We had a lovely day, temperatures in the 50s. So maybe there is something to be said for global warming.
Lise and I took advantage of flexible schedules and did some chasing. We went down to Furstenburg and Gallup Parks in Ann Arbor. Got five new species; hooded merganser, white-throated sparrow, belted kingfisher, pine siskin, and common redpoll. A hoary redpoll is reported to be with the flock of common redpolls but we didn’t get it.
The siskins and redpolls in particular were good to get. The others we are likely to get in regular travels through the year but those two are a bit harder. They are winter birds here, and you need to be in the right habitat at the right time.
Today’s lesson was, when chasing, don’t look for birds, look for optical equipment. The redpolls and siskins were reported from these parks but Lise and I didn’t know the lay of the land. We spent a good hour and a half wandering the parks, not seeing too much. Then I happened to notice a side trail with a group of people looking up through some mighty fine optics. Score!!!!
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 