A blustery cold January day - the only remedy is to forget about the cold and wind and go birding, and then come home and mess around with birds some more! This morning we tried to see a western vagrant, dipped on that bird but it got me thinking about other western birds and I remembered that we had seen the Steller's Jay in April 2024 on Mount Lemmon near Tucson Arizona. Hooray! another jay!!

Steller's Jay, Cyanocitta stelleri, Mt. Lemmon, Arizona

The other bird we sought out today (successfully) is Jorge's bird of the day - a Red-headed Woodpecker. This species is occasionally found in Connecticut, but is not at all common. This individual appears to be a territorial male - the female looks identical, but probably wouldn't be seen chasing other woodpeckers away. We'll keep an eye on this guy and see if he sticks around!

Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, East Haddam, Connecticut