Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch in PA! ~ February 8, 2018

Just after midnight on Thursday, Stephen Kloiber and I drove the five hours west to Meadville where we met up with Shawn Collins and several other birders. He led us to a gated community where we parked and entered the home of a very nice couple who was gracious enough to allow us to view their backyard from their living room.
We barely got situated when the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch was spotted in a tree in the backyard and then dropped down to the ground to grab a few seeds. I was pleasantly surprised how well my photos came out when considering that they were taken through their living room window in the early morning light.

If accepted, this bird of the 'interior' race would represent the 1st record for Pennsylvania and one of what I believe is only a handful of records east of the Mississippi River.
We completed the 700-mile round trip with smiles on our faces. It was a new state bird for me and a life bird for Stephen. Thanks goes to the unnamed couple (their wishes) for their excellent hospitality. We gave them a bag of bird seed as a small token of appreciation for this extremely rare opportunity.
More photos of the bird can be found in my Pennsylvania Notables Album.

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