At around 2:45 PM on Sunday, Tilden and I saw what I identify as a female "southern" HOARY REDPOLL, in the feeder garden at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. We first noticed this bird because of its paler gray-toned back (not brown like nearby Common Redpolls). We confirmed larger size, vague and reduced flank streaks, no pink plumage at all, and white undertail coverts with three short, almost invisible black lines as if drawn by a sharp pencil. The bird retreated somewhere for a few minutes, but Tilden immediately spotted it when it reappeared. During our second viewing, we reconfirmed all the above-mentioned features, plus a white rump.
PINE SISKINS, a couple of SONG SPARROWS, and other expected birds were in the garden too. (I also heard a rumor from Holly Adams that an experienced birder also saw a FOX SPARROW here on Friday or Saturday.) We also enjoyed watching a pair of HOODED MERGANSERS diving together under the ice on the pond (Holly says one emerged with a frog the other day), and a Black-capped Chickadee that foraged for half a minute at our knee level, about one meter away from Tilden. We watched a snowflake settle on this bird's forehead, remain there for a few minutes like a jewel, and then finally melt away. Mark Chao -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
