January Summary

 

February 1st

          The first month of our Birding Big Year has drawn to a close.  Mike and I have worked hard to find the important winter target birds as well as some rarities.  We are pleased with our progress.  Here is a list of the winter target birds that we have found:

          Snow Goose                                          Snowy Owl

          Ross’s Goose                                        Long-eared Owl

          Greater White-fronted Goose                  Short-eared Owl

          Cackling Goose                                      Northern Saw-whet Owl

          White-winged Scoter                              Northern Shrike

          Long-tailed Duck                                    Purple Finch

          Iceland Gull                                            Common Redpoll

          Glaucous Gull                                        Lapland Longspur

          Rough-legged Hawk                               Snow Bunting

Here is a list of some of the rare or unusual birds that we saw:

          Brant                                                      Allen’s Hummingbird

          King Eider                                              Red-throated Loon

          Harlequin Duck                                      Golden Eagle

          Eared Grebe                                           Fish Crow

          Eurasian Collared-Dove                          Common Raven

          Rufous Hummingbird

We probably should have prioritized our search for Black and Surf Scoters before the lake froze up.  Hopefully, we will get another opportunity later in the year.  Also, we have really tried to find a Pine Siskin, but they are very scarce this winter.  A siskin is a member of the finch family and is an irruptive species similar to the Common Redpoll.  They can be very nomadic based on food availability.  We hope a few turn up one of these days.

There shouldn’t be too many crazy road trips for a while unless a rarity turns up.  We’ll be hunkering down with the rest of Toledo waiting for the mother of winter storms to hit tomorrow and Thursday.  Can't have a blog without a picture so here is a Red-breasted Merganser (with a bad hair day).

                                                      Red-breasted Merganser (male)

         

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