Author Archives: Chris Bosak

Unknown's avatar

About Chris Bosak

Bird columnist and nature photographer based in New England.

Latest For the Birds column: Like an old friend

Posted on by
Reply

Here is my latest For the Birds column, which runs weekly in The Hour (Norwalk, Ct.) and Keene (N.H.) Sentinel.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

 

It was like hearing from an old friend.

I used to visit a wildflower sanctuary in southern Connecticut fairly often, especially during the spring migration. It is a great place to find migrants such as Yellow Warblers, Bobolinks, Baltimore Orioles, Scarlet Tanagers, Eastern Kingbirds and, my favorite, Blue-winged Warblers. Not only do Blue-winged Warblers look striking (bright yellow plumage with long, thin black eye stripe), but they sound otherworldly, too. Well, maybe not otherworldly, but definitely not birdlike. They sound more like an insect — a big, buzzing insect that sputters its notes at the end.

It’s a sound I used to hear often when I visited the sanctuary. I made frequent visits there when I lived in nearby Westchester, N.Y. That was more than 10 years ago now. I hadn’t been back since.

Last week, however, the stars aligned to create the perfect scenario for a return visit. I was coming from Westchester and had about two hours to kill Continue reading →

A few more warblers from this spring

Posted on by
2
Photo by Chris Bosak A Black-throated Green Warbler perches in a tree in Danbury, Conn., spring 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Black-throated Green Warbler perches in a tree in Danbury, Conn., spring 2016.

Here are a few shots of warblers I got this spring but haven’t posted yet. So here they are, just kind of thrown at you in no particular order and without much description …

Oh, and there’s a few warbler shots at the end of the post that I took this year and had already posted. You can never have enough warbler photos.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Yellow Warbler perches on a branch in Greenwich, Conn., spring 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Yellow Warbler perches on a branch in Greenwich, Conn., spring 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak A female Yellow-rumped Warbler perches on a branch in Danbury, Conn., spring 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A female Yellow-rumped Warbler perches on a branch in Danbury, Conn., spring 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak An Ovenbird stands on a log in Danbury, Conn., April 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
An Ovenbird stands on a log in Danbury, Conn., April 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Palm Warbler perches on a branch near a pool of water in Selleck's Woods in Darien, Conn., April 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Palm Warbler perches on a branch near a pool of water in Selleck’s Woods in Darien, Conn., April 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Yellow-rumped Warbler perches on a branch in Selleck's Woods, Darien, Conn., April 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Yellow-rumped Warbler perches on a branch in Selleck’s Woods, Darien, Conn., April 2016.

Hooded Warbler in Danbury, Ct., spring 2016.

Hooded Warbler in Danbury, Ct., spring 2016.

House Wren picks out his territory

Posted on by
Reply
A House Wren sings in a tree during the nesting season 2016.

A House Wren sings in a tree during the nesting season 2016.

The other day I heard the familiar sound of a House Wren returning from the south and claiming his territory. He check out a few of the bird houses on my property and then perched in nearby trees to sings its song. They are loud and charismatic birds.

I watched one check out at least two houses on my property. To my knowledge, he didn’t pick either one. He didn’t even pick one to start a “dummy nest,” whereby to fool predators that may be watching the put a few sticks in house.

Oh well, there’s still time. Not every House Wren has picked its spot yet.

A House Wren sings in a tree during the nesting season 2016.

A House Wren sings in a tree during the nesting season 2016.

A House Wren sings in a tree during the nesting season 2016.

A House Wren sings in a tree during the nesting season 2016.

And the answer is …

Posted on by
3

Thanks for playing along with my latest birding quiz posted yesterday.

Here’s the answer … it’s a

IMG_8845

female Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

I told you it looked nothing like its male counterpart (in color anyway).

I also suggested you look at the “bulky bill,” or in this case its “grosbeak.”

Many field guides show only the male in breeding plumage, therefore making the identification of females or nonbreeding birds nearly impossible. Get a good field guide that shows all the various plumages of birds.

Below is the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak striking a similar pose. Quite a difference, huh. Good example of sexual dimorphism (when males and female have different physical characteristics.)

Photo by Chris Bosak A Rose-breasted Grosbeak visits a homemade platform feeder in Danbury, Conn., on May 6, 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Rose-breasted Grosbeak visits a homemade platform feeder in Danbury, Conn., on May 6, 2016.

 

Birding quiz: Name the bird pictured

Posted on by
3

IMG_8845

Yes, my homemade backyard feeder did it again, drawing in another interesting bird.

So here’s a quick bird identification quiz. Seasoned birders will get it immediately. Intermediate birders may take a second, but will eventually get it. Beginning birders, if they haven’t seen one before, may be surprised at the answer (which is coming up tomorrow morning.)

Do you know it already? Awesome.

Need a hint? That’s fine, too. Here are a few hints:

It’s not a big sparrow.

It looks nothing likes its male counterpart.

Look at the bulky bill.

Send your guesses (or requests for more hints) to bozclark@earthlink.net, or just lock in your guess in your head and wait for the answer tomorrow.

Thanks for playing along.

 

Further proof that Blue Jays like peanuts

Posted on by
Reply

A continuation of my previous post about Blue Jays eating peanuts.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue Jay considers whether to grab a peanut from a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue Jay considers whether to grab a peanut from a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Hmm, should I?

Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue Jay grabs a peanut from a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue Jay grabs a peanut from a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Heck, yeah I should!

 

It’s true. Blue Jays like peanuts

Posted on by
3
Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue Jay grabs a peanut from a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue Jay grabs a peanut from a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

I’ve always heard that Blue Jays like peanuts. “Put them out whole,” they would say.

So I did and nothing would happen. In fact, not only would the Blue Jays not eat the peanuts, I wouldn’t even see any Blue Jays. (Therein was the real problem.)

But at my new place Blue Jays abound. Do they like peanuts? I asked again. Well, I gave it another shot and, yes, Blue Jays do like peanuts. So much, in fact, that I can hardly keep up with demand.

The Blue Jay were very wary at first. I had to watch them take the bait from inside the house looking out a window. Now I can put a handful of peanuts on the feeder, take three steps to the lounge chair and plop myself down. Within minutes, or even seconds, the Blue Jays surround the area. One brave one dives in for a peanut and the others follow. There goes that handful. On and on it goes for as long as I’m willing to grab more handfuls. It’s been great fun.

 

Another shot or three of the Blue-winged Warbler

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Here’s a few more of the Blue-winged Warbler. See the post below for more information about the photos.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Blue-winged Warbler, one cool-looking bird

Posted on by
3
Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

I hadn’t seen one in years. I just haven’t been visiting the right spots as Blue-winged Warblers stick to a pretty specific habitat: low, brushy, shruby. You’re not likely to find one deep in the woods.

But I found myself with an hour to kill and driving in the vicinity of Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn. This was an old haunt of mine when I lived in nearby New York and had to drive past the exit daily. Now I found myself trekking the trails there again.

I had seen a few warblers — including a few Yellow Warblers, a specialty there — when I heard the song of the Blue-winged Warbler. It’s a buzzy song, almost insect-like. They look as cool as they sound with bright yellow plumage and a long, thin black eye stripe. It was nice to see them again (there were two) and even nicer that they were somewhat cooperative as I tried to photograph them.

Here are some shots of the Blue-winged Warbler. (I know the wings don’t exactly look blue. I don’t name the birds.)

Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Blue-winged Warbler seen at Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary in Greenwich, Conn., May 2016.

More photos of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Posted on by
1
Photo by Chris Bosak A Rose-breasted Grosbeak visits a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Rose-breasted Grosbeak visits a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

You didn’t think a Rose-breasted Grosbeak would visit my yard and I’d post only a measly two photos, did you? Of course not. So here are several more photos. This guy hung around for about three days and then presumably headed north. Enjoy and good luck for the rest of this spring migration.

Let me know what you’re seeing out.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Rose-breasted Grosbeak visits a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Rose-breasted Grosbeak visits a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Rose-breasted Grosbeak visits a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Rose-breasted Grosbeak visits a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Rose-breasted Grosbeak visits a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Rose-breasted Grosbeak visits a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Rose-breasted Grosbeak visits a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Rose-breasted Grosbeak visits a feeder in Danbury, Conn., May 2016.