks like an orchid, gorgeous as an
orchid. If botanists classified flowers by looks, fringed polygala would be
an orchid. But, alas, it’s a milkwort, anonymous royalty in the understory.
B) Second wave of frogs: gray treefrogs are calling from the trees and
along the shoreline, bursts of loud, fast-paced chirps, not unlike the
excited voice of a red-bellied woodpecker, a percussive treble line in the
morning score.
The woods are a youthful green. The meadows are green. The world smells of
lilac. For the moment, Vermont is lush, as green as the Green Mountains
get, as if the hills themselves were taking a long, deep, contented breath
before the day begins.
4:56 a.m. First warbler, an ovenbird, screams from the floor of the forest.
Wakes up a black-throated green warbler. Then, a score of chickadees.
Titmice. Both species of nuthatches, the choir assembling by habit and by
heart.
4:58 a.m. Barred owl glides over the road and into the woods. Silent as a
stone. Disappears. I cannot believe the owl didn't graze a branch or
disturb the leaves. A big, blunt body shape-changing amid a weft of
branches, feathers and shadow weaving together. The calculus of flight.
5:01 a.m. Black and white warbler sings from a roadside branch. A
high-pitched, reclusive warbler. A tiny bird in jailbird stripes. Stops
singing, then, defying gravity, wanders up a maple trunk, picking and
pecking, a feeding niche shared with nuthatches but not other warblers, a
quiet acrobat on the bark.
5:07 a.m. Catbird, concert in a lilac. Perfumed performance. Scat-master of
the underbrush. Late spring mornings don't get better than this, when even
the shrubs seem to hum along.
*Department of Agitation:* At the top of the hill, just inside the hemlocks,
wood thrushes (definitely more than one) calling, explosive, staccato *pit,
pit, pit, pit.* I turn and look. Three wood thrushes dart around or perch
momentarily above a barred owl, screaming. Attracts a dive-bombing blue jay
and a chickadee. Owl, motionless, on hemlock limb. Expressionless. A
woodland stoic, carved from dusk. Eventually, enough is enough; owl bolts,
a reabsorption deeper into the shadows.
Overhead: three mallards, a raven, and a host of crows. A pileated on an
aspen trunk, calling. Hairy and downy woodpeckers. Northern flicker.
Sapsucker drumming. Red-bellied woodpecker calling. Just passing through:
black-billed cuckoo, killdeer, alder flycatcher, and field sparrow—voice
like a bouncing pingpong ball: slow, faster, fastest (first I've heard in
the Upper Valley in fifty plus years). Eastern wood pewee, eastern phoebe,
great crested flycatcher, hermit thrush (I can listen to him all day),
Swainson's thrush, robins (many). Red-eyed and blue-headed vireos. Brown
creeper. House wren, ballisticly singing. Warblers: American redstart,
northern yellow, common yellowthroat, blackpoll (passing through),
chestnut-sided, pine, and black-throated blue (nine species total).
Sparrows: song, white-throated, chipping, and dark-eyed junco. Northern
cardinal. House finch. Yellow clouds of goldfinches. Indigo bunting on an
electric line, singing. Scarlet tanager. Brown-headed cowbird. The roll
call of a morning in full voice.
Fifty species, a splendid harvest on a splendid morning, the ledger of dawn
written in feathers and song. Flowers and chorusing treefrogs.
Maeve,
Permission has been received that it is ok to bird there again.
On Tuesday, May 26, 2026 at 05:22:01 PM EDT, Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> wrote:
Hello, fellow birders - Several people have reported shorebirds on Lagoon Road in Hinesburg. The last few times I’ve driven by, the road is marked Closed. Is it open again?
Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
Hello, fellow birders - Several people have reported shorebirds on Lagoon Road in Hinesburg. The last few times I’ve driven by, the road is marked Closed. Is it open again?
Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
Date: 5/25/26 11:18 am From: Dana Williams <dwilliams...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Experienced birder needed for VT Forest Bird Monitoring Program
Hi Everyone,
The Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) is seeking a volunteer to conduct point count
surveys at one of our long-term forested study sites. Initiated in 1989, the Vermont Forest Bird Monitoring Program
<https://vtecostudies.org/what-we-do/projects/forest-bird-monitoring-program/> (FBMP) is one of the continent’s longest-running studies of interior forest bird populations.
Currently we have a vacancy at *Sandbar Wildlife Management Area in Milton, VT.* This site will require someone who is comfortable working around poison ivy and using a GPS as some of the site markers need to be replaced.
*We expect to have several vacancies open up next year so please also reach out if you are interested in participating in the future.*
*Skills Required:* Volunteers must possess excellent bird
identification skills (both visual and aural), and be capable of
identifying the majority of songbird species that breed in Vermont
forests. They must also be capable of hiking on variable terrain, often
without trails, and navigating with GPS and/or map and compass.
*How much time will it take?* The total time commitment is approximately 6-8 hours
total during June and July. Because this is a long-term monitoring
program, we are most interested in participants who can make a
multi-year commitment to the project.
*What will you do?* On two separate mornings in June, you will survey for birds during a
10-minute sampling period at each of 5 survey points spaced 250 meters
apart. Each survey will take approximately 2 hours (including hiking to
and from your vehicle and between points). Surveys are to be conducted
during the early morning hours (e.g. arrive at the first point at
approximately 5:00 AM, so being functional before dawn is also a
prerequisite!). In addition, another 1-1.5 hours of time is required to
transfer data from field forms onto data sheets, and enter data into an
online, web-based data entry system before August 31st.
Please email me at <dwilliams...> if you are interested or have questions!
Date: 5/21/26 8:44 am From: Walter Medwid <wmedwid...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Red shouldered hawk and snake
Several days ago I reported that crows were vocally attacking an adult bald eagle as it was flying low over my house with a squirrel in its talons. On this chilly morning, no eagle and no crows cawing, however a red shouldered hawk flew low over my house with a 12-14 inch limp snake in its talons. I do all that I can to protect the resident garter snakes that have found refuge here, perhaps one of "my own" was taken. Because of the cold temps today, I suspect the snake was sunning and thus exposed more than it might otherwise be and thus was easy prey. Derby
Date: 5/19/26 9:25 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Costa Rica 2027
*Costa Rica Natural History and Birding Adventure:*
* April 10 – 19, 2027*
*Arenal Volcano Extension April 19 - 22, 2027*
*Away from tourist centers: 300 species of birds in twelve days,
crocodiles, red-eyed tree frogs, toads the size of sneakers, tapirs,
anteaters, and four species of monkeys. Neotropical otters. Coatimundis.
Tayra. Kinkajou. We’ll visit cloud forests, old-growth jungles, timberline,
both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, boat rides down remote rivers, and
along the southern Pacific coast.*
*Leaders:*
*1) Ted Levin—*Ted is a lifelong naturalist, whose work has appeared in
Houghton-Mifflin’s *the Best American Sports *Writing, *The New York Times*
, *The *Guardian, *Audubon Magazine*, *Sports Illustrated*, *The Boston
Globe Magazine*, *National Geographic Traveler*, and *OnEarth,* among many
other publications. He is the author of eleven books, including *Liquid
Land: A Journey Through the Florida Everglades*, the 2004 Burroughs Medal
winner, the highest honor given to an American nature writer. *Forbes*
chose *America’s Snake: The Rise and Fall of the Timber *Rattlesnake, one
of the ten finest conservation books of 2016. *The Promise of Sunrise:
Finding Solace in a Broken World* was published in 2026. This will be Ted’s
tenth trip to Costa Rica, including hosting Vermont Public’s Citizens of
the World Tour in 2010.
*Email: **<tedlevin1966...>* <tedlevin1966...>
*cellphone: 802 399 9398*
*2) Gil Calvo— *A naturalist and Neotropical birder extraordinaire, Gil has
created & led custom natural-history tours throughout Costa Rica for 30
years, including four with Ted for Hanover High School, Hanover, NH. In
2000, inspired by a lifelong passion for his native country, Gil created
Tropical Advisors Costa Rica, Inc. (formerly Tropical Angel Travel). Today,
Tropic Advisors has evolved into one of Mesoamerica’s premier custom tour
companies.
Date: 5/18/26 5:58 am From: <kj813...> <0000002d57029402-dmarc-request...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Fw: eBird -- Red Pine Rd, Hinesburg -- May 18, 2026
As usual in mid-May, the warblers have been heard in my neighborhood as they migrate north. Typically, about 8-10 species of warblers heard along my road by me, neighbors who are proficient birders, and/or by Merlin.
This morning in a short 15 minute walk down my driveway with my dog before the rain, I heard 16 species on Merlin plus saw a FOY Ruby-throated Hummingbird sipping at the remains of my Rhododendron bushes.
FOY sounds of annual visitors the Veery, Great Crested Flycatcher, and Common Yellowthroat this morning. The Black-and-white warbler and Red-eyed Vireo are an annual visitors and have been around for a few days. The American Redstart has appeared only in recent years, but arrived weeks ago. The Ovenbird has been sounding off for a week. The Eastern Phoebe arrived more than 10 days ago and has a visible nest near the house. While I cannot confirm Magnolia Warbler, it was noted on Merlin and has been heard in some past years.
Yesterday, Merlin heard the Chestnut-sided Warbler. I saw and heard the Carolina Wren, Chipping Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, and Scarlet Tanager.
While I see fewer birds since I had to take down my feeders, it is still a great month to go birding near my home in Hinesburg. Best, Kay
----- Forwarded Message ----- To: Kay Johnson <kj813...>Sent: Monday, May 18, 2026 at 07:31:49 AM EDTSubject: eBird -- 175 Red Pine Rd, Hinesburg US-VT 44.34102, -73.09560 -- May 18, 2026
175 Red Pine Rd, Hinesburg US-VT 44.34102, -73.09560
May 18, 2026
6:20 AM
Stationary
15 Minutes
All birds reported? Yes
Comments: Submitted from eBird for iOS, version 3.6.1 Build 3.6.5
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 Great Crested Flycatcher
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Blue Jay
1 American Crow
1 Black-capped Chickadee
2 Tufted Titmouse
1 Veery
1 American Robin
2 American Goldfinch
1 Ovenbird
1 Black-and-white Warbler
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 American Redstart
1 Magnolia Warbler
2 Northern Cardinal
Date: 5/18/26 4:42 am From: Veer Frost <0000038039fb4cf6-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Red-headed Woodpecker in Norwich May 12 -- PHOTOS
Such a striking bird! Thank you for sharing the thrill of this
visitor, Jim...will never forget the no doubt storm-blown one that
turned up a few years ago at my water tray, it was winter and that
glorious plumage against the snow seemed make-believe.
Veer, Bellows Falls
On 5/17/2026 at 5:14 PM, "<jim...>" wrote:I posted a
dozen photos of the red-headed woodpecker that visited Norwich, VT
last week. If you are interested, you can see them here:
Date: 5/17/26 5:47 pm From: Kathy Leonard <Kathyd.leonard...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Female RTHB In Randolph Center
We’ve had two male hummingbirds here for a while, and today (Sunday) the first female arrived.
I was alerted to her arrival by the sound of one of the males “arcking” her as she sat in the bush by the feeder.
If she stays around, the pace is about to pick up!
Date: 5/16/26 2:27 pm From: Pamela Coleman <0000003fbb1e7534-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Grateful for the birds
That's awesome Jared, and Happy Healing! :-)
On Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 11:19:06 AM EDT, Jared Katz <000003825c43bc1a-dmarc-request...> wrote:
They heard me :)
This morning outside my living room warren, as my wife now calls my convalescent accommodations, I swore I heard a Parula Warbler. I managed to open the sliding door with my crutch and, yes! NOPA, then Great Crested Flycatcher, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Blackburnian! It few past the window as if to say, Yes! It’s really me. Oven bird, Black-throated Green Warbler, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse (have you seen the New Yorker cartoon? “Come up here and call me Titmouse to my face!” I think is the caption), American Robin, Bluejay. Only the Robin. Titmouse, Ovenbird, and CSWA remain. Gratitude.
Date: 5/16/26 9:11 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] 16 May 2026: Hartford Conservation Commission Annual Spring Bird Walk
5:00 a.m., Hartford Town Forest. Leaders Tom Sherry and Ted Levin
Number of participants: 7 (not counting us) Number of species: 51, which includes 15 species of warblers, 2 vireos, 5 thrushes, 4 flycatchers, and 5 woodpeckers.
*Best looks:* magnolia warbler, scarlet tanager (bathed in early morning sunlight), Swainson's thrush *Best voice:* hermit thrush, winter wren *Loudest bird:* pileated woodpecker, overbird *Quietest bird:* blackburnian warbler, black-and-white warbler, brown creeper, golden-crowned kinglet *Most persistent bird:* red-eyed vireo (no contest) *Second most persistent:* ovenbird *One and done:* barred owl *Oddest occurrence: *fly-by mallard at 4:30 a.m.
Date: 5/16/26 8:19 am From: Jared Katz <000003825c43bc1a-dmarc-request...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Grateful for the birds
They heard me :)
This morning outside my living room warren, as my wife now calls my convalescent accommodations, I swore I heard a Parula Warbler. I managed to open the sliding door with my crutch and, yes! NOPA, then Great Crested Flycatcher, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Blackburnian! It few past the window as if to say, Yes! It’s really me. Oven bird, Black-throated Green Warbler, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse (have you seen the New Yorker cartoon? “Come up here and call me Titmouse to my face!” I think is the caption), American Robin, Bluejay. Only the Robin. Titmouse, Ovenbird, and CSWA remain. Gratitude.
Date: 5/14/26 5:17 am From: Jared Katz <000003825c43bc1a-dmarc-request...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Common Yellowthroat on my landing this morning.
Spring, my well upholstered black Labrador, went on point as I was about to let her out this morning. There on the landing outside the mudroom door was my Foy COYE. FOY because mostly housebound at the moment and they tend to be more common, if you will, in the riparian buffer along our brook. We flushed it from inside before the potential could be actualized. Silly bird dog :-)
Date: 5/14/26 4:04 am From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] 14 May 2026: Hurricane Hill (1,100 feet), WRJ
4:57 a.m., twenty-eight minutes before sunrise. Forty-six degrees, with an
east-southeast wind at five miles per hour, gusting to thirteen. No fog
below; only gray striations above. Drizzle softens into rain. Across the
White River, near the summit of Dothan Hill, the lights of a farmhouse glow
through the gloom. The sun eases above the New Hampshire skyline, noticed
only by creatures attuned to the finer gradations of daybreak.
4:57 a.m. A vocal changing of the guard. Uphill, a barred owl calls from
the hemlocks; downhill, from the far edge of the meadow, a woodcock *peents*.
Close at hand, someone has loosed the robins. Two wood thrushes, on either
side of the road, begin to sing. And deeper in the woods, where the owl
still holds court, a hermit thrush lifts its song, making a beautiful
mockery of every other feathered voice.
By 5:13 a.m.: juncos trill. Titmice scold. A grouse drums. A lone song
sparrow stutters in the lilac. The world stands on the bright, trembling
verge of morning.
5:18 a.m.: A robin works the shoulder of the road, gleaning stray worms.
*Among the Birds:* an airborne duck, wings a blur (common merganser?);
red-shouldered hawk, mourning dove, eastern phoebe, eastern wood pewee,
least flycatcher, sparrows—song, chipping, white-throated, field (first in
five years)—eastern towhee (more than a week in the neighborhood),
warblers—ovenbird, yellowthroat, myrtle, black-and-white, black-throated
green—blue jay, a disgruntled raven honking, American goldfinch, house
finch, and rose-breasted grosbeak.
5:39 a.m.: three wet crows drip silently from the naked crown of a dying
maple. Birds and raindrops scatter as I pass beneath.
After living here 39 years, I finally was able to positively identify a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. I know they have been here in the past by the telltale holes they have left on my Mountain Ash and Apple trees.
I had 131 Bonaparte's Gulls in one flock on the water off the south end of Lakeview Dr. in North Hero yesterday (private property). There were a few Brant with them earlier in the morning, but they were gone when I got there mid-afternoon.
Along the footpath beside the railway tracks and canal in Bellows
Falls, a Blue-gray gnatcatcher an hour ago stepped out in front of me
with tail raised as it trod up and down in plain view, which I recall
is a territorial thing though not sure. There were very pretty
complaints from inside the brush too. ...have only ever encountered
them before in Champlain valley, poss migration? Time to brush up on
ebird. Self pity over no garden for a year went poof : ). Happy
birding, Veer
Date: 5/9/26 2:39 pm From: Ted Levin <tedlevin1966...> Subject: [VTBIRD] 08 May 2026: Hurricane Hill (1,100 feet), WRJ
4:52 a.m., from deep in the hemlock shade, a hermit thrush duets with
himself forty minutes before sunrise. Moments later, as night draws to a
close, a barred owl, wings slightly bowed, glides silently over the meadow
and into the evergreens. Thirty-two degrees, wind south-southwest at three
miles per hour, gusting to five. Half moon in the west, bright for the
moment, already beginning to fade. Everywhere else in the heavens, a dull,
mottled blue-gray. The cold buttoned up last night's chorus of spring
peepers.
4:56 a.m., a loud, repetitive titmice, a chickadee, a pine warbler, and a
pair of robins (also dueting with themselves).
5:02 a.m., a shed-nesting phoebe clears his throat. Clears it again. A
minute later, a red-breasted nuthatch honks into the morning.
5:08 a.m., a bluebird on an electric line sings. And a porcupine, in no
particular hurry, waddles out of the hemlocks and across the road.
Then, eighteen minutes later, a yellow-bellied sapsucker drums, a soft,
stammering Morse code, as though he can't make up his mind—slow, fast,
slow, slower. A self-amused flicker laughs. Then, a pileated, laughs louder
and longer. (Nothing subtle about a pileated.)
On Hurricane Hill, juncos have been trilling all winter. Now they're joined
by chipping sparrows and pine warblers. Comparing the speed of all three
trills, the musicality (it's subtle: chipping sparrows sound mechanical
like an unimaginative iPhone; pine warblers *slightly* musical; juncos
somewhere in between). Comparing the three—it's elusive (to me)—is like
comparing the sound of bouncing balls. Is a Spalding more musical than a
Pensie pinkie, than a tennis ball? Fortunately, pine warblers sing in the
pines. Often high up. And chipping sparrows sing on the lawn. Juncos gum
things up ... they sing on the ground in the pines, on the lawns, lilacs
and gray birch, and just inside the woods where the evergreens meet
the road.
5:29 a.m., from the east side of Hurricane Hill, the voice of a wood thrush
floats over the summit.
Along the New Hampshire skyline, north of where I stand and south of Smarts
Mountain, a rose-pink bloom above Moose Mountain spreads northwest. Gives
fugitive clouds a touch of lavender.
*The kismet of sunrise:* climbing above Moose Mountain, relaxes the clouds,
which dissolve as I watch, then kindles an enthusiastic chorus—warblers
(black and white, black-throated green, ovenbird, chestnut-sided, northern
yellow, common yellowthroat); eastern towhee; eastern wood pewee; gray
catbird; northern house wren; brown-headed cowbird; two red-breasted
grosbeaks (in the same sapling, singing); mourning dove; white-breasted
nuthatches; blue jays; song and white-throated and swamp sparrows; a raven;
several crows, one of whom collects spilled sunflower seeds from below my
deck; and mourning doves. A broad-winged hawk in a black cherry ... waiting.
A cardinal facing the sun, breast on fire, glows as it sings.
Date: 5/9/26 2:20 pm From: Jared Katz <000003825c43bc1a-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] FOY Baltimore Oriole in Milton
I love it when Merlin identifies my BOTD and it turns out that I see my FOY (most recently BAOR). I’m hung up from birding for a bit, except out my window. If was a pleasure to see the Orioles, Chestnut-sided, Butter Butts, Warbling Vireo, American Redstart, Chickadees, A Robins, spotted sandpiper, belted kingfisher, A Crow, Raven, TVs, N Cardinals, N Yellow warblers, on my “last walk” along the Rivershore Trail in Richmond last week. Grateful for the RTHU at my feeder and soon at the azalea.
Jared Katz
Richmond, VT
> On May 6, 2026, at 9:16 AM, Victoria Arthur <singtolive57...> wrote:
>
> FOY here in Shrewsbury, VT...Finally a hummer at about 7 pm, doing a hover
> around the feeder and the fuchsia hanging next to it.
> Also FOY a male Rose Breasted Grosbeak at our suet feeder.
> Still waiting on an Oriole.
> Happy Spring!
> Victoria
>
> On Wed, May 6, 2026 at 8:43 AM Elizabeth Alton <redbnuthatch...>
> wrote:
>
>> Arrived and fed from hummer feeder this AM. I still have not seen a hummer
>> yet....
>> Liz in Milton, VT
>>
>> --
>> Liz Alton:
>> "Keep a green tree in your heart; perhaps a singing bird will come."
>>
Date: 5/9/26 5:22 am From: Jared Katz <000003825c43bc1a-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] full yard this morning!
Wow!
Sent from my irresistible flat thing.
> On May 9, 2026, at 08:12, Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> wrote:
>
> Frost on several plants, but several FOYs - Here’s the list:
> https://ebird.org/checklist/S335153377 > Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
Date: 5/9/26 4:04 am From: Elizabeth Alton <redbnuthatch...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Almost a rainbow
RT Hummers are here in MIlton for 2 days. They are on their way!
On Fri, May 8, 2026 at 2:28 PM Sara Clark <estrellaphim...> wrote:
> That is wonderful Barclay! Had one 2 days in a row over in Hyde Park. First
> time for me. Amazingly awesome.
>
> Sara Clark
>
> On Fri, May 8, 2026 at 1:32 PM Barclay Ellen Morris <bemorris...>
> wrote:
>
> > A rare treat to have an Indigo Bunting in the yard. Alongside the
> > Cardinals and Goldfinches a wonderful palette . Just need the
> > Ruby-throat to complete the rainbow. The feeder is out but so far it
> seems
> > I'm being boycotted for now.
> >
> > Barclay
> > East Shore Grand Isle
> >
>
--
Liz Alton:
"Keep a green tree in your heart; perhaps a singing bird will come."
Date: 5/8/26 11:28 am From: Sara Clark <estrellaphim...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Almost a rainbow
That is wonderful Barclay! Had one 2 days in a row over in Hyde Park. First
time for me. Amazingly awesome.
Sara Clark
On Fri, May 8, 2026 at 1:32 PM Barclay Ellen Morris <bemorris...>
wrote:
> A rare treat to have an Indigo Bunting in the yard. Alongside the
> Cardinals and Goldfinches a wonderful palette . Just need the
> Ruby-throat to complete the rainbow. The feeder is out but so far it seems
> I'm being boycotted for now.
>
> Barclay
> East Shore Grand Isle
>
Date: 5/8/26 10:32 am From: Barclay Ellen Morris <bemorris...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Almost a rainbow
A rare treat to have an Indigo Bunting in the yard. Alongside the Cardinals and Goldfinches a wonderful palette . Just need the Ruby-throat to complete the rainbow. The feeder is out but so far it seems I'm being boycotted for now.
Date: 5/8/26 6:33 am From: Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] FOY catbird in Montpelier
This morning, at 7:50, we watched three catbirds in one of our aronia berry bushes, each one hopping from branch to branch, staring fixedly at each other, occasionally lifting w head and/or lowering a tail. It appeared to be either three males working out who would remain in control of a valuable territory (aronias, wild grapes, honeyberries, blueberries, nannyberries, serviceberries and more) or two males sparring over a female. It was, I believe, the first time I’ve ever seen three adult catbirds at one time!
Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
> On May 8, 2026, at 9:09 AM, John Snell <jrsnelljr...> wrote:
>
> So good to see a catbird back this morning and look forward to hearing it sing later today!
> John Snell
> Montpelier
Date: 5/8/26 4:12 am From: Eric Seyferth <00001119414d75a9-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Winged-warblers - observing, documenting, and submitting to eBird
That works, thank you.
Sent from my iPhone
> On May 8, 2026, at 5:58 AM, Richard Littauer <richard.littauer...> wrote:
>
> The PDF may not work. Try this link:
> https://www.birdobserver.org/Portals/0/LiveArticles/1017/winged-warblers._how_to_tell_a_pure_species_from_a_hybrid._7-10-19e.pdf?ver=vWgQtr5ghsIq4jns6eLD4A%3d%3d >
> Best,
> R
>
>> On Fri, May 8, 2026 at 2:00 PM Richard Littauer <richard.littauer...>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hello all spring birders!
>>
>> With the warblers returning, it's time for this little annual note on how
>> to observe, document, and submit observations of the "winged-warblers":
>> Blue-winged Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, and their hybrids.
>>
>> It takes work to observe critical features when viewing and photographing
>> (submit several photos per bird if possible) these birds. Understanding how
>> to recognize a hybrid is critical. It helps to recognize females, which are
>> often elusive. Audio recordings are very welcome. They, however, are of
>> little help in differentiating the two species, since the songs can come
>> from either species or a hybrid!
>>
>> ---- This article tells how to report winged-warbler submissions to eBird:
>> http://content.ebird.org/vt/news/golden-blue-winged-warbler >> -potpourri-how-to-submit-to-ebird/
>>
>> Note: in the categories where both species are mentioned, the article
>> lists Blue-winged first. Current practice lists Golden-winged first. For
>> example "Golden-winged/Blue-winged Warbler.
>>
>> ---- This Vermont Audubon website tells about the research on this group
>> in Vermont:
>> https://vt.audubon.org/conservation/golden-winged-warbler-conservation >>
>> ---- The Audubon website refers you to this article:
>> https://vt.audubon.org/sites/default/files/static_pages/attachments/winged >> -warblers._how_to_tell_a_pure_species_from_a_hybrid._7-10-19e.pdf
>>
>> In the PDF are three tables that are very useful in highlighting critical
>> features when observing, documenting, and eBird-IDing.*You can use the
>> table to determine if a bird is a hybrid or pure species.*
>>
>> There's one other thing worth mentioning, which proves difficult to some
>> new eBirders every year. It's not explained well by the website, but in
>> essence:
>>
>> - Golden-winged/Blue-winged Warbler means that your bird could be a
>> Golden-winged or a Blue-winged or a hybrid;
>> - Golden-winged x Blue-winged Warbler means that your bird could only be a
>> hybrid, and is not pure.
>>
>> The difference between the x and the slash is important!
>>
>> Give a holler if you have any questions.
>>
>> Good birding to all!
>>
>> Best,
>> Richard Littauer
>> Addison County Reviewer
>>
>> --
>> Richard Littauer | burntfen.com <http://www.burntfen.com> | socials:
>> richard.social
>>
>
>
> --
> Richard Littauer | burntfen.com <http://www.burntfen.com> | socials:
> richard.social
Date: 5/8/26 2:58 am From: Richard Littauer <richard.littauer...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Winged-warblers - observing, documenting, and submitting to eBird
On Fri, May 8, 2026 at 2:00 PM Richard Littauer <richard.littauer...>
wrote:
> Hello all spring birders!
>
> With the warblers returning, it's time for this little annual note on how
> to observe, document, and submit observations of the "winged-warblers":
> Blue-winged Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, and their hybrids.
>
> It takes work to observe critical features when viewing and photographing
> (submit several photos per bird if possible) these birds. Understanding how
> to recognize a hybrid is critical. It helps to recognize females, which are
> often elusive. Audio recordings are very welcome. They, however, are of
> little help in differentiating the two species, since the songs can come
> from either species or a hybrid!
>
> ---- This article tells how to report winged-warbler submissions to eBird:
> http://content.ebird.org/vt/news/golden-blue-winged-warbler > -potpourri-how-to-submit-to-ebird/
>
> Note: in the categories where both species are mentioned, the article
> lists Blue-winged first. Current practice lists Golden-winged first. For
> example "Golden-winged/Blue-winged Warbler.
>
> ---- This Vermont Audubon website tells about the research on this group
> in Vermont:
> https://vt.audubon.org/conservation/golden-winged-warbler-conservation >
> ---- The Audubon website refers you to this article:
> https://vt.audubon.org/sites/default/files/static_pages/attachments/winged > -warblers._how_to_tell_a_pure_species_from_a_hybrid._7-10-19e.pdf
>
> In the PDF are three tables that are very useful in highlighting critical
> features when observing, documenting, and eBird-IDing.*You can use the
> table to determine if a bird is a hybrid or pure species.*
>
> There's one other thing worth mentioning, which proves difficult to some
> new eBirders every year. It's not explained well by the website, but in
> essence:
>
> - Golden-winged/Blue-winged Warbler means that your bird could be a
> Golden-winged or a Blue-winged or a hybrid;
> - Golden-winged x Blue-winged Warbler means that your bird could only be a
> hybrid, and is not pure.
>
> The difference between the x and the slash is important!
>
> Give a holler if you have any questions.
>
> Good birding to all!
>
> Best,
> Richard Littauer
> Addison County Reviewer
>
> --
> Richard Littauer | burntfen.com <http://www.burntfen.com> | socials:
> richard.social
>
Date: 5/7/26 7:00 pm From: Richard Littauer <richard.littauer...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Winged-warblers - observing, documenting, and submitting to eBird
Hello all spring birders!
With the warblers returning, it's time for this little annual note on how to observe, document, and submit observations of the "winged-warblers": Blue-winged Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, and their hybrids.
It takes work to observe critical features when viewing and photographing (submit several photos per bird if possible) these birds. Understanding how to recognize a hybrid is critical. It helps to recognize females, which are often elusive. Audio recordings are very welcome. They, however, are of little help in differentiating the two species, since the songs can come from either species or a hybrid!
Note: in the categories where both species are mentioned, the article lists Blue-winged first. Current practice lists Golden-winged first. For example " Golden-winged/Blue-winged Warbler.
In the PDF are three tables that are very useful in highlighting critical features when observing, documenting, and eBird-IDing.*You can use the table to determine if a bird is a hybrid or pure species.*
There's one other thing worth mentioning, which proves difficult to some new eBirders every year. It's not explained well by the website, but in essence:
- Golden-winged/Blue-winged Warbler means that your bird could be a Golden-winged or a Blue-winged or a hybrid; - Golden-winged x Blue-winged Warbler means that your bird could only be a hybrid, and is not pure.
The difference between the x and the slash is important!
Date: 5/7/26 2:22 pm From: Terry Marron <00000d129fea9673-dmarc-request...> Subject: [VTBIRD] FOY Hummingbird in Williston
We put out the feeder a few days ago seeing all the reports. A little male was feeding at around 5pm tonight.
The Indigo Bunting is back for a second day in a row and lots of White-throated Sparrows too!
I was at Catamount Community Forest this morning doing Bobolink monitoring with our group. We heard and saw the male Bobolink in the hedgerow, singing his R2D2! We ended up with 32 species at the end of our walk.
Spring is here and migration is happening. Happy birding!
Date: 5/7/26 8:22 am From: Robert Provost <ropro222...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] FOY BTGW
Yes they are! Got my first Chestnut-sideds of the year this morning as well. Another early Warbler migrant. Still waiting on my Hummingbirds in Ludlow
> On May 7, 2026, at 9:55 AM, Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> wrote:
>
> Every spring, I have to relearn some of the warbler songs - but the zee-zee-zee-zoo-ZEEE this morning was unforgettable. Black-throated Greens are back!
> Maeve Kim, jericho Center
Date: 5/7/26 6:55 am From: Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> Subject: [VTBIRD] FOY BTGW
Every spring, I have to relearn some of the warbler songs - but the zee-zee-zee-zoo-ZEEE this morning was unforgettable. Black-throated Greens are back!
Maeve Kim, jericho Center
Date: 5/6/26 2:29 pm From: Kent McFarland <kmcfarland...> Subject: [VTBIRD] The Vermont Bird Records Committee 2025 Annual Report
The 45th annual report of the VBRC covers the evaluation of 36 records
involving 22 species and one subspecies. Ninety-four percent of the records
were accepted with the majority decided unanimously. A highlight of 2025
was Vermont’s first state record of Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio
martinicus), found under unlikely circumstances — a homeowner in Lincoln,
roused by his barking dog around 4 a.m. on January 2, discovered the bird
walking along a snow-covered deck railing. The year also produced the
state’s first accepted record of the Ipswich subspecies of Savannah Sparrow
(Passerculus sandwichensis princeps).
Date: 5/6/26 2:14 pm From: Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Agonistic behavior in purple finches
Thanks, Allan! It’s always good to get a new word.
Maeve
> On May 6, 2026, at 11:54 AM, Allan Strong <Allan.Strong...> wrote:
>
> Hi Maeve,
>
> Try "agonistic behavior birds"
>
> Allan
>
> ________________________________
> From: Vermont Birds <VTBIRD...> on behalf of Maeve Kim <maevekim7...>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2026 11:47 AM
> To: <VTBIRD...> <VTBIRD...>
> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Agonistic behavior in purple finches
>
> I have to ask, Google having failed me. I can find a definition of agonistic in pharmacology, and examples of agonistic vs. antagonistic in pharmacology, but nothing about the word agonistic in other contexts. Is it used as a synonym for antagonistic?
> Maeve Kim, baffled in Jericho
>
>> On May 6, 2026, at 8:08 AM, Michael Haas <ihateokra88...> wrote:
>>
>> Yesterday, while seated on the deck of my cabin at the border of meadow and
>> woodland, I observed two female purple finches displaying agonistic
>> behavior. They faced off among the low branches of red maples just above a
>> feeder that was situated below. Both had visited the feeder, separately,
>> prior to their interaction, but then, over the course of 10 to 15 minutes,
>> they confronted one another on the branches above. Each displayed
>> agonistic postures well-described in Cornell's "Birds of the World."
>> Intermittently, one assumed a head high, pecking down posture, her opponent
>> took a squatting stance, tail splayed, head facing up, beak gaping. The
>> skirmish, as I said, went on for a while, as they flitted among the
>> branches. Occasionally a third female entered the fray. It is interesting
>> to me that only females were involved; no male was in sight. I
>> surmise they were competing for a nesting site or access to the feeder.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Michael R. Haas, VMD, MS
>> 1286 Hazen Notch Rd
>> Lowell, VT 05847
>> <ihateokra88...>
>> Talking In My Sleep <https://sleeptalkingguy.blogspot.com/> >>
>> “I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn’t
>> know.”
>> ― *Mark Twain*
>>
>>
>> "Hydrogen is an odorless, colorless gas that, given enough time, becomes
>> people."
>>
>> -- *Edward R. Harrison*
Date: 5/6/26 10:01 am From: Linda MCELVANY <00000cecdd61bec7-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Protecting nesting Bald Eagles
Hi Margaret - Heading back to Whitcomb Quarry, Colchester, this week. Have two PEFA on and near nest. But - would you like me to put your email ALERT about BAEA nestings on VT Rare Bird listserv or did you do that. Linda McElvany
On Wednesday, May 6, 2026 at 12:41:07 PM EDT, Fowle, Margaret <00000db05131094d-dmarc-request...> wrote:
Hi VT Birding -
This is a friendly reminder that this is an especially critical time during Bald Eagle nesting season. Most of the pairs are feeding small young, and it is essential that these birds are given the space they need feed and protect the young from the weather and potential predators. Disturbing these birds is against the law - disturbance is defined as anything that changes the eagle's behavior. For example, if an eagle stops preening to look at you, then you have disturbed it. Disturbances range from minor (above example) to major (flushing from the nest). The impact of disturbance on nest success can also vary from minor to major, up to causing a nest to fail, and frequent disturbance can cause a cumulative effect, meaning that frequent minor disruptions can be as problematic as infrequent major disturbances. Most of the time an eagle's behavior will tell you that he/she is uncomfortable long before the point of flushing. Learning these behavioral cues will help you know when your behavior is causing stress to the birds.
If you are at a location with a nesting pair, please keep your distance. While there are no formal closures around Vermont Bald Eagle nests, staying at least 1/4 mile away from the nest tree is crucial. No matter the distance, if you sense that the adults are reacting to your presence on any level, PLEASE retreat immediately.
Vermont is lucky to have a booming Bald Eagle population, and there are several sites now that are perfect for taking photos, but please refrain from doing so if it is causing disturbance. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me at <margaret.fowle...><mailto:<margaret.fowle...> . You can also report disturbance to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department at 802-828-1000. Thank you for supporting this sensitive species.
Margaret Fowle
Conservation Program Manager
c: 802.238.0046
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Date: 5/6/26 9:41 am From: Fowle, Margaret <00000db05131094d-dmarc-request...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Protecting nesting Bald Eagles
Hi VT Birding -
This is a friendly reminder that this is an especially critical time during Bald Eagle nesting season. Most of the pairs are feeding small young, and it is essential that these birds are given the space they need feed and protect the young from the weather and potential predators. Disturbing these birds is against the law - disturbance is defined as anything that changes the eagle's behavior. For example, if an eagle stops preening to look at you, then you have disturbed it. Disturbances range from minor (above example) to major (flushing from the nest). The impact of disturbance on nest success can also vary from minor to major, up to causing a nest to fail, and frequent disturbance can cause a cumulative effect, meaning that frequent minor disruptions can be as problematic as infrequent major disturbances. Most of the time an eagle's behavior will tell you that he/she is uncomfortable long before the point of flushing. Learning these behavioral cues will help you know when your behavior is causing stress to the birds.
If you are at a location with a nesting pair, please keep your distance. While there are no formal closures around Vermont Bald Eagle nests, staying at least 1/4 mile away from the nest tree is crucial. No matter the distance, if you sense that the adults are reacting to your presence on any level, PLEASE retreat immediately.
Vermont is lucky to have a booming Bald Eagle population, and there are several sites now that are perfect for taking photos, but please refrain from doing so if it is causing disturbance. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to me at <margaret.fowle...><mailto:<margaret.fowle...> . You can also report disturbance to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department at 802-828-1000. Thank you for supporting this sensitive species.
Margaret Fowle
Conservation Program Manager
c: 802.238.0046
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Date: 5/6/26 9:03 am From: Neil Buckley <bucklenj...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] [External] Re: [VTBIRD] Agonistic behavior in purple finches
HI Kim:
Essentially, yes. Agonistic refers to social interactions between animals
that are related to conflict. Hope this helps.
All the best,
Neil
--
Dr. Neil Buckley, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Associate Dean, School of Arts and Sciences
Professor of Biology
101D Ward Hall
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
518 564 3150
On Wed, May 6, 2026 at 11:47 AM Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> wrote:
> I have to ask, Google having failed me. I can find a definition of
> agonistic in pharmacology, and examples of agonistic vs. antagonistic in
> pharmacology, but nothing about the word agonistic in other contexts. Is it
> used as a synonym for antagonistic?
> Maeve Kim, baffled in Jericho
>
> > On May 6, 2026, at 8:08 AM, Michael Haas <ihateokra88...> wrote:
> >
> > Yesterday, while seated on the deck of my cabin at the border of meadow
> and
> > woodland, I observed two female purple finches displaying agonistic
> > behavior. They faced off among the low branches of red maples just
> above a
> > feeder that was situated below. Both had visited the feeder, separately,
> > prior to their interaction, but then, over the course of 10 to 15
> minutes,
> > they confronted one another on the branches above. Each displayed
> > agonistic postures well-described in Cornell's "Birds of the World."
> > Intermittently, one assumed a head high, pecking down posture, her
> opponent
> > took a squatting stance, tail splayed, head facing up, beak gaping. The
> > skirmish, as I said, went on for a while, as they flitted among the
> > branches. Occasionally a third female entered the fray. It is
> interesting
> > to me that only females were involved; no male was in sight. I
> > surmise they were competing for a nesting site or access to the feeder.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Michael R. Haas, VMD, MS
> > 1286 Hazen Notch Rd
> > Lowell, VT 05847
> > <ihateokra88...>
> > Talking In My Sleep <https://sleeptalkingguy.blogspot.com/> > >
> > “I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I
> didn’t
> > know.”
> > ― *Mark Twain*
> >
> >
> > "Hydrogen is an odorless, colorless gas that, given enough time, becomes
> > people."
> >
> > -- *Edward R. Harrison*
>
Date: 5/6/26 8:54 am From: Allan Strong <Allan.Strong...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Agonistic behavior in purple finches
Hi Maeve,
Try "agonistic behavior birds"
Allan
________________________________
From: Vermont Birds <VTBIRD...> on behalf of Maeve Kim <maevekim7...>
Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2026 11:47 AM
To: <VTBIRD...> <VTBIRD...>
Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Agonistic behavior in purple finches
I have to ask, Google having failed me. I can find a definition of agonistic in pharmacology, and examples of agonistic vs. antagonistic in pharmacology, but nothing about the word agonistic in other contexts. Is it used as a synonym for antagonistic?
Maeve Kim, baffled in Jericho
> On May 6, 2026, at 8:08 AM, Michael Haas <ihateokra88...> wrote:
>
> Yesterday, while seated on the deck of my cabin at the border of meadow and
> woodland, I observed two female purple finches displaying agonistic
> behavior. They faced off among the low branches of red maples just above a
> feeder that was situated below. Both had visited the feeder, separately,
> prior to their interaction, but then, over the course of 10 to 15 minutes,
> they confronted one another on the branches above. Each displayed
> agonistic postures well-described in Cornell's "Birds of the World."
> Intermittently, one assumed a head high, pecking down posture, her opponent
> took a squatting stance, tail splayed, head facing up, beak gaping. The
> skirmish, as I said, went on for a while, as they flitted among the
> branches. Occasionally a third female entered the fray. It is interesting
> to me that only females were involved; no male was in sight. I
> surmise they were competing for a nesting site or access to the feeder.
>
>
>
>
>
> Michael R. Haas, VMD, MS
> 1286 Hazen Notch Rd
> Lowell, VT 05847
> <ihateokra88...>
> Talking In My Sleep <https://sleeptalkingguy.blogspot.com/> >
> “I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn’t
> know.”
> ― *Mark Twain*
>
>
> "Hydrogen is an odorless, colorless gas that, given enough time, becomes
> people."
>
> -- *Edward R. Harrison*
Date: 5/6/26 8:47 am From: Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Agonistic behavior in purple finches
I have to ask, Google having failed me. I can find a definition of agonistic in pharmacology, and examples of agonistic vs. antagonistic in pharmacology, but nothing about the word agonistic in other contexts. Is it used as a synonym for antagonistic?
Maeve Kim, baffled in Jericho
> On May 6, 2026, at 8:08 AM, Michael Haas <ihateokra88...> wrote:
>
> Yesterday, while seated on the deck of my cabin at the border of meadow and
> woodland, I observed two female purple finches displaying agonistic
> behavior. They faced off among the low branches of red maples just above a
> feeder that was situated below. Both had visited the feeder, separately,
> prior to their interaction, but then, over the course of 10 to 15 minutes,
> they confronted one another on the branches above. Each displayed
> agonistic postures well-described in Cornell's "Birds of the World."
> Intermittently, one assumed a head high, pecking down posture, her opponent
> took a squatting stance, tail splayed, head facing up, beak gaping. The
> skirmish, as I said, went on for a while, as they flitted among the
> branches. Occasionally a third female entered the fray. It is interesting
> to me that only females were involved; no male was in sight. I
> surmise they were competing for a nesting site or access to the feeder.
>
>
>
>
>
> Michael R. Haas, VMD, MS
> 1286 Hazen Notch Rd
> Lowell, VT 05847
> <ihateokra88...>
> Talking In My Sleep <https://sleeptalkingguy.blogspot.com/> >
> “I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn’t
> know.”
> ― *Mark Twain*
>
>
> "Hydrogen is an odorless, colorless gas that, given enough time, becomes
> people."
>
> -- *Edward R. Harrison*
Date: 5/6/26 8:32 am From: anneboby <00000038cbe79a41-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Agonistic behavior in purple finches
Perhaps the combatants you observed were second-year males, not females. Purple Finch males do not acquiretheir "purple" (if one can call it that) plumage until their molt in Jul-Oct of their second year. Prior to that molt, a brown Purple Finch at this time of year can be either a female of any age or a second-year male. Oddly, this plumage sequence does not occur in the closely related House Finch where males turn red during their first-year molt.
Bob Yunick
Schenectady, NY On Wednesday, May 6, 2026 at 08:09:09 AM EDT, Michael Haas <ihateokra88...> wrote:
Yesterday, while seated on the deck of my cabin at the border of meadow and
woodland, I observed two female purple finches displaying agonistic
behavior. They faced off among the low branches of red maples just above a
feeder that was situated below. Both had visited the feeder, separately,
prior to their interaction, but then, over the course of 10 to 15 minutes,
they confronted one another on the branches above. Each displayed
agonistic postures well-described in Cornell's "Birds of the World."
Intermittently, one assumed a head high, pecking down posture, her opponent
took a squatting stance, tail splayed, head facing up, beak gaping. The
skirmish, as I said, went on for a while, as they flitted among the
branches. Occasionally a third female entered the fray. It is interesting
to me that only females were involved; no male was in sight. I
surmise they were competing for a nesting site or access to the feeder.
Date: 5/6/26 8:19 am From: Richard Guthrie <richardpguthrie...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Agonistic behavior in purple finches
Perhaps they were 2nd year males? At that age, males still have their juvenile, female like, plumage.
Rich Guthrie
> On May 6, 2026, at 8:09 AM, Michael Haas <ihateokra88...> wrote:
>
> Yesterday, while seated on the deck of my cabin at the border of meadow and
> woodland, I observed two female purple finches displaying agonistic
> behavior. They faced off among the low branches of red maples just above a
> feeder that was situated below. Both had visited the feeder, separately,
> prior to their interaction, but then, over the course of 10 to 15 minutes,
> they confronted one another on the branches above. Each displayed
> agonistic postures well-described in Cornell's "Birds of the World."
> Intermittently, one assumed a head high, pecking down posture, her opponent
> took a squatting stance, tail splayed, head facing up, beak gaping. The
> skirmish, as I said, went on for a while, as they flitted among the
> branches. Occasionally a third female entered the fray. It is interesting
> to me that only females were involved; no male was in sight. I
> surmise they were competing for a nesting site or access to the feeder.
>
>
>
>
>
> Michael R. Haas, VMD, MS
> 1286 Hazen Notch Rd
> Lowell, VT 05847
> <ihateokra88...>
> Talking In My Sleep <https://sleeptalkingguy.blogspot.com/> >
> “I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn’t
> know.”
> ― *Mark Twain*
>
>
> "Hydrogen is an odorless, colorless gas that, given enough time, becomes
> people."
>
> -- *Edward R. Harrison*
Date: 5/6/26 6:17 am From: Victoria Arthur <singtolive57...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] FOY Baltimore Oriole in Milton
FOY here in Shrewsbury, VT...Finally a hummer at about 7 pm, doing a hover
around the feeder and the fuchsia hanging next to it.
Also FOY a male Rose Breasted Grosbeak at our suet feeder.
Still waiting on an Oriole.
Happy Spring!
Victoria
On Wed, May 6, 2026 at 8:43 AM Elizabeth Alton <redbnuthatch...>
wrote:
> Arrived and fed from hummer feeder this AM. I still have not seen a hummer
> yet....
> Liz in Milton, VT
>
> --
> Liz Alton:
> "Keep a green tree in your heart; perhaps a singing bird will come."
>
Date: 5/6/26 5:09 am From: Michael Haas <ihateokra88...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Agonistic behavior in purple finches
Yesterday, while seated on the deck of my cabin at the border of meadow and
woodland, I observed two female purple finches displaying agonistic
behavior. They faced off among the low branches of red maples just above a
feeder that was situated below. Both had visited the feeder, separately,
prior to their interaction, but then, over the course of 10 to 15 minutes,
they confronted one another on the branches above. Each displayed
agonistic postures well-described in Cornell's "Birds of the World."
Intermittently, one assumed a head high, pecking down posture, her opponent
took a squatting stance, tail splayed, head facing up, beak gaping. The
skirmish, as I said, went on for a while, as they flitted among the
branches. Occasionally a third female entered the fray. It is interesting
to me that only females were involved; no male was in sight. I
surmise they were competing for a nesting site or access to the feeder.
Date: 5/6/26 4:56 am From: Michael Haas <ihateokra88...> Subject: [VTBIRD] Female Redwings
I have occasionally seen individual female redwings for the last two weeks,
but this morning is the first that I have seen them en masse. At least
five female redwings were foraging beneath our feeder in northern Vermont
this morning.
FOY Ruby Throat in Richmond today as well! (TIA, we just returned from 3 days away and saw it this evening).
Jared Katz
Richmond, VT 05477
> On May 5, 2026, at 2:42 PM, Jim Morris <0000019b462d357c-dmarc-request...> wrote:
>
> FOY in Jericho today too
> On Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 02:37:30 PM EDT, Betsy Jaffe <bfjaffe...> wrote:
>
> In North Hero this am, FOY Hummingbird.
>
Date: 5/5/26 4:19 pm From: Pat Folsom <pfols...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] FOYs in Jericho
FOY Hummer in Waitsfield yard this evening.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Charlie Teske" <cteske140...>
To: "VT Bird" <VTBIRD...>
Sent: Tuesday, May 5, 2026 5:49:10 PM
Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] FOYs in Jericho
Hummers in Hyde Park today also.
On Tue, 5 May 2026 17:35:50 -0400, Jeannie Killam <pods.jeannie...> wrote:
FOY Hummingbird in Barnard!
> On May 5, 2026, at 5:00 PM, Maeve Kim wrote:
>
> No hummingbirds at our place yet, but at the Jericho Research Forest a singing Ovenbird greeted us and an American Redstart flitted by our faces. Ah, spring!!!
> Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
Date: 5/5/26 2:49 pm From: Charlie Teske <cteske140...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] FOYs in Jericho
Hummers in Hyde Park today also.
On Tue, 5 May 2026 17:35:50 -0400, Jeannie Killam <pods.jeannie...> wrote:
FOY Hummingbird in Barnard!
> On May 5, 2026, at 5:00 PM, Maeve Kim wrote:
>
> No hummingbirds at our place yet, but at the Jericho Research Forest a singing Ovenbird greeted us and an American Redstart flitted by our faces. Ah, spring!!!
> Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
> On May 5, 2026, at 5:00 PM, Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> wrote:
>
> No hummingbirds at our place yet, but at the Jericho Research Forest a singing Ovenbird greeted us and an American Redstart flitted by our faces. Ah, spring!!!
> Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
Date: 5/5/26 2:00 pm From: Maeve Kim <maevekim7...> Subject: [VTBIRD] FOYs in Jericho
No hummingbirds at our place yet, but at the Jericho Research Forest a singing Ovenbird greeted us and an American Redstart flitted by our faces. Ah, spring!!!
Maeve Kim, Jericho Center
Date: 5/5/26 5:42 am From: Diane Brown <deejbrown...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Peterson’s recordings?
I tried this but found it too distracting. So far, I have not come up with
anything better though.
On Mon, May 4, 2026 at 11:14 AM Nita <nita.hwf...> wrote:
> A Google search yielded this.
>
> *USB CD Players:* These are portable, dedicated CD players that connect
> directly to your car's USB data port, allowing you to use steering wheel
> controls to manage playback.
> Maybe this is the solution to listening to Peterson's Birding by Ear in the
> car?
>
> On Tue, Apr 28, 2026 at 6:37 AM Lynette Reep <lynettereep...>
> wrote:
>
> > Good morning everyone,
> > Trying to surprise a birding friend with a gift of the old Peterson
> > birding by ear recordings… She had them on cassette and has them on CD,
> but
> > doesn’t have a way to access either anymore.
> > Does anybody know if those original recordings are available via
> > streaming, say, some sort of audio file?
> > Thank you,
> > Lynette
> >
>
>
> --
> Nita
>
