A common, urban pigeon – that was the first bird I saw in 2013. Not an exciting start to a new year. The rest of the year can only get better. And, In fact, even the rest of New Year’s Day was much better.
My 4th Annual New Year’s Day BirdWalk to Greenwich Point turned up some good birds and 2 unexpected mammals – Harbor Seals and Polar Bears. 
17 hardy souls arose early on New Years to start the new year with a pleasant walk in a lovely natural setting. The highlight of the walk was a good view of, not one, but two Great-horned Owls, often side by side. January is the start of their nesting season and these two seemed to be bonding very well. See photo taken by Orlando.
Long Tailed Ducks were another popular sighting.
Enter Picture
Our group total was to 40 species. No one saw all of them, but most people saw the majority of them. A good start to the new year. Below is a list of species seen.
Waterfowl
Common Loon, Red-throated Loon, Double-crested Cormorant, Canada Goose, Brandt, Black Duck, Mallard, Long-tailed Duck, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Bufflehead, Horned Grebe
Shorebirds
Great Egret, Black-bellied Plover, Ruddy Turnstone
Gulls
Herring Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull
Birds of Prey
Great Horned Owl, Coopers Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk
Backyard Birds
Cardinal, Chickadee, Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Startling, House Finch, Mourning Dove
Sparrows
House Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Am. Tree Sparrow, Junco
Woodpecker s
Downy, Hairy and Red-bellied and White-breasted Nuthatch
Others
Brown Creeper, Mockingbird (heard),
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