May 2011 is now in the record books. It was a month to remember, for me and all Windsor County birders. Back on May 1st, there were still redpolls at my home on Bragg Hill, but that wasn’t the only notable species in Norwich that day. I arrived home (from a morning of birding) to find a Golden-crowned Sparrow! Although a one-day-wonder, it was seen well and photographed by several others. Not to be outdone by this vagrant, a Northern Goshawk and an Eastern Towhee also made an appearance at our house that afternoon. After this phenomenal start to May, things never really slowed down -- I could never have imagined that this second state record wouldn’t be the best bird of the month!
As of today (June 1), 171 species and nearly 750 checklists have submitted to eBird for my home county of Windsor. For comparison, last May we had 144 species and 440 checklists. This may have been the single “birdiest” month in the documented history of Windsor County – a month of quality as well as quantity. Highlights included: Common Eider (the first in 30 years), second-ever for the county White-winged Scoter (at least 3 groups; none last year), Lesser Scaup (none in 2010), Semipalmated Plover (more than a dozen; none last year), Bicknell's Thrush (singing on Mt. Okemo), Black Terns, Golden-winged Warblers, Long-tailed Ducks, Black-billed Cuckoos, Whip-poor-will, and nesting Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.
Last but not least, Vermont got a new species just yesterday – 2 Marbled Godwits beside the Connecticut River, near Pompy Farms. My Dad and I found them feeding on the mudflats with geese and Mallards. They were gone within a half hour, flying off to the south. As much as we hated to see them leave, viewing them in flight erased any doubt about their identification. The entire time we watched, the birds seemed restless. They preened and stretched, allowing brief views of their underwing coverts. Additional features that helped us confirm the ID included the orange upper half of the bill and their overall buff color.
Explaining why any and all these rarities turned up in May is difficult. The 12 shorebird species found may in part have resulted from low water levels on the Connecticut River. These were very low on and off during the month, providing shorebirds a place to land (and birders ample excuses to bird). Another explanation would be the County Birding Quest. As many of us have experienced first hand, the Quest has revamped birdwatching in Vermont. While it may be reducing our productivity at work and in school, it has certainly had an enormous impact on the county bird list!
A more typical explanation for the bounty of rarities might involve the weather. It has been a weird month weatherwise. The heavy rains and super-hot days seem a little extreme. I can only guess, but it is possible the godwits were blown here by the same weather system that brought the White Pelican to Kent Pond in Killington. Whatever the reason(s), May has been a birding month many of us will remember.
Spencer Hardy
Norwich, VT
Marbled Godwit photo courtesy of Bryan Pfeiffer
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