Just to amplify Bill Evans' point, northwestern Europe is currently in the grips of one of the harshest (coldest/snowiest) winters in the past several decades. Perhaps related to the weather and the prevailing westerly winds, a Northern Lapwing was discovered near Point Race, Newfoundland on Tuesday (5 Jan 2010), with at least one observer suggesting there may be multiple birds present in the general area. Over the next few days, Newfoundland and the other Canadian Atlantic provinces should provide a good barometer of any significant arrival of European species into northeastern North America. Besides traditional facultative (cold snap) migrants such as Lapwing, Eurasian Golden-Plover, Fieldfare and Redwing ambitious birders might keep in mind Grey Heron, Jack Snipe, Eurasian Curlew, Wood Pigeon and Brambling - all of which have showed up in Iceland this week. Knowing our luck the birds will filter down to Massachusetts and then stop dead in their tracks (wink).
By the same token the atrocious weather across Midwest might also push less common North American species (e.g. Ross's Goose, Thayer's Gull, Pacific Loon, longspurs, etc) towards the slightly milder coastal states. Pipe dreams perhaps but a sane reason to go out in the cold and check your local patch (favorite spots) for anything unsual. -- Angus Wilson New York City & The Springs, NY, USA http://birdingtotheend.blogspot.com/ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Archives: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
