I was in Plattsburgh, NY, for work, minding my own business and walking across SUNY-Plattsburgh’s campus. Bird calls, familiar bird calls: Pine Grosbeaks. Of course, I had my camera with me, as they had recently been reported there on a local listserv and, hey, you have to be prepared to see Pine Grosbeaks!

Pine Grosbeak

messy eater

It feels crazy to say it, but this is the third time I’ve seen Pine Grosbeaks this year, the only times I’ve ever seen them.

Pine Grosbeaks

Pine Grosbeaks

Two minutes worth of looking at the eight females/juvenile males and then back to work.

Then the long drive home over the Adirondacks in rain and snow and dark. The winter birds are great but I want spring already…

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.