Chirps and Cheeps

A stop at Winter's Pond in Langford yesterday brought me a new county bird!  Four Greater White-fronted Geese were mixed in with a large flock of Canadas.  Two of the Greater White-fronteds took off shortly after I got there and - little by little, the flock left for the day, including the two remaining celebrated geese.

I came back today to see if they might have returned and as luck would have it, two of them did.  This time, they were out on the ice and gave nice looks.  A couple of other birders joined me (and added this species to their county lists as well!) and we all enjoyed good looks at this infrequent visitor to Erie County.

I also spotted a couple of Cackling Geese out in a small area of unfrozen water, which was a nice addition to our year lists.  Tundra Swans still remain but they number only about sixty now.

A couple of other sightings recently included a nice view of a Red-shouldered Hawk, a small flock of Horned Larks in a field along a roadside, and a gorgeous male Purple Finch that has been coming to my home feeders the last few days.