Vermont Rare Bird Reports 2020

20 degrees with the sun shining very windy day

Canon 1DX 11 ~500mm L lens + 1.4 TC

I thought this was an early arrival of an Eastern Phoebe ~ learned later from "What's this bird" it's a Say's Phoebe.. I know of the Say's Phoebe from pple discovering one in the southern part of the state during winter ...

A Robin was hopping around nearby ~house sparrows where under eves of the shed & in shrubbery~The lake was full of waterfowl , ducks & gulls & Canada's & flying over the bridge periodically ..

Not feeding on anything.. It was not Leary of me from a distance of approx 30 to 20 ft. It seemed like it was searching for something looking & occasionally calling..

I don't know exactly how to describe it's call.. A long one syllable soft call ~the tone carried as I could hear it from where my car was parked at the end of the bridge.

Flying from shed to under bridge and further to sapling/brush at times swishing it's tail and then perched~ watching & back to shed again.

smaller than a Robin ~ Fluffy feathers ~somewhat scruffy in appearance~ roundish belly not slender.

Dark brown crest ~catch light in it's eye~very tiny white eye ring~~fine dark line straight back from it's eye. White throat ~cheeks brown to lighter brown than crown.

long black bill with a downward point at the tip ~

Grayish feathers

Gray feathers can't really see the rump

I didn't really notice the shape of the wings.. They come to 1/3 rd of the upper part of the tail..

Upper third of chest whitish color graduating to warm rusty coloring continuing to tail coverts..

Tail long and square i noticed that w/o reading a field guide.

Eastern Phoebe ~~ under belly color was different. ID not made by me.. I saw it, photographed it, and watched it, for a while later ID confirmed by much better birders than me... Say's Phoebe did cross my mind and I did look it up.. I remember the one seen in Southern Vt. this past winter...

Age and Sex not determined..
I was out and about in search of waterfowl ~ I walk the bridge both sides unless the wind is too much and I like to photograph from the bridge which is how I came upon it walking to the bridge.