Vireos

White-eyed Vireo

Vireo griseus
On 3 June 1979, Chip Perrigo stopped at an abandoned orchard on Payne Beach Road, about 0.7 of a mile south of the Lake Ontario Parkway and made a tantalizing discovery. “Perhaps the first sound I heard was the unmistakable syncopated song of a White-eyed Vireo about 100 feet from the road.” When he returned later in the day with Mike Carlson and Hyde Miller, they relocated the bird at the far west end of the woodlot. This time, they noted a second bird, “presumably a female, chattering excitedly at our presence and obviously following the persistently singing male on his territorial circuit around the orchard,” Perrigo related. (LG, July 1979) Could this be the first document nesting of this species in our region in at least 50 years?
Background
This bird of scrub, wood margin and overgrown pasture has an explosive vocal ability, with individual birds possessing a dozen or more distinct songs in their repertoire. It can be found across the southeast U.S., and northward into Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois. At one time this was a common breeder as far north as Massachusetts before 1880, but nearly disappeared by 1930. This species faces two disadvantages: nearly half its nests are parasitized by cowbirds, resulting in zero success for vireo nestlings. Moreover, “since the dense scrub this species prefers has little economic value, it is rarely protected.” BBS data suggest significant declines over much of its range. Nonetheless, it is less selective about its wintering habitat in Central America and the Caribbean, and probably has not been harmed by habitat changes there. (BNA 168: 1-4, 13)
Local history
“It is possible that a half century ago the White-eyed Vireo was rare, but more regular as a nesting species than it is today,” Beardslee and Mitchell suggested in the mid 1960s. Eaton (1910), in fact, listed it as a rare breeding species in Monroe County (county chart), but also wrote that he had encountered it only once in western New York, at Rochester, during 11 years of observations. (Eaton II: 376) Ernest Short reported finding a nest that contained two vireo eggs and one cowbird egg on 4 June 1922 at Science Hill, Gates. However, Beardslee and Mitchell conceded it is possible that many of the eggs collected in western New York from nests believed of this species may have been from Solitary Vireos instead. (B&M, p. 357) Bull, too, was leery of reports in the “older literature” of this species nesting at various locations in western and central New York, including Brockport and Rochester. (Bull, p. 454)In any event, R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, reported only four sightings: one 11 May 1913, one 13 September 1913, one 31 May 1914 and one 2 May 1921. There were none thereafter until one was seen at Durand-Eastman Park in September 1949 by Hugh Schaeffer “at a distance of about 8 feet,” Edson reported. (WBR, 19 September 1949) “The white eye pupil attracted immediate attention . . . The unvireolike song also was heard.” (Note: Edson claimed this was the first in more than 30 years, which would exclude Horsey’s 1921 record.) There were only ten spring records by 1961, Edson noted. (WBR, 15 May 1961; it is possible not all of these were within what are now the boundaries of Region 2.) One reported 17 May 1969 near Braddock Bay (Listman) prompted the observation that this species is “averaging only one bird every four or five years.” (KB 19:151) Ironically, starting with that bird, this southern overshoot has been recorded almost every year since, far more often in spring than fall.
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, rare spring visitant; a casual, very rare summer resident and a casual, very rare fall visitant. Occurrence
Of about 80 records here since 1951, the vast majority – about 65 – have been in spring, and the vast majority of those – about 55 – have been in May.

Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of dates from 22 April (1976) to June 10, with a mid range of 2 to 22 May. Subsequently one on 16 June 1991 (R. and S. Spahn, Miner) at Leroy was later. (GNR)Usually single birds are seen, and often only one to two per season. However, three individuals were sighted in May 1979, followed by Perrigo’s pair the following month. (KB 29: 147, 217) Other “influxes” included four reports from 6 May to 16 June 1991 (KB 41: 184, 263), from 30 April to 24 May 1994 (KB 44:206), and again in May 2004. (KB 54:231) One particularly cooperative bird was found by Jeanne and Sharon Skelly in a hedgerow at Manitou Beach on 14 May 1988. It stayed in the same general area for most of two days, Frank Dobson noted, giving dozens of birders a chance to study it “by just standing at the edge of the road.” (Birds, 22 May 1988)
Summer/breeding status: This vireo has a song unlike any other observed here, consisting of “three to nine distinct, short, phonetic notes . . . delivered emphatically, separated by brief pauses. Most songs include a loud, accented whee or wheeyo,” Gordon Meade has noted. “However, a silent White-eyed Vireo is difficult to find because of its skulking, will-o-the-wisp behavior in the densely tangled vegetation it prefers.” (Andrle, p. 342)Rochester birders surely would not mind such a challenge, and would welcome this species as a regular breeder rather than a rare, albeit regular visitor. Unfortunately, despite occasional hints of possible breeding in our region, it has yet to be confirmed.For example, the birds located on Payne Beach Road in 1979 were not relocated in the days that followed, despite efforts by several birders. However, on 25 June, Perrigo again found the male “arrogantly singing at the edge of the road. I ‘spished’ only a few times and suddenly a second bird jumped from the thicket, scolded me for the disturbance, and quickly bolted back into the thickest brush.”Equally intriguing was the fact that at least one of the resident catbirds had picked up the White-eyed Vireo song, seeming to confirm a long-term residence by the birds.“Both the time of year and individual behaviors strongly support attempted nesting, but it was indeed unfortunate for the birders, less so for the vireos, that they were so secretive in their activities,” Perrigo noted. In any event, the two-three acres of second growth orchard with a scattering of tall cherry and ash trees emerging from extremely dense underbrush was ideal nesting habitat for this species. (LG, July 1979) The first Breeding Bird Atlas project (1980-1985) documented the “beginning of a movement up the Hudson Valley” from this species’ breeding base in southeast New York. Meade, in his profile of this species for The Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State, also noted the increase of sightings in the Rochester area, and around Syracuse, “It was surprising to find few Atlas records from these areas,” he added. There have, in fact, been only four June sightings. During the first BBA, another pair provided a block with probable breeding at Irondequoit Bay in 1983. However, “in the end, there was no evidence that the White-eyed Vireos along the west side of Irondequoit Bay actually brought off a successful nest,” Bob Spahn noted. (GNR) A single bird was at LeRoy on 16 June 1991. (GOS, September 1991) However, no evidence of breeding was reported in our region during the second BBA (2000-2005), and there was only limited evidence of range expansion downstate.
Fall: Only thirteen records since 1951. However, at least 10 of them were birds banded at Manitou in the last 11 years. Record early was one on 12 September 1973 (D. Spear et al) at Webster. (KB 24: 18) Birds banded at Manitou on 29 October 1986 (Brooks, Symonds) and 30 October 2001 (McKinney) were quite late. (LG, November 1986, December 2001)Winter: An immature was at Hamlin Beach (Fox, D. Tetlow) on the extraordinarily late dates of 3-12 December 2004. (KB55: 172)

Yellow-throated Vireo

Vireo flavifrons
Eaton, in the early 1900s, wrote that he had found this handsome species nesting “in the shade trees of Rochester, Medina, Canandaigua and Buffalo” in addition to more remote forests. (Eaton II:372) That passage certainly caught the eye of this birder who, nearly a century later, considered it a good day indeed to find even one of these birds migrating in a park near his suburban Rochester home. During the early decades of the 20th Century, this species “seemed to have disappeared from towns, suburban areas and cities” in the northeast, and many ornithologists blame the heavy spraying of insecticides that occurred to control Dutch elm disease, notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. (BNA 247:1)
Background
This is a bird of woodland edges, more likely to be found there than the Red-eyed Vireo of woodland interiors. It has also disappeared more recently from several smaller forest reserves in the eastern United States. Despite its preference for edge habitat, this species may require large blocks of intact forest, or high percentages of regional forest cover to breed successfully. However, BBS data suggest increasing populations, perhaps because of regenerating woodlands. These gains could be offset by loss of tropical forests on its wintering grounds in Central and South America. (BNA 247: 1-2, 4, 15)
Local history
Eaton (1910) considered this a fairly common summer resident in Monroe County, uncommon in Wayne and also occurring in Livingston. He also listed it as a common transient in Monroe. (Eaton I: county charts) R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of one to two birds, with a maximum count of 10, on dates ranging from 4 May to 13 October.However, when Leo Tanghe analyzed 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951 through 1954, this species showed up on only 27 of 259 June-August lists within a 50-mile radius of Rochester. (KB 5: 69: 5A-5B)In his 1953 listing of breeding birds in the Rochester area, Tanghe considered this an uncommon nester, and mentioned only Reed Road as a known breeding location. (GOS, May/August 1953)A significant decline in the Cayuga Lake basin outside our region, starting in 1955, was attributed to the bird’s reported preference for nesting in elms, many of which had died from Dutch elm disease. Some studies also suggest this species may be more vulnerable than many other neotropical migrants to woodland fragmentation and cowbird parasitism, especially in urban areas. (Andrle, p. 346)
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon summer resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a regular fairly common summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 30 April to 25 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 7 to 14 May. Subsequently, one 24 April 1994 (Liguori) at Braddock Bay set a new record early date. (GOS, June 1994)
Summer/ breeding status: The results from both BBA projects indicate this is more localized in distribution than the more common Red-Eyed and Warbling Vireos, with evidence of breeding found in fewer than half as many blocks. During the first project one of the heaviest concentrations of blocks was in southern Monroe and northern Livingston into Genesee counties. The second project found evidence of breeding not only there, but in additional blocks along the Genesee River valley in Livingston and across the southern half of Wayne County. This is a “widespread nester” throughout Livingston County that “prefers tall trees, such as near the Genesee River and its tributaries,” Fox notes. (Fox, p. 66)

Summer maxima: 15 on 8 July 1971 (G. Perrigo) at Mendon Ponds. (GNR)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 2 September to 15 October (1978), with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 10 to 20 September. However, one on 16 October 1954 (McKinney) in the Bristol Hills was later. (GNR)

Blue-headed Vireo

(formerly Solitary Vireo)Vireo solitarius
Before co-leading a trip into Bergen Swamp on 14 June 2003, Kelly Dockery insisted that she routinely found this handsome species there in summer.Not everyone, including her co-leader were convinced. However, “we not only saw Blue-headed Vireo and heard it sing, but we saw it carry food to its hanging basket-like nest in a hemlock,” her co-leader wrote later. (LG, July/August 2003) The encounter was further evidence that a species that once hardly ever nested in our region is now increasing.
Background
This is one of three former subspecies of Solitary Vireo that were split off as separate species in 1997. It nests across much of central and eastern Canada, in northeastern U.S., and south along the Appalachians, preferring relatively mature, extensive forests with an understory of shrubs and smaller trees. “Over most of the range of this species pairs are typically widely spaced, seldom in close contact with people,” Ross James notes in his profile of this species for The Birds of North America series. Surveys suggest this species has been increasing steadily in recent decades, perhaps as logged or cleared forests regenerate into acceptable habitat. Not considered endangered or threatened at this point. (BNA 379: 1, 16)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this as a fairly common transient in Monroe and Wayne counties, uncommon in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated single birds were the norm during spring and fall migrations, and never more than two at a time, on dates ranging from 24 April to 28 May, and from 20 September to 11 October.When Leo Tanghe examined 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951 through 1954, this species was reported only 71 times, and almost exclusively – 62 times – as a spring migrant. There were no summer records and average counts were 1-2 birds. (KB 5: 69: 6A-6B)In 1953, he did not list this bird as a breeding species in the Rochester area. (GOS, May/August 1953)
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon spring and fall transient and an occasional, rare summer resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably regular fairly common) spring and fall transient and a regular uncommon summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 16 April (1976) to 23 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 1 to 9 May. Subsequently, one on 12 April 2005 (D. Tetlow), no location given, set a new record early date. (LG, June 2005; KB 55: 269)In most years had departed by 27 May, with a late departure date of 11 June.
Summer/breeding status: “My own experience throughout the hills, gullies and swamps of western New York is that this species is absent as a breeding species from the whole region, even where juncos, Hermit thrushes and Blackburnian warblers are fairly common breeders,” Eaton (1914) wrote. (Eaton II: 374) However, Bull (1974) said that “in recent years at least” it had bred in the southern tier. (Bull, p. 457)The first Breeding Bird Atlas project “outlines what appears to be continued range expansion within the state, which undoubtedly is partly due to reforestation of agricultural lands at many higher elevations,” Emanuel Levine noted in his discussion of this species in The Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State. (Andrle, p. 344)Indeed. The second BBA project documented evidence of breeding in even more blocks all across the southern tier. This trend is clearly reflected in the blocks assigned to Region 2. The number with evidence of breeding more than doubled by the second project, with almost all of that increase occurring in the higher elevations to the south. Evidence of breeding was still widely scattered on the lake plain.

Though the song is similar to Red-eyed Vireo, it is not delivered as frequently. This is the only vireo in New York that tolerates coniferous forests. (Andrle, p. 344)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 28 August (1977) to 2 October, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 12 to 26 September. Subsequently, one on 8 August 1995 (McKinney) at Manitou was an even earlier “first of fall.” (GOS, October 1995) In most years, had departed by 14 October, with a late departure date of 3 November. One on 9 November 1991 (Ballard, R. Spahn) at Hamlin Beach SP was later. (GOS, January 1992) Subsequently, a late straggler at Hamlin Beach SP on 3 December 2006 (B. Carlson et al) set a new record late date. (LG, February 2007)Of the 30 most common species banded in fall at Manitou by Braddock Bay Bird Observatory during 1999-2006, this tied at 30th with Eastern Phoebe, with 130 birds taken from the nets.

Philadelphia Vireo

Vireo philadelphicus
When beginning birder’s trips are held in fall, any sighting of a small, drab vireo immediately draws attention. Is it a Warbling Vireo or a Philadelphia?If the field trip leader has studied up, the birders will be advised to ignore the extent of yellow along the flanks. “Look at the throat and breast,” the beginners are advised. “If the yellow underneath is most heavily concentrated in the throat and upper breast, it’s a Philadelphia.” (See Kaufman, p. 226)
Background   Though this species has the most northerly breeding range of all the vireos, extending across central and eastern Canada, and dipping only into the northernmost portions of the Great Lakes and New England, it does coexist in some areas with the larger Red-eyed Vireo, and may adjust its foraging to avoid conflicts. Philadelphia Vireos apparently imitate the song of the Red-eyed, though in simpler form, so that they can advertise and defend territories without having to confront the larger Red-eyeds physically. This species prefers early- to mid-successional deciduous woods and woodland edges, aspen parklands and shrub thickets. Migration routes extend farther east and southeast in fall than in spring. This species appears to be secure because human activities that set back succession, such as clear cutting and selective logging, will likely benefit it. (BNA 214: 1-4, 9)
Local history
Eaton (1910) listed this as a fairly common transient in Monroe County, uncommon in Wayne, with no indication of occurrence in Livingston. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated single birds were the norm in spring, with a maximum count of three, on dates ranging from 11 May to 1 June. In fall, one to two birds constituted an average count, with a maximum tally of four, on dates ranging from 20 August to 2 October.Leo Tanghe, examining the tallies from 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members for 1951-54, could find only 15 records in spring, and nine in fall, generally 1-3 birds each. (KB 5: 69: 6A-6B)Indeed, during May 1957, this species was “missing completely,” according to the Goshawk summary for that month.Though by no means common, this is a regular migrant here, both spring and fall, usually one or two at a time, encountered with small groups of migrating warblers.
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, uncommon spring and fall transient.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably irregular uncommon) spring and fall transient.
Occurrence    Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 2 May (1981) to 28 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 12 to 18 May. Subsequently, one on 29 April 1985 (S. Spahn) at Webster was earlier. (GOS, June 1985)      In most years had departed by 1 June, with a late departure date of 10 June 1954 when Listman found one at Manitou. (GOS, May-August 1954)
Spring maxima:    3 on 17 May 1969 (Lloyd, Sunderlin) lakeshore. (GOS, July/September 1969)    4 on 21 May 1960 (O’Hara, Miller) west lakeshore. (GOS, March-July 1960)    3 in one tree on 29 May 1980 at Manitou. (KB 30: 167)    5 on 8 June 1991 (Griffith) Genesee Country Museum. (GOS, September 1991)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 2 August to 21 September, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 24 August to 14 September. In most years had departed by 3 October, with a late departure date of 2 November (1980).
Fall maxima:      5 banded on 5 August 1987 (Brooks, Symonds) at Braddock Bay. (LG, September 1987)      5 on 10 September 1955 (Listman, Van Beurden) at Braddock Bay woods. (GOS, April-December 1955)      6+ on 12 September 2007 (S. Daniel) at the Burroughs-Audubon Nature Center. (LG, November 2007)

Warbling Vireo

Vireo gilvus
This birder was reminded of this species’ ubiquitous presence as he did his daily rounds in late May and early June of 2006. When he walked his dog in Badgerow Park he would invariably hear one or more singing from the willows along Slater Creek. When he went to the self-storage company overlooking Round Pond, he could hear another singing from willows at the edge of the pond. When he went to the Greece recycling center on Flynn Road to pick up compost, again, a Warbling Vireo invariably serenaded from the tall trees overhead. Even at his stepdaughter’s cottage at the edge of the lake in Kendall, where there was only a thin strip of shade trees along the shore, a Warbling Vireo could be heard, providing musical accompaniment to a cookout in the heat of the afternoon. Not that he actually saw the birds. It was enough to hear their pleasant, finch-like song with its distinctive, almost querying upturn at the end to know they were near.This is perhaps our drabbest summer resident. “In southern and western New York this is one of our common birds of the orchard and shade trees,” Eaton (1914) noted. “Almost every village, city and parkland boasts pairs of the Warbling vireo. . . As to the birds themselves, they are very rarely seen, even by the inhabitants in front of whose houses they build their nests.” (Eaton II: 371)

Background
Indeed, “were it not for its melodious song, a warble not unlike that of the Purple Finch, this vireo would go unnoticed in the thick foliage of tall shade trees, for it is dull-colored and generally unobtrusive in demeanor,” Bull observed. (Bull, p. 462) This small, gray-olive bird “is far less conspicuous to the eye than to the ear,” notes the profile of this species in The Birds of North America series. The warbling, undulating song has inspired such mnemonics as; “Iggley, pigelly, wigelly, pig,” and “If I sees you, I will seize you, and I’ll squeeze you till you squirt.” This species occupies a variety of deciduous woodland habitats, especially near water, from western Canada across most of the United States and south into Mexico, wintering there and in Central America. “The species appears well adapted to human landscapes, as nests have been found in neighborhoods, urban parks, orchards and farm fencerows.” Population has been increasing rangewide, according to BBS, though trends can vary within regions: Numbers have been declining in California, for example, but increasing in Ontario. (BNA 551: 1, 9, 19)
Local history
Eaton (1910) considered this a common summer resident in Monroe, Livingston and Wayne counties. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of one to two birds, with a maximum count of eight, on dates ranging from 22 April to 11 October. However, when Leo Tanghe analyzed 1,665 outings by GOS members from 1951 through 1954, this species showed up on only 42 of 259 June/August lists within a 50-mile radius of Rochester, far behind Red-Eyed Vireo, which appeared on 140. (KB 5: 69: 6A-6B)In 1953, Tanghe listed this as a common breeding species in the Rochester area, and specifically mentioned LaGrange Avenue as a nesting location. (GOS, May/August 1953) “Apparently its numbers have diminished considerably,” Beardslee and Mitchell wrote in 1965, noting that it could no longer be classed as a common breeding species in western New York. (B&M, p. 361) Bull (1974) attributed the decline to the spraying of diseased elms. (Bull, p. 462) This species has since rebounded.
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, common summer resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably regular fairly common) spring and fall transient and a regular fairly common summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 22 April to 19 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 5 to 11 May.
Spring maxima: 30+ on 25 May 1996 (mob) at several locations. (GOS, July/August 1996)
Summer/breeding status: It nests in open woods and isolated trees of open areas, such as parks, golf courses, and farms. (Andrle, p. 348) The first BBA project found it widespread, though missing in parts of Livingston and Wayne Counties. During the second project, even those areas produced evidence of breeding.

Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 20 August to 1 October, with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 10 to 20 September. One banded on 24 October 1991 (Brooks) at Manitou was even later. (GOS, December 1991)
Misc.
This birder had an interesting encounter with a Warbling Vireo while doing Breeding Bird Atlas work at Lower Falls Park along the Genesee River gorge on 29 June 2002. The vireo became very annoyed when the birder spished, and followed him along the path, moving from perch to perch, and giving agitated calls. The birder eventually tracked this bird as it carried food high up in a cottonwood along the edge of the river “to a point that when it leaves it no longer carries food.” Focusing on that part of the tree, the birder was finally able to see the nest from underneath.

Red-eyed Vireo

Vireo olivaceus
The spring migration of 1996 appeared to be ending not with a bang, but a whimper at the Kaiser-Manitou banding station. From May 22-31 there was little movement. The station’s regular net set-up was taken down on May 31. On June 1, only three banders and a skeleton set-up of seven nets remained.And then, on that same day, “the winds finally turned to the southwest. On the first net-check, there were 20 Red-eyed Vireos in one net!” (GOS, March 1997) Reading this account reminded this observer of the acute embarrassment he felt during his first visit to the banding station when a hand-held Red-eyed Vireo was displayed right in front of his eyes. For the life of him, he couldn’t identify it – the bird was simply too close! This summer resident – our most numerous, widespread vireo – is hard to miss in wooded areas, parks, and residential areas. But this dull plumaged bird is rather deliberate, even sluggish in its treetop foraging, so it is more often heard than seen. The monotonous sing-song here-I-am, in-the-tree, look-up, at-the-top (Sibley, p. 342) is delivered tirelessly throughout the day, even when most other birds have fallen silent.
Background
This is one of the most common songbirds breeding in the woodlands of eastern North America. Red-eyed Vireos are primarily insect eaters while breeding across Canada and eastern United States, but include fruit as an important part of their diet on their South American wintering grounds, where they can be found in gardens and shrubby areas in addition to forests and forest edges. This is one of the most frequent hosts of Brown-headed Cowbirds, especially in eastern U.S. BBS data suggest increasing populations, especially in eastern U.S. and Canada, but this should be viewed with caution. Though currently abundant and widespread, this species is vulnerable to forest fragmentation and cowbird parasitism. (BNA 527: 1, 6, 15, 17-18)
Local history
Eaton (1910) indicated this summer resident was abundant in Monroe County, common in Livingston and Wayne. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of one to four birds, with a maximum count of 40, on dates ranging from 5 May to 21 October. When Leo Tanghe examined 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951 through 1954, this was, by far, the summer vireo most often encountered, with 140 reports from the 259 outings, compared to 42 for Warbling Vireo and 27 for Yellow-throated. (KB 5: 69: 6A-6B)In 1953, Tanghe listed this as an abundant breeder in the Rochester area, specifically mentioning Bushnell’s Basin and Tryon Park as nesting locations. (GOS, May/August 1953)
Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this as a regular, common summer resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a (presumably regular fairly common) spring and fall transient and a regular common summer resident.
Occurrence
Spring: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of arrival dates from 23 April to 22 May, with a mid range, or “normal arrival time” of 6 to 14 May. However, amid the wave of early migrants in April 1976 was a Red-eyed Vireo in Durand Eastman Park (Claffey, Steinhauser) on the 22nd. (LG, May 1976) This established a new record early arrival date for this species. Of the 30 most common species banded in spring at Manitou by Braddock Bay Bird Observatory during 1999-2006, this ranked 21st with 390 birds taken from the nets.
Spring maxima: 40+ on 25 May 1996 (mob) at several locations. (GOS, July/August 1996)Summer/breeding status: The BBA projects found evidence of breeding in almost every block.

The “dainty, thin-walled, basket-shaped” nest is suspended from a fork near the end of a branch in a shrub or low limb of a tree. (Andrle, p. 352)
Summer maxima: 93 on 7 June 1978 (Claffey, J. Skelly) Letchworth SP. (LG, July 1978) 40+ on 14 June 1997 (Fox) east side Letchworth SP. (Fox, p. 67)
Fall: The Monroe County annotated list (1985) indicated a range of departure dates from 4 September to 28 December, with a mid range, or “normal departure time” of 19 September to 8 October. One on 13 November 1999 (G. Chapin, Sherony) at Durand Eastman Park (LG, March 2000) was unusually late. Another was found by Listman and Van Beurden at Durand-Eastman Park on 27 November 1952 (GNR), and “quite probably” the same bird was found on the Rochester Christmas Bird Count that 28 December. (O’Hara, p. 35) Thelma McNett, who found the bird for the CBC, said it was “sitting quietly in an upright perched position about 4 feet from the ground in a clump of evergreens. Made no sound. It looked like any other Red-eyed Vireo I’ve ever seen.” Of the 30 most common species banded in fall at Manitou by Braddock Bay Bird Observatory during 1999-2006, this ranked 16th with 656 birds taken from the nets.
Fall maxima: 36 on 27 August 1975 (S. Taylor) at Island Cottage. (LG, September 1975) 30 on 2 September 1965 (Taylor) along the lakeshore. (GOS, November 1965)

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