Author Archives: Chris Bosak

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About Chris Bosak

Bird columnist and nature photographer based in New England.

For the Birds: About that coyote

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Photo by Chris Bosak A coyote trots across a field at Huntington State Park in Redding, CT, fall 2024.

My experience with the coyote the other day got me curious about the species. As I mentioned last week, coyotes are fairly common throughout all of New England these days, but I’ve seen them on only a few occasions.

 

The recent sighting was my closest encounter with a coyote to date and the only one so far that afforded a photo opp. As is often the case, once I get a decent photo of a species, I do a deep dive into its life history.

 

Here are some interesting facts (at least I found them interesting) about the eastern coyote, gleaned from several sources on the internet.

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For the Birds: Coyotes crosses the scene

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Photo by Chris Bosak A coyote trots across a field in New England, fall 2024.

My usual walk at a park near my home starts with a slight downhill trail abutting a huge field. The trail soon branches off in two directions: right leads into the woods, and left takes you along a wide trail with brushy habitat on either side.

Nine times out of ten, I take the trail to the left. The brushy habitat is home to a greater number and variety of birds than the narrow trail through the woods. While the left trail is rather wide, approximately 15 feet, the brush on either side is tall and thick and blocks the view of what lies immediately on either side.

There is one spot along the trail, however, where the brush is matted down, exposing a crumbled rock wall and an expansive view of the field. For the adventurous, this spot also offers a chance to gingerly walk on the matted-down brush, step on some of the fallen rocks from the wall and jump down into the field on the other side.

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For the Birds: What birds were really on the first Thanksgiving table?

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This is the time of year when I typically write my Thanksgiving column on wild turkeys. This year, however, instead of sharing facts about wild turkeys, I’m going to do something a little different.

I got to thinking about what other birds are associated with Thanksgiving. I couldn’t think of any off the top of my head because the turkey completely dominates the modern Thanksgiving holiday. Instead of giving up, I turned to the internet, and, as usual, it didn’t disappoint.

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For the Birds: The old reliable nuthatch

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Photo by Chris Bosak – A white-breasted nuthatch grabs a seed from an old wooden fence, New England, fall 2024.

There are certain birds I have unusually good luck finding, and there are those that I have unusually bad luck finding.

Waterfowl, especially hooded and common mergansers, seem to show up everywhere I go from late fall through early spring. Baltimore orioles may as well be my spirit bird for as often as I see them in the spring and summer. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are supposed to be “uncommon” where I live in New England, but that doesn’t stop me from finding them frequently.

Owls, on the other hand, have proven to be exceedingly elusive over the years. Sure, owls aren’t an everyday occurrence, but for the amount of time I spend outdoors, you’d think I would stumble upon one more often than I do, which is almost never.

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Purple finch vs. house finch

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Here are some photos of house finches and purple finches, for comparison.

Males

Photo by Chris Bosak – Male purple finch
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For the Birds: Purple finches (not house finches) pay a visit

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Photo by Chris Bosak A purple finch perches on a log in New England, November 2020.

Something looked a little off at the birdfeeders. I get more house finches at my feeders than I can count, but as I entered the living room and glanced out the window, the five brown birds eating seeds didn’t look like the birds I have become so accustomed to seeing. 

Nor did they look like house sparrows, another brown bird I have become all too accustomed to seeing at the feeders.

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Another shot of the downy woodpecker on wasp nest

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Here’s another shot of the female downy woodpecker looking for food by tearing apart a dormant wasp’s nest.

Photo by Chris Bosak

For the Birds: A wasp nest no longer

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Photo by Chris Bosak – A female downy woodpecker tears apart a wasp nest.

As birdwatchers, we are trained to look for things out of the ordinary. That blot in a tree or movement in the brush just may be a bird. Often the thing that grabs your attention is nothing but a discarded balloon or wind-swept plastic bag, but very often it is, indeed, a bird.

Autumn can be tricky with falling leaves capturing our attention and tricking us into thinking birds are near. The other day, a different sort of falling object caught my attention. While it wasn’t a bird, it did lead me to an interesting bird sighting.

I was walking on a trail when something about the size of a leaf floated down in front of me. It somewhat resembled a leaf but was shaped and colored differently. It even floated down from the trees with a different kind of motion.

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Fall in New England

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Photo by Chris Bosak

A black-capped chickadee perches in a burning bush in New England, November 2024.

You can’t beat New England for scenes like this one.

For the Birds: Spooky bird tales for Halloween

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Photo by Chris Bosak Black vultures perch on a branch in New England, Dec. 2023.

In the spirit of Halloween and everything pumpkin spice season, here is a column about the scary side of birds.

I’m not going to sensationalize or fear monger, and I’ll try not to be too corny either, but there are times when birds can be a little unnerving. This being a column based in New England, I’ll also try to keep it to the birds of this region, so there will be no horror stories of shoebills or cassowaries. (Those two species invariably come up when you do an Internet search for “scary birds.”)

One of the more unnerving experiences a birder in New England can experience is being hissed at and chased by a Canada goose. From a distance Canada geese look peaceful enough and even quite beautiful and regal depending on the habitat. Get too close to one, however, and they are large, formidable birds that can be quite fearless and intimidating.

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