Category Archives: chris bosak nature photographer

Christmas Bird Count time is here

Posted on by
Reply

CBC-logo-stacked

The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) season is upon us. The local one that I participate in — the Westport Circle — takes place on Sunday. Many of the counts take place this weekend, but the range to do the count started on Dec. 14 and runs through Jan. 5. Participants spend all day “in the field” counting birds (individual species and total number) and send the data to the circle’s compiler, who turns it all into the National Audubon Society.

The Christmas Bird Count is the world’s largest citizen science program with data going back to 1900. The data helps scientists track bird populations and is valuable in determining what steps, if any, need to be taken to help certain species.

The data, of course, is valuable and is indeed the most important part of the CBC. But it’s also a fun day to look for birds all day. Sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate — let me rephrase that, the weather hardly ever cooperates — but that only adds Continue reading →

Not a turkey, but a nice Thanksgiving sighting

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak A Common Loon swims in Long Island Sound in Darien on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 27), 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Common Loon swims in Long Island Sound in Darien on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 27), 2014.

I took my boys Andrew and Will on our annual Thanksgiving Duck Hunt (actually a watch) on Thursday. Time was short this year so we hit only a few of our regular spots and no true freshwater ponds, so the number of duck species we found was way down. Our goal each year is 10 different species. This we only got five: Hooded Merganser; American Wigeon; Black Duck; Mallard; and Bufflehead. It was our worst effort in the eight years we’ve been doing it, but again, time was short and the time spent together is the main goal. So mission accomplished in that regard.

We did get a nice surprise at Weed Beach in Darien when a Common Loon made an appearance much closer to shore than usual. Loons are much more drab in the winter than they are in summer, but it’s a thrill to see this iconic bird regardless of the season.

Here are a few shots of the loon — a big, powerful bird — taken on a very gray day.

Oh, by the way, we did see a flock of turkeys on someone’s front yard.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Common Loon swims in Long Island Sound on Thanksgiving Day, (Nov. 27), 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Common Loon swims in Long Island Sound on Thanksgiving Day, (Nov. 27), 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Common Loon swims in Long Island Sound on Thanksgiving Day, (Nov. 27), 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Common Loon swims in Long Island Sound on Thanksgiving Day, (Nov. 27), 2014.

 

Love this White-breasted Nuthatch photo

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak White-breasted Nuthatch at backyard feeder, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
White-breasted Nuthatch at backyard feeder, Oct. 2014.

Sometimes when photographing birds (or anything for that matter) you never really know what you’ll get. You should always be mindful of the background, but sometimes it’s tough to determine exactly how the photo will look until you take it. Honestly I got kind of lucky with this shot with the jet black background, which really makes the White-breasted Nuthatch standout. I’m not even sure what in the background was so black. Oh well, I’ll take it.

This is the third in a series of photographs celebrating our common backyard feeder birds.

Who doesn’t love chickadees?

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak Black-capped Chickadee at backyard feeder, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
Black-capped Chickadee at backyard feeder, Oct. 2014.

I highlight the Black-capped Chickadee as the second in a series of photos of our common backyard birds here in New England. This series of photos will focus on the birds we commonly see at our feeders. Can you ever see enough chickadee photos?

Kicking off a celebration of our common backyard birds

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak A Tufted Titmouse perches on a branch of a fading sunflower before heading to a nearby birdfeeder.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Tufted Titmouse perches on a branch of a fading sunflower before heading to a nearby birdfeeder.

This photo of a Tufted Titmouse is pulling double duty. It accompanied my latest column in The Hour (Norwalk, Ct) and The Keene Sentinel (Keene, NH), which may be found here.

It is also being used on this post to kick off a celebration of our common backyard feeder birds. This is a great time of year for feeding birds as the feeders are active with titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, cardinals and other birds. Under the feeder, birds such as White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos have returned. So to celebrate that, I’ll post a series of photos highlighting some of our more common, but beloved, backyard birds.

A few more northern New England photos

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak A Common Loon at a pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014. This loon is transitioning between summer and winter plumage.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Common Loon at a pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014. This loon is transitioning between summer and winter plumage.

Here are a few more shots from my recent trip to northern New England. I’m already looking forward to getting up there again.

I call this one “The one that got away.” I was canoeing on a pond in New Hampshire and focusing so heavily on the loon pictured above that I wasn’t aware of the rest of my surroundings. Suddenly I noticed a Bald Eagle flying away from scene. It had been perched on the top of a pine tree and I completely missed it — well, almost completely. I managed this quick shot of it flying away.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Bald Eagle flies across the autumn scene in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Bald Eagle flies across the autumn scene in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.

Finally, here’s an American River Otter. There were two of them and it was the first time in years I’ve seen otters while I was canoeing. Unfortunately, this particular morning was very dark and gray, hence the not-so-good quality of the photo.

Photo by Chris Bosak A River Otter looks around a small pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A River Otter looks around a small pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.

Walking into work this morning: Great Blue Heron in Norwalk

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak A Great Blue Heron stands on a piling along the Norwalk River on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Great Blue Heron stands on a piling along the Norwalk River on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014.

I parked the car at work this morning (Tuesday, Oct. 14), looked to my right and there’s a Great Blue Heron standing on a piling a few dozen yards away. All days should start this way.

Coincidentally, I posted last night photos of a Great Blue Heron that I took during a recent trip to northern New Hampshire. Great Blue Herons are found throughout the U.S., and beyond. So, in consecutive days, here are photos of Great Blue Herons taken from the top to the bottom of New England.

Here’s one of the heron with South Norwalk (Conn.) as the background.

Great Blue in the Great North Woods

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak A Great Blue Heron flies across the scene at a pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Great Blue Heron flies across the scene at a pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.

Here’s a Great Blue Heron I found while I was canoeing on a small pond in northern New Hampshire during my recent trip to the “Great North Woods,” as the marketers have dubbed the area.

Many of the birds there had already moved south, but a few bird species were still around. I’ve already posted photos of Belted Kingfishers and Common Loons, and now here’s a heron. I have a few more to post before closing the books on my annual trip up north.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Great Blue Heron hunts on the shore of a pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Great Blue Heron hunts on the shore of a pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.

Latest For the Birds column: Loons in the fall

Posted on by
2
Photo by Chris Bosak A Common Loon in transitional plumage swims on a pond in northern New Hampshire in early October 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Common Loon in transitional plumage swims on a pond in northern New Hampshire in early October 2014.

I recently took my annual trip to northern New England in the hopes of seeing moose and few boreal bird species. The moose were scarce _ I saw a grand total of zero _ and Gray Jays were the only real boreal species of birds I saw. Nonetheless I did see plenty of Common Loons, which makes for a successful trip in my book. My latest For the Birds column addresses loons and their summer and winter plumage (and in-between plumage).
The full column may be seen here. 

Over the next several days I’ll post photos from the trip, which included stops in central Maine and northern New Hampshire.