March 23, 2008: Birding Iroquois NWR, and the Lake Ontario Plain

On our way to Easter Dinner, we made a few very brief birding stops today. Not much time at all.... First, IROQUOIS NATIONAL WILDIFE REFUGE

Flyover Tundra Swan
Pintails flying over... We also had a few Widgeon and Gadwall

Rough-Legged Hawk

Flyover Canada Geese

Nice winter scene at INWR... Tundra Swans and a few Pintails

A quick stop at some open fields in Oakfield, NY

We got some nice shots of Snow Buntings in various plumages

Just before a delicious Easter Dinner, I got the chance to do some quick birding with my nephew. We had a nice walk through the woods...

Downy Woodpecker

Black-Capped Chickadee

January 6, 2008: Ithaca, NY Area Birding (22 BIRD PHOTOS)

We drove down to the Ithaca area today to check out a few things, including reports of Evening Grosbeaks in the Summerhill area. Sucess! We got some great photos of the flock, and some other birds, also. This was on Salt Road near Dresser Rd in Summerhill. If you go, bring a donation of sunflower seed for the feeders - these guys really devour seed! We also visited Cornell's Sapsucker Woods, but did not get photos there. This is a great place to visit!

Shots of the beautiful Evening Grosbeaks on feeders:

Evening Grosbeak and Common Redpoll for size comparison

There was a sizeable Evening Grosbeak flock on the ground:

Evening Grosbeak Flight Shots:

Blue Jay on the feeder here (they looked smaller and greyer here)

Possible Hoary Redpolls? (Above and Below)

Above and Below: Snow Buntings (with some Horned Larks): Groton, NY

Snow Bunting

Flying Snow Bunting flock