text: Yesterday, I had a very unexpected sighting of an American White Pelican as it was flying over the city of Buffalo. I had just finished walking through Times Beach Nature Preserve when I saw some raptors kettling over the Erie Basin Marina. As I was looking them over with my binoculars, I had a huge, white bird fly through my field of vision! It had black on its primaries and secondaries (sections of its wings) and a massive bill. Wow! It was an American White Pelican! This species hails from the mid-west and you just don't see one every day around Buffalo, New York!
  Then today, I was very glad I stopped by the hawkwatch to learn whatever I could from the legendary Alec Humann, today's official counter. We were later joined by Kevin, who came on his lunch. All of a sudden, Alec began yelling for the two of us to get on a raptor that was coming our way. "Swainson's Hawk!!! Swainson's Hawk" he started shouting. "Photos! Get photos!" I quickly jumped into gear and tried to get a focus on the bird with my camera. I think I was a bit in shock and precious seconds were passing before I eventually got some distant shots. Ugh! I'm still kicking myself about not getting a focus sooner. BUT - this light morph Swainson's Hawk is photo-documented and, as it turned out, it was a brand new bird for the entire county of Erie. This species is from much further west and doesn't wander all that often - another big WOW a second day in a row!
  The month of April can sure bring unexpected sightings and it's a month I'm becoming particularly fond of.