It was the day after the first snowfall of the winter. The day started with a temperature of 25F. Not wanting to just sit there but not wanting to risk life, limb, or car, I bundled up and walked down to Rock Creek Trail to see what it offered. There was no wind and so no wind chill factor so it was surprisingly tolerable on the trail. I saw a few birds, about 10 species in 40 minutes, but Eastern Towhees were the only birds I hadn’t already seen from my desk so I headed back home.
Home was a different story. It was pretty lively so I put out more seed liberally covering the snow covered ground with seeds. It was pretty busy all day and I started wracking up species. By about 1 PM I had gotten 25 species which is probably a daily (but who knows what happens when I’m not here to watch?) and two new yard birds, one Purple Finch and two Fox Sparrows.
Later, when the roads looks passable, I took Larry Witherspoon up on his offer to sit in the comfort of his house and watch for the Spotted Towhee that had been in his neighborhood for weeks and his yard that day. It took about 10 minutes for her to make an appearance, but she didn’t stay long enough for a photo so I waited. Over the course of an hour, she appeared four times never staying long but long enough to get some pictures through Larry’s windows. I had first seen Spotted Towhees many years ago in Texas but not since so this is what I call a half-life bird and state bird 305.
