Vermont Rare Bird Reports 2025

I was the sole observer.

46°F, Clear skies and quite nice viewing conditions with no heat distortion. The sun was behind me and lit up the birds nicely.

First spotted them with Zeiss Victory SF 10x42 binoculars then got onto them with Kowa TSN-884 88mm Straight Spotting Scope.

I've seen one at this location & The Champlain Bridge in 2021, 356 on the water in Nova Scotia on July 28, 2014 and most recently in Scotland, I saw 104 of them during the last week of July 2025. All observations up to & including 11/4/25 were all seen either on the water or flying just above the surface.

Lake Champlain lake watch from the west side of the lake (Thompson's Point) with 12 mph NW winds.

All 3 birds were seen in a tight formation flying just above the water while heading south. They had rapid wingbeats and were flying by with no hesitation.

None heard.

Three black and white (black above and white below) rather large alcids flying low over the lake while heading south. They were on a steady line and stayed the same distance above the water the entire time that I observed them.

They were about the size of a Common Goldeneyes but more streamlined and sort of shaped like a narrowish football.

Their head shapes looked like one end of a football with a blunt bill sticking out beyond its' end. Their caps was black and their faces and throats were white. A black spur which pointed downward was seen on the side of their necks with a whitish area between it and the eye, that also went higher than the eye.

Their bills were black, deep, short & blunt tipped. I could not see their feet.

Their upper backs were black with no other markings.

Their lower backs and rumps were also black with no other markings.

Their wings were positioned pretty much centered between the front and tail ends of the birds. They were black on the upper wings and mostly white on the under wings. They seemed fairly wide for the size of these birds and tapered to a sort of dull point.

Their breasts, bellies, flanks and undertail coverts were white with no other markings.

Their tails were fairly long, black on top and came to a point and reached beyond their feet.

The bird species that would look most similar to these 3 birds would be Murres (Common & Thick-billed). These Razorbills showed blunt tipped bills and pointed tails. Both Murre species would have shown pointed bills and non pointed tails due to their feet extending beyond their tails.

First winter or adult birds in basic plumage.