Chirps and Cheeps

A little birding in the Southerntier yesterday afternoon and this afternoon brought a few new year birds.

At Knox Farm in East Aurora, I was delighted to find at least eighteen Bobolinks flying about the fields singing their peculiar songs. Their songs remind me of R2D2's voice from Star Wars!  There was also a pretty pair of Eastern Bluebirds and many Tree and Barn Swallows about.  I usually find some Eastern Meadowlarks among the Bobolinks but I didn't find even one this trip.

This afternoon, I headed down to Java and found the Upland Sandpipers Tom Kerr found a few weeks ago. Bobolinks, Meadowlarks, and Tree Swallows were also in the fields and sky.  It took a little while and some patient scope work, but I finally found one of the three known sandpipers off in the distance. It was pretty far out and I didn't think I was going to get a photo - until I left.  When I drove away and turned the corner, I was amazed to find two of the sandpipers standing in the grass alongside the road. I quickly grabbed my camera and got a few shots off before they took off and flew to a field on the other side of Route 77.

After that quick stop, I hiked through Beaver Meadow. There, I found a Northern Waterthrush, my best bird of the day, and a couple more warblers, 3 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, and 3 Eastern Towhees. I never got a photo of the waterthrush; it just kept dodging my attempts in the very low light of the evening bog.  What a songster, though; he kept repeating his beautiful song without tiring!