I know a lot of the top birders get Merlins at the Celery Farm, but it's been almost two years since I've seen one.

I saw this immature female (?) on the perimeter of the Celery Farm by Laino Woods on a gray afternoon.

I did not have my good camera, so I walked 1.2 miles home, got my 400mm lens and drove back.

As you can see,  the Merlin was still there. Also had a Sharpie (Green Way field) and two Winter Wrens (south of the Butterfly Garden, sputtering loudly...)

Twelve Wild Turkeys were loitering by Barking Dog Corner yesterday.  And this morning.

The Toms were strutting like Mummers on New Year's morning, without the golden slippers. (A Philly reference, for the uninitiated.)

I took this shot from the Boy Scout Platform this cold morning as a reminder that when you're not looking for Virginia Rails, the view ain't too shabby.

A little while back, I wrote about seeing a Virginia Rail by the No-name Culvert.

Since then, several birders have said they have seen two more rails -- by the Boy Scout Platform at the north end of the lake.

Patty and I are visiting our friends, Stiles and Lillian Thomas.

When I told them about the sightings, Lillian cautioned:

"Look out for the third rail."

Always good advice.

Above is a pic taken from the B.S. platform. The little (and hard to see) waterway is where you can see rails if you are very patient.

(Stiles and Lillian send their best.)

Below, one of Alice Leurck's pix of the elusive rails. (Thanks, Alice!)

Where did all the Celery Farm Mukrats go?

I haven't seen any of them -- or their lodges -- in a long time.

Eleven years ago, I counted 10 Muskrat huts on the lake, as I noted here.