Snowy Owl Season
Welcome back to Snowy Owl season! I took these photographs of a very calm and sleepy Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) today at Silver Sands State Park in Milford, Connecticut. One had been reported about a week ago in the area, though it was not seen again until the last couple of days. I was able to go over and briefly enjoy this bird sitting on a rock jetty along Long Island Sound with a few other birders. It was in the perfect place to be seen and not disturbed, and unknowing folks taking a walk or jogging were mostly on the nearby boardwalk and far enough away from the owl so that it did not...
Read MorePiping Plovers Increasing
We have a lot of tiny Piping Plover hatchlings popping out on beaches across Connecticut right now, but we even have additional pairs and adult birds showing up on territories. These birds may have lost their nest somewhere else, or even a mate, and are searching for new prime real estate and other individuals who have not paired off. Sean took this photo of Milford Point’s eighth (!) pair of Piping Plovers! The entire coast of the town of Milford is one of the best Piping Plover areas in the state, and the birds certainly want to nest there, though there are only so many...
Read MoreAmerican Oystercatchers in Flight
That is one chatty American Oystercatcher! I wonder if the other two had nothing to say or didn’t even bother talking to me, knowing they wouldn’t be heard over their friend…our work in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds continues seven days a week. We had the first American Oystercatcher chicks of 2015 hatch at Milford Point this week! Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreChristmas Bird Counts
It is hard to believe that Christmas Bird Counts (CBC) are only a few weeks away! For those of you that may not know what a CBC is our friends at the National Audubon Society, who coordinate the efforts, explain: From December 14 through January 5 tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas take part in an adventure that has become a family tradition among generations. Families and students, birders and scientists, armed with binoculars, bird guides and checklists go out on an annual mission – often before dawn. For over one hundred years, the desire to both make a...
Read MoreHurricane/Tropical Storm Irene Sooty Terns
Three years ago tonight we in Connecticut and the tri-state area were recovering from the shock of being hammered by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene. She made landfall early on the 28th and I filmed these very rare Sooty Terns (Onychoprion fuscatus) she carried up from the topics as they made their way back down the Housatonic River, which separates Stratford and Milford, as the storm waned. As you can see the wind and water were still very turbulent! Most of us had damaged homes, yards and/or no power for several days and spent the next week seeing other unbelievably rare birds in our local...
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