It was a very windy yet sunny and mild day, temperature-wise at Sturgeon Point. I had come to do some lake watching, a favorite birding activity of mine. I was hoping the strong winds would blow in a few water birds that I don't see often: loons, grebes, scoters...
I enjoyed the ducks as they streamed by in small flocks. I had Lesser Scaup, Long-tailed, many Common Mergansers, and I did see some scoters - either Surf or Black Scoters - but distance made them tough to ID to species. An adult Bald Eagle flew overhead as did a Turkey Vulture and a few gulls.
After a couple of hours of lake watching, I took a windy walk down the nature trail, not expecting much. But just a short ways down the path, I heard the harsh call of a vireo. I thought it too late for any of our resident vireos, nearly all having left for the winter by now, so I quickly suspected a White-eyed, a more southern bird whose northern range ends just shy of the Pennsylvania / New York border. Every once in awhile, one of these cute and unusual looking birds makes its way into Western New York.
I slowly advanced and found the bird in a thicket, calling its raspy call every now and then. When it turned to face me, I was rewarded with a pretty olive and soft yellow bird with beautiful, light irises - a White-eyed Vireo! Cool! This was the first time I found this species on my own and I was quite elated.
Before he bounced out of view, I was able to get a few photos that were
mostly obscured by the bushes and tangle he was feeding in. About
twenty minutes later, I saw him just once more for a few short seconds
before he disappeared again.
Interesting fact: both the female and male White-eyed Vireo will sing on their wintering grounds but only the male sings on their breeding grounds. Their song, not the harsh call I heard, but their song is very neat. It's a kind of "wheeze" followed by a mix of notes, ending with a click. Very unique!
Check out those cool, white eyes surrounded by yellow "spectacles". It's a dazzling bird!