The main entrance to Huntington State Park in Redding, Connecticut, features really cool statues of wolves and a bear.
I had only my phone camera with me last evening, but I couldn’t resist taking this photo at dusk of the wolves seemingly howling at the moon.
It should come as no surprise that birdwatching is growing in popularity, according to several studies and other metrics. It had been gaining in popularity for years, but the pandemic greatly accelerated the movement.
As I researched the Great Backyard Bird Count for this column, I was surprised at how much birdwatching had gained in popularity, at least as it is measured by the number of GBBC participants.
In the last 10 years, which is basically a blink of an eye, the number of people participating in the count has exploded. In 2016, roughly 164,000 people did the count. In 2025, last year’s count, roughly 838,000 people participated. That is an amazing increase.
There are several reasons for the increase other than birdwatching simply becoming more popular, although that certainly is a main factor.
The GBBC started as a North American project to have people count birds in the winter as a way to track bird populations over time. It is now a global phenomenon with birdwatchers from nearly every country participating.
It is also much easier to participate and submit results. Not long ago, results were submitted by hand using a checklist. Then the internet came along and results were submitted through a website. Now, most lists are submitted via eBird or Merlin. In fact, if you have an eBird account, any list submitted during the GBBC timeframe is automatically entered into the GBBC database.
The organizations behind the GBBC—Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, Birds Canada and founding sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited—have also done a great job with marketing the event, which also helped to build participation numbers.
As the count’s popularity grows globally, obviously the number of species recorded grows as well. In 2016, just under 5,700 species were counted worldwide. Last year, just over 8,000 species were recorded.
Any guesses as to which country had the most participants last year? How about which country recorded the most species?
The answer to the first question is, not surprisingly, the United States, followed by Canada and India.
The answer to the second question is Colombia, with 1,374 different species recorded, followed by Ecuador, Brazil and India. Many countries in South America and Central America were in the top 10. Again, not surprising considering the climate and time of year. Asia and Africa were well represented in the second 10.
The United States was 12th with 670 species counted last year. Warm states such as Texas, Arizona and Florida accounted for the bulk of the species. New Hampshire birders recorded 111 species last year. Having a coastline provides a boost to that number. For comparison, Vermont had 96 species recorded.
Why am I going on and on about the Great Backyard Bird Count? Because it’s coming up soon and anyone can participate. And it’s free. Simply count birds and submit the results through eBird, Merlin, or birdcount.org. The results are entered into a massive database of birds that helps to track population trends of bird species.
The 29th annual GBBC will be held February 13-16. You don’t need to be an expert or be out all day. Look for birds, whether in the woods, on a boat or looking at your feeders, for at least 15 minutes and share the results with the world. More information is available at birdcount.org.
While you’re at it, you may as well participate in New Hampshire Audubon’s Backyard Winter Bird Survey, which takes place February 14 and 15. It is a statewide citizen science project similar to the GBBC, whereby birders of all skill levels watch birds at their feeders and submit results. Do an internet search for “NH Audubon Backyard Winter Bird Survey” for further details.
Let me know if you see anything interesting out there.
Yet a few more bird photos from the snowstorm on January 25, 2026, in New England.
A few more bird photos from the January 25, 2026, snowstorm in New England.
Here are some more photos of birds during the snowstorm of January 25, 2026. More photos to come …
Here are a few bird photos from the January 25, 2026, snowstorm currently hammering New England. I’ll post some throughout the day, so keep an eye out for more photos. What else would you be doing today anyway?
This fox had no consideration for my sleep schedule.
I was sound asleep when the fox decided it was a good time to sit on the shared driveway that separates my house from my neighbor’s house and start barking over and over. I rolled over, tapped the screen on my phone and saw 3:01 displayed.
The fox was about 15 yards away from where I had been enjoying a good night’s sleep. I pulled back the curtain and there it was, plain as day (even though it was the middle of the night), sitting in the middle of the driveway barking away.
If you’ve ever heard a fox barking, you know it’s not like a dog barking. We’ve all been jarred awake by dogs barking before, but that sound is familiar, and usually the owner is quick to respond and stop the barking.
A fox’s bark, however, is otherworldly. They are canines, but they do not sound like domesticated dogs. They sound like something you’d hear at a haunted house around Halloween.
Under other circumstances, I would have enjoyed the visit and, believe it or not, taken pleasure in the sound. But 3:01 in the morning? A fox barking is one of the more unnerving night sounds in New England, especially from 15 yards away when you are in the middle of a deep sleep.
If you have never heard a fox barking, do an internet search and see what you’ve been missing.
I’ve never personally heard a fisher vocalize at night (or day for that matter), but I understand it makes a fox’s bark sound like child’s play.
Coyotes calling back and forth at night can also be alarming at first, especially if there are several yipping back and forth to each other. I’ve heard that plenty of times, day and night.
The ultimate “spooky” night sound, of course, is an owl hooting. Great horned owls are not so alarming, as their “who’s awake, me too” call is rather quiet and soothing.
The barred owl, however, is anything but soothing. Their “who cooks for you, who cooks for you all” call is given at a high volume and sounds nothing like the owls you hear in the movies. I love hearing it, don’t get me wrong, but I can definitely see how some people, especially those hearing it for the first time, would wonder what the heck is making that noise. When there are two barred owls going back and forth, well, that’s double the fun.
I heard a pair of barred owls on a recent walk. Barred owls are primarily active at night, but they can also hunt and vocalize during the day. I never did find the owls, although I didn’t look very hard either. Owls nest early in the year, and I didn’t want to go tromping through the woods and potentially disturb them. Even so, hearing the owls was the birding highlight of the walk.
The sounds that may be heard at night in New England are fascinating, if not somewhat unnerving at times. Foxes, fishers, coyotes, owls, whippoorwills (if you’re lucky enough), tree frogs, and even a deer snorting can make your ears perk up and wonder what’s going on out there.
Good luck going back to sleep right away after hearing those sounds.
You didn’t think I’d let a snowy weekend go by without posting a few snowy bird photos, did you?
It’s time for one of my favorite annual columns, as I take a look at my top 10 birding/wildlife moments from the past year. It’s always fun to look back at a year’s worth of For the Birds columns and pick the moments that continue to resonate with me the most.
Here are my top 10 birding moments of 2025:
10. Early in 2025, when ice still dominated most ponds and rivers, I found a small unfrozen pond with a hooded merganser pair and a small flock of ring-necked ducks. The pond was small enough to afford good photo ops of the birds but large enough that they felt safe on the opposite shore.
9. My eBird totals for 2025 were the highest they have ever been, with 171 species seen during the year, including 134 in New England. They are still modest numbers compared to many serious birders, but I’ve never been a lister and do not put a strong emphasis on finding rarities. For me, the total number is not as important as the combined experience.
8. A few of the species I saw exclusively outside of New England this year came during what has become an annual May birding trip to my old hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. My brother Paul and I visit Presque Isle State Park and hit our favorite warbler spots for three days straight. We spotted 63 species on our best day.
7. Watching a female Baltimore oriole build a nest was one of the best sightings from that trip to Pennsylvania. It was interesting to see the progress she made on her woven hanging nest over a three-day span.
6. I took a mid-September camping trip to Pillsbury State Park in Washington, N.H., and caught several warbler species on their southward migration. Other highlights included three otters, an immature bald eagle, a solitary sandpiper and a green snake.
5. It had been several years since I visited the shore of Long Island Sound in the summer to see the nesting grounds of piping plovers, American oystercatchers and least terns. I found all three of those species during a late July visit to the Coastal Center at Milford Point in southwest Connecticut.
4. Although it was a very short camping trip, I did manage to get to Pittsburg, N.H., this summer. Loons, bald eagles and warblers were the highlights. I saw the common loon pair on a large lake in the morning with a heavy fog making visibility almost nonexistent.
3. Going back to my Pennsylvania trip in May, I saw and was able to photograph a sandhill crane pair that nested at the park for the first time. I heard the birds first and immediately recognized that it wasn’t a typical bird found in the Northeast. Merlin confirmed it was a sandhill crane, and the search began, which eventually ended in success.
2. I continue to have a fascination with photographing birds eating berries. This was a good year in that regard with robins, cardinals and white-throated sparrows eating border privet berries in January. In October, I came across a huge flock of cedar waxwings eating yellow crabapples.
1. My top birding highlight of 2025 features a rather common bird, the dark-eyed junco. On a rather dreary early November morning, I stepped into a small field where the goldenrod had faded to varying shades of brown. Dozens of juncos eating seeds from the tops of goldenrod plants literally surrounded me as I stood there taking in the scene. It was proof that bright colors or rare birds are not necessary ingredients for lasting memories or treasured photos.
Thanks for indulging me on that walk down memory lane. Feel free to send me some of your top birding moments from the year that was.
Last week, I wrote about the evening grosbeak and the various sightings that have occurred throughout New England.
This week, I want to turn the attention to some of the other sightings and questions that have reached my inbox recently. I appreciate hearing from others and what they are seeing at their feeders and in the wild.
Continue reading
Birds of New England.com 