Townsend’s Solitaire, Dummerston, VT, December 2015

While away on a business trip in early December I noticed a post on the VT listserve about a Townsend’s Solitaire at a private residence in Dummerston.  By the time I returned a couple days later there were four separate eBird posts of birders seeing the bird – so the location couldn’t be too private.  I sent an e-mail to Cat Abbott who originally posted it, and it turned out the bird was actually being seen in her yard.  She sent me directions, but said the Solitaire was not seen that day.  And when a full-day search the next day was negative as well, the homeowner suggested that the bird was probably gone.  I sent a note back to Cat suggesting that, although it was now a no-show for 2 consecutive days, she might want to keep an eye out for it since Solitaire’s in New England will frequently stick around their adopted winter homes for an extended period of time.

Sure enough, a couple weeks later I got an e-mail from VT birding friend Hector Galbraith that the Solitaire was back.  Hector lives close to the Solitaire spot and he had seen it during its first appearance.  So we made a plan to go together the next morning to give it a try. 

Despite a very warm month of December, a band of lake-effect snow had dumped a quick couple inches of snow on southwestern NH and southeastern VT that morning.  Roads were snow covered and a bit slippery on my drive to our meeting spot.  And since Cat’s home was back the mountains way off the main roads, it was not surprising that the roads were even icier as we headed to the Solitaire spot.  But after a bit of white knuckle driving, Hector successfully navigated us to Cat’s yard.  Good thing Hector was along because I’m not sure I would have found her place with several unmarked lefts and rights on dirt roads back in the woods. 

Cat mentioned that the bird would feed in two small juniper trees, and would perch on fence posts and a crabapple tree nearby.  So we set up in a spot where we could see all these perches, and was also out of the biting wind.  Just a couple minutes later I noticed a bird perched near the top of a deciduous tree in the distance.  I put my binocs on it and it was indeed the Solitaire – that was easy!  A few minutes later the bird dropped down to its favorite perches on the fence posts, and fed in the junipers.  I got these phonescoped photos of this most cooperative bird.

In a 3-day span I had added Townsend’s Solitaire to 2 New England statelists – first CT and now in VT where it was #272 on my list.  I just need it in RI to complete a sweep of the 6 New England states.  And with recent reports of Solitaires in ME, MA, VT, and CT, hopefully one will be spotted in RI later this winter.