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Vesper question, Assateague Ash-throat, Knoxville Snow Bunting



Hi Carolinabirders,

During our duck-fest on Saturday, Frank was flipping through my new copy 
of Sibley and noted that Vesper Sparrow, another species which he 
desperately wants to see, is listed as ranging throughout North Carolina 
in the winter. Not that I want to pit my knowledge against Dave, but I've 
seen a grand total of one in my 3 1/2 years in NC, that during migration 
at Old Hope Valley Farm in Chatham County. CBC data seems to fall in 
between the two points, listing them as occurring at densities of one 
individual or less per count per year; densities are shown to be slightly 
higher south of Wilmington, and throughout South Carolina, than they are 
in NC. Are Vespers actually reliable in winter anywhere around here? Or 
are they, as I suspect, unpredictable vagrants, at least north of the 
border?

On the hotlines: an Ash-throated Flycatcher near Assateague, reported on 
the Maryland listserv. And a Snow Bunting in eastern Tennessee near 
Knoxville; this may have already been mentioned here, today it was on 
BIRDCHAT. FOUR! Snowy Owls in New Jersey, and one in Pennsylvania, but 
none certifiably further south as yet...

Good birding,

Josh



Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)

jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/