The First 50

Yesterday saw my big year reach the 50 birds photographed mark. Not that this is an impressive number, but for Michigan in winter, it isn't too bad.

I birded Rose Lake area where a local birder has an Evening Grosbeak coming to his feeder. Apparently the bird only comes once in a while, so while waiting I had fun photographing a few other species. My first Purple Finches of the year were coming to their feeders.

Purple Finch (female/1st year male type)

A Hairy Woodpecker enjoyed some suet after chasing away a Downy.

Hairy Woodpecker

And finally, the Evening Grosbeak dropped by for a few minutes.

Evening Grosbeak (female)

There were reports of Bohemian Waxwings in the area, so I looked for them also. I had a nice flock at Burke Lake that only stuck around for a few minutes. There were probably at least a dozen birds. I then drove around and found a big waxwing flock on the corner of Stoll Road and Peacock Road, just west of the intersection, on Stoll Road. There were at least 40 Cedar Waxwings with a few Bohemian Waxwings mixed in. There are a lot of berries here and it wouldn't surprise me if they stick around for a while.

One of the Bohemian Waxwings

What to do next? I could go over to Muskegon and target a few birds over there. I could go to Berrien and look for the Townsend's Solitaire. I could head east to Lake Erie Metropark for ducks. Stay tuned...