A Fine Beginning to the New Year

     January 1st, 2018 began with a chill in the air...well, more than a chill.  As I arose this morning, the temperature (not counting the wind chill) was 11 degrees.  We have not seen temps above freezing for over a week now and, ice is beginning to form on the Hudson.  The lakes and the streams are all but frozen solid which generally is a harbinger of an influx of new birds to the valley.  Already, reports of Ross's geese, Red-breasted mergansers, an Iceland gull, and now even an American coot are circulating.  And so, in spite of the bitter cold, it's time to get out and "chase" some of these reported birds.

     The most rarely seen in these parts has to be the Iceland gull.  I've already made several attempts -all in vain.  Yesterday, trying to score the gull as my final bird of 2017, I was on site at the Newburgh Waterfront with multiple layers of protection from the frigid wind.  Eventually, I had to leave the area as I had an engagement at home.  Naturally, within 10 minutes of my departure, the gull made its appearance.  Murphy's Law.  Undaunted, I decided to try again and make this my "glamour-bird" of the first day of the New Year.

     When I arrived, several of my fellow birding buddies were already on-site. No sign of the bird as of yet.  But it did not take long before as if on command, the Iceland gull made its grand entrance.  This bird is normally found well to our north, rarely south of the Canadian border and even then, mostly along the Atlantic coast.  But here it was.

     The bird is easily distinguished from the hundreds of other gulls (predominantly Ring-billed gulls) by its white wing-tips.  It remained perched within easy photographing range for about 10 minutes before taking flight and moving just a short distance to our south.  As we watched it depart, we noticed a lot of movement of the omnipresent pigeons along the waterfront.  Quickly the reason for their uneasy demeanour was evident.  A Cooper's hawk flew over us a alighted in a nearby tree.  In spite of the waning light, we were able to capture an acceptable image as our final shot of the day.   All in all, we had these sightings as well as nice looks at a nearby Common merganser, an American coot, Ring-billed gulls, a Great black-backed gull, swarms of Mallards, and Canada geese, A fine beginning to the new year for all of us along the waterfront.

Today's "tech-tip" - I always make an attempt to wait and try to capture my subjects in a pose that is not static.  Rather than shoot and be happy with the bird sitting placidly on the dock rail, I put him in the view finder and waited for him to change position.  It only lasts for a second or two, but to my mind makes for a more dynamic & thus more appealing photo.  In the shot of the gull I have used here, it is easy to see the pure white wing-tips which were not quite so evident when the bird was resting quietly on the rail. Note however, that the hawk was not as cooperative, and the best I could do was to get him in the "classic" perched view.  Sometimes, you take what you can get.