I also enjoyed seeing the ducks and grebes at Tibbits Ave. today.  Their far distance did not have me optimistic about good photography, that is until while looking away, the male grebe surprised me and swam a few feet away from me right along the shore. I never expected to get a capture of this desired species like this during the visit.  Full frame - minor compositional crop, tripod, set two feet off the ground for low angle.  The female was equally close later on and got similar images.

http://www.jnphoto.net/New/New/i-kVPvRKq/A

Jeff Nadler

There was a modest sized group (about 300) of gulls on the ice visible from the Halfmoon-Crescent Park this morning around 11 am. I spotted one Lesser Black-backed and 4 Iceland Gulls.  The Lesser was hard to spot because it was hard to see the now less smudgy head.  It eventually stood up showing the yellow legs. 

John H.

Went to Tibbitts Ave early Friday and observed both the Red-necked Grebes, the Canvasback and the Longtailed Duck as well as many Common Goldeneye and a few Common Mergansers and a lone adult Bald Eagle but no Barrows Goldeneye which I later learned had gone back up near the falls overlook area.

Here are a few shots of the Grebes, the Canvasback and the Longtailed Duck:

http://www.kenharperphotos.com/Empty/Canvasback

http://www.kenharperphotos.com/Empty/Long-tailed-Duck/i-SBbwfPR/0/L/ltduck9477tibbitts3-10-15sm-L.jpg

http://www.kenharperphotos.com/GrebesandCoots/Rednecked-Grebe

The Bald Eagle too a couple of runs at the water and scattered the gulls that were there but the Goldeneye seemed to not care as they just kept swimming and displaying. Maybe it was the displaying that distracted them enough to ignore the eagle....

  http://www.kenharperphotos.com/Category/Eaqgle-Tibbitts-Ave-Green-Isla

Signs of spring are coming but with spring it will mean a lot more open water and probably more birds but we will have to travel a bit more to see them. Right now it seems it is "go to Tibbitts Ave, go to Cohoes" ;and we've seen what is around.... lol

take care all and good birding

Ken H.

Is anyone planning to go see the gulls at Crescent Power Plant or Tibbits Ave tomorrow (Sunday, March 15) or anywhere near Albany on the Mohawk River?

I'm looking for someone to assist me in finding/identifying the less common gulls.

Anytime between 7am-5pm.

Thanks.

Sincerely,

Jeanette Roundy

roundywaves35@...

I had a single Common Grackle near Washington Ave in the Stockade about 5 or so with at least 1 American Robin in the area also.

There was a Graylag Goose associating with the Canada's underneath the bridge. An escapee from a local farm-who can say?   Edward Donnan

Around 3 pm this afternoon I spotted 2 drake REDHEADS in the water just below the Crescent Power Plant.  I didn't see anything else interesting in that area.  I did hear a gun firing from a location somewhere behind the ducks and toward the road.  I remember that last year around this time shots were heard in that same general area and the origin turned out to be a crow hunter.  We found out that crow hunting in that particular area is perfectly legal in upstate New York on weekends until the end of March.  

On the upper side of the power plant I saw an estimated 500 gulls on the ice.  I was able to pick out several Iceland and 1 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.  The Lesser had a smudgy head like ones I observed on 1/10, 1/19, and 1/24.  This one today seemed less smudgy than the previous ones but this may be because the adults lose the smudgy head at this time of year.  So, the first 3 and likely this one are the same bird.  I posted one pic from today.  The three previous ones in January can still be found in the photo section with the above dates.  https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/hmbirds/photos/photostream/lightbox/774619048?orderBy=mtime&sortOrder=desc&photoFilter=ALL#zax/774619048 

John H.