Today, at ~ 0640 (didn't quite make first light) Stan Kirsh and I found 3 "earlier birds" looking at the glorious Gray-crowned Rozy-Finch! Stan lives in Maryland, and we planned to meet in Stroudsburg, Pa., early enough to try for the GCRF late yesterday afternoon. Those plans went astray, when a tardy departure from S' burg, caused us to only reach Utica by night-fall, where we spent the night at the Comfort Inn, which we recommend highly. We stayed at the Loomis Farm (beautiful vistas) till ~ 0920, with the bird making about 4-6 appearances, separated by absences of up to 1/2 hour. It moved around a bit, spending time at and under the feeders, in the bird bath, in at least 3 trees close to the house, as well as the area around the portico (ground & feeder) at the front of the house. At times, when the sun cooperated and the bird was fairly close, nice photos were obtained. Nancy Loomis and her husband are wonderful hosts! They have provided ample and safe parking, full feeders, and, best of all, besides the bird itself (for those having to take care of a biological function)... a heated "john", located in a large heated garage, which birders can use to just "warm up", if necessary. As always, it was nice to see old friends and make new acquaintances, such as Jeff & Amy Davis, and their lady friend (whose name, I apologize for not remembering) who put us right on the bird, upon arrival ! Speaking of arrival, ours was put off a tad by failing to read the directions correctly- instead of Rt. 12 D out of Boonville, we originally spent some time going "crazy" on Rt. 12 out of Boonville- look for the split ! We then decided to try for the Ross' Goose which had been reported recently in a flock of Snow Geese, at the Knox-Marcellus Marsh in Montezuma NWR. We were not successful in picking it out of the estimated 2000+ Snow Geese, but we were treated to a consolation prize! All of a sudden, some of the snows started to rise, followed by the din and movement created by the rest of their brethren lifting off. A quick look skyward provided the answer... an immature Bald Eagle having some fun! Cheers,Bob --
NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
