Category Archives: For the Birds column

For the Birds: Rails get their turn finally

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Photo by Chris Bosak Clapper rail in Milford, Connecticut, summer 2025.

I’ve written about a lot of different types of birds over the last 30 years. There are some birds I’ve likely written about hundreds of times, and some only a handful of times.

If I searched my “For the Birds” folder for chickadee, robin or woodpecker, I’d get hundreds of hits. If I searched for vireo or flycatcher, I’d get far fewer hits, but still a decent amount.

There’s one bird family found in New England I’m not sure I’ve ever written about or even mentioned within a column. It’s the rail family. Rails are small to medium-sized chicken-like birds of the marshes. The reasons I haven’t written about them before are fairly obvious: rails are not very common, live in a habitat that is difficult for humans to traverse and are extremely secretive.

New England has a few members of the rail family. Virginia rail is the most common and the one most likely to be seen in New Hampshire. Sora is the other most likely candidate in New Hampshire. Clapper rails may be found along the coastal regions of New England.

There are also yellow rails, black rails and king rails found in New England, but they are rarely seen. Virginia rail is the best bet, but even that is a chore.

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For the Birds: Plumage challenges of late summer

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Photo by Chris Bosak American oystercatcher chick, Milford, Connecticut, summer 2025.

The Cooper’s hawk I wrote about last week was a bit of an anomaly for me.

It’s not that I don’t see Cooper’s hawks often, but I typically see immature Cooper’s hawks. The one featured last week was an adult. Looking back through my photo collection, the vast majority of Cooper’s hawks I have photographed were immature birds.

With many birds, differentiating young birds from adults can be tricky as the time period between immature plumage and adult plumage is relatively short. With Cooper’s hawks, it’s easier as they retain their immature plumage into their second year. Bald eagles, similarly, do not obtain their classic white heads and tails until they are four or five years old.

As immature birds, Cooper’s hawks (as well as closely related sharp-shinned hawks) are brown with tan-streaked white chests and bellies. As adults, they are blue-gray with reddish-streaked white chests and bellies. Immature Cooper’s hawks have yellow eyes, and adults have red eyes. Interestingly, ospreys are the opposite with adults having yellow eyes and immatures having orange-red eyes.

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For the Birds: Birds sightings can happen anywhere

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Photo by Chris Bosak – A Cooper’s hawk eats a meal in New England, summer 2025.

“One of the nice things about birdwatching is …”

I’ve started many sentences with that phrase over the years. The backend of that line may be finished in almost innumerable ways:

… everyone, regardless of age or skill level, can enjoy it.

… it can be done during any time of the day or year.

… no two days are alike.

… there is always something new to learn or discover, regardless of how advanced you are.

… each time of year brings its own delights.

For the purposes of this column, the sentence will read: “One of the nice things about birdwatching is that it can be done anywhere.” Not many hobbies can be enjoyed in the woods, in a canoe or kayak, at a local park, or sitting in the kitchen looking out the window with your morning cup of coffee.

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For the Birds: New England birding from top to bottom

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Photo by Chris Bosak Piping plover, Milford, Connecticut, summer 2025.

I’ve looked for birds in New England from top to bottom this month. At the beginning of July, I drove to Pittsburg, NH, near the Canadian border, and last week, I visited a beach/nature preserve on Long Island Sound in southern Connecticut.

Yes, technically, northern Maine would be top of New England, but let’s not split hairs here.

It was quite a contrast in habitat and birdlife between the two points, from the boreal forest up north to the marsh and shoreline down south. 

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For the Birds: Young birds offer hope for the future

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Photo by Chris Bosak – A young male rose-breasted grosbeak visits a feeder in New England, summer 2025. Note the brown feathers on the wings.

I was heading to my car at work when four or five relatively large birds emerged on the ground from around the corner of a building. I didn’t immediately recognize them, as their sudden appearance surprised me and my mind was elsewhere.

I took a few more steps and quickly realized what they were: baby turkeys. By that time, I had progressed enough that the mother turkey was now visible and only a few yards away. Will she attack like a mute swan or Canada goose might? Never get between a mother and her babies, the saying goes. I wasn’t actually between them, but I was certainly close enough to some of the babies that I could be considered a threat.

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For the Birds: Time for a chat

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Photo by Chris Bosak A yellow-breasted chat sings from a shrub in New England, June 2025.

I was walking along a productive section of a trail in southern New England when a loud birdsong caught my attention. As is often the case, I didn’t recognize it immediately, but knew it was worth stopping for and investigating. 

Sometimes when that happens, it turns out to be a seldom-used song or call from a familiar bird. Tufted titmice have a wide variety of sounds and they often throw me off. The same goes for catbirds, robins and orioles. But this time, it was indeed something uncommon. 

I used the Merlin app on my phone and it identified it as a yellow-breasted chat. That would be cool, I thought, but let’s get visual confirmation. The Merlin app is a great new tool for birdwatchers, but it’s not 100 percent accurate, and I always like to get visual confirmation. 

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For the Birds: New England has plenty to offer birdwatchers

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Photo by Chris Bosak An American robin eats border privet berries in New England, January 2025.

I was finishing up a bird walk the other day when I came across another birder just starting their day’s adventure. She asked a question common among birdwatchers: “Did you see anything good out there?”

Of course, all birds are good, but the underlying question is whether anything rare or uncommon was spotted. I shared that there were a few warblers and songbirds around, but I hadn’t seen anything too noteworthy.

I started naming off some of the highlights. I had found a bluebird nest in a snag (dead tree) and the parents were busy feeding the youngsters. The warblers included American redstart, common yellowthroat, yellow warbler, ovenbird and black-and-white warbler. I had spotted a few rose-breasted grosbeaks and Baltimore orioles, but no scarlet tanagers or indigo buntings.

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For the Birds: Oriole nests are something to behold

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Baltimore oriole builds a nest at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pa., May 2025.

Everything about a Baltimore oriole nest is ingenious. From the design and materials to the location selection, the nest is a perfect haven to raise young birds safely from predators (for the most part).

Fall is the best time to find oriole nests, after the leaves have fallen. Of course, by that time, the orioles are long gone, and the nest is a mere relic of the past breeding season, but it’s still interesting to see one of the pouch-like nests dangling from the end of a branch.

The other week, I was lucky enough to watch a female oriole build one of those remarkable nests. I was walking along a trail that was teeming with yellow warblers, catbirds, and Baltimore orioles when I glanced up and saw an oriole perched at the end of a branch overhead.

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For the Birds: Sandhill crane not on my Bingo card

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Sandhill crane, Presque Isle, Erie, Pa., May 2025.

What is rare and causes excitement in one area is often commonplace and taken for granted in other areas.

For instance, a roseate spoonbill caused quite a stir in southern New England a few years ago. People came from all over the region to see it. If you visit the right places in Florida, however, roseate spoonbills, while I’m sure still appreciated, are no big deal to the locals.

Conversely, there are birds common to New England that sometimes stray into other regions where they are not common and are a thrill for the people in that region.

Last week, while visiting my brother in Erie, Pennsylvania, I had one of those out-of-place bird experiences. We were walking along a trail looking for warblers and other migrating songbirds when I heard in the distance a very loud song from a bird that I did not recognize. Even though I didn’t know what the song was right away, I knew it was something special as I was certain I had never heard it before. The call was extremely distinctive, loud and carried a long way. 

My brother had his Merlin app activated and sandhill crane came up. I had no idea that there were sandhill cranes at Presque Isle State Park as we have visited there frequently and had never seen, heard or even heard mention of the large birds being there before.

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For the Birds: Warbling vireos everywhere

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Photo by Chris Bosak A warbling vireo sings from a branch in New England, spring 2025.

It’s funny how you can still discover new things after so many years.

I’m sure that applies to most hobbies, but it certainly applies to birdwatching. I have only recently “discovered” the warbling vireo. The small, loquacious bird, of course, has been around for far longer than I have been birdwatching, but I am only recently taking notice of it.

Part of the reason I may not have paid it much mind previously is that it is a small, fairly nondescript bird that typically hangs out in the middle to upper branches among the leaves. It is not like some birds that take an obvious perch somewhat low in the trees or brush and are easily found on a birdwalk.

Over the last couple of years, however, I have come to know warbling vireos not only because the males sing constantly, but I am finding them almost everywhere I go in the spring.

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