Author Archives: Chris Bosak

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About Chris Bosak

Bird columnist and nature photographer based in New England.

Birds to brighten your day: May 7

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Photo by Chris Bosak
A pileated woodpecker works over a tree in New England, May 2020. Merganser Lake.

A Day on Merganser Lake XVI

I heard a loud tapping (no make that banging) coming from the backyard. I glanced out the window and noticed a male pileated woodpecker giving a dead hemlock tree a good working over. Chips and even bigger pieces of wood broke free and scattered under the ground. He didn’t stay long, maybe five minutes, but I got some nice shots of him.

Female and male pileated woodpeckers both have red heads, but only the male has the red “mustache.”

(Repeat text for context:  I’m running out of COVID-19 lockdown themes so from now until things get back to some semblance of normalcy, I will simply post my best photo from the previous day. You could say it fits because of its uncertainty and challenge. I’ll call the series “A Day on Merganser Lake,” even though that’s not the real name of the lake I live near in southwestern Connecticut, it’s just a nod to my favorite duck family.)

Birds to brighten your day: May 6

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Photo by Chris Bosak A gray catbird perches on a deck railing in New England, April 2020. Merganser Lake.

A Day on Merganser Lake XVI

Catbirds aren’t known as big feeder birds, but this one stopped by briefly for a mealworm or two. I haven’t seen it since. This photo shows the rusty patch under its tail, which is not always shown. During the dog days of summer, sometimes it seems that a few catbirds are the only birdlife to be found. Welcome back to New England!

(Repeat text for context:  I’m running out of COVID-19 lockdown themes so from now until things get back to some semblance of normalcy, I will simply post my best photo from the previous day. You could say it fits because of its uncertainty and challenge. I’ll call the series “A Day on Merganser Lake,” even though that’s not the real name of the lake I live near in southwestern Connecticut, it’s just a nod to my favorite duck family.)

Photo by Chris Bosak
A gray catbird perches on a deck railing in New England, April 2020. Merganser Lake.

Birds to brighten your day: May 5

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Photo by Chris Bosak A house wren perches on a branch in New England, May 2020. Merganser Lake.

A Day on Merganser Lake XV

New birds are showing up every day. Yesterday marked the arrival of a gray catbird, eastern towhee, black-throated green warbler and this bird, a house wren. The hummingbirds showed up on Sunday, but I haven’t snapped a worthy photo yet. House wrens are feisty little birds and will fiercely defend their territory.

(Repeat text for context:  I’m running out of COVID-19 lockdown themes so from now until things get back to some semblance of normalcy, I will simply post my best photo from the previous day. You could say it fits because of its uncertainty and challenge. I’ll call the series “A Day on Merganser Lake,” even though that’s not the real name of the lake I live near in southwestern Connecticut, it’s just a nod to my favorite duck family.)

Photo by Chris Bosak
A house wren perches on a branch in New England, May 2020. Merganser Lake.

Birds to brighten your day: May 4

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Photo by Chris Bosak
A palm warbler rests on a wire fence in a backyard in New England, April 2020. Merganser Lake.

A Day on Merganser Lake XIV

I spent most of the weekend working in the garden and putting a fence around a new plot I had dug a few weeks earlier. Having never put in a fence before, I was fairly happy with the results. Apparently, a palm warbler agreed as it perched on the fence less than an hour after I had completed the task. Gotta love warbler season.

(Repeat text for context:  I’m running out of COVID-19 lockdown themes so from now until things get back to some semblance of normalcy, I will simply post my best photo from the previous day. You could say it fits because of its uncertainty and challenge. I’ll call the series “A Day on Merganser Lake,” even though that’s not the real name of the lake I live near in southwestern Connecticut, it’s just a nod to my favorite duck family.)

For the Birds: Romance with mealworms

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Photo by Chris Bosak A male eastern bluebird feeds his mate mealworms in a backyard in Danbury, Connecticut, April 2020. Merganser Lake.

Is there anything more romantic than shoving a few dried mealworms into your mate’s mouth? Not if you’re a bluebird.

“My” bluebirds are still coming around daily. For the past few days, I’ve watched the male feeding the female, even though she could easily get her own mealworms a few feet away. What fun would that be? Where’s the romance in that? How would she really know if he was the one?

It’s part of the courtship, of course, but it’s also fun to watch. Every time I saw them land on the deck railing together I’d wait a few seconds and, sure enough, the male would jump down to grab a few worms and go right back up to feed his mate.

I feel fortunate that the bluebirds are still visiting daily, but they won’t be using the bluebird box I purchased and set up in the backyard. They have checked it out a few times but don’t seem that interested in it. It’s not proper bluebird habitat, I admit. They prefer flat, Continue reading →

Birds to brighten your day: May 2

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Photo by Chris Bosak A rose-breasted grosbeak visits a feeder in New England, May 2020. Merganser Lake.

A Day on Merganser Lake XXIII

On the first day of May, “my” rose-breasted grosbeaks showed up. First, it was one male at my bedroom window feeder. Later, it was two males — both at my backyard feeding station. Welcome back! I look forward to seeing more of their relatives in the coming weeks.

Remember, always feel free to let me know via email or comment what you’re seeing.

(Repeat text for context:  I’m running out of COVID-19 lockdown themes so from now until things get back to some semblance of normalcy, I will simply post my best photo from the previous day. You could say it fits because of its uncertainty and challenge. I’ll call the series “A Day on Merganser Lake,” even though that’s not the real name of the lake I live near in southwestern Connecticut, it’s just a nod to my favorite duck family.)

Bonus post: Great article in Darien Times — Animals help get us through

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Susan Shultz of the Darien Times wrote a great piece about how animals (including birds) are helping people get through this difficult time in our history. I appreciate that she included me in the article. Ms. Shultz is a great writer and passionate editor for that paper.

Click here for the story. (I’m in the birdwatching part, obviously.)

Birds to brighten your day: May 1

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Photo by Chris Bosak A red-bellied woodpecker in New England, April 2020. Merganser Lake.

A Day on Merganser Lake XXII

Here’s a stately photo of a female red-bellied woodpecker. Males have red extending mullet-style from behind the bill all of the way down the lower neck area. Females have less red, such as this one. A photo of a male is included at the bottom of this post for comparison.

Many people call these red-headed woodpeckers, but that name is taken by another woodpecker that truly has an all red head. Red-headed woodpeckers are not seen often in New England. Red-bellied woodpeckers are now common in southern New England and working their way up north.

(Repeat text for context:  I’m running out of COVID-19 lockdown themes so from now until things get back to some semblance of normalcy, I will simply post my best photo from the previous day. You could say it fits because of its uncertainty and challenge. I’ll call the series “A Day on Merganser Lake,” even though that’s not the real name of the lake I live near in southwestern Connecticut, it’s just a nod to my favorite duck family.)

Photo by Chris Bosak A red-bellied woodpecker in New England, April 2020. Merganser Lake.
Photo by Chris Bosak A red-bellied woodpecker grabs a peanut from a feeder, March 2018.
Photo by Chris Bosak A red-bellied woodpecker grabs a peanut from a feeder, March 2018.

Birds to brighten your day: April 30

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Photo by Chris Bosak A yellow-rumped warbler hovers to get a treat from a feeder in Danbury, CT, April 2020. (Merganser Lake)

A Day on Merganser Lake XXI

The pine warblers swoop in and land on this apple-shaped feeder like it’s no problem. The yellow-rumped warblers, however, have difficulty and sometimes hover underneath it instead of landing on it. So I jacked up my ISO to freeze the action (at the cost of image quality) and got this shot of the yellow-rumped grabbing a suet nugget. The image at the bottom shows why it’s called a yellow-rumped warbler.

(Repeat text for context:  I’m running out of COVID-19 lockdown themes so from now until things get back to some semblance of normalcy, I will simply post my best photo from the previous day. You could say it fits because of its uncertainty and challenge. I’ll call the series “A Day on Merganser Lake,” even though that’s not the real name of the lake I live near in southwestern Connecticut, it’s just a nod to my favorite duck family.)

Photo by Chris Bosak A yellow-rumped warbler hovers to get a treat from a feeder in Danbury, CT, April 2020. (Merganser Lake)

Birds to brighten your day: April 29

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Photo by Chris Bosak A male northern cardinal feeds its mate in a backyard in New England, April 2020. Merganser Lake.

A Day on Merganser Lake XX

I like this shot because it reminds me of shy teenagers kissing behind the bushes. I remember those days, even though they were many moons ago. Last week, you may recall, I posted a photo of bluebirds feeding each other. Now, it’s the cardinals’ turn. My latest For the Birds column looks at this behavior. I’ll post the column on this site on Sunday, as usual.

(Repeat text for context:  I’m running out of COVID-19 lockdown themes so from now until things get back to some semblance of normalcy, I will simply post my best photo from the previous day. You could say it fits because of its uncertainty and challenge. I’ll call the series “A Day on Merganser Lake,” even though that’s not the real name of the lake I live near in southwestern Connecticut, it’s just a nod to my favorite duck family.)