Bald Eagle in Florida
Twan took this shot of an immature Bald Eagle in flight in Florida, the bird spending its winter in a far more pleasant climate. In the Northeast we have had a lot of Bald Eagle action during all of these historically frigid days with the enormous raptor hunting waterfowl on any open water it can find and grabbing fish from icy rivers.
Read MoreSnowy Owl in Flight
Let’s be honest – this winter has been absolutely brutal! Whether we want to blame this continuous weather pattern on climate change or not, this is not what the climate is supposed to feel like in mid to late February. As the sun keeps rising temperatures keep plummeting with record low minimums at night and record low maximums during the day. The snow keeps coming, and more will be coming this weekend. However, the Snowy Owls have been a bit tougher to find this year than last. Nevertheless, there are many individuals spending their season here in our neighborhoods, which look...
Read MoreRough-legged Hawks Irrupting
This is a companion blog entry to the Winter Bird Forecast by Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. Be sure to watch for our fifth forecast, coming soon! Wherever you are across the Northeast you have likely seen or read a report about a Rough-legged Hawk nearby this winter. This beautiful raptor, available in both a light and dark color morph, has irrupted across a broad swath of the upper parts of the Lower 48. The wintering specialty is at home in open and coastal areas such as marshes, grasslands, airports – hey, a lot of the same places the...
Read MoreFerruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium ridgwayi)
This Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium ridgwayi) was described by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser as “tiny in stature, but not in tenacity”. It is only the size of a large sparrow but he can personally attest to the amount of significant amount of damage the bill and talons can inflict upon prey or banding human handlers.
Read MoreBanded Peregrine Falcon Devouring Pigeon
One of the most outrageously spectacular and breath-taking winter bird sightings you can have is, in my opinion, the Peregrine Falcon. As the fastest animal on the Earth the Peregrine is already in a class of its own, and if you have never seen one stooping on shorebirds, waterfowl or other coastal and open-country birds you are missing out on one of the most unbelievable happenings on the planet. The raw power and sheer speed these birds display is literally unmatched. After recovering from decimation via DDT the Peregrine Falcon has begun to reconquer our landscape, moving into cities and...
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