Christmas Bird Count 2012

Dave’s handy West Essex Birders site has its own taxonomy for the quality of a birding day, ranging from “outrageous” (positively so) to “dud.”

Our morning wasn’t exactly a dud, but I can’t say that we were subjected to all that many interruptions of a feathered kind, either, as Alison and I birded Verona and Hilltop Parks.

We did come up with 21 species, none of them rare or otherwise notable to anyone who can’t appreciate a Great Blue Heron standing motionless in the shade, a Red-tailed Hawk being blown overhead like a huge rusty leaf, or a curious White-throated Sparrow emerging, silent for once, from the brush to check us out.

We’ve had lots of good CBCs together now over the years. Wonder where next December will find us birding!