I took off from work today to go birding locally. The original plans were to go up to Cayuga lake, mostly to see Short-eared Owls in the area in the evening, but the weather made us stay local. We decided that, even with not-so-cooperative weather, we were going to try to get 50 species of birds in Broome County, New York. This is tough to do in here in the winter, however, managed to get 55 species! This is only two less than the number of species that I have seen in my county for the entire year! It brings my grand total to 70. Not bad for someone who does not get to get out much and pretty good for my area.
The biggest highlight was our very first bird. We heard that Red Crossbills were showing up at a feeder so that was our first stop. When we got there, we saw tons of Redpolls and I eventually spotted the Crossbills in a tree. Life Bird!!!
The feeders were close to the house and the owners were nice enough to allow us to park in their driveway when they left. This allowed us to get closer to the feeders.
Red Crossbills at a feeder
Red Crossbill at a feeder
Some of the Crossbills would also forage on the ground, along with the Redpolls.
Red Crossbill foraging on the ground
I did not get the photo of a male that I would have liked, but this female was cooperative!
Female Red Crossbill
Other great birds included a migrating Golden Eagle, multiple Bald Eagles, a Northern Shrike, Horned Larks, Snow Buntings, our first returned Red-winged Blackbirds and Grackles along with numerous waterfowl such as Northern Pintails, Ring-necked Ducks, Great and Lesser Scaup, American Wigeons, a Coot, Green-winged Teal, Gadwall, Pied Billed and Horned Grebes and Bufflehead.
What a great winter birding day!