Fall Foliage
These autumn mornings may be starting out too frigid and frosty for mid-October, but as the midday sun rises in the sky to light up our fall foliage everything turns into a scorching fire.
Read MoreAtlantic Brant
Songbirds are not the only flying objects on the move right now. All of this cold and now freezing weather will really push the waterfowl flights to get underway. Here you can see some Brant (Branta bernicla) geese flying by some still simmering fall foliage a few days ago. Thousands of the species are now migrating along with others like the Common Loon, Red-breasted Merganser, White-winged Scoter, Greater Scaup, Green-winged Teal, and plenty more. Wherever you are, look up! You may spot a very high flying waterbird or a sizable skein (flock in flight), even inland.
Read MoreMonarchs Building
Amazingly, Monarch butterfly numbers have been building still at Stratford Point in Connecticut over the last week. Mid-October is usually a busy time for the species here as they feed on goldenrod and quickly keep moving to the south. The last couple days of frigid temperatures certainly have not helped sightings, though…
Read MoreDickcissel (Spiza americana)
The highlight of my Sunday birding was this Dickcissel (Spiza americana). My friend, and terrific birder, Tom Murray and I had crippling views of this bird after we spotted it simultaneously among so very many sparrow migrants. It hid on us for about 20 minutes after we first got a quick glance for the initial identification, eventually granting prolonged looks. Persistence pays off! Patience (and sometimes a lot of silence instead of pishing) often helps when you want to a better look a specific individual. This bird of the prairies and grasslands of the Central and Midwestern United States...
Read MoreRuby-crowned Kinglet
It is the peak time to see the Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) migrating through the Northeast, frantically flitting about the lower levels of trees and shrublands, eagerly calling out and sometimes singing a bit here in the autumn. Even when you cannot capture that brilliant crown they are still such a pretty little bird. They are also rather tame and friendly, and our lucky friends in the southern half of the United States and Central America get to enjoy them all winter. See how many you can spot today on what should be another sensational day for migrant songbirds and...
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