Author Archives: Richard

Common Redpolls

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Here is a wonderful article by Sue McGrath of the Newburyport (MA) Birders:

When I see Common Redpolls, I immediately think of the low-Arctic tundra, the land with short, dwarf-like shrubs that includes willow, alder, birch all of which support the Common Redpoll. These abundant, boreal and taiga region breeders share this habitat with foraging Willow Ptarmigan and patrolling Parasitic Jaegers.

Common Redpolls feed often upside down, hanging on small branches, using their feet to hold food items. As winter visitors to our area, they’re interested in our thistle feeders too. They are social birds that are associated with catkin-bearing trees in brushy and weedy areas. Redpolls are rotund and fluffy, sporting a tiny,  yellow bill. Their characteristic features include dark lores, a black throat and chin and a red forecrown. The dark brown of the wings and tail along with the brown streaking of the nape, back, breast and flanks are offset by the whitish belly.

Characteristic features of Redpolls include dark lores, a black throat and chin and a red forecrown.

Redpolls have been observed on twigs, feeding each other by passing seed from conical bill to conical bill. The sexes are discernible ~ the male has pink on the chest and is less streaked; the female lacks that rosy hue and is heavily streaked. Their tails are forked, and in flight, the wingspan is 7 – 9 inches. They weigh 0.46 of an ounce.

Pete Dunne refers to this bird as “…effervescent pipsqueak of a finch with a small red beret and a black goatee.” What a clever way to remember their field marks!

Recently, I reread Kathleen S. Anderson’s article on Cumberland Farms in a 1996 issue of “Bird Observer” that has Barry W. Van Dusen’s illustration of Common Redpolls on the cover. In that issue, I found in W. E. Davis Jr.’s account of Common Redpolls that their have a specialized “pocket” in the neck area known as an esophageal diverticulum. A diverticulum is a sac or pouch arising from a tubular organ; crossbills also have this storage ability. This is like having an in-flight cupboard for storing seeds. This seed stockroom and the specialized winter-feeding behavior enable this songbird to survive colder  temperatures. “The Birder’s Handbook” by Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye [page 641] refers to this partially bi-lobed pocket as analogous to the crop of gallinaceous birds.

Thermal regulation is also key to their survival. When in a sheltered area, redpolls fluff up their feathers to maximize heat retention. Frank Gill’s “Ornithology” states that Common Redpolls sleep in snow tunnels during the long Arctic night to conserve body heat. These winter visitors will feel more at home in New England when we’ve snow cover; they can insulate themselves against the cold, air temperatures.

Sue McGrath leads bird walks with the Essex County area — contact her if you are looking for a small group experience led by a good teacher/birder.

Superbowl of Birding X

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The Joppa Flats Education Center is hosting the Superbowl of Birding X on Saturday, January 26, 2013 – 5am to 5pm (Snow date: Sunday, January 27).  Teams will consist of 4-7 individuals and must remain together for the entire contest. No splitting of teams is allowed. Teams must preregister for the contest. Each species on the official contest checklist has a point value of 1-5 based on the perceived difficulty of finding the species at this time of year. The team that amasses the greatest number of points will be declared The Nikon Joppa Cup winner. Each species may only be counted once. Each team must check in at the designated site by 5:30 p.m. of the contest day.

Team Noddies members check out a Townsend’s Warbler. (photo courtesy North Branch Nature Center.

A team, known as the “Noddies,” from the North Branch Nature Center will again participate.  This is the fifth year that young birders and adults from central Vermont have driven down to the Massachusetts coast for this great event.  Here’s an excerpt from last year’s trip report:

Slowly working their way north, by late afternoon the Noddies had reached Plum Island, considered one of the finest birding locales in New England. Here, on the rolling sand dunes and extensive marshes, the Noddies would complete their quest. From a single spot along the main road, two Snowy Owls could be seen sitting upon the barren, snowless landscape. A flock of hundreds of shorebirds chased the breaking waves along the beach. And as the sky became infused with pink and purple at dusk, a Short-eared Owl could be seen cruising the fields, hunting under the shadows of the setting sun. After twelve hours of birdwatching, the Noddies raced to the finish line with a total of 66 species and 124 points.

The Noddies participated in this exciting event, centered around Plum Island in Massachusetts, the past 4 years cumulatively tallying 85 species! This year, the group may extend their trip to be a full weekend, so it’s never too early to start thinking about it!  To be guaranteed a spot on the team, please register by Dec. 21.

Passing birding knowledge on

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People who have been birdwatching for many years store an enormous amount of information in their heads – the kind of experiences and emotions you can’t learn from a book or website. To foster an appreciation for nature in new generations, it is essential that information be passed on.

Do you have years of birding experience? For the sake of the birds, become a mentor to an eager new birdwatcher; lead a tour; start a young naturalists club; give a talk. Looking at beautiful bird photos on the computer is one thing, but there is no substitution for a personal introduction to the magic of nature. Pass it along – the birds will thank you for it!

This article was originally posted on the Birds Calgary blog, and immediately captured my attention. I found it through the Bird Canada blog.  It presents the complete juxtaposition of bird watching today, with the old guard encouraging and passing on their knowledge to a newer generation.

Matthew Sim is a high school student who has only been birding for about five years. His enthusiasm for birds is infectious, and when he collided with Gus Yaki, it was a match made in heaven. As much as Gus loves birds and nature, he loves passing on his knowledge even more.

Famous Birders: Gus Yaki
By Matthew Sim

It has been a while since I last did a famous birders post but today, we have a very special expert birder and naturalist who some, if not most of us know personally; Gus Yaki.

Gus is a lifelong naturalist who has had a profound effect on numerous Calgarians, Albertans and people from across Canada and many other countries. In November 2009, I was just starting to get seriously into birding and enjoying nature when I went on a Nature Calgary field trip to Fish Creek Park led by Gus; he did such a great job leading the trip that he helped to propel me into the world of birding. Gus leads many trips throughout the year whether they be birding, botany or anything else dealing with nature.

Originally from North Battleford Saskatchewan, Gus used to walk 3 miles to school each day and got to learn and enjoy local fauna and flora this way. He started a nature tour service and, in 1983, led a trip around North America, following in the footsteps of Roger Peterson and James Fisher who had gone 30,000 miles around North America 30 years earlier. As Peterson’s and Fisher’s journey was immortalized in the book Wild America, so Gus’ trip was immortalized in the book, Looking for the Wild, written by Lyn Hancock, who was on the trip with Gus. Gus is very active in all conservation, birding and overall nature aspects of Calgary.

Below are some questions I asked Gus about various aspects of his birding and natural life and his responses.

Gus Yaki with injured Ring-billed Gull.      Photo Bob Lefebvre.

When did you become interested in birds and nature?

I had nothing to do for nine months before I was born, so I listed all the bird sounds that I heard: as a result, I had a life-list (heard only) of 14 species when I took my first breath.

Seriously though, I don’t ever remember not being interested in birds and nature. One of my first teachers had a little 3 x 6 inch bird booklet. Walking almost three miles to school, I would see a bird on its nest. At school, during recess, I would thumb through this little publication to find a matching description. On the way home, I would confirm that I had correctly identified it.

Later, the government provided a lending library service to those living in Saskatchewan, so I was able to borrow such books as Birds of Canada by P. A. Taverner, with illustrations by Allan Brooks. Needless to say, I soaked up those illustrations and texts, so that when I saw the real thing, I was able to instantly identify it.

By then, I had realized that birds were only part of nature: they needed the other plant and animal species to provide food, shelter, and reproductive services – as did all other species, so naturally, I expanded my horizon accordingly.

Read the whole article here

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Binocular Stabilization

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A while back, I took a wonderful walk with an old friend to look for birds along the Rhode Island coast.  It was a glorious fall day and we walked along the canal way, watching the tide stream back in.  I spotted a bird perched on a rock way upstream and set up my scope.  Because our difference in height, I had to set the tripod rather low which always makes for an Ichabod Crane look when I bend over to scope the bird.  It was a Green Heron and my friend, who first identified it, said, “This is great.  I can’t really use my binoculars because of my hand tremors.  But I can see this bird clearly.”

We moved on to a marsh where dozens of Great Egrets foraged and again, the telescope was a great tool since it was stable and the birds were cooperative.  So, we got talking.  I said that there must be a way to stabilize binoculars — that she should look into it and perhaps the kids could make it a Christmas present.  We saw a few more birds and then strolled back home catching up even more on our lives and our kids/grandkids.  It was a short but great outing.  I hadn’t thought about the conversation until yesterday — where it just popped up and I thought, “I’m going to check out binocular gear.”  So I did and here’s a little about what I learned.

I found out that one option is image stabilizing binoculars:

The Pros of image stabilization in binoculars

  1. Optical advantages: When binoculars are stabilized, they result in sharper images, better clarity, and clearer contrast. Image stabilized binoculars of magnifications as low as 7x to 10x will outperform conventional binoculars of the same magnification by far.
    This means that they are useful not just in extreme outdoor situations but also when image stabilization is not really needed. Obviously, this advantage will only be a reality when image stabilization is turned on.
  2. If for some reason image stabilization is not turned on (or fails), they operate as normal binoculars. In other words, you’re not stranded with a useless instrument when the batteries have gone flat and you don’t have replacements.
  3. Huge magnification made possible: Without stabilization, the maximum practical magnification for hand holding is about 7x, possibly but rarely up to 10x (varying from person to person). However, image stabilization technology allows the viewer to use binoculars (handheld) with magnifications of up to 20x, opening a new world to the viewer.

No eyestrain or headache: If you cannot hold your conventional binoculars perfectly still, not only will your image be spoiled, but you can also end up with eyestrain and headaches – which is not the case with image stabilized binoculars.

The cons of image stabilization in binoculars

  1. Limited options available: In the case of conventional binoculars, the client has so much options, he could find it difficult to make his final decision for that very reason. However, in the case of image stabilizer binoculars his choice is very limited: Only about six different brands with limited models are available.
  2. Price: These instruments are more expensive than conventional binoculars due to the extra complicated technology included, which limits the buyer’s options even more.
  3. Weight: Due to the extra technology (and batteries in most cases, to drive the image stabilizing technology) they are also heavier than the counterpart.
  4. Dimensions: The added technology resulted in more bulkiness as compared to conventional binoculars.
  5. Activating the image stabilization: Some binoculars need the stabilization button to be continuously pressed to keep the binoculars stabilized. This is to save the batteries, but can be tiring. New designs keep the stabilization on for a few minutes after the button is pressed and released.
  6. Durability: The added technology makes these binoculars more fragile, as clearly reflected in the limited warranties going with the products, typically only 1 to 3 years.
  7. Batteries: With the exception of the last category of image stabilized binoculars (mechanical stabilization without gyroscopes), all IS binoculars use batteries. In addition to the burden of the extra weight, you also have to make sure to use the best batteries available and remember to take extra ones along as well.

A better option, in my opinion, is a tripod and a binocular attachment device.  This way, you can use the binoculars you already own.  Monopods are also an option although some say that people with tremors may have difficulty stabilizing the unit.  Tripods can be pricey but get a good stable one and it can work for a camera, a telescope, or your binoculars.  Here’s a description of one attachment option for binoculars:

Another Pine Grosbeak Encounter

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As I wrote last week, we are experiencing an irruption of winter finches here in central Vermont and I saw my first Pine Grosbeaks, finally.  Here’s a recent eBird map showing sightings near here:

Reports of Pine Grosbeaks this calendar year.

Pine Grosbeaks seem to be a lot like Bohemian Waxwings — if you happen upon them, they are there in numbers and quite cooperative but often, if you get there a half-hour later, they are off to another feeding site.  I stumbled on a group of 13 females and juveniles this morning and took a few photos as they fed on the berries on the ground.

Pine Grosbeaks are one of the largest members of the finch family. The males are rosy-red, while the females are yellow. Juveniles are hard to distinguish as both males and females are similar in coloration.

Pine Grosbeaks tend to be rather cooperative and thus easier to photograph than twitchier species like warblers.

It’s fun to read of PIGR sightings throughout the Northeast — it is a great year for winter finches — just as forecast.

Birding With Mac

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Being a grandfather who got into birding late in life, it’s a treat to see at least two of my grandchildren become fledgling birders.  Our oldest, Mac, was up from Massachusetts with his mom for Thanksgiving.  He caught the birding bug during a a birder camp this summer at North Branch Nature Center.  He and Jen have done a few outings at home and this afternoon, Mac and I went out for a short trip.

One of the things I’m learning about youth birding is that attention spans are different with kids — in fact the leaders at camp this summer interspersed many games with the kids which were as popular as the birding.  Short outings, especially if the birding is spotty, work well.

We went up to Berlin Pond.  During the drive, I was looking for birds in the trees while Mac played some game on his iPhone.  I decided to chill out – we’d bird when we got there.

I had been there doing a little scouting this morning but many of the waterfowl had headed out this afternoon.  Even so, it was great.  We could see Hooded Mergansers as we parked the truck and we watched them through binoculars and the scope.  What’s not to like about a Hoodie?  I brought out the camera and fitted it on the scope and took a few shots.

What’s not to like about a Hoodie?

Mac was intrigued — he’d never seen digiscoping before.  I had him get on a group on American Black Ducks and set the camera on for him.  He fired off a few shots and loved it.  His shot is better than mine — what can I say?

American Black Duck digiscoped by grandson Mac Mansfield-Parisi

We trudged down to where I had hoped to see some geese but aside from a Bufflehead, it was rather empty.  He didn’t care, the Hoodies had made the day.  A small flight of Canada Geese came right over us as we walked back to the truck to sort of complete the outing.  Half an hour or so, six species, but a great outing.  Mac lives right near Parker River Wildlife Refuge and I look forward to many future outings with him.

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Birding Once Again

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I’ve been laid up after last Thursday’s surgery and while I have enjoyed watching birds coming to our feeders, it was nice to get out in the woods early this frosty morning for my first outdoor outing in nearly a week.  Mary has done a great job with keeping the dog exercised but I was ready to take back that duty — carefully.

There’s not a lot out and about at daybreak aside from the chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays, and crows but they were nice to hear and see as I trudged up the crusty frozen path. I’ve been reading up on birding by ear and looking into recording and analyzing calls so I brought my iPhone along.  Even though we live in the country, the background noises can be loud in the early morning.  We have a noisy rooster a mile or so off and there’s always a dog or two barking in the distance.  The traffic noise, even though the road is a half-mile off, can get loud and of course, I have the Vizsla tromping back and forth “helping” me bird.  I think recording will be a work in progress for a while .. but an interesting aspect of birding to look into.

A Blue Jay eyes our suet package.

Since I had to take it easy and pause periodically, it was fun to remember past sightings as I moved along our trail — the trees where three Brown Creepers were calling to one another as they foraged, the dead snag where a hawk sat until the dog spooked it, the little meadow where a couple of Common Yellowthroats drove me nuts as I tried to get them to settle for a photograph.  We then flushed a partridge and the dog was off and running again.

I find that this “virtual birding” is enjoyable — recalling specific birds you have seen at given points along a patch that you frequently bird.  It’s a diversion on days were there are few birds but it also is a reminder that hey, it won’t be long until we start seeing ______ again.

A group of Common Redpolls made their first visit this morning.

And sure enough, as I returned and thawed my hands out, I noticed a new bird at the feeder.  It was our first Common Redpoll of the season.  We’ve been expecting them and it was great to see them again.

A Big Year for 2013?

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Since we are not traveling to the Southwest this winter, I’ve been giving some thought to doing a low key birding big year.  I have no interest in a national effort but at first was thinking about a Vermont big year.  I’m gravitating toward a Washington County big year but we’ll see as this year ends and plans for next year firm up a bit.

I’ve read a number of big year books and blogs and enjoy many of the quests, as crazy as they might get.  As we know, a big year is an informal quest among birders to see who can see or hear the largest number of species of birds within a single calendar year and within a specific geographical area. A big year may be done within a single US state, a Canadian province, within the lower 48 continental U.S. states, or within the official American Birding Association Area.  Here’s some historical information from Wikipedia:

The earliest known continent wide Big Year record was compiled by Guy Emerson, a traveling businessman, who timed his business trips to coincide with the best birding seasons for different areas in North America. His best year was in 1939 when he saw 497 species. In 1952, Emerson’s record was broken by Bob Smart, who saw 510 species.[1]

In 1953, Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher took a 30,000 mile road trip visiting the wild places of North America. In 1955, they told the story of their travels in a book and a documentary film, both called Wild America. In one of the footnotes to the book Peterson said “My year’s list at the end of 1953 was 572 species.” In 1956 the bar was raised when a 25-year-old Englishman named Stuart Keith, following Peterson and Fisher’s route, compiled a list of 598 species.

Keith’s record stood for 15 years. In 1971, 18-year-old Ted Parker, in his last semester of high school in southeastern Pennsylvania, birded the eastern seaboard of North America extensively. That September, Parker enrolled in the University of Arizona in Tucson and found dozens of Southwestern U.S. and Pacific coast specialities. He ended the year with a list of 627 species. (Before his death in 1993, Parker went on to become one of the world’s most renowned field ornithologists, and the acknowledged leading expert on the birds of the American tropics. He is recognized as an influential birder today.)

In 1973 Kenn Kaufman and another birder, Floyd Murdoch, went after Parker’s record. As recounted in the book Kingbird Highway, both broke the old record by a wide margin. Murdoch finished with 669 in the newly-described ABA area (North America north of Mexico, essentially) and Kaufman had 666. Kaufman set a North American record of 671 species, with the addition of five species that he had seen in Baja California.

Murdoch’s record was broken in 1979 by James M. Vardaman, as recorded in his book Call Collect, Ask for Birdman. Vardaman saw 699 species that year and travelled 161,332 miles (137,145 by airplane; 20,305 by car; 3,337 by boat; 160 by bicycle; and 385 by foot). Benton Basham, in 1983, topped that with a total of 710. 1987 marked the second time that there was a competition during a single year, with Steve Perry ending up with 711 and Sandy Komito setting a new standard with 721. In 1992 Bill Rydell made a serious attempt at the record and ended with 714 species for the year.

Big year competitors of 1998 were the subject of a book, The Big Year, by Mark Obmascik. Three birders, Sandy Komito, Al Levantin, and Greg Miller, chased Komito’s prior record of 721 birds. In the end Komito kept the record, listing 745 species[2] birds plus 3 submitted in 1998 and later accepted by state committees for a revised total of 748.[3] The book was adapted for the 2011 20th Century Fox film The Big Year.

In 2005, Lynn Barber did a big year in the state of Texas and saw a record 522 bird species. In 2008, she did a big year in the ABA area (see above) and finished with 723 bird species.[4]

Starting in the summer of 2007, teenager Malkolm Boothroyd and his parents, Ken Madsen and Wendy Boothroyd, attempted a big year without the use of fossil fuels by planning to bicycle over 10,000 miles to get over 400 species for the year.[5] They started in their home province of the Yukon Territory, rode down the Pacific Coast, looping back around Arkansas to catch the Texas spring migration, then eastward to Florida. They dubbed this attempt a “bird year,” rather than a big year. In the end, they covered more than 13,000 miles by bicycle and tallied 548 species, raising more than $25,000 for bird conservation in the process.

In 2010, Chapel Hill, North Carolina birder Chris Hitt set out to try to find as many different species of birds as he could in the lower 48 states (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and the country of Canada) while enjoying good food and the company of friends. He became the first birder to see 700+ species in the lower 48 in a single year, finishing with 704.[6] In the same year, Virginia birder Bob Ake generated the second highest total for a continental big year, ending the year with 731 species, an extraordinary total achieved without the benefit of the relatively unique weather effects of 1998.[7] Also in 2010, John Spahr finished his ABA area big year with 704 species.

The highest total for a mixed gender couple was also in 2010, Claire Spengler and Kyle Martin; who combined for 728 species. The couple spotted a majority of their birds in the Northeast United States.

In 2011, Colorado birder John Vanderpoel set out to complete a big year and had spotted over 700 species before November. Vanderpoel was considered a threat to Sandy Komito’s big year record of 745 species, and was reportedly the fastest birder on record to reach 700 species in a year. However, ultimately John only managed 744 birds, missing out on the record by 1.[8]

Published big year books

  • Wild America (1955) by Roger Tory Peterson & James Fisher
  • Call Collect, Ask for Birdman (1980) by James M. Vardaman
  • Looking for the Wild (1986) by Lyn Hancock
  • The Loonatic Journals (1987) by Steven Perry
  • Birding’s Indiana Jones: A Chaser’s Diary (1990) by Sandy Komito
  • The Feather Quest (1992) by Pete Dunne
  • A Year for the Birds (1995) by William B. Rydell, Jr.
  • Kingbird Highway: The Story of a Natural Obsession That Got a Little Out of Hand (1997) by Kenn Kaufman
  • I Came, I Saw, I Counted (1999) by Sandy Komito
  • Chasing Birds Across Texas: A Birding Big Year (2003) by Mark T. Adams
  • The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession (2004) by Mark Obmascik (later the basis for a 2011 comedy film distributed by 20th Century Fox)
  • Return to Wild America: A Yearlong Search for the Continent’s Natural Soul (2005) by Scott Weidensaul
  • The Big Twitch (2005) by Sean Dooley (an Australian “Big Year”)
  • The Biggest Twitch: Around the World in 4,000 Birds (2010) by Alan Davies and Ruth Miller
  • Extreme Birder: One Woman’s Big Year (2011) by Lynn E. Barber

References

  1. ^ Kaufman, Kenn: Kingbird Highway: The Story of a Natural Obsession That Got a Little Out of Hand; Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997, p. 16.
  2. ^ http://www.surfbirds.com/Features/Attu.html
  3. ^ http://www.nabirding.com/2011/11/08/interview-with-sandy-komito-745-or-748/
  4. ^ Barber, Lynn (2011). Extreme Birder: One Woman’s Big Year. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-1-60344-261-9.
  5. ^ Stewart, Ian. “A big green year for the birds”. Yukon News. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  6. ^ Slow Birding: the big year meets the big night
  7. ^ Bob’s Birds and Things
  8. ^ Atlantic Monthly October, 2011

Alpha Codes are easier than I thought

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Last month, I wrote a blog post about using BirdLog to track my sightings in the field and enter them right into eBird.  I love it and use it often.  However, it really helps to use Bird Codes to identify birds — saves a lot of typing and guessing.  So I decided to learn more about bird codes — those weird ACRONYMS that serious birders seem to effortlessly roll off their tongues.  I always thought folks were showing off until I learned the ease and the facility of using them.

Alpha codes are 4-letter shorthand abbreviations for bird species. These codes are commonly used in field notes to quickly record and submit sightings (i.e. eBird.org) and other situations where writing down the entire species name is impractical.  The rules are pretty simple:

1.  If the name is one word, the code is the first four letters.  Mallard for example is MALL or Dickcissel is DICK.

Mallards — MALL– Upper Artichoke Reservoir, West Newbury, MA October 22, 2012.

2.  Also simple are birds with 2-word names. Just take the first two letters of each word. Winter Wren = WIWR, American Goldfinch = AMGO.

Northern Cardinal – NOCA – Harrison Bay State Park, TN January 16, 2012

3.  Birds with 3-word names get more complicated; if there is a hyphen between two words take one letter from each of the hyphenated words, and two letters from the other word.  Eastern Screech-Owl = EASO.

White-crowned Sparrow – WCSP – Goose Island State Park, TX    January 30, 2012

4.  If the name has four parts, either separate words or hyphenated parts, the code is the first letter of each part.  Black-crowned Night Heron = BCNH.

Black-crowned Night Heron – BCNH – Goose Island State Park, TX February 15, 2012

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images by Dick Mansfield

Pine Grosbeaks – finally

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As I have noted before, a Canadian ornithologist, Ron Pittaway, each year issues a  Winter Finch Forecast.  He notes that there is a “widespread tree seed crop failure in the Northeast” this year.  It looks like a good year for winter birds — we’re already seeing a lot of Purple Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, and hundreds of Pine Siskins.

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve seen reports of sightings of gaggles of Bohemian Waxwings and Pine Grosbeaks all over Vermont.  Friends of mine have reported berry trees laden with birds and yet, I’ve yet to come close to one of the visitors.  Until today….

Last night, before a board meeting of the North Branch Nature Center, I was whining to Chip, the ED, about all the reports of Pine Grosbeaks.  He asked, “Have you seen them up at Rumney in the fruit tree?”

A female Pine Grosbeak feeding on fruit at Rumney School, Middlesex, VT.

Rumney School is about a half-mile up the road and so this morning, after an appointment, I drove by the school and noted some birds in the tree in front.  I carefully parked out back and grabbed my camera, aware that school is in session and guys wandering around with binos and cameras may look suspicious.  I got close enough to make out the Pine Grosbeaks and took a few shots and left.  The birds were used to people and just filling their craws with the red berries.

The neat outcome was that when I entered the sighting into eBird, it marked it as a new life bird.  I had not realized that I didn’t have Pine Grosbeaks so it turned out to be not only a year bird, but my #350 life bird.  Thanks Chip.