Sanderlings on the Beach
I took these Sanderling photos earlier this season before the Atlantic coast of New England was battered by repeated nor’easters and major winter storms, leaving snow and ice coating much of the shoreline. Watching them feed in the tide, darting back and forth with the water and running through the sand, is such a pleasant and relaxing diversion on a bright winter day. Shorebirds will soon be on the move back to the north, and we at the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds are ready! Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreCommon Redpoll Irruption Update
This is a companion blog entry to the Winter Bird Forecast by Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. The first two forecasts were published recently: “Cloudy with a Chance of Snowys” and “Expect the Unexpected”. The third will be coming soon! The Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea) was predicted to make a “moderate to good flight” this fall and winter due to “variably poor to average” birch seed crops in the boreal forest according to Ron Pittaway’s 2014-15 winter finch forecast. Nearly a month ago I started to notice more reports...
Read MoreSavannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
Here we have an attentive Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), a winter landbird species that you should be on the lookout for mixed in with other sparrows. They can be found especially near any farmlands, fields, grasslands and coastal areas, looking for seeds to devour. If there is a snowfall you can find them seeking out areas near water or plowed habitat that provides unexpectedly helpful access to grasses. This is a more typical Savannah Sparrow, but if you live on the Atlantic Coast be mindful of finding the large, pale “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow on beaches and...
Read MoreHorned Lark in HD
This Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris), a bird of open fields, grasslands, shrublands, desert, tundra and coastal plains, was being friendly while enjoying sitting on this dune at a beach on a cold winter day before resuming foraging.
Read MoreSand in your face
Let’s be honest, we’ve all been here before! You’re trying to relax on the beach but all you get is a face full of sand as the wind shoots it at you with both ferocity and persistence. Taken before this chilly and snowy week the gull pictured toughed it out and, I like to think, pretended this patch was a tropical paradise. Tomorrow should feel more like the tropics, too! Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
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