We Didn’t Expect This!
Winter Birding Forecast #3 is brought to you by Audubon Connecticut in partnership with the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. Last time we told you to “Expect the Unexpected”, but we certainly didn’t expect this. A Couch’s Kingbird was spotted for the first time ever in New York and it happens that this bird has been hanging out in the West Village on Lower Manhattan for several weeks before it was identified as this rare and spectacular flycatcher that should be in Texas or Mexico right now. If a Couch’s Kingbird can hang out undiscovered for several weeks on Manhattan...
Read MoreSnowy Owl in Dunkirk, New York
This tremendous photo of a Snowy Owl at Wright Park Beach in Dunkirk, New York was taken this morning by our friend Gale VerHague. She used a basic point and shoot camera showing how easily we can safely photograph these birds from a distance thanks to a good zoom, especially if you have a scope. Giving them space is important so that they can rest during the day and hunt at night – in this case, likely waterfowl on Lake Erie. It is all the more necessary when, as Gale told me, birds like American Crows have honed in on the raptor as they were harassing this individual. Please try to...
Read MoreNorthern Wheatear season
The Northern Wheatear is undoubtedly one of my favorite North American nesting species despite the fact it is one of the toughest to find in the contiguous United States. I have no real reason for why I love the bird except for the fact that it is so difficult to call it simply a “North American” species and I admire its biology. Two populations nest on the continent with a western group breeding in Alaska and far northwest Canada with an eastern group in north central and northeastern Canada, the former group migrating southeastward across Asia to move to Europe and finally...
Read MoreLark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus)
This Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) is the one rarity Twan and I enjoyed in the post-Irene week that was likely not brought in by the tropical cyclone. You can find them rarely in the east during the late summer and early fall while our friends to the west enjoy these beautiful sparrows all summer.
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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