My children and I had a Short-eared Owl visit the tree in our front yard which has all the bird feeders on it. The sighting occured on February 21st at around noon time in the town of Greenwich (Easton) New York. It was very exciting so we have pictures and video footage!

For the past week we have had a Pileated Woodpecker in our pear tree.He is a large beautiful bird.I have tried to take pictures of him, but the minute I open our backdoor he takes off. I was amazed when he flew off how large his wing span was.We live in Ghent ,NY, which is about 30 miles south of Albany. I don't know if this is the same one that was in my mother-in-laws back yard(about a 1/2 mile away)last year. She had a pair of them. It is a very loud bird, when it is making the holes in the tree looking for insects.

My husband and I saw several male blue jays in our neighbor's yard and suddenly realized there was a solid white one in with the group ~ shape and size exactly of the blue male jays. They were all together in a group and clearly belonged together. We couldn't believe our eyes! We live in Greensboro, NC where we have had unseasonably warm temps and lots of rain lately. Today is January 7, 2007.

While eating breakfast this morning, I spotted a peregrine falcon that had taken down a bird, The falcon then flew into our tree and proceeded to feast. Location: near Lousiana and Constitution NE in Albuquerque

Nesting in Tree top outside my house in Atherton

This is my first time contributing to the site. I normally conduct field surveys for wildlife in New Mexico for a consulting firm. We document occurence of a variety of species, and on this particular outing confirmed one adult Harris' hawk approximately 5 miles southwest of the Village of Tularosa. It is the first one that I have personally seen in this area, although it has been recorded in Otero County in the past. I thought it might be rare enough to share with your site. Observation lasted about 5 minutes as it slowly soared overhead and then flew off out of sight.

In an interesting twist of fate, the second recorded king eider (the first was in 1894!) in Alberta was found dead. It may have fallen victim to a bald eagle.

A gray kingbird continues to be seen in Indiana. This is a first state record.

Pictures are available.

Keep an eye on the Rare bird alert map for more great rare bird sightings!

CBS News is carrying a story of a black-tailed gull being found on Lake Champlain in Vermont. Apparently, Julie Hart went to the beach trying to get cell phone coverage and noticed an unusual dark gull. After consulting some birding friends and field guides, they made the identification which is now drawing birders from surrounding states and provinces.

Photos are available

The latest rare bird alert from the Victoria Natural History Society notes that a Northern Wheatear continues to be seen at ‘Columbia Beach/French Creek area north of Parksville.’ Check out the rare bird alert map for other interesting bird sightings!