Out Around Town

Every single building at the fairgrounds was lined with gulls at sunset, mostly Great Black Backed
I thought they kind of captioned this photo themselves

I was trying to get the binoculars on a large flock of Snow Geese down over the river when the pup practically ripped my arm off. So much for birding and dog walking as a cooperative venture.

Mostly Canada Geese and Mallards but there were other birds mixed in

So I ran in and asked the boss to drive me downtown to the bustling metropolis of the twin...non-cities....villages actually...of Fonda and Fultonville.

We needed to go to the store to....gulp....buy milk.....anyhow.

The Snows were gone, but there was no shortage of other waterfowl. Lots of them.

I wonder....why isn't this area better known for the birding? 

Yesterday there was nothing more exotic than a single female Hooded Merganser, a small flock of Common Mergansers, and a plethora of Great Black Backed Gulls among the Herring and Ring-billed Gulls and Mallards and Canada Geese. 

However, for sheer volume our little bit of river is hard to beat. And I would not be surprised that a better birder might spot better birds. Liz saw a Bald Eagle eating a goose on the fairgrounds the other day.....

Anyhow, the proximity of the shallow, teeming water is why we get so many waterfowl on a dry land farm. They may not live up here, but they sure do fly over.