Category Archives: For the Birds column

For the Birds: Female birds have a more subtle beauty

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Photo by Chris Bosak
A female bobolink perches in a field in Brookfield, Connecticut, summer 2026.

Every spring I head out to the same field to photograph bobolinks.

I know the hotspots to find them and wait patiently on the trails that cut through the fields for one to perch within reach of my zoom lens.

Even as I write this, several months after my latest adventure, I am picturing a male bobolink with its amazing black and white plumage accented by a large yellow patch on the back of his head. New England boasts many colorful birds, especially in the spring, and bobolinks certainly fit that bill.

As I was walking out of the field, I noticed a female bobolink perched among the tall grasses. I stopped in my tracks and snapped several photos of the willing subject. She didn’t have the striking colors or patterns of the male, but she had a subtle, understated beauty nonetheless. 

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes the female bobolink as “warm buffy brown, streaked with dark brown on the back and flanks, and bold brown stripes on the crown.” That sounds about right. It must be a tough job having to write descriptions of brownish birds and capturing the subtle beauty they each possess.

The bobolink is another example of a dimorphic bird species in which the male grabs most of the attention. Dimorphism is when male and female birds of the same species have different appearances. Monomorphism is when they look the same. 

Males get the attention for good reason, and it’s the way nature intended. Males are flashy so they can attract mates, intimidate rivals, and draw the attention of predators that may be lurking around a nest. Females are more drably plumaged to remain hidden during the nesting season. 

Females of dimorphic species rarely make magazine covers or calendars. That doesn’t mean they aren’t beautiful. Sometimes, though, it takes a closer look to appreciate the intricate patterns and subdued but visually appealing colors.

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say that the scarlet tanager, rose-breasted grosbeak, indigo bunting and Baltimore oriole are four of the birds that cause the most excitement in New England because of the brilliant plumages of the males. The females are much more subtly colored, particularly the bunting. Female orioles and tanagers, however, feature colorful plumage but pale in comparison to striking males. 

Interestingly, male bobolinks, tanagers and grosbeaks in nonbreeding plumage very closely resemble females and look vastly different during fall migration. 

Fully appreciating female birds is like appreciating sparrows. They are largely devoid of bright colors, so much so that they are often lumped together as LBJs, or little brown jobs. But closer inspection of these birds, especially the native sparrows, yields a beauty that is easy to appreciate. They can be tricky to identify for beginning and even intermediate birders until one learns to recognize and truly appreciate the intricacies of their plumage.

When I got home from my bobolink adventure and looked at the photos, it was the ones of the female that pleased me the most. I’m glad I took the time to stop and appreciate the bird rather than writing her off as just another boring brown bird. 

For the Birds: Turnstones and plovers add excitement to fishing trip

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Photo by Chris Bosak
A ruddy turnstone looks for food at Milford Point, Connecticut, summer 2026.

My son Andrew and I moved quickly along the beach to the fishing spot several hundred yards away. He lugged the heavy bag with a cooler, fishing supplies, and snacks. I carried the rods and chairs.

We passed dozens of shorebirds on the way to our spot at the mouth of a river that feeds into Long Island Sound. I noted mostly piping plovers, but there were also ruddy turnstones and a few American oystercatchers.

Normally, I would drop everything and obsess over trying to get photos of the birds, but we had this day planned for a while, and I didn’t want my hobby to take over the father-son time. Maybe I’ll stop for a few photos on the way back, I thought.

As we walked farther along the beach, least terns became the dominant bird species. There is a sizable colony of the small terns with yellow bills that nest there. Least terns nest a little later than the shorebirds that raise young there.

My guess is that the piping plovers I saw were a mix of adult birds that nest there, along with their first-year birds, as well as some early fall migrants that nested farther north. Piping plovers breed as far north as Newfoundland.

It seems funny to refer to fall migration in July, but many shorebirds start their southward journey by the middle of summer. Meanwhile, American goldfinches are just getting around to nesting.

The ruddy turnstones were almost certainly migrants, unless they were nonbreeding birds and never made it all the way north. They breed in the Arctic and, unlike a lot of shorebirds that stick mainly to coastal areas during migration, can be fairly widespread on their migratory journeys.

I watched one turnstone working the water’s edge looking for food. Even from casual observation, it’s easy to see where they got their name.

Ruddy, of course, comes from the rusty-red color on their backs and wings in breeding plumage. Turnstone comes from their foraging method of using their bills to flip over rocks to search for morsels. The turnstone I watched made it look so easy and barely broke its momentum as it turned over rocks while walking along the shoreline.

I’ve always liked ruddy turnstones. They are more prominently patterned and slightly larger than many shorebirds and therefore easier to identify. Many shorebirds get lumped into the category of “peeps,” which is another way of saying “I know it’s a shorebird, but I’m not sure which one.” Birds such as least sandpiper, western sandpiper, and semipalmated sandpiper fit into that category. It often takes an expert to identify exactly which one is being seen. Sanderlings are slightly different but also often lumped in as peeps.

Ruddy turnstones, however, are easy to separate from the rest of the shorebirds, particularly in breeding plumage. Turnstones have black and white heads, chests and bellies, rusty-red backs, black bills and bright orange legs.

Sure enough, I snapped a few photos on the long walk back to the parking lot. I didn’t linger and obsess over the shots. In fact, I didn’t even drop the rods and chairs but rather switched them to my left hand and used the camera with my right. It proved to be difficult to maneuver a camera with a long, heavy lens and hold it still with one hand. Thank goodness for autofocus, which made the photographs at least serviceable.

The birds made the long walk over rocks and sand go quickly. It’s always fun to see shorebirds now and then, as coastal areas are not a habitat I visit frequently.

As for the fishing, let’s just say the weight of our catch did not slow us down.

For the Birds: Loons and eagles highlight trip up north

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Photo by Chris Bosak
A common loon rests on a pond in northern New Hampshire, summer 2026.

It was a scene you might see in the opening frames of a movie.

The mist was thick coming off the water, and the sunrise peaking over the distant mountain painted the eastern sky a brilliant orange. Tall pines marked the edge of the pond, and a pair of loons silently floated on the mirror-like water.

Heather and I slowly paddled toward the loons but kept a respectable distance so as to not disturb their morning routine, which seemed to be not much more than sitting still on the water. Neither one of the loons made any of their iconic sounds, but the scene was still quintessential New England regardless.

As we paddled east toward the rising and slowly brightening sun, belted kingfishers on either side of the pond rattled simultaneously, creating a stereo effect among the din of birdsong that filled the morning air. Based on what we heard, common yellowthroats, Swainson’s thrushes, red-winged blackbirds and red-breasted nuthatches were the dominant songbirds hiding in the thick woods.

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For the Birds: Rain or not, birds have to eat

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Photo by Chris Bosak
A soggy blue jay visits a feeder during a heavy rain in New England.

A major storm blew through New England the evening of the Fourth of July, but it was the weather event that happened two days later that caught my attention.

It was a work-from-home day, so I had a front-row seat to the feeders all day. I thought it was going to be a slow day as it rained heavily all day. And the action was slow, at first.

After a few hours of relentless teeming rain, the birds started coming again. Not surprisingly, the first birds to show up in the rain were cardinals. They are usually the first to show up in the morning and the last ones left as darkness settles in, so it was only fitting that they would appear first on this wet, soggy day.

The blue jays appeared not long after. Then the catbirds, then the chickadees and titmice. At this point, all of the birds appeared at the feeder looking like drowned rats. Remember, this wasn’t a gentle shower where the water would bead up nicely on the birds’ oily feathers and eventually roll away. This was a driving rain that soaked right through the layers of feathers.

So why were the birds out during this rain? Why not remain hunkered down until the rain passed? 

The answer, of course, is that they were hungry. Birds have a high metabolism and need to eat a lot to get through the hours and days. It is estimated that small songbirds eat between 25 and 35 percent of their body weight each day. The rain had been steady for hours and wasn’t going to let up anytime soon. 

Birds face many risk-reward dilemmas in their lifetimes. Migrate and face the inherent dangers of traveling great distances, or remain up north and risk freezing during the winter? Fight, flight, or hide when a predator is near?

In this case, the possibility of starving finally outweighed the potential pitfalls of venturing out in a heavy rain. Other than their ragged appearance, the birds did not appear stressed. It was business as usual.

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For the Birds: Yellow warbler no more; warbling vireo no more

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Photo by Chris Bosak
A warbling vireo sings from a perch in New England.

Last year I wrote about finding a house wren and not being able to find it on the eBird list only to discover that the name of the bird had been officially changed to northern house wren.

Well, this year, there were two more similar name changes. First, the yellow warbler is now the northern yellow warbler. I think most people will continue to call it yellow warbler for years to come, but the familiar, loquacious yellow bird that nests throughout New England is, indeed, now the northern yellow warbler. 

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For the Birds: Summer is for birding

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Photo by Chris Bosak
Yellow warbler at Huntington State Park, Redding, CT. Yellow warblers are common summer sightings throughout New England.

Summer gets a bad rap for birdwatching.

Sure, it’s not as exciting as the spring migration when every day is a new discovery and a whirlwind of birding activity, but the summer has its own rewards. The most exciting part of summer birdwatching, of course, is discovering nesting activity and watching young birds grow. There’s much more to summer birdwatching, however.

First, let’s acknowledge some of the challenges to birdwatching in the summer. Finding a bird in the woods becomes extremely difficult as the leaves are out in full force. You can drive yourself batty trying to find an eastern wood pewee high atop a leafed-out maple or oak.

Birds are also much less vocal in the summer than they are in the spring. Very often in birdwatching, birds are heard before they are seen. You hear a bird, look in that direction, and you find the bird. It’s not always that easy, for sure, but you get the idea. In the summer, birds don’t always give us that verbal cue, making it much more difficult to spot them. Birds don’t want to be seen in the summer, as they are on nests or raising young. The last thing they want is to be discovered, so they remain hidden and silent.

Finally, birdwatching hours in the summer are not conducive to late sleepers or those who turn in early. The long days mean that the sun rises early and sets late. True of all seasons, the best time to watch birds in the summer is early morning or evening. By 9 a.m., the sun is already high and harsh in the sky, and the temperature is rising. You can still find birds in the afternoon, but even the birds seek out shade when it’s too hot.

Now on to the good stuff.

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For the Birds: Wrapping up the warbler season

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Photo by Chris Bosak – A northern parula sings from the top of a shrub in New England this spring.

Now that the spring migration is over, at least for the most part, it’s time to turn our attention to summer birdwatching.

Before we do that, I want to recap my spring birdwatching highlights. Spring highlights often begin and end with warblers, and this spring was no exception, although some non-warblers are certainly worthy of inclusion here.

It was another good spring for warblers. I’ll get into some of the less common ones later in the column, but the warblers that are often seen in New England did not disappoint. Yellow warblers were, and continue to be, seemingly around every corner. Their ubiquitous song is inescapable. (Not that I’d want to escape it in the first place.)

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For the Birds: Don’t miss the action this spring

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Photo by Chris Bosak
Yellow warbler at Huntington State Park, Redding, CT, May 2026.

Spring migration continues to work its magic. 

My walks have been filled with migrants, including a few FOYs (first of years) each time I go out. On one recent walk, I saw a veery, red-eyed vireo, and American redstart, all firsts of the year. It’s always nice to see birds for the first time since last spring, summer or fall. 

The feeling is a little different for birds that we know are just passing through and won’t nest here. Of course, it’s always nice to see the first rose-breasted grosbeak, scarlet tanager, Baltimore oriole or ruby-throated hummingbird, but we know they will nest locally, and we will have plenty more chances to see them over the next several months.

Some birds, however, especially select warblers, will not nest locally, so if we miss them during their short window of passing through New England, we have to wait until fall to try to catch a glimpse of them as they pass through during their southern flight. If we miss that opportunity, our next chance will be the following spring.

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For the Birds: Nesting season has its ups and downs

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Photo by Chris Bosak
A northern flicker hollows out a hole in a snag for a potential nest site, New England, April 2026.

While the majority of spring migrants are still working their way north, many of New England’s year-round birds are already getting down to the business of nesting.

I’m sure I’ll see plenty of nesting activity as the spring progresses, but last week I witnessed two interesting scenes related to nesting. 

The first was in my backyard. As I approached one of my birdfeeders to throw in a handful of safflower seed, I noticed a northern flicker dart off into the woods. Its white rump patch gave away its identification. I was fairly certain the flicker had been clinging to a topped-off dead tree a dozen or so yards away from the feeder, and I made a note to approach the feeder more carefully next time.

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For the Birds: The shore comes through again

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Photo by Chris Bosak – A male piping plover (background) moves toward a female plover at Milford Point, April 2026.

The spring migration has certainly begun, but it is still in the building-up phase.

I took a few walks in the woods over the last few days and saw some very welcomed migrants, such as pine warbler, palm warbler, yellow-rumped warbler and Louisiana waterthrush. 

When migration is just picking up, however, the action can be hit or miss. In a few weeks, the action will be all hits all the time, and I’m sure we are all looking forward to that.

While those first migrants are great to see after a long winter, they also whet the appetite to see more spring migrants. The woods will be hit or miss for the next several days anyway, so the other day I went to a spot where I knew I would see a few old feathered friends that I hadn’t seen since last summer.

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