Common Checkered Skipper
This is the Common Checkered Skipper (Pyrgus communis), a lovely little butterfly that was a life species for Audubon Connecticut’s Director of Bird Conservation Patrick Comins and me this morning at Stratford Point. The early and late dates on the Connecticut Butterfly Association website indicate it is also the latest one has ever been seen in Connecticut with October 26 breaking an October 10 record from 2012. Stratford Point has been known to harbor late individuals thanks to it being a coastal site surrounded by the warm waters of Long Island Sound. We had another late record...
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 MoreBlue Grosbeak
Here is a lovely fall Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea) from a little while ago at Stratford Point. Check out that massive bill! It popped up for me from among a flock of Song, Swamp and White-throated Sparrows, likely helped in making its way here by all those westerly winds. Many uncommon birds like this one and some rarities are probably out there right now waiting to be found… Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreLincoln’s Sparrow
This little Lincoln’s Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) made me a happy man early this morning as it gave me a look over for a couple of seconds while in the open. It has been around for a few days, avoiding me nonstop. I fired off eight shots and ended up with these two to show for it. The shy and sneaky species is an uncommon migrant that can most often be found in busy sparrow habitats in the middle of October. I hope a Vesper Sparrow will treat me this well sometime this week. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreCrab Breakfast
Did you have crab for breakfast today? I know someone who did…Harley the Harlequin Duck certainly knows fine dining. He also enjoys mussels that are easier to hold on to in that bill. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
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