Great Cormorant and Hoary Redpoll, Vermont, November 2012

Much of the best birding in Vermont is in the northwestern part of the state at or close to Lake Champlain, which is a long drive from home.  Only occasionally does a possible new statebird show up much closer in southern or eastern VT.  So of course I had to chase after a Great Cormorant when it was found in eastern VT in Windsor in a small freshwater lake named Lake Runnymede.  The Cormorant was quite reliable, preferring to perch on a branch near a gazebo in the adjacent park.  Making things even more interesting was that several birders mentioned seeing a large flock of redpolls in a pumpkin field right next to the lake.  I need Hoary Redpoll for my VT list so certainly worthwhile to scan through the flock if I have time after searching for the Cormorant.

Armed with excellent micro-directions to the Cormorant I took the 2-hour drive to Windsor.  As soon as I arrived at the lake I could see the gazebo in the distance, and right next to it was a bird perched on a low snag.  With the scope I could tell it was a cormorant, and of course most likely the Great Cormorant, but since I was looking into the sun I couldn’t eliminate Double-Crested.  So I took the short walk to the gazebo to get a closer look.  En route I passed along the edge of the pumpkin field and kept my eyes and ears open for redpolls, but with no luck.  When I arrived at the gazebo I took one step inside and instantly saw the Great Cormorant sitting no more than 20 feet away.  Great views of an exceptionally rare bird in Vermont!

Great Cormorant was the 216^th species that I’ve seen in all 6 New England states.  I’ve also seen this species in each Atlantic Coast state except Georgia. 

I had very limited time but thought that since I got the Cormorant so quickly I had at least a few minutes to look for redpolls.  So I went back to the pumpkin patch and quickly noticed a small flock of redpolls as they flew into some weeds in the middle of the field.  I walked out toward the birds but saw they were all Commons.  But a few seconds later a few more flew into those weeds, and then some more.  Soon there were at least 70 birds in a small patch of weeds just about 30 feet away.  A few were quite pale, so I set up the scope and had great closeup views.  The first 3 pale birds I checked all had varying amounts of dark feathers in the undertail coverts so I didn’t jump to any conclusions on them.  But then I looked up and noticed a fourth bird that was even paler.  I put that one in the scope, and with at least 3 minutes of viewing time I saw that it was paler both below and on the scapulars and wings, had pure white undertail coverts, was a bit bigger than the others, and a bit fluffier too.  The only thing that kept me from calling it a Hoary was that I couldn’t tell that it had a shorter bill.  I took a couple phone-scoped photos of the bird which unfortunately were so miserable that they were of no use for the ID.  The next day I spent some time looking at Hoary photos on line and on many their bills were not visibly shorter than the Commons.  So with that last hesitation removed, I concluded that my bird was indeed a Hoary Redpoll.  The next day I contacted Denny Abbott, my NH birding buddy, and he was able to find 2 Hoaries in the flock.

Vermont is my 8^th state for Hoary Redpoll – 4 of which are in New England.  This is shaping up to be a big year for redpolls in New England, so maybe I’ll be able see them in ME and CT and sweep the region.