March Birding
Published: October 21, 2016
Tags: General Observations, Killdeer, Northern Shoveler, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Purple Finch, Brown Creeper, Bullock's Oriole, Tufted Duck, Pine Siskin, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Northern Harrier, Golden Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Rusty Blackbird, Swamp Sparrow, American Robin, Glossy Ibis, Great Horned Owl, leucism, leucistic
Some of the birding I did this month was driven by a huge "NEED" to see some new birds returning to Western New York! Here, in chilly Buffalo, it winter starts feeling very, very long by March and this year was no different. I found myself wandering around to areas that might hold a surprise or two, including Lakeside Cemetery in Hamburg, New York. I even went as far as Canandaigua Lake with Celeste and Willie to do some Ontario and Yates County birding while we searched for and found the Tufted Duck that Brooke Morse reported. This was the second Tufted Duck I've ever seen, by the way, and this time it was a handsome male with a full, beautiful tuft!
Friends and I even drove to Ulster, New York to see a wildly vagrant Bullock's Oriole - a life bird and a bird I never thought I'd see this far east! And what a beautiful male to boot!
I did have a short a reprieve from our Buffalo, NY weather this month. Myself, Celeste, and two other friends (Bernie and Karen) went to Arizona to stay with our friend, Holly, for five days. What a great adventure that was! I think I'll post those photos in a separate entry.
The last half of the month, after our Arizona trip, was rewarding at a hawk watch where a Golden Eagle flew over. Two Glossy Ibises weren't all that far away so I stopped to see them on the way. A Great Horned Owl on nest at a heron rookery took the prize for bizarre sights that day, though!
I also did some birding around home where I found a few unexpected county birds, which included a Northern Harrier and Vesper Sparrow. Oh, and Pine Siskins finally showed up near the end of the month! After waiting all winter, they showed up on March 20th!

Close to home - my first Killdeer sighting of the year!

A Northern Shoveler at Lakeside Cemeter

Red-breasted Nuthatch at home

A Brown Creeper at home - a sure sign of spring!

Bullock's Oriole - far from home!

Bullock's Oriole - male

Tufted Duck - a nice look at that handsome tuft!

Finally - a Pine Siskin!

Another harbinger of spring, a Red-winged Blackbird

Purple Finches return!

An Eastern Meadowlark right near home

A Northern Harrier hunting right near home - same field that the meadowlarks were in.

There were a few Rusty Blackbirds in East Aurora this day

The Swamp Sparrows are back!

A leucistic American Robin in Orchard Park

These two Glossy Ibises were a treat!

Golden Eagle

Red-shouldered Hawk

Here's the Great Horned Owl on nest in a heron rookery of all places!

Tree Swallows are back!
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