Looking back: Pine Grosbeaks

Pretty soon migrating ducks will appear in the local puddles and on flooded fields, snipe will forage in the weeds along the edges, and killdeer will emit their sharp cries when flushed from a field. At dusk I'll hear the peenting of a courting woodcock at the edge of the forest. But right now it's the in-between time, mud time. 

You can always count though on Black-capped Chickadees.

You can always count though on Black-capped Chickadees.

Now is a good time to dig out photos of a birds that did not show up this winter, did not irrupt into New England, presumably because there was plenty of food for them up north: the Pine Grosbeak. I saw a small flock of them foraging in fruit trees two winters ago. They are slow moving and easy to overlook.

A female "Rusty" so called because she is sporting a rusty patch on her chest.

Male Pine Grosbeak

Female "Rusty"

I am confident I am going to have photos of some spring-time birds next week - at least of Red-winged Blackbirds. They have already made their presence known with their gurgling "tur-a-lees" sounding from several shrubs in our wetland.

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