It was the Fisherville Christmas Bird Count today and “my” section of it runs from Ruthven downriver to Cayuga and east as far as Windecker Road. It started off as a pleasant walk: sunshine with little wind – you could hear titmice half a kilometer away. But that changed, and changed quickly. By 10:30, dark clouds covered the sky, the wind was really picking up, and I was getting pelted with rain. I didn’t see anything remarkable (unless you call bluebirds and titmice remarkable) until I got in the car and drove slowly along Town Line. Just before I reached Brook’s Road I spotted a dark “raptor” in a tree top and when I got out to get a better look was very pleasantly surprised to find it was a Turkey Vulture. Surprised because these birds should be at least a thousand kilometers south of here (and most are much further).
So it was an exciting start to the new birding/banding year.
Rick