About Chris Bosak

Bird columnist and nature photographer based in New England.

Merganser Lake: Carolina Wren — Backyard entertainer

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Carolina Wren perches near an evergreen at Merganser Lake in Connecticut, January 2016.

Not many backyard birds are as entertaining as the Carolina Wren. They sing, they chatter, they dart to and fro. And they are a handsome bird. One of these Carolina Wrens entertained me today at my new place at Merganser Lake. It perched on a stack of logs that my son Andrew split, then flew over the Christmas tree I put outside to provide shelter for birds. Here are few photos of this little charmer.

https://birdsofnewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/carolina-wren-on-wood1.jpg

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Carolina Wren perches on a stack of wood at Merganser Lake in January 2016.

My top birding moments of 2015

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Chris Bosak

Here is my latest column for The Hour (Norwalk, CT) and Keene Sentinel (Keene, N.H.) It’s my favorite column of the year to write: my top 10 list.

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Photo by Chris Bosak An Osprey carries a fish along the Norwalk River in Norwalk, CT, summer 2015.

By CHRIS BOSAK
For the Birds

Not sure how it happened so quickly, but it’s time for me to write another year-end birding column. Each year at about this time I sit down and think about my top 10 birding experiences of past year. It’s not necessarily about the best birds I’ve seen, but rather the birding moments that most impacted me in one way or another.

What will be missing from this year’s list for the first time in about 10 years is my Thanksgiving “Duck Hunt” with my boys. The hunt is an annual tradition whereby we wake up early on Thanksgiving and visit a bunch of beaches and fresh-water bodies of water to count duck species. We try to get 10 species, but for me, the real thrill is being out with the boys looking for birds. This year I was so sick I couldn’t even get out of bed so we put the annual “duck hunt” on hold. Perhaps I’ll revisit it for another occasion. Maybe for the Great Backyard Bird Count. Or maybe just some random day this winter.

So here’s what did make the list …

10. Having the featured photo on The Birding Wire. The weekly e-newsletter features a photo in each edition and in early December it featured my photo of Pine Warblers squabbling at my suet feeder. I look at The Birding Wire each week, so it was neat to see my work as one of the featured items.

9. Having chickadees eat out of my hand. I noticed that each time I took down the feeders to fill them at my new house the chickadees would still land on the pole that holds the feeders, even though I was only a few feet away. I decided to hold off on putting the feeders back up immediately and instead extended my arm and held a handful of sunflower seeds out for the birds. They hesitated, but eventually landed and happily (if not nervously) took a seed and flew off.

8. A week-long summer camping trip with the boys. We went to the northern most part of New Hampshire and took the most remote site we could find. Gray Jays visited the camp and a Common Loon swam in the pond near the site. Of course, the call of the loon echoing at night capped off the experience.

7. Seeing a Bald Eagle nest off the coast of Norwalk. Ultimately the nest at Chimon Island did not result in young eagles being fledged, but it was still a thrill knowing they were out there. The unsuccessful nesting attempt is not surprising as many first-year nests fail. The nest still stands

Click here for the rest.

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Merry Christmas and thanks for your support in 2015

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Chris Bosak

Thank you for your support in 2015. I look forward to more bird posts in 2016!

Some photos from the Christmas Bird Count 2015

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Monk Parakeet seen eating crab apples at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk on Sunday during the annual Christmas Bird Count.

Here are some photos of the annual Christmas Bird Count held locally (Westport, Connecticut, Circle) on Sunday. I did the Count with old friends Frank Mantlik and Larry Flynn. Highlight species included: American Woodcock; Orange-crowned Warbler; Nashville Warbler; Northern Shoveler; Gray Catbird; and Wood Duck (about 12 of them).

The above bird is indeed a New England bird. Well, at least it is now. A group of Monk Parakeets bound for the pet stores were believed to have escaped from JFK airport and established wild populations throughout the coastal regions of Long Island Sound. Some people don’t like them because they are non-native and very noisy. They do make good photo subject on occasion, though.

Here are some more photos from Sunday:

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Belted Kingfisher seen near the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk on Sunday during the annual Christmas Bird Count.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Northern Mockingbird seen Sunday at Taylor Farm in Norwalk during the annual Christmas Bird Count.

Hour photo/Chris Bosak
A Belted Kingfisher seen near the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk on Sunday during the annual Christmas Bird Count.

Hour photo/Chris Bosak
A Monk Parakeet seen eating crab apples at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk on Sundayt during the annual Christmas Bird Count.

Photo by Chris Bosak
Frank and Larry scan Long Island Sound.

A few book ideas for last-minute shoppers

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak Cover of Water Babies by William Burt.

I’m not sure if they can still be ordered online and arrive in time for Christmas, but here are some book ideas for those last-minute shoppers with a birder on their list. A simple Internet search of the title will yield plenty of ways to find the books.

In my “Bird Book Look” posts, I don’t give full reviews but rather post a photo of the cover and include a little information about the book. On occasion I offer a little personal insight.

Two bonuses on this post (hey, it is almost Christmas): I’ll include four books; and the photos were taken by my fireplace with a fire going _ my favorite way to read.

Here are the books.

The book pictured above is Water Babies by William Burt, a Connecticut-based nature photographer. I am also a Connecticut-based nature photographer, but I have never had the opportunity to meet William. Perhaps some day.

Duck, of course, are a favorite of mine so I love this book. It is a photo book with a lot information about the birds and the quests to photograph them on their breeding grounds. As the title suggests, it is mostly photos of baby ducks and other water birds.

Here’s the description from Amazon:

“Never-before-seen photographs of baby birds of the marshlands from a noted birding photographer

Naturalist William Burt is known for seeking out wild places and elusive birds―and none fit the bill quite so well as the creatures featured in this book. This may well be his break out book, featuring the downy young of the wetlands, Continue reading →

Long Island Sound loses champion in Terry Backer

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Chris Bosak

Terry Backer

I’ve done a fair amount of birding on Long Island Sound over the years. The waters off the shores of New England are rich in ducks in the winter and shorebirds in the summer. For more than 10 years now, I’ve scoured Long Island Sound (either on a boat or from the shore) for birds during the Christmas Bird Count. In short, Long Island Sound is a vital habitat for for birds and other wildlife.

Long Island Sound lost one of its most passionate championship this week with the passing of Terry Backer, the Soundkeeper. I had the privilege of speaking with Terry several times, including interviews for newspaper stories, as a guest on my former Bird Calls Radio talk show and just shooting the breeze. Terry will be missed by Continue reading →

Tip on how to attract birds in the winter

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Northern Cardinal, left, and an American Goldfinch perch in a tree near a feeding station at Cove Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Stamford, Conn., in March 2015.

Here’s a press release shamelessly used in full here from the National Audubon Society. It’s good information, so here it is. (The post is jazzed up by one of my own photo, however.)

TIP SHEET: Winterize Your Yard for Birds

Tips on How to Welcome Winter Birds For Reporters and Bird Lovers

NEW YORK (December 15, 2015) – With winter just days away, and the Christmas Bird Count finally here, there’s no better time to protect the birds you love. Birds have the same needs—food, water, shelter—in winter as they do any other time. Helping these winter visitors could help sustain their populations in both their wintering and summering grounds. The National Audubon Society has compiled the following guide on simple ways you can help.

Bird-friendly Yards and Communities

Where birds thrive, people prosper. One of the most important things we can do to help birds and other wildlife is to make our yards bird and wildlife-friendly.

Minimize the amount of manicured lawn in your yard. Reduce the amount of pesticides and fertilizers in your yard and plant native species. The wilder and more varied, the better it is for your avian neighbors.
Make a brush pile in the corner of the yard. Collect and set aside fallen branches and logs. This will provide shelter for birds from predators and storms, and a place to roost at night.
Rake leaves up under trees and shrubs and leave them there. The resulting mulch will make a lush environment for the insects and spiders that birds love to eat.
Create a songbird border of native trees and shrubs to create shelter from wind. Berry and fruit-producing shrubs and trees such as dogwoods, hollies, chokeberries, and elderberries and cherry trees are favored by many types of birds. Plant native species whenever possible, and avoid invasives.
Clean out old nest boxes and feeders. It’s wise to remove old nests and seeds from shelters and feeders to prevent birds from getting sick.
Protect Your Windows. About a billion birds die from glass collisions each year. You can reduce this threat by making all your windows visible to birds. Glass appears clear or reflective to birds. Visual cues and markers as window decals on the outside of windows alert birds to the presence of glass.

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Featured photo on “The Birding Wire”

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Chris Bosak

The Birding Wire is an electronic newsletter that comes out weekly as a service of the Outdoor Wire Digital Network. It includes news, events, equipment reviews and other odds/ends about the birding world. It also includes a featured photo of the week.

Guess who had this week’s featured photo? (The Birding Wire is actually much larger, but I just spliced via Photoshop the top and the section with the featured photo.) To see the Birding Wire, click here.