Loch Ness Monster?
Loch Ness Monster? Ut oh, it’s surfacing, and it’s looking directly at me! Or maybe not…but close enough in look and unfortunately somewhat in status. Horned Grebes (Podiceps auritus) are listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species as “Vulnerable”. We often do not get to enjoy them close-up like these views I was afforded last week. While their wintering plumage is meant to camouflage them in the water, their piercing red eyes are a bright beacon on even the dullest of late winter days. Keep an eye out...
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...
Read MoreGizzard Shad feast
It has been very quiet for passerines in most of our (albeit limited) collective time outside, and the big movements and numbers continue to be seen in the waterbirds, especially on Lake Erie. Take a look at these fantastic Bonaparte’s Gull photos Twan took while at Barcelona Harbor as they dove for their meals with easily over 2,000 individuals present. Can you see the prey? All of the photos have some birds feasting on fish but that last photo has a bird with multiple in its bill. Ducks like this Bufflehead and Horned Grebe, respectively, seem to be diving for them as well. They may...
Read MoreHorned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) by Scott Kruitbosch
This Horned Grebe in its striking black and white winter plumage was seen with many dozens more in Barcelona Harbor in Westfield, New York in mid-November, 2013. You can find them in good numbers on Lake Erie in migration and winter when the water is unfrozen.
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