Day 31: The Towhee Finally Appears + Monthly Reflection

During the last two winters, there has been a male Eastern Towhee that has wintered in a patch of bushes near the Boathouse. I searched for it earlier this month, but didn't find it. Today someone told me they spotted it there, and I decided to look for it. At first, I only saw the usual House and White-Throated Sparrows, but after a few minutes, the unmistakable male Eastern Towhee (#54) appeared! This species is a hard to find winterer, about as tricky as the thrasher I saw almost a week ago, but both of these species can often be staked out, and are also fairly common migrants. In total this month, I have seen 55 species, slightly behind the 56 of last year. With the exception of Great Horned Owl and Snow Goose, and possibly Common Merganser and less so for Orange-Crowned Warbler, all of the other birds from last January are expected. However, this year, just Common Loon and Northern Pintail are unlikely to be seen again (apart from the wintering bird). Not seen last year were the aforementioned loon as well as Great Cormorant (lifer!), both on Randall's Island. To catch up with last year, I need to have about 60 birds on my year list by the end of February. Will I succeed? Stay tuned!