This is a weekly blog to follow as the seasons progress.

http://cdbirds.blogspot.com/

As a new member I'm not sure whether I should post here as well as Rare Birds which I've already done. Following is my Rare Birds posting:

We returned from shopping at about 3PM today (12/16/2012)and heard what sounded like a combination of crows cawing and ducks quacking! Looking out the window I saw a covey of 22 Helmuted Guineafowl! Our location is at the edge of a cornfield near the end of Brunswick Drive in Brunswick.

While monitoring my feeders for Project Feeder Watch, I saw a hawk-like bird flying about 6 feet above the ground, then flying up to a tree-branch at about 18 feet overlooking a corn-field. I took 8 photos and noticed that the Merlin heard my camera clicks. I took a few more when it flew south.

While entering my data on the Feeder Watch site, its computer asked if I was certin it was a Merlin as it is late in the season. I confirmed that it was and then wondered if I had mis-ID'd this beautiful bird? If anyone can suggest any other bird, please let me know.

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While birding at Five Rivers today I was pretty sure I saw a pair of Bewick's Wrens. Has anyone else seen them? I thought at first they were Carolina's, but they were fanning their tails, and I could see the white on the sides. I also saw a pair of Louisiana Waterthrush that were acting alarmed, and I thought I saw nesting material in one of their beaks. These were both on the Vlomankill Trail, the Louisiana at the beginning where a big tree is cut, and the Wren's in the wooded part where you would expect to see wrens.

My neighbor took at picture of this bird at our house yesterday afternoon. It looks to me to be an immature red tailed hawk, but the plumage variations always confuse me. Red shouldered instead? Any ideas? It was pretty neat to see this in our residential neighborhood in Albany proper. Guess the local squirrels have a new predator.

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Look who showed up at our Gansevoort feeder at about 4:30 today... an Evening Grosbeak

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Prologue: We made the trip to Rouses Point on Lake Champlain to find the Ivory Gull. When we arrived at noon, we were told that no one had seen it that day. We searched the lake and shore from the breakwater on Stony Point Road and then drove to the other sighting spots where we also had no luck. Went to find the nearby Hawk Owl, and then returned to the breakwater a little after 2:30.