Under Clear Skies

BGBY

The early morning BGBY walk managed to net me a few nice additional species, although my feeders were devoid of birds today it seemed (I am losing the feeder war with my neighbor!) Highlight for the day were a couple of beautiful Red-shouldered Hawks – one of which was still asleep it seemed sitting on the cable wires right over Route 57. I walked right underneath the hawk and it never moved a muscle (no camera on the walk though – typical!). The Northern Flicker was a refreshing burst of bright color on an otherwise dull gray morning and the Hermit Thrush a nice surprise in with a load of Bluebirds up on the corner of Indian Hill. It seems like a bumper year for Bluebirds this year – which is never a bad thing.

BGBY additions for the day:

Red-shouldered Hawk, Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Northern Flicker, Cedar Waxwing, Hermit Thrush, House Sparrow

30 Species total and still no Blue Jay!!!!!!

Newspaper Story

A great news story in the English Daily Mail newspaper about how a woman went all the way to Norway to see Snow Buntings and didn’t see them and then found one at her feeder back home in England. A great story apart from the obvious error – as many of you here know Snow Buntings don’t come to feeders – the bird in the picture is a leucistic Chaffinch (a common yard bird) – oops! Out of interest Snow Buntings do occur every year in the UK but usually, as they do here, on windswept beaches – particulalrly in Norfolk!