~A beautiful juvenile Herring Gull relaxes at the Newburgh Waterfront, 12/17/17.~
I have to say that not birding during the week is making me feel like I don’t have a really good handle on the birding in Orange County right now. I’m missing getting out just about every day and getting a real feel for what’s going on. Linda Scrima, Maria Loukeris, and Rob Stone have been updating me on a regular basis, and John Haas has spent a good amount of time recently in OC, so I’ve been checking in on his blog frequently. On Friday he reported some Snow Goose movement into the area, and he also had 5 TUNDRA SWANS. On Saturday morning I made the rounds in the black dirt, I was hoping to relocated the swans in my travels, but unfortunately that wasn’t to be. Highlights of the morning included several large flocks of Horned Larks, one which had many Snow Buntings (75+) and a single LAPLAND LONGSPUR. I also had a single CACKLING GOOSE and around 30 Snow Geese among a large group of Canada Geese on the river in Pine Island. At the end of the day I checked Glenmere Lake, which was vacated with the exception of 4 Ring-billed Gulls and a Merlin, and also Wickham Lake, which despite having some open water, had almost no waterfowl present (only 5 Mute Swans and a single Green-winged Teal). I wonder if the two Bald Eagles patrolling the lake had anything to do with that…
~A young Bald Eagle made sure I wasn’t going to get any ducks on Saturday. Wickham Lake, 12/16/17.~
On Sunday I decided to switch it up a bit and I went to the Newburgh Waterfront. My best stop by far was Plum Point (Kowawese Unique Area). I had a decent assortment of songbirds, with the highlight being a Golden-crowned Kinglet that was cooperative for photos, in spite of the horrible lighting.
~Golden-crowned Kinglet at Plum Point Park, 12/17/17.~
I scanned the river for waterfowl and had some distant Common Mergansers and my best bird at the waterfront, a LONG-TAILED DUCK. I took a few photos and I was going to put the word out, but was distracted by a bird calling in the woods. I went to check it out (it was a Northern Mockingbird), and when I got back the LTDU was nowhere to be seen! I tried like heck to relocate it, but never did. A dog walker had a arrived with a barking dog, I can only guess that the bird took flight.
~A LONG-TAILED DUCK, close enough to the shore for a decent pic! Hard to believe. Plum Point Park, 12/17/17.~
I also spent some time at Cornwall Landing, where I tried like heck to turn a couple of Double-crested Cormorants into Greats, and then I went to the Newburgh Water front where there were many gulls being fed bread; I had approximately 75 Ring-billed Gulls and 6 Herring Gulls. I was surprised to not find any Great Black-backed Gulls and I was also suprised that I did not see any Bald Eagles at the waterfront. Counting the vultures I had as I left Newburgh, I had a total of 25 species for the morning at the waterfront.
~I love the plumage on this first winter Ring-billed Gull. Newburgh Waterfront 12/17/17.~
On my way back home, I received an alert that John had a NORTHERN GOSHAWK in the black dirt. I raced to join him; Maria was already there when I arrived. Apparently the bird perched briefly and then dove for prey in a distant ditch. And was never relocated. Anyone who knows me knows how desperate I am for a Gos, especially in Orange County, so this was a tough one. I lingered in the area for quite a while, but unfortunately it was to no avail. Who knows, with any luck maybe that bird will stick around… fingers crossed. John got a photo of the bird, which I’m sure he’ll be posting to his blog sometime this evening.
~Rock Pigeon close up. Newburgh Waterfront 12/17/17.~
~This Northern Harrier took me by surprise – I was checking out a distant flock of larks when I caught her out of the corner of my eye; Black Dirt Region 12/10/17.~
After yesterday’s snow, I knew I wanted to check out the black dirt today. One of my main goals was to try for Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs among the large flocks of Horned Larks. I was hoping the snow cover would push the birds closer to the roadsides, this only happened to a small extent, but I was able to get a single LAPLAND LONGSPUR out at Skinner’s Lane. The bird was only about 40 yards off the road, but I was a little slow on the draw and missed getting a shot. I did a little bit better shooting raptors; I got my first decent shot of a Norther Harrier for the season. I also watched a Merlin enjoy a snack on a telephone pole, and miraculously, when it had finished, it took off in my direction, allowing for a decent shot.
~
After the black dirt, I checked out Wickham Lake, where I happy to find 12 species of waterfowl! They were pretty much the usuals, but it was excellent birding. The following species were present: Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Wood Duck, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, Am. Black Duck, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, and Am. Coot.
From there I went to Glenmere Lake and found the birds of the day: a single BLACK SCOTER and 2 LONG-TAILED DUCKS. I haven’t had any sea ducks this fall, so I was pretty happy to see these birds. All in all, it made for a really great day of birding, one that I needed. It’s rare that I post twice in a single day – click here or on the link below to see my post from this morning with the Mount Peter 2017 end of season report by Judy Cinquina.
~A Black Scoter and one of two Long-tailed Ducks out at Glenmere Lake this afternoon, 12/10/17.~
~It wasn’t the best season for pics up at Mt. Peter – here’s one of my better shots, Cooper’s Hawk at Mt. Pete, 2017.~
Sadly, another season of hawk watching has come and gone. Judy Cinquina, leader of Mount Peter Hawkwatch, was kind enough to let me share the season ending report here on the blog. Judy does a really great job and it’s an interesting read for sure, with some numbers that will certainly concern many birders. Huge thanks to Judy for sharing.
Mount Peter 2017 – By Judy Cinquina
2017 was the 60th anniversary of the Mount Peter Hawk Watch. Since 1958, every fall season has added more data to our knowledge of raptor numbers, migration and behavior. Leaders celebrated by breaking Red-shouldered Hawk and Peregrine Falcon daily records and toppling the old 1990 Peregrine fall count. The euphoria didn’t last long, even with four Golden Eagles and a Goshawk spicing up the final score of 8,996. Our 74-day count, from September 1 through November 15, failed to show any improvement in Harrier or Kestrel numbers, and the Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks seemed happy to either delay or reject migration altogether.
A slightly below average 6,874 Broad-winged Hawks were counted this season, most moving south between September 10 and 22. Leaders Rick Hansen and Ajit Antony garnered the only 1,000+ days. Rick recorded 1,140 on light SW winds, September 17, in spite of fog socking in the lookout for most of that morning. Ajit’s 1,764 Broad-wings on the 21st kettled up in light, northwest winds, but their migration stopped when clouds moved in for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Both leaders wondered if Broad-wings migrated unseen in the fog or clouds on their respective days. Usually a late October migrant, the majority of Red-shoulders turned up instead between November 4 and 11, producing our second best tally of 122: 69 adult, 11 immature, and 42 unknown. Matt Zeitler grabbed the best day, November 4, counting a record 27 on light north winds and destroying Ken Witkowski’s old record of 24 from October 27, 2013. Hopefully it’s a good sign that most of our three-digit counts of this species have occurred in the last six years. Once again Red-tails failed to move in large numbers before our watch ended on November 15. The 232 recorded was 93% below our 10-year average. Rough-legged Hawks were a no-show for the seventh consecutive fall.
~A local Red-tailed Hawk cruises by the viewing platform, Mt. Peter Hawkwatch 2017.~
Since 1978 when the watch was extended daily through October and into November, we were rewarded with four-digit tallies of Sharp-shinned Hawks, but not this fall. The 841 counted was 48% below our 10-year average. Our biggest day was 69 on October 20. Compare that to back to back records of 317 and 337 made in late September 1986. Meanwhile, numbers for their larger cousin, the Cooper’s Hawk, have been on the rise since 1990. They reached an above average 121, this fall. After a two-year absence, one Goshawk finally turned up, October 18. Ajit wrote that this large-headed accipiter sailed due south, never beating its wings.
The American Kestrel had a mini-rebound from last year’s abysmal 52, with 83 counted: 11 male, 23 female, 49 unknown. However, their numbers have been woefully low this entire decade. The 18 Merlin was rather average, but the larger Peregrine Falcon brightened our 60th with two records. On October 11, Ajit recorded 6, nudging out John Tramontano’s daily record of 5, counted October 17, 1992. Although we don’t get their falcon numbers, we mirrored Montclair’s and Hook Mountain’s record Peregrine numbers this season, counting 26 and surpassed the 21 counted in 1990.That is excellent news since DDT almost eliminated this species from our landscape by the 1960’s.
Osprey numbers bounced back a bit but still came in 38% below their 10-year average at 111. In the 2016 edition of the Northeast Hawk Watch Report, Drew Panko points out that while Osprey breeding has increased, “numbers counted in migration has been decreasing for the last 30 years…” The cause remains a mystery. Why the N. Harrier numbers are reaching rock bottom is not so mysterious, with their habitat of wetlands and fields disappearing at an alarming rate. The 26 logged this fall is pathetic and well below the record 101 logged in 1980. Bald Eagles are on an amazing rebound, especially in the last 10 years. The 85 noted this season (44 adults, 38 immature, and 3 unknown) was above average. Always uncommon in the northeast, the Golden Eagle came in at an average 4: 3 adult, 1 immature.
We did not begin counting Turkey Vultures until the 1980’s, and differentiating locals from migrants has always been a challenge. The 320 counted this fall was above average, and so were the 96 Black Vultures. 1985 produced the first Black Vulture ever seen over our lookout, and now they’re quite common. Local C. Ravens were with us almost daily with up to 5 counted. 681 Monarch Butterflies surpassed last year’s 131, the majority moving between October 3 and 11.Ruby-throated Hummingbirds barely made an appearance with a mere 15 recorded. Denise Farrell noted 3,515 Canada Geese, September 28, as part of our final 10,365 counted between September 28 and November 11. The high Brant count was 95 on November 4, with 146 tallied by season’s end, and only 10 Snow Geese showed up, with a single Snow hanging on to the end of a skein of Canadas, November 7. Between October 31 and November 10, 19 C. Loons were observed heading east towards Greenwood Lake. Other birds of interest included:
SEPTEMBER
1 Pine Warbler
2 1st C. Nighthawk (5 more, 9/3 – 9/13), 1st Black-throated Green & Red-eyed Vireo
6 1st Prairie (another 3 on 9/10) & Magnolia Warblers, 1st Scarlet Tanager
7 Cape May Warbler
11 Tennessee Warbler & 2 Am. Redstarts
12 1st DC Cormorant (1 on 9/21 & 14 on 9/28)
18 1st C. Loon
22 59 DC Cormorants (235 on 11/4)
23 1st Yellow-bellied Sapsucker seen through 11/14 (male & immature 11/14)
24 Brown Creeper
27 E. Towhee (another 9/21)
39 Blackpoll, E. Phoebe
2 25 E. Bluebirds
4 3 White-crowned Sparrows
5 Red-headed Woodpecker
15 Great Horned Owl heard
What better way to celebrate our 60th consecutive watch then with an official hat, designed and donated by Denise Farrell. Our hats on to Denise! A big thank you to all our friends and visitors who helped with the count, especially Bill Connolly, Rob Stone and Carol Linguanti. Sadly, Carol passed away at the end of October. Carol was the creator of our Facebook page and a dedicated leader. Her enthusiasm and spirit will be missed. A big thank you to our clean-up crew: Denise, Rick Hansen, Rochana Muenthongchin, Beverly Robertson, Gene Tappan, Will Test, and especially Tom Millard who installed our box on the platform. Our deep appreciation to Evan Masten and George Profus, NYDEC Region 3 Foresters who cut some of the larger trees blocking our views before the watch began, and to Mike Limatola and Kurt Muenz and the Fyke Nature Association for providing the insurance required for our Clean-Up day. We are also indebted to Fyke for their continued support, especially for sponsoring our Mount Peter site on Hawkcount.org. We continue as the oldest, continually run, all-volunteer fall watch in the country.
~CACKLING GOOSE on Route 416 by Hillcrest Farms, 11/18/17.~
The good thing about not being able to bird all week is that I am really appreciating my birding time when I get it, down to the littlest things, such as that beautiful feeling of putting my binoculars up to my eyes and focusing in on a bird; it’s a joy. The bad thing (or at least one bad thing among the many), is that I feel out of practice. This is my second week of no weekday birding and I’ve had the same feeling both weekends, where I was just a little bit out of sorts and not really quick to ID birds.
Additionally, you would think that, since I didn’t have the opportunity to bird all week, that I might come up with a plan for my Saturday morning when I finally can get out. But I didn’t. So I just headed out and cruised the black dirt; my main goal was to try and find some Canada Geese to sort through. The morning was mostly a dud; my highlight was watching in my scope, as an absolutely gorgeous Coyote made its way across a field in the distance. That was awesome. I also bumped into John Haas, who I hadn’t seen in a while, so that was nice. We sorted through the largest group of Canada Geese that I had all morning (maybe 600 birds?). Unfortunately, we came up empty and I was running late to meet up with Linda Lou at the Bashakill to do water testing, so I had to run. While I was doing the water testing, John put out an alert that he had a CACKLING GOOSE on route 416 by Hillcrest Farms. After water testing and little lunch, I headed out into the rain and ran for John’s Cackler. It took me ages to find the bird, but eventually I did. It was a really good stop and I got really great looks in my scope and the usual goose documentary photographs. Huge thanks to John for finding and posting.
~I always hesitate to be too definitive with these birds – I have this as a Greater Scaup, at Round Lake, 11/18/17.~
After, I thought it might be a good idea to try for more waterfowl. I headed to Tomahawk Lake, since it wasn’t far away. I had: Common Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks, and a single Ring-necked Duck there. Then, I headed to Round Lake. I went there because there is a covered spot for viewing the lake, since the rain had picked up pretty good at that point. At Round Lake I had 4 species of waterfowl: Mallards, a single Ruddy Duck, two Pied-billed Grebes, and three Greater Scaup that were close enough to shore for some decent photos (rain and horrible lighting aside). By the time I left Round Lake, it was late and dark already. I was going to head to Glenmere Lake, but that will have to wait until tomorrow…
~I was excited to get out birding on Sunday afternoon, but really, the day ended up not being very productive. I did get lucky with this young Red-shouldered Hawk in the black dirt, 11/12/17.~
I tried to get up early on Saturday morning to do some birding before heading up to the mountain. It took ages to get out of the house for some reason, so my time ended up being pretty limited, but I had enough time to take a quick cruise through the black dirt. And, I got really lucky, finding a relatively large flock of Horned Larks (about 200 birds) right away. In the flock I could see several Snow Buntings while they were in flight. I had a single American Pipit on the road when several birds landed in front of my car. And, most excitingly, I had a single LAPLAND LONGSPUR that I located as I scanned through the flock with my scope.
~I could be wrong, but to me, it looks like the TWO highest birds are both Lapland Longspurs. There is also one Snow Bunting in this shot, and the rest of the birds appear to be Horned Larks. Black Dirt, 11/11/17.~
So, my last day counting up at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch was a pretty good one. And, to my mind, it was exactly how hawkwatch in early November should be: Very cold, crisp, and sunny with a steady northwest wind blowing and a good flight of Red-tailed Hawks (20) and Red-shouldered Hawks (15). The only missing ingredients were the Golden Eagle or Northern Goshawk that I was hoping very much for, but unfortunately both species were a no-show. I had a lot of good help and company while I was there: fellow Mt. Pete counters Tom Millard and Denise Ferrel spent several hours each helping, and Bruce Christensen, Jose Garcia, Rob Stone, Karen Heifetz, Nancy Sierra and Joe Baldacci all visited and provided plenty of help and good company too. I totaled 49 migrating raptors, which is enough to stay busy for most of the day. Unfortunately, nearly every bird was super high so photo ops were very few; I actually never even got my weekly Turkey Vulture shot. My final bird of the season, which passed over right at the end of the day, was a sky-high Great Blue Heron that was so high that I needed the scope to get a good ID on the bird. I thought that was a pretty cool way to end the season.
~Horned Lark taking a dust bath, black dirt 11/12/17.~
~I finally got some decent looks at American Pipits. They have been a tough bird for me this fall; I’ve seen them plenty of times but never gotten much of a look until today.~
QUICK POST: I took a cruise around the black dirt this morning. I was hoping for Horned Larks/Lapland Longspurs/American Pipits and also to sift through some geese looking for rarities. I did well with American Pipits, seeing them in several locations and finally getting some photographs, but struck out with larks and longspurs. I had a hard time finding any collections of geese; eventually I did find a couple of larger groups, but other than Canada Geese, the only other goose I found was a single Snow Goose. I had a pleasant surprise when I located two late moving American Golden Plovers. They were late enough that when I went to do my eBird report they were flagged as a rare bird. Not an amazing morning, but any time I get a shorebird in OC, I’m a happy birder.
~One of two American Golden Plovers in the Black Dirt this morning, 11/5/17.~
~One of six migrating Cooper’s Hawks at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 11/04/17.~
It was a sad day for everyone at Mt. Pete. We learned yesterday evening that fellow counter and friend Carol Linguanti had passed away after a long battle with cancer. In spite of the fact that she had been sick for a while, it was still somehow shocking to me, and I was deeply saddened. Carol was one of the good ones, a truly great friend that had more enthusiasm and love for life, family, friends, and nature than anyone I’ve ever met. She will be missed by so many people it’s hard to grasp. Thoughts, prayers, love, and positive energy go out to her family as they go through this hardest of times.
~The obligatory Turkey Vulture shot. Mt. Pete 11/04/17.~
Well, Carol must have been smiling down on me today. I had an absolutely incredible day at Mt. Pete. The sky was absolutely filled with birds – raptors and more. I had two major raptor highlights – a GOLDEN EAGLE which was located by Ken Witkowski to the east of the viewing platform. I managed to get the bird in the scope as it circled slowly; the distinctly shorter neck, as compared to a Bald Eagle, was apparent and the bird was basically all dark on the underside, so likely an adult. The second highlight was the Red-shouldered Hawk count – I had 27 RSHA which broke the previous daily record of 24! It was an active day for migrating raptors, and in the end I had 113 for the day.
There was also plenty of other bird movement with some of my favorite birds. Six Common Loons were counted; a couple actually passed close enough for photos (typically they are WAY out there). Geese were on the move too, I counted 472 Canada Geese and 95 BRANT. Double-crested Cormorants came through in 5 skeins with a total of 235 birds! At one point a large skein of cormorants flew in line with a small plane and the birds scattered to avoid it. Chaos reigned for a short time but then they got back into formation. We also had a single Great Blue Heron, flying so high you wouldn’t believe it; it passed right over the platform, totally invisible to the naked eye. Incredible stuff, these are the days that I love so much when it comes to hawk watching. Excellent birding – thanks Carol!
~That’s a lot of Double-crested Cormorants! After being scattered by a small plane, they worked to get back in order. Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 11/04/17.~~Gotta love the loons! Common Loon in flight at Mt. Peter, 11/04/17.~
~A local Red-tailed Hawk cruises by the viewing platform, Mt. Peter Hawkwatch 10/28/17.~
Today was another relatively slow day for me at Mt. Peter. I recently wrote that I have been snake bit this season, but in retrospect, I’m not sure that’s true. Instead, I think that the crazy warm temperatures have really affected the counts this year, particularly in October (which has felt more like August). We have had fewer “good” days this October. Last year, we had 10 days with over 50 migrating raptors; this year we have had only 6. We have also had more “bad” days this year, with less than 25 birds on 13 days! Last year, by comparison, had only 8 days in October with less than 25 birds.
~My first bird of the day, a migrating Cooper’s Hawk at Mt. Peter, 10/28/17.~
I was hoping for the best, but I was not overly optimistic coming into today. The continuing warm temperatures and a south wind were not a promising combination. I totaled 24 migrating raptors (see report below), which was just enough to keep me from going bonkers. An added bonus was that the majority of the migrating birds today flew over very low. This allowed for some really great looks and some photo ops too. I had additional photo ops when one of the local Red-tailed Hawks finally decided to spend some time near the viewing platform. And, I’m always hoping for something a little different to fly over the mountain, and today I was not disappointed – I had 3 skeins of BRANT fly over! I really should have gotten a good Brant photo, but I was a little slow on the draw. The Brant made my day, as they were my 216th species in Orange County this year.
~The local Red-tail scopes the area below. Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10/28/17.~~I’m liking this Turkey Vulture shot, but as I’m posting it feels like I cropped it a little tight – the bird needs a little more sky on three sides. Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10/28/17.~~Four BRANT fly past the platform at Mt. Peter Hawkwatch, 10/28/17.~~I made a quick stop at the Liberty Loop before hawkwatch today. It was mostly the usuals, but I was happy to get a decent photo of a White-crowned Sparrow.~~Friday evening, 10/27/17, an early Rough-legged Hawk in the Black Dirt.~
~A flock of Pectoral Sandpipers in flight at Wallkill River NWR, 10/22/17.~
My weekend of birding started early on Saturday morning. Following up on a tip from Rob Stone, I headed out to Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge’s Liberty Marsh. When I arrived, birding bud Linda Scrima was already there, viewing the main part of the marsh from the viewing platform. We walked out to view the pond north of Oil City Road, where a beautiful sight awaited us – 36 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS were huddled together in beautiful morning light. We took photos and scanned for more shorebirds. A single bird flew in and joined the Pecs – it was a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER! Further scanning revealed two distant Wilson’s Snipe and another distant bird that I identified in the field as a Semipalmated Sandpiper, but in retrospect, with the bird being so far out, it is maybe best left unidentified. I had to get up to Mount Peter for hawkwatch, so we headed back to the parking lot. We took one last look at the pond in front of the platform and found yet more shorebirds – 7 Greater Yellowlegs and nearly a dozen Lesser Yellowlegs! What a great morning for shorebirds in OC!
~What a sight to walk up to on an early Saturday morning – over 30 Pectoral Sandpipers at Wallkill River NWR, 10/21/17.~
Hawkwatch was once again a bust for me – so far, I am snake bitten this season for sure. I even had the big guns up to help me (Judy Cinquina and Denis Ferrell, fellow Mt. Pete counters), but it didn’t matter, the birds were not flying on this day. Jeff and Elizabeth Zahn visited and turned their (and mine) hawkwatch luck around. We had 12 of my 19 birds in the hour or so while they were there, including a pair of beautiful adult Red-shouldered Hawks that flew directly over the platform. The biggest news during hawkwatch had nothing to do with hawks at all – Maria Loukeris had located and photographed a SAY’S PHOEBE out at Liberty Marsh! She could barely believe it and she sent out photos to confirm the ID. Once confirmed, several folks went out for the bird but it was not relocated. I had plans directly after hawkwatch, so my search for the Says would have to wait until Sunday morning…
~Wow, wow, wow! A beautiful SAY’S PHOEBE at Wallkill River NWR, photograph by Maria Loukeris. What a bird and what a photo! Congrats Maria!~
So, Sunday morning I went to Liberty Marsh to try for the the Say’s Phoebe. This time when I arrived, Scotty Baldinger was at the viewing platform. It was great to see Scotty (it always is!) and, in spite of not relocating the SAPH, we had a fabulous morning of birding. Sparrows were abundant and we had 5 species: Savannah, Song, White-throated, Swamp, and my FOS WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS. Other highlights included a flock of over 40 American Pipits flying over our heads and landing in a field. Initially it did not look like we would do any good for shorebirds, but on our way back I spotted a flock in flight. There was an adult Peregrine Falcon in the area, we had just seen it earlier, and I’m guessing it was keeping them on their toes. The birds eventually put down in the pond north of Oil City Road – it was the same flock of Pectoral Sandpipers with the White-rumped Sandpiper. The flock was jumpy and took laps around the pond, allowing for some decent photo ops. They eventually left that pond and put down in the marsh south of Oil City Road; we were unable to relocate them. One last look from the viewing platform got us one Greater Yellowlegs and 3 Lessers. Scotty and I parted ways; I hit a couple other spots before heading home, but they were not as productive. What an excellent weekend of birding! I feel like I need it.
~Swamp Sparrow at Wallkill River NWR, 10/21/17.~~A young Turkey Vulture takes a pass by the viewing platform at Mt. Peter. No matter how slow the day is, you can always rely on the TUVUs for a photo.~~One of the two Red-shouldered Hawks that flew directly over the platform at Mt. Pete on Saturday, 10/21/17.~
~Rusty Blackbird at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 10/16/17.~
If you had a chance to be out this evening, you know it was a gorgeous night, cool and breezy with an amazing sunset. The only thing that could make it better is a beautiful bird, and the Rusty Blackbird is the kind of bird that can just make your day with their distinctive call and fabulous coloring. I ran into several of these beauties this evening at 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary and I’m still smiling about it.
~A mixed flock in flight – most of these birds are European Starlings, and I see what looks like a couple of Red-winged Blackbirds and a single Rusty Blackbird. Great night to be out, 6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 10/16/17.~
