Day 54: First Migrant of the Year!!!

On Sunday, I went into the park casually looking for birds, always on the lookout for something new. First I hung around the feeders for a bit, picking up a nice assortment of regular birds, including a Fox Sparrow and Brown Creeper. I then sat down to take a break there for a minute, when I spotted something flying out of the corner of my eye. Even though I couldn't raise my binoculars before it was gone, the long bill and chunky tan body were indistinguishable. An AMERICAN WOODCOCK (Year Bird #58)! I had always considered the very small chance that I could find one of these very skulky birds so early in the season, but it seemed very remote. This showed how you should stay alert to even the most remote of possibilites. Anyway, I did not see much out of the ordinary other than that and a continuing Red-Breasted Merganser at the Reservoir. I just can't wait for spring to come next month with all the migrants!