Fall FALL Migration!

I LOVE fall migration and this year is a great one.  This week at work we've had our second all time high for bird species on campus.  That's beating out three spring migration seasons, pretty impressive.  So why is fall migration my favorite (recently decided)?  The weather is nice, the birds are plentiful, and the species hint at how busy feeders will be in a few months.  One of the best parts is how tricky the birds are, leaves on trees obscure views, species are in nonbreeding plummage and those tricky sparrows that have been gone for months suddenly arrive and id's need refreshing.

Clay-colored Sparrow

 

Anyway, recently I've been hawk watching and enjoying the sparrows as they file back into the weedy grassy sections of lawns.  Rather than talk about species and birding adventures, here's a few photos.  As for how my competition is going... I'm not sure.  I'm doing ok but I don't know how the Oregon list is going. 

Northern Harrier- (young bird)

Palm Warbler- Yellow (Eastern)

Palm Warbler- Brown (Western)

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Could it be a Lincoln's Sparrow??

Nope, It's a Swamp Sparrow

Black Scoter (female) *LIFE BIRD*

 

A Little Off Course

Emails came over the listservs all day of an American Avocet in Stratford, CT near the Birdseye Boat Ramp.  In need of some species for my state challenge and in need of some gym time, I did a quick workout after work and with plenty of light left, I made my way to the boat ramp.  The last email came in at 5:50pm that the bird was still sitting on a jetty near the boat ramp. 

Tough looking into the sun but the Avocet is way in the back.

Yup, a DIGIBINNED CELL PHONE picture.

I managed to find the bird right away, sitting on the jetty just as stated.  An Avocet had been first sighted on Monday, I'm guessing this is the same bird.  No surprise it was far out, easy to quickly pick up with binoculars, not so great to photograph with a cell phone.  American Avocets breed throughout much of the west and can be found year round on the West Coast.  They winter in Florida and according to The Sibley guide can be found up through North Carolina during migration.  This one got a little off track. 

'record shot'- zoom from the cell phone.

3 More for the List

Scaup in New Haven Harbor

Spring crawls closer every day but the temperatures this past Sunday seemed the same as a month ago.  Probably because they were.  I took a few hours mid-day to try to add a couple of species to my year list.  My totals are crawling slowly and steadily upward.  My first stop was at East Shore park in New Haven, rumors of warblers and swallows enticed me.  Maybe it was a little too cool or late for much activity but I didn't get any of my target species.  I did manage to find a cute little Golden-crowned Kinglet, my first of the year.

Greater White-fronted Goose

I was about to head home but feeling the pull of the chase I headed up to Wallingford, in search of the Greater White-fronted Goose that has been seen the past few weeks.  I went to North Farms Reservoir and glanced over the geese scattered around the pond with no success.  After enjoying nice views of the American Coot and the companionship of a nice couple out birding, a gaggle of around 200 Canada Geese flew in.  Searching through the pack, I finally spotted the Greater White-fronted Goose on the far side of the water.  Not a great picture but enough to ID the species.  Looking back through emails later, I found that the bird was located earlier in the day in another pond in Wallingford. 

Sanderling and Dunlin

Headaing back to Stratford I stopped at Long Beach to see if I could pick up Common Goldeneye, one of the winter ducks that I haven't been able to find.  Once again the species evaded me but I did manage to find my first Dunlin of the season.  These shorebirds were mingling with Sanderling as they very frequently do.  A nice three species added for the day.  With any luck, I'll be able to pick a couple more up this weekend. 

Slow Going

Hairy Woodpecker- male

It's not that I hate the cold...  I just don't like it.  Instead of hitting all those great little spots that I see posted about or finding some of the rarities, like the Harris's Sparrow that have been seen in Connecticut, I've been hiding out inside in the warm.  I haven't even been taking the normal quick walks around work, instead I've been hiding in the gym working out. 

Hairy Woodpecker- showing off

With the snow yesterday, I headed out this morning to clean off the sidewalks.  After a few eerily quiet minutes a Hairy Woodpecker called and called and called.... finally after about 15 minutes it worked it's way over to the suet to feed for a few minutes.  A neighbor suddenly came outside spooking the Hairy back up into the tree.  Where it called, and called, and called some more.  Then, it flew off making a noise I had never heard before.



Then, I heard a a Hairy Woodpecker call in the same tree the other one had flown out out of.  Sure enough another woodpecker was up in the tree.  It was a male and the other one had been a female.  Pretty exciting that in my practically urban neighborhood is a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers.  Anyway, it was a first of the year for me.  My CT total is only up to about 55 species.  I guess I need to get outside next weekend!

Showing off his red.

A CT Big Year

Ring-billed Gull- Birdseye Boat Ramp, Stratford

For a little extra birding motivation, I challenged a friend to see who could get the most species of bird in a year of birding in the state.  My state, Connecticut and her state...  Oregon!  Looking over the last three years of eBird records, Oregon has consistently had about 50 more species recorded than Connecticut.  So, She has the advantage.  I'm not too worried though because within a couple of hours I can chase down almost any bird in my state.  (If I actually do it).  Making it across Oregon to chase a bird takes a little more effort and planning.

Canada Goose- Wooster Park, Stratford (partially leucistic)

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- Brewster Pond, Stratford

So, after a week of only incidental birding, I got out this weekend and found some birds!  Saturday I spent a few hours hitting up some town spots.  Today I went out and chased some rarities. The first bird I targeted was the Yellow-throated Warbler seen in Madison, CT that has been visiting a feeder since October.  The bird was there when I got out of the car and I got my bins on it.  About 30 minutes later it came back grabbed some  suet and headed off again.

Canvasback- Frash Pond, Stratford (verification picture)

Sanderling- Long Beach, Stratford

I also made the haul up to the Enfield/ Somers area to chase the Pink-footed Goose.  This species usually spends its' winters in northern Europe.  Apparently, at least one goose got turned around and headed here instead.  I finally saw it after spending 2 hours driving around 3 towns.  Thanks to yet another very nice birder, I looked through his scope and saw a very distant view.  I'd like to thank the Canada Goose for moving out of the way right before the Pink-footed Goose wandered behind the reeds.  No photo but maybe here's a link to someone elses blog who saw it earlier in the week.  Yay Life Bird!!!

Yellow-throated Warbler- Madison

OOOOhhhh yeah, In case you were wondering...  I'm up to about 53 species.

Birds and Vegetables

After reading a post on the CT bird listserv I headed over to the Stratford Community Garden to look for a bird that I had never seen before.  A Dickcissel is a House Sparrow-sized bird that breeds throughout the Midwest and winters in Central America.  Every now and then a few birds get turned around and head east instead.  A local Stratford birder had reported two at the community garden and I was lucky enough to find one!  A life bird!

Dickcissel

Another great bird that was stopping by the garden was two Bobolinks.  Bobolinks are normal migrants through our area but they aren't as often seen as heard.  That's why I was excited to see these two.

Bobolink

Bobolink- notice the sharp tail feathers

One last little surprise was a Marsh Wren who was pretty elusive.  I heard a few short chip call notes and saw it hop up and down on some fencing but it never really came out into good view.  This was the best shot I got.... pretty sad.

Marsh Wren

I had another great day today in the birding world.  I joined the Sunrise Birding group led by Luke Tiller on a warbler walk and we were successful!  The best part of this trip was the first fifteen minutes when we found a little group of warblers, two of which were life birds for me!  Both a Prairie Warbler and a Blackpoll Warbler were part of the group!  Not that they are unusual or even uncommon warblers, it just shows how much time I haven't put in to birding during migration.  No pictures this time but I'm sure now that I have seen them, they will show up everywhere.  Case in point, first great looks at a Wilson's Warbler (not a super common bird) was this week at work, my first CT sighting in fact and today we had two Wilson's Warblers in full view on our walk.  Oh Birds!

A Slow Drive Home

I admit it.... I've been cheating on my blog, not like writing down fake birds, but like.... writing other blogs.  The past 2 plus years I've been focusing my outdoor time looking and learning to identify those feathered dinosaurs of today.  With the quiet birdy days of summer upon us my interest have broadened and I've started a more general nature blog HERE.  That's not to say I haven't been birding, every day I've been scouring the campus at work, and co-authoring the West Campus blog.  All of this has lead to me ignoring my birding blog having nothing left to blog about. 

Monk Parakeet nest

So, today I decided to take the long way home and stop by the garden in Stratford where there are quite a few good bird species.  In the spring I heard many warblers migrating through and all throughout the summer Song Sparrows and Baltimore Orioles have been making their presence known.  Another loud call that can be heard every time is that of the Monk Parakeet who have two nests in a large white pine tree in the middle of the parking lot. 



Monk Parakeet close-up



I personally am not a fan of these birds or any plant or animal that has been brought into the state by humans whether on purpose or by accident.  I wont however, go into that because there are so many differing opinions on such matters and my goal of the blog is to encourage people to read it and go out bird watching.  Needless to say these birds seem to be here to stay and one can only hope that there wont be repercussions.  The two nests in this tree seem to be supporting a smallish colony, I can only guess of about 10 birds. 

Painted Turtle

I also made a quick stop at Wooster Park Pond on my way and couldn't believe how low the water has gotten.  The water was filled with Lochness monster-sized carp and snapping turtles but no ducks.  Many American Goldfinch flew around the pond, a few even landing on the 'island' at the northside of the pond.  One sandpiper made a brief showing as it flew across the pond before disappearing up stream.  I'd guess it was a Solitary Sandpiper although, I'm no good at those shorebird things.  :-)

New Yard Bird

In the birding world of lists, one that can bring the most enjoyment to almost all is the yard list.  One simple reason is that there are no 'standards' for what you can count.  If you want to add it to your yard list when it was in your neighbors yard, go ahead.  If you want to restrict it to anything that only lands in one of your trees or on your yard and not include flyovers.... go ahead.  I count anything on my yard list as anything that I can hear or see from my yard.  Some people might find that a little broad but when your lot is measured in square feet and not acres, I think some leeway is allowed.

Today, I had a new yard bird and it's a good one.  I was on my way to put the trash out and for the first time in awhile a Downy Woodpecker was on the suet.  I stopped in my tracks so it could eat in piece for a few minutes.  While I was standing there a flash of red in the trees caught my attention and I lamented having to wait even longer to move because I thought a Northern Cardinal was coming into the feeder.  I kept my eyes on the trees though, as the flask of red seemed overly bright.  A couple of seconds later a Scarlet Tanager moved into view.  A great neotrpical migrant to add to my yard list.  I still haven't replaced my zoom lens so I only got a few bad pictures.  Here's one super zoomed. 

Scarlet Tanager

I tossed some oranges in a feeder out back but I doubt the Scarlet Tanager will come for a snack.  There have also been Baltimore Orioles in the neighborhood in the past and they like fruit as well!  Here's a link for more information on the Scarlet Tanager.

Also, I have a pair of American Robins nesting on my deck.  It's a bit of a pain since they spook every time I go out onto the deck and grill.  Here's a phone picture looking down into the nest once the birds had taken off.

American Robon Eggs

FOY's

This time of year the birdlists and websites that report bird sightings are splashed with the title FOY.  "First Of the Year" sightings are just as it states, a birders first sighting of a species for the calendar year.  With spring finally arriving, not just according to the calendar but in feel this entire weekend more birds have migrated into the area.  I got out of the house this afternoon and did a tour of the coast in town to go find my own FOY's.

Feeling fairly unmotivated I made quick stops at Frash Pond and Short Beach without having much luck.  I then decided to do a driveby of the Seawall and met a well-known birder in Connecticut.  The Seawall had a small group of gulls, including Bonapartes Gulls but a larger group moved in down the road and we went down to examine them closer, although we still were not able to find any of the less common gulls (Little Gull or Black-headed Gull).  I did however get an FOY Northern Gannet that was flying above a large group of Scaup out beyond the gulls.

My companions mentioned a pond and a sighting from a couple days before of a Blue-winged Teal.  So, after making a couple other unsuccessful stops, I went to go find the pond.  I once again met up with my new friends and we managed to find two FOY's for all of us.  the Blue-winged Teal drake was nestled into the reeds taking a nap and a Snowy Egret was working the back side of the pond.  I also found a FOY Osprey flying by the airport, only to a second fly about 50 feet over my house later on.

I'm glad I took the opportunity to not only enjoy the weather but also the birds.  Always nice to meet some local birders who are as friendly and open as I did today.

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.

Why Have I Not Been Birding?

Locks at the Cheshire Canal

As birders will talk, there has been an influx of migrants in the pst week and I have not taken the time to find the returning birds. My CT list this year is pathetically low, especially considering I started out with 70 species in January. This blog title may be a little misleading though because I have in fact been out. It's just that the majority of my efforts have been restricted to an hour lunchtime walk on the property at work. It seems that the other things in life have been getting in the way. It is still interesting though how even without "birding", I have had some rewarding bird things happen.


Painted Turtles

One bird event was while watching a Downy Woodpecker, from my deck, drumming away on the neighbors tree something large caught my eye. Changing focus, I watched a female Wild Turkey fly up to a tree top a couple yards away. Granted turkey are pretty common in the general area, my neighborhood is devoid of any woods, most lots being less than a 1/4 of an acre. She was clearly lost but after taking a glance around for a few minutes she seemed to have found a new direction and away she went.

I took a walk with some friends on the canal trail in Cheshire. The bird life was pretty ordinary. The Red-winged Blackbirds were singing and Common Grackle were flying overhead. A few Mallards were running around (litterally) and this one pair seemed to have decided the side of the path was a good place to nest. At least that's my assumption because the female refused move whenever anyone even came near them.


Mallard pair

On Easter I went to visit some friends in Orange. Lots of common birds singing and flying around. A great view of a Tufted Titmouse singing from an open perch was a nice compliment to the Sharp-shinned Hawk hunting in the neighbors yard.


Black-capped Chickadee snacking on a seed


Little Art-esque picture

I'll be in northern Vermont in a week for a long weekend. Time to make a list of the birds I want to see!

Sunday Birding and the cycle of life

Today I had a couple of interesting finds but before getting into those, here is the path I chose to travel today and the birds I found along the way. (I know it rhymes). I decided to make what is becoming my regular birding sweep of Stratford. Although I lived in West Haven for 9 years a mere 15 minutes from the shore, I never went to go just enjoy the shore. Now having lived in Stratford for only 4+ months, I've spent more time at Long Beach than I ever did in West Haven.

Starting the day I made a quick stop at Wooster Park and Pond, a small local park behind a middle school that I heard of through the Connecticut birding listserv. The pond has a large group of Mallard Ducks and Black Ducks that seem to be happily situated until the waters begin to feeze. There was also a group of Canada Geese that came in. I don't know if it's the way the geese look in the water as opposed to being on dry land but many individuals in this group seem to have fairly short necks and smaller in stature as opposed to others. It's definitely something I'd like to get a more experienced birders opinion on. Also, There was just one pair of Gadwall feeding at the other end of the pond from where I was observing.

Then I made a stop at Short Beach. Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Black-backed Gulls, and one Laughing Gull were all hanging out at the beach. A few House Finch were mixed in with House Sparrow feeding in the tall grasses at low tide. One cormorant was feeding in close to shore (I still need to work on the ID's of Great and Double-crested). The other birds of note were 3 White-winged Scoters between Short Beach and Startford Point area.

Finally, I made it over to Long Beach where things got a little interesting. First, here are the birds I saw: Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Black-backed Gull, Great Blue Heron (2), Great Egret, Cormorant (I think Double-crested), House Finch, Savannah Sparrow, Sandpiper sp., Common Loon, Black Ducks (up in the marsh), and three Brant. Here come the interesting finds.


This is a Diamondback Terrapin I found on the marsh side of the beach. I don't know how she (based on size) met her demise but one of the hind feet appear to be missing. Terrapin are our only turtle that lives in brackish water.


And this appears to be a Northern Gannet. I was already carrying around a dead turtle and people were giving me weird looks so I didn't want to flip it over and take any more pictures. They aren't the greatest shots because they were with my cell phone. This wasn't exactly how I wanted to have my first sighting.


If I made a mistake, please leave a comment and let me know!

Walk to Wooster Pond

I took a nice little walk over to Wooster Pond in Stratford today. It was about 1 mile both directions. Wooster pond is a nice little pond behind a middle school. There is easy visibility of the open water in a nice little park-like setting. Diversity on the walk there and back wasn't exceptional but numbers were good with some nice views. Edge habitat along the streets: White-throated sparrow, Downy Woodpecker, House Sparrow, House Finch, and Euro Starlings. Around the pond was a large number of ducks. Gadwall (6), Black Ducks, Mallards, Canada Geese (one was pretty small...), and a mallard/black duck hybrid.

A quick note: I stopped by Southern CT State University this morning and there was a group of 80 Canada Geese on the baseball field with a completely white goose in the middle. I had no binoculars but I'd hazard a guess it was a Snow Goose. When I walked by again an hour later the entire gaggle was gone.