Orange-crowned Warbler
This Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata) was a great surprise to see and photograph today after it was found at Stratford Point by my colleague Patrick Comins, Audubon Connecticut’s Director of Bird Conservation. They are an uncommon warbler even in some of the more common parts of their range, and a tough one to find in the Northeast thus far this fall. We were at the office this Saturday morning and afternoon for a staff and volunteer work party to plant more trees, grasses, and shrubs for birds, but the Orange-crowned seemed at home in the mugwort and existing grasslands,...
Read MoreLincoln’s Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii)
I mentioned how Lincoln’s Sparrows were being spotted earlier than expected this year in my post about Palm Warblers from this morning (I wrote it yesterday). Sure enough, here’s my September Lincoln’s Sparrow from about 7:30AM today. I love them, and it was beautiful as always, but it is very unsettling to see another so early. Last week RTPI Development Director Linda Pierce sent me this article on Braddock Bay Bird Observatory and their increasingly early records, and one of the species named was the Lincoln’s Sparrow. I will be interested to see if we note a...
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 MoreStreaked Orange Moth (Nascia acutella)
This appears to be a Streaked Orange moth (Nascia acutella), a species that the Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America by David Beadle and Seabrooke Leckie describes as “uncommon” with its host plant “presumably grasses and sedges”. It is an example of how little we know about some of these scarce, cryptic, often local or specialized moth species. Only by extensive searching and subsequent discovery can we begin to unravel the mysteries of their life histories.
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