Greater Yellowlegs and continuing Connecticut surveys
Are you a Connecticut birder? Do you use eBird? Are you passing through Roger Tory Peterson’s former home in the Nutmeg state at some point and planning on enjoying some of the fine coastal waterbirds it features? Please remember to share your eBird checklists with us via the share function at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com and your contribution to the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds will be readily accepted and heartily appreciated! Nesting season may have ended months ago and will not start for several more but we have a great mix of wintering long-legged waders and shorebirds, like...
Read MoreOverwintering Great Egrets
Would you believe that I took this photo of a Great Egret (Ardea alba) in Connecticut only last week? It is exceptionally true and resident birders in New England can attest to the fact that we now have them as an overwintering species! Climate change is starting to allow us to keep more long-legged waders and shorebirds, such as the American Oystercatcher, year-round in parts of Long Island Sound and the New England Atlantic coastline. Why bother leaving when you can make it through the entire season? Migration is the most perilous part of the life of a bird and while a colder than usual or...
Read MoreSnowy Egrets feeding under the clouds
I took these photos earlier in the week while conducting surveys in coastal Connecticut for our work in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds. It was a warm and cloudy day with calm but soon to be increasing winds ahead of a cold front. The southerly flow made for a quieter morning in terms of passerine migrants but these feeding Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) kept me busy. The Snowy Egret is listed as “threatened” under the Connecticut Endangered Species Act. While we as a society no longer hunt birds like these beautiful long-legged waders to adorn our clothing with their...
Read MoreAutumn in the sky
Here’s one view of Long Island Sound last night as vivid autumn colors took over the sky. The Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds had a wonderfully successful season and on Wednesday we put out some additional numbers and information in the AAfCW blog: http://ctwaterbirds.blogspot.com/2014/09/preliminary-aafcw-2014-stats.html
Read MoreGreat Egret – happy autumn eve!
Happy autumn eve! This Great Egret should probably get a move on soon. With that said more and more long-legged waders, shorebirds and various passerine species are attempting to overwinter further north each year. Last winter was the exception to the continually changing climate. Anyone who tells you with certainty what these upcoming seasons will bring is assuredly fibbing, but right now for us in the northeast it seems to be a continuation of historically average conditions.
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