Expect the Unexpected
Winter Birding Forecast #2 is brought to you by Audubon Connecticut in partnership with the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. The relatively mild December is making for great birding opportunities as we close out 2014. So called “half-hardy” birds such as Gray Catbird, Pine Warbler and Common Yellowthroat are putting in appearances on Christmas Bird Count (CBC) checklists and birds like Hermit Thrush, Winter Wren and Eastern Bluebird are being found in good numbers as are Yellow-rumped Warblers at some coastal locations. One of the biggest surprises of the week was the...
Read MoreNorthern Gannet (Morus bassanus) record shot between gulls
Normally I crop the photos that I take and show to everyone here on RTPI’s website and social media, but in this case I liked the framing of the raw photograph. Can you see that dot in the middle? Even if this record shot were cropped you would not be able to see much more of the Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) flying out over Long Island Sound from last weekend’s Christmas Bird Count in Stratford, Connecticut. These Ring-billed Gulls happened to be in flight all around me as the rare but increasingly recorded bird passed by offshore. It was one of two Gannets we saw while...
Read MoreSnowy Egret in December
I photographed this Snowy Egret last weekend in Stratford, Connecticut, as part of a Christmas Bird Count. It is one of only several recorded anywhere in the state in the last few decades during a CBC period. Climate change certainly has helped many new species pop up on these late autumn/early winter December days when they would normally be long gone to our south. I cannot blame the climate fully when accounting for this long-legged wader because while it appears to be perched at the edge of a coastal river or stream any waterbird would love, the water here is actually the outflow from a...
Read MoreAmerican Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea)
Here is an American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) that I photographed during my hometown Christmas Bird Count in Stratford, Connecticut yesterday, part of a flock of perhaps 15 individuals that were staying mostly out of sight. I made sure to take the photo because it was feeding on Common Reed (Phragmites australis), one of the most notorious non-native invasive plants in North America. American Tree Sparrows are well-known as seed eaters and can often be found at the top of weeds and grasses, but I do not personally remember seeing them feeding on the “phrag” before. I wonder...
Read MoreCommon Goldeneye X Hooded Merganser Hybrid Duck
Our good friend, birder and veterinarian, Dr. William Seleen found a remarkable and fascinating bird during our local Jamestown, New York Christmas Bird Count on December 14. Take a look at the photo below and see if you can find the duck that is out of place in this group on Chautauqua Lake. Yep, the bird in the middle at the back is the one. Do you know the identity of the other waterfowl? Those are Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) and this flock held approximately 75 individuals. Once I saw the photo of this individual I was able to identify it almost instantly. Any more thoughts on...
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