Vermont Rare Bird Reports 2025

Breezy, sunny and 38ºF

Victory SF 10x42

I have seen two other ones in VT and many of them in several southern states.

Backyard of homeowner next to Lapham Bay on Lake Champlain. There were 2 window feeders and a suet feeder. Other birds seen were black-capped chickadees, downy & red-bellied woodpeckers & white-breasted nuthatches.

The bird was feeding several times from the suet feeder and from the ground below it. It would perch on a tree limb or a nearby rooftop. A few times I saw it climbing upside down on the suet feeder which reminded me of a nuthatch.

It was calling most of the time using single call notes.

I saw this bird busily feeding and flying actively from the suet feeder to the ground, several trees and a few rooftops.

This is a medium sized warbler, sort of stout/robust looking and has a longish bill.

Cap was black changing to gray on back of cap & nape, white supercilium with a yellowish supraloral, black eye-line, lores & mask, white lower eye arc & "neck spot", dark eye and bill, very bright yellow throat.

This bird has palish/almost yellowish colored feet and darkish legs. The bill is dark, longish and has a sharp pointed tip.

The upper back is gray.

The lower back and rump are also gray.

Darkish wings with two white wing bars.

The upper breast is yellow then changes to white at the lower breast. Belly & under tail coverts are white. Flanks are white with black streaks.

The tail was grayish and has white outer tail feathers with gray/black outer edges. The undertail was mostly white.

Grace's Warbler was ruled out because it would have a yellow supercilium & lower eye arc, no white neck spot or black mask. Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) was most easily ruled out because this bird does not have a yellow rump, yellow patches on sides, black in the breast or a white upper eye arc. Blackburnian Warbler was ruled out because it does not have a bright yellow throat, yellow rump or a white neck spot.

No.