Birders brave fowl weather to count Christmas birds (Rochester NY)

[Donna]

The whether might be fowl for some, but for those at the 107th annual Christmas Bird Count it couldn’t have been much better.

With binoculars in mittened hands, Mike Tetlow, 51, began counting at 8 a.m. An hour later, he saw a Black-headed Gull and the Red-throated Loon, rarities along Lake Ontario in Irondequoit.

Tetlow, of Fairport, said this time of year is best for counting because migration is done and most birds are in a stable place.

“Wintering grounds are better because you can find them in a concentrated area,� he said while eyeing Robins and Waxwings near berry trees in Durand Eastman Park.

Along the way, Tetlow met birder Jill Church, of Webster, who wasn’t helping with the CBC but whose good luck helped her see a hard-to-spot Bohemian Waxwing. Unfortunately it flew away.

“Trying to find them is like a needle in a haystack,� she said.

No worries, said Tetlow.

“Even though she’s not a participant, we know a birder had one so we can count it,� he said.

For the CBC, volunteers from the Rochester Birding Association split into territories within a 15-mile circle that extends from Braddock Bay to just east of Irondequoit Bay, and from the Greater Rochester International Airport into Lake Ontario. They compile their numbers at the end of the day. Last year they counted about 86 species.

Rochester’s tally will be added to the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count along with totals from the 50 states, Canadian provinces, several Central and South American countries and U.S. territories. Each location has its own count day, sometime between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5, 2011.

[rushhen06]

Though I have not personally seen it, my neighbor, who was a birder in years past, told me
she has a Carolina wren coming to her feeder.  Eating off a peanut butter suet cake.