Car parked at top of driveway in anticipation for 12-24 inches of snow
A 12 to 24 inch snowfall forecast for the area failed to fully materialize, as the storm system shifted east, reserving its highest snowfalls for elsewhere in the Northeast. On Jan 26 there was strong snowfall here throughout the day, but only a light accumulation of maybe 3 inches. Visibility was poor, and birding was too. I only managed to (barely) find 20 species in the yard, and it took all day of feeder watching and a bit of scoping during a break in the snow to get some distant gulls (eBird checklist here).
On the 27th, the heavy snowfall forecast for overnight did not materialize at all and we woke up to just a little more snow and pleasant overcast skies. A couple hours of watching the feeders and scoping a bit to the north easily netted 23 species (eBird checklist here). Best bird was #45 for the year–an American Tree Sparrow (Code 3) that I saw through the window as it approached the feeders. Unfortunately in the time it took me to turn around and grab the camera, the bird flew off and I wasn’t able to relocate it outside during the morning.
