When: End April 2022 Weather: Cold 1-15C

As we come to terms with COVID being endemic, we started travelling again…first major trip overseas to a meeting in Washington DC followed by a few days birding in the Catskills, 2 hours north of New York. We were lucky to be able to stay at a relative’s house amongst the forested slopes of the Catskills….a darn sight more pleasant than staying in New York City itself!

The weather was unseasonably cold with early birding morning temperatures hovering around zero celsius and only warming up in the afternoon to the teens. The birds obviously also felt the cold and were not that plentiful….the omens were good though as we approached the Catskills on route 28 ..saw my first ever Bald Eagle perched near the highway…unfortunately we couldn’t stop to take a picture.

The first morning, I woke up to the intermittent tock-tock-tock of a distant woodpecker who absolutely refused to be sighted…. I had to settle for several busy birds flitting around the bushes outside the front door….