For the first time in several years we have Pine Siskins at the bird feeder this winter. They arrive as a flock and dominate the feeder. They keep the goldfinches and chickadees at bay until they leave and have eaten most of the sunflower seeds. So far this winter we have not had any unusual visitors.
Right before Christmas we were on our way to the grocery store in Rockland and drove past Chickawaukie Pond. Being close to the coast it is one of the last ponds in the area to get a winter coat of ice. This morning it was partly skimmed with ice with several open holes along route 17. The other unusual thing about Chickie is that for some reason a flock of American coots gathers there in the late fall each year. Coots are not unusual in most of the country but that is the only place I have ever seen them in our area.
I have been reading The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb for the last week or so. It is an interesting idea given the recent economic turmoil. For a description of the idea visit this link in Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory
