Chirps and Cheeps

Heading eastward to do some more first of the year birding, Celeste and I came upon some nice finds.  I spotted a male Barrow's Goldeneye up at Point Breeze, which is a fairly common sighting this time of year. What made it more exciting is that it was right in the boat harbor.  Usually, it's pretty far out, making photos almost impossible.  This time, though, we were very happy to find it so close.  Some Long-tailed Ducks and White-winged Scoters were more year firsts for me at this spot.

Heading further east, we found some Lapland Longspurs in with a large flock of Snow Buntings. A young Peregrine Falcon perched on a utility pole gave us a great view along the way!

Finishing up, we saw a first-year Dickcissel at a private residence. The gray day and distance didn't provide for good photos, but it was a great bird and a very nice end to a long and fun day!