In Search of the Redpoll but get Mooned Instead

I wanted Monday to be a special day. A day with promise and perhaps a lifer to celebrate the extra day off from work. I decide to be proactive this time and not go to my usual spots. The first thing I did was search the Central Mass bird data base for bird sightings and was elated to read that over 100 redpolls were spotted the next town over from me at Flint Pond. I arrived there with giddy excitement imagining what they would look like with my own two eyes and what fantastic photos I would take to share on my blog. I get out of my car and listen intently for bird chatter and don't' hear much. I start searching the unfamiliar area and was delighted to see over a dozen evergreen trees so instinctively head over there.

There is no sign of any birds which has me mystified. There are literally hundreds of intact pine cones on the trees and ground so surely they have to be in the area with all of this available food. I decide to take a seat in a bed of soft pine needles and wait for these 100 redpolls to grace me with their presence. I waited, and waited, and waited and............ By the way, did you know that there are over 250 sumac berries on an average cluster of sumac? I found this out this morning because I counted a few of them while I waited.

Finally, I hear some bird chatter and better yet, bird chatter I didn't think I had ever heard before. I excitedly get up and start nervously adjusting my camera settings while looking frantically above the trees to see where the sound is coming from. Suddenly I see quite a few birds dashing from tree to tree in a manic sort of way. Woo hooo! I say to myself as I try and tiptoe around the hardened snow as to not scare them away before I can get a look at them. I search the trees, see movement and zoom in, only to have them go to the next tree. There are now quite a few more doing the same and I am getting flustered because all of this movement is ruining my concentration. Finally, I see movement, zoom in, and click, click, click goes my camera. I am taking pictures at a rapid pace because it's obvious this is going to be the only way I'm going to get a look at the redpolls based on the way they are moving. Sure enough, as quick as they fly into my view, they fly out of my view and go across the pond to an area I can't get to. Grrrrrrrr. Not what I had expected, but they will be back and now I know where to find them. HA!! Now time to see how the pictures turned out. I look at my view finder and have to zoom in and this is what I saw.
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AAARRRRRGGGG! This my friends is a tufted titmouse butt in case you haven't figured that out yet on your own. I take one look at this and just want to cry. Hmmmm... Maybe it isn't really a tufted titmouse butt and is actually a redpoll butt. Yes, that's it. Let me see what the second picture looks like I think to myself.

Yup, it's a tufted titmouse allright and a lousy photo at that. It was just so hard for me to focus my camera with all of the movement they were doing. These birds were so quick I had no idea what kind of bird they were as I was furiously clicking away. HA!

I go away feeling foolish yet again for my high hopes and once again mistaken bird identity. Hmmmmm.....I know the tufted titmouse is a hyper bird, but even that was rare for them. If I didn't know any better, I would think that the winter has them bored and they wanted to have some mischievous fun on my behalf.................

Anyhow, I searched that area for a full three full hours and didn't see one redpoll. I find this unbelievable considering there were over 100 of them there yesterday. Just my luck I tell you!!!! I am going back next weekend though and in the meantime am going to practice taking rapid photos with a little less blur. I will see a redpoll this year, I can just feel it!!

THIS was the highlight of my day. Two mourning doves on a wire. Spring can't come soon enough for me people. I love my winter and year round birds, but need to see more, I am getting bored!! ;o)