Vermont Rare Bird Reports 2022

None

None. Sunny, calm wind, no precipitation.

Leica Ultravid 8X42

Abundant. I've seen thousands of this species in Vermont, Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, and other states.

Vermont Northeast Kingdom farmland region, with open pastures, hardwood forests, and scattered residences.

Typical foraging behavior in trees, at a height of 4 m to 15 m. Working in planted Balsam Firs and in maple trees beside a dirt road. Moving from branch to branch, generally about 30-60 cm to the interior of the outer canopy of the tree in question, but also somewhere near the center of a large mature maple tree that was about 17 m in height.

Very typical wheezy call of Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, which was the first thing that alerted me to the bird. As exemplified by my 2 audio recordings, the wheezy calls were in a series of 3-6 calls in an overall phrase.

Calling repeatedly while foraging in balsam firs and maples in a residential yard. Seen at close range in binoculars while calling. Small bird, light bluish overall color on upperside, white tail edges, white eye-ring. Paler below (grayish) than above. The proportionately long tail was frequently cocked while foraging. Recordings attached. Call notes in both recordings are really not consistent with anything else: wheezy notes in a series, which I recognized by ear immediately. The closest alternative calls would be from vireos (Red-eyed, Warbling), but the sound is much thinner and higher than scolding calls of those species. The sound identification engine at birdnet.cornell.edu confirms that both sounds are due to this species. Bird remained in the area for about 10 minutes before wandering off. I attempted to relocate the bird up and down the road for a few hours later without success, and it did not recur in subsequent days. I am familiar with this species in other parts of the country; seen in southern Vermont a few weeks prior. If this is a first county record (which would be quite surprising), it certainly would be better to substantiate with a photo, but I did not have it at hand.

Roughly half the size of an Am Robin; slightly larger than nearby warblers which were also foraging and singing.

White eye ring. Uniform crown color. Throat same color as underparts, paler than back. I did not note any black color near the forehead, but I did not focus on this area.

Straight thin bill, medium length (not tiny, but not longer than width of head). Bill color not noted.

Light bluish overall color on upperside (back).

Light bluish overall color on upperside (back). Rump color not noted, but it did not contrast with the back.

Wings roughly similar in color to back; perhaps a bit darker, but not a color that contrasted greatly with the back.

Paler underneath compared to the upperside color. Best described as light grayish, since it was not boldly white.

The proportionately long tail was frequently cocked while foraging. Tail edges were white. The underside of the tail had white patches, although I did not specifically note the shape of these areas.

With a cocked tail that has white edges, and with frequently made wheezy calls, there is not too much to mistake this bird for. A few warbler species were nearby; this bird had much longer tail and held it differently than a warbler. Other blue-colored birds: the blue color was much less pronounced than Indigo Bunting and Blue Grosbeak. It lacked the brownish colors of the underside of female Eastern Bluebird. It lacked the black face and throat of male Black-throated Blue Warbler. White-breasted Nuthatch has much stronger nape/face contrast and moves in the branches in a completely different manner. The same is true for Red-breasted Nuthatch, which also would have exhibited brownish underparts. The other out-of-range North American gnatcatchers are darker in color, except for the very similar female Black-capped Gnatcatcher, which makes different sounds. Vireo scolding call notes can be similar, but I saw this bird vocalize, and it does not match any vireo visually.

I did not specifically note the head markings of a male (which are somewhat subdued in any case), so I cannot say what the sex was.
After making a few recordings, I took the time on eBird to look at other sightings in this part of the state, and I was astonished to find no previous records in Caledonia County, VT. Had I known this, I would have focused my efforts more on obtaining a photo. I then searched the rest of the day with camera in hand, both in my driveway and along the road, but it did not reappear.
Note about recordings: obtained with an iphone. Note the much louder sounds from a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, which made almost incessant territorial drumming calls.