Locks today + recent stuff

I haven't been out for a while, and seeing as there is a Rusty Blackbird hanging out at the Locks I figured I'd best go and see it. Turns out that's not the only thing hanging out there! In addition to the Rusty, I had 14 Robins (very unusual for this time of year to even see 1 or 2), along with 140 Cedar Waxwings, 60 Bohemian Waxwings, and a late Horned Lark. I also had some other birds of interest such as a Brown Creeper (new for the year), 80 Common Redpolls, 10 White-winged Crossbills, and good numbers of ducks (345 Mallards and 16 Black Ducks). I have a bunch of pics which I will hopefully be able to post.

Also recently, I added a new yard bird on January 26th in the form of a juvenile Golden Eagle flying with an adult Bald Eagle! It was also new for my winter list, and was the first one I've seen within the city limits. The same day I had a Hoary Redpoll visit the feeders. On the 27th I set a new record for numbers of birds at my feeders with around 150 finches (100 siskins including 1 green-morph, 40 Redpolls (no Hoary), 5 Goldfinches, and 5 Purple Finches).

With all these finches I figured it'd be a good opportunity to get a few photos, so I went out and crept up on the feeders - a few of the siskins were quite tame and would allow me to within about 8 feet before they started looking nervous so I backed off. I had some good pics, in the nice light...but somehow during the transfer to the computer they all got messed up. So, I'm hoping that this problem was a one-time thing and that I will be able to post my pics from today.

What happened to all my siskin photos:

For now though I'll leave you with a sketch of a Hoary. As you can probably tell I don't spend much time drawing and have never taken an art class...