Snowy Away
This is about the best photo of a Snowy Owl that I could get in the last couple of weeks. They have been elusive, to say the least, even when nearby. Most of that time I have encountered the far more wary individual – one of two hanging out for the winter in the Stratford Point area – and it has been certainly as jumpy as ever lately. On Tuesday it was chased off by crows before anyone noticed it hunkered down in the grasslands. The shot here is the result of it flying off last week before I could even raise my camera between the door and body of my Jeep from hundreds of feet...
Read MoreSnowy Owl
Welcome to winter! It took a while, but we are really feeling it now, with more to come this January as we look at long-range weather models. Here are a few more upland photos of the Snowy Owl that I enjoyed last Friday on a much warmer day without any snow. As we get deeper into the season we will inevitably see a few more winter birds…additional Rough-legged Hawks? Perhaps finally some of those record-setting Common Redpolls that were pouring south in Canada during autumn? It seems to be a down season for irruptive passerines, but I have to think we will at least have more backyard...
Read MoreWhere Are They?!
We have now entered December, and though we lack the truly cold air that the month and the beginning of meteorological winter can sometimes bring, we are cooling down and birds are still moving south. Regular arrivals spanning the spectrum from the American Tree Sparrows of our backyards to the Tundra Swans of Chautauqua Lake are joining us now. Where are we with the irruptive avian species so far this season across the Northeast and Midwest? I went through eBird maps this morning to find that out, and let’s start with the big name… The Snowy Owls started their annual southbound...
Read MoreAmerican Goldfinch
This American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) is still molting into its wintering look while enjoying the pine cones on this black pine tree. Though not native, black pines are a huge fall magnet for birds, and this one tree alone also had Black-capped Chickadee, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and White-throated Sparrow in it. Will we be seeing conifers filled with White-winged and Red Crossbills soon? Or at least more Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls in the area? Perhaps so judging by how many American Goldfinch seem to have moved recently, and the reports of other finches to our north.
Read MoreChange in Seasons Brings Plenty of Birds
Winter Bird Forecast #7 is brought to you by Audubon Connecticut in partnership with the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. It is hard to believe that for some birds spring is already here. Waterfowl and diving birds like loons and grebes are already heading north and we are starting to get some northbound migrant shorebirds, including a Black-bellied Plover seen in Stratford last week. Brant geese are piling into Long Island Sound with rapidly increasing numbers. Within a few short weeks some of our nesting shorebirds, such as Piping Plover and American Oystercatcher, will be...
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