Heating up and cooling down

The fact is clear, it is hot. The birds are not. I've spent more time trying to stay cool in the last few weeks than in spent out and about. I did make a stop at the Birdseye Boat Launch in Stratford, CT a couple of weeks ago, a few days after the tornado touched down in Bridgeport. Everything was calm and beautiful when I went to enjoy a few minutes in the sun reading a book. I had my binoculars and camera in tow as well and managed to catch a few images and birds bewteen chapters.

Scenic views, no twisters in sight.

The birds were few and far between with most of the species I saw shown in photos below. The few that were not caught in pixels, were the Herring Gulls hanging out in the parking lot, Mallards in the water treatment plant outflow area, and a Night Heron that flew by too far away to ID.

This male Red-wing Blackbird was feeding in the reeds.

An Osprey pretty far away.


Female House Sparrow looking for hand outs.

Double-crested Cormorant flying by.

One stop on campus of note was a casualty in the middle of the road. In my last post I had a picture of one of our fledgling Northern Flickers hopping around in a white pine. This one, possibly a nest mate, didn't have such a good time. It's amazing how oblivious people are. This little bird was run over in a 15 mph zone although no one follows that.

Northern Flicker fledling in the drive

On a more positive note, while setting up a volleyball net at work, I caught site of a fledgling robin on the ground. I scooped him up and did a quick examination. The birds seemed to have been sick, possibly poisoned, and I brought it to the Ansonia Nature Center in hopes they could rehabilitate it. I'll have to give them a call and see how it fared. Luckily, I found the bird before it could starve to death and before the heat was really upon us.

My new bird at home in the yard was a Carolina Wren that showed up for a few days to sing perched on the weather vane on a neighbors garage. He may still be around, although with the AC on, I haven't been able to hear anything. The House Wren and American Robins have all quieted down and Baltimore Orioles have flown through in the evening singing and feeding in a neighbors tree.

I'm taking the camera into work tomorrow and will hopefully have less distractions and less blaring heat. Keep tuned.