Winter Weather And Finches 2/22/2022

     A winter weather advisory for my area warned of ice light accumulation before late morning temperatures were to rise to the mid-30's.  They nailed the light ice accumulation prediction for the morning but the temperature maxed out at 30 F, so the moderate rain in the early afternoon also froze on contact.  

   The significant coating of ice that covered everything made a dramatic backdrop for photographing birds around and on my feeders.  I started with the Cardinals in the front yard. 

 

    Shortly thereafter I moved to the backyard where the nyjer seed feeder itself was worthy of a photo or two. Throw in some winter finches and watch the magic unfold.  

                                    

Pine Siskins

A Common Redpoll joins in

And a scuffle ensues

Surf Scoter, Yard Bird #177 1/13/2022

 

   The mission that I've been assigned (by Dave Dister) since I moved to the lakefront two years ago is to find a Barrow's Goldeneye among the thousands of Common Goldeneye that overwinter on Lake Michigan near Ludington.  That search had me out at the edge of my bluff this morning taking advantage of the calm winds and 30 F temperature scanning flocks of ducks with my scope.  I struck out on a Barrow's but I found an adult male Surf Scoter hanging with a couple White-winged Scoters at quite a distance offshore.  Even with my 500mm lens plus 1.4x converter I couldn't see it through the camera, so I just aimed in the general direction that my scope was pointing.

  After the Scoter discovery I notified the proper local bird authorities and invited them to come take a look.  Dave came by around noon, he was also enticed by promises of White-winged Crossbills.  Once Dave arrived it took about 10 minutes of scanning the flock to locate the Surf Scoter.  While he was looking through my scope I used his scope to hone in on a flock of White-winged Crossbills that landed in one of my spruces.

 

   A little while after Dave left and I had put my scope away, Brian Brosky texted that he'd be in the area in about an hour, I told him that I'd try to relocate the scoter before his expected arrival.  It took me 2 complete flock scans and about 45 minutes to refind the duck that was now mixed in with 20 White-winged Scoters.  Brian arrived shortly thereafter. During that search I found a single Black Scoter which completed the Scoter Trifecta.  

 Other winter birds of interest....

Pine Siskin

Common Redpolls

   

At Least It Wasn't Snowing - Ludington CBC 12/19/2020

 

   Saturday December 19 was the date of the 2020 Ludington CBC.  A light mist was falling in the barely above freezing temperatures during the 2 hours that I spent driving around my assigned area.  The precipitation limited visibility as did the low cloud deck that engulfed the tops of the 300' tall wind turbines in my territory.  All that contributed to a meager 97 birds of 12 species observed during a 2 hour drive that covered 20 miles. 

    At my house however, my feeders were abuzz with activity and a few rafts of ducks were within eye and camera range to boost my bird count totals.  The highlight of my day were the two White-winged Crossbills that showed up for the ninth straight day.  It is only the 5th time that they have been recorded on the Ludington CBC.

     This year was the first time that I've seen Common Redpolls on a Christmas Bird Count.

  The ducks out on Lake Michigan totaled 636.  Lead by Long-tailed Ducks with 473, followed by Common Goldeneyes - 150 and Red-Breasted Mergansers - 13.

Mostly Common Goldeneyes

     The only raptor that I saw all day was an adult Bald Eagle that flew along the bluff at the edge of my property.

Late Pine Warbler 11/3/2020

 

   I was surprised to see a late Pine Warbler frequenting my suet feeders this afternoon. According to Dave Dister this is the latest into the fall that a Pine Warbler has been seen in Mason County.  The previous late date was October 6, in both 2017 and 2018

   The irrupting Evening Grosbeaks showed up again this morning just before 9 AM.  As with previous visits they quickly moved on without fueling up.  But the pair that showed up in the 11 o'clock hour hung around for 15 minutes feeding on the striped sunflower seeds that I bought over the weekend.

  For the second straight day at least one Common Redpoll mingled with the Siskins and Goldfinches at the feeders.

Common Redpoll 11/2/2020

    November has picked up right where October left off.  I added 4 birds to the yardlist in the last 8 days of October and today I added Common Redpoll as the 148th species on the list.

 

Common Redpolls in the Yard 11/13/2018

   Common Redpolls showed up in my yard today quite a bit earlier than last year's December 26 arrival.

A Fox Sparrow has been lingering since Sunday

 Pine Siskins have also been hitting the feeders in singles and pairs.

The Rock Wren at Ludington State Park was still hanging around on November 5.

  Its also getting late for White-crowned Sparrows but an adult and 2 immatures were at the State Park feeders on November 9.