Author Archives: Chris Bosak

Unknown's avatar

About Chris Bosak

Bird columnist and nature photographer based in New England.

For the Birds: Beginner to expert, do what suits you

Posted on by
3
Photo by Chris Bosak A blackpoll warbler eats berries in New England, November 2021.

Birdwatching can be as easy or as difficult as you want to make it. I’ve said it before, but that is one of the things I like most about the hobby.

If you are content being able to identify a handful of birds, then that’s fine as long as you enjoy it. If you can’t sleep unless you know the species, age and sex of every bird you see, then that’s fine as well.

Most of us, including myself, fall somewhere in the middle. The middle, of course, is a pretty vast area. Knowing a robin, blue jay, cardinal and a few other species is in one area of the middle. Knowing your sparrows, shorebirds, gulls and ducks falls in another area of the middle.

Continue reading →

A cooperative chickadee

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak A black-ca

For as common, tame and lovable as chickadees are, they can be difficult to photograph because of their tiny size (you have to be close) and constant movement. This one sat still long enough for a few photos the other day.

Photo by Chris Bosak A black-capped chickadee perches in a bush in New England, fall 2021.

A few more kinglet photos

Posted on by
Reply

As a follow-up to my last post, which featured the “small, but mighty kinglet,” here are a few more photos of these little dynamos. New England has two types of kinglets: ruby-crowned and golden-crowned. Here are examples of each. Despite their names, the “crown” is not the best way to determine an ID as the crown is not often displayed. Instead, look at their eyes. Ruby-crowned kinglets have a broken eyering (think of a ruby ring) and golden-crowned kinglets have a black streak through their eye.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Golden-crowned Kinglet rests on a branch in Selleck’s/Dunlap Woods in Darien in Nov. 2013.
Continue reading →

For the Birds: The small, but mighty kinglet

Posted on by
Reply

People like large birds. Eagles, hawks, owls, even herons and waterfowl, get birders and non-birders alike excited.

Smaller birds? Sure, birders get excited about smaller birds too, but for non-birders, these birds have to bring something appealing to the table.

Everyone likes cardinals. They’re bright red. Everyone likes chickadees. They’re cute, tame and active. Non-birders are split on blue jays. Some like them because they are blue (and fairly large), and some dislike them because they heard jays are bully birds and they can’t let it go.

In fact, many smaller birds go completely unnoticed by non-birders, even when the birds make their presence rather obvious. A flock of white-throated sparrows or dark-eyed juncos can dart in every direction right in front of a non-birder and it will be as if nothing ever happened. A birder, however, will stop dead in his or her tracks, reach for the binoculars and try to find the little birds in the brush just to confirm an ID.

Continue reading →

Great blue heron photo shoot

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak A great blue heron at a pond in New England, November 2021.

I saw this great blue heron on the edge of a small pond. It obliged as I took a few photos and continued on my way.

For the Birds: Readers take over

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak A red-bellied woodpecker perches on a log.

You’ve heard from me; now find out what others are seeing out there.

Red-bellied woodpeckers continue to proliferate in southern New Hampshire. It wasn’t too many years ago that these large, handsome and sometimes aggressive birds were extremely rare sightings in the Granite State. Their northern expansion has been impressive and now they are seen with much greater frequency throughout the southern part of the state.

I wouldn’t say they are common sightings here yet, but they are getting there. They are now very common in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, so it stands to reason New Hampshire and Vermont are next.

In the last few weeks, I have heard from Monadnock Region residents Cindy and Richard who have each hosted red-bellied woodpeckers at their feeders recently. Cindy from Keene wrote that her bird visits every day. She wrote that the bird’s red head is “almost neon” when the sun hits it just right.

Continue reading →

And the answer is …

Posted on by
2
Photo by Chris Bosak A yellow-crowned heron walks through a marsh in New England, summer 2021.

Thanks to those who participated in the latest bird quiz. No one got it right, but everyone who guessed was on the right track in saying it was a young or juvenile bird. The bird in question is a young yellow-crowned night heron. I saw it stalking in a marsh in Milford, Connecticut, earlier this fall. Thanks again for playing along.

Bird quiz: What do we have here?

Posted on by
5

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a bird quiz — years perhaps. I’ll ease back in with a relatively easy one. So here you go, what is this bird? I’ll post the answer in a day or two. Thanks for playing along.

For the Birds: A tree full of birds

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak A palm warbler perches in New England, October 2021.

A pair of ruby-crowned kinglets flitted among the brush, and a crow or two flew overhead. That was all the bird action on the early part of the walk.

Then I heard a commotion coming from a nearby tree. It was a huge, dead maple tree with no leaves on its branches, but various types of vines climbed up its trunk and spread out among the limbs. The vines still had their leaves, making the tree look like nature had splattered various shades of red, yellow, orange and green on the venerable old guard.

Something must have been lurking among the brush because the birds were on high alert. I’ve never seen a more varied collection of bird species in one tree before. I could hardly believe it as I counted out the species in my head.

Continue reading →

A few more yellow-rumped warbler photos

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak A yellow-rumped warbler eats poison ivy berries in New England, fall 2021.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about finding a flock of yellow-rumped warblers eating poison ivy berries. Here are a few more shots. Click here for the original story.

Photo by Chris Bosak A yellow-rumped warbler eats poison ivy berries in New England, fall 2021.