I was on a trail near Roanoke, VA today, and saw a little gray bird with a unique buzzing note. I checked online and found a photo of the Bell's Verio and it looks like what I remember (I didn't have a camera to get a capture). But the documentation shows that it should be well west of Virginia. Any ideas? Any similar species?
This link, http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bells_Vireo/id looks like what I saw, and the sound clip matches as well. Is the guide outdated?
Oh boy, Tim, very difficult to say anything definitive without a picture, as least for me. From the sound recordings I have available to me I would not describe the Bell's Vireo as sounding "buzzing". Although out of it's range, I'm sure the species is on the VA list.
According to the range maps, it is not likely to be a Bell's but I think it's possible. The Bell's Vireo's in CA are expanding there range so maybe the same is happening in the east? I would suggest that you probably saw a Warbling Vireo, which would definitely be in VA now. Warbling and Bell's look sort of alike.
Unlikely but they have occurred. I believe New Jersey has a record or two. The description of a "unique buzzing note" does not sound good for Bell's to me, though. The Bell's song is very unique, and consists of a sort of fast, wild tumble of scratchy notes. It's actually pretty wild.
Dan mentioned Warbling Vireo, and I think he may have it right. The voice has a buzzy sound but also has a kind of crazy (though more sing-songy) cadence. If you're not familiar with bird song I could see how the two could easily be confused, especially some time after the observation. I just can't help but note that Warbling Vireo song is used regularly as a background sound in South Park. Kind of funmy (to a bird geek) to see kids bundled up in the snow in Colorado with Warbling Vireo singing in the background.
Dan: One thing to note about range expansion is that the Bell's Vireo that would be the expected vagrant here is of a different population than the California birds, so I wouldn't infer that something occurring in one population might be happening in the other. They seem pretty independent. Maybe a new species split coming? They've been talking about it for Warbling Vireo for years.