Merlin Meal
Here’s a little Throwback Thursday to a very recent day – my Christmas Bird Count! This Merlin (Falco columbarius) was the last new species added to our section of the count circle, and we enjoyed it chasing House Sparrows upon initially sighting it. A Cooper’s Hawk came out of nowhere and scared all of the birds, startling the falcon and causing it to drop its prey. However, a little while later we saw it had successfully captured another House Sparrow, this time without losing the meal. It took the bird to a snag and went on with its early evening dining under cloudy late...
Read MoreCooper’s Hawk
I completely forgot to post these two photos of a young Cooper’s Hawk from last month, so here they are now. This individual was going after a Song Sparrow that had taken cover in a brush pile. It really seemed as if more accipiters remained in the Northeast during the extreme December record heat with more prey to find than usual in very cooperative weather conditions. What do you think is harder – hunting on a 60 degree sunny day with a light southerly breeze, or finding a meal when several inches of snow is falling in 20 degree temperatures with a bitter northerly flow? I...
Read MoreSick Kits
Last spring I was able to enjoy watching a Red Fox family growing up, up close! I posted photos and videos of them in a bunch of posts this past April and May including: Red Fox Family Red Fox Family Video Red Fox Pup Exploring Red Fox Wrestling Red Fox Kits Growing Red Fox Kits at Den Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) At some point in the early summer the kits all left the den, exploring more and more on their own, staying in different locations and occasionally popping in and out of the area. By the end of the summer they were not being seen anymore, having gone out to find their own life and place...
Read MoreAmerican Bittern
This is the American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus), a stupendously cryptic and sensationally camouflaged heron species of freshwater and brackish marshes and wetlands. During late fall and winter they can be infrequently found moving south to warmer or coastal areas where the water does not freeze. Even their movements are meant to blend in perfectly to surrounding vegetation, stalking prey including fish, amphibians, insects, mammals, reptiles, and more. The American Bittern was once a terror in the night to many early American settlers who lived in coastal regions. Its pumping, gurgling,...
Read MoreGull Feeding Frenzy
There have been enormous numbers of gulls feeding in Long Island Sound over the past few months with sizable numbers of bait fish and schools of other species to prey on. This is before today’s mega and historic weather-based Franklin’s Gull invasion of the Northeast! More on that later…but going back to this summer and early fall, the busy food web has even attracted several whales into the waters. Laughing Gulls, absent for much of the summer, have been seen in great abundance since late summer. Their activity, along with that of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, brought in...
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