Category Archives: For the Birds column

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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For the Birds: The other bird families that highlight spring in New England

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Photo by Chris Bosak – A veery stakes out territory in New England, spring 2025.

Warblers get all the press, but they are hardly the only bird family that passes through in great numbers in the spring. 

I’m guilty myself of fixating on warblers, both in my birdwatching and writing. It’s hard not to as they are a fascinating family of birds and a joy to see in the spring. They come in a wide variety of colors, which is a welcome sight after a long, gray New England winter. 

But enough about warblers, at least for now. Let’s focus on some of the other families that brighten our spring.

The other day, during a morning walk, I saw a great-crested flycatcher, wood thrush, red-eyed vireo and field sparrow. They are all members of families that have several species that either migrate through or nest in New England. 

We don’t often think of sparrows as migrants as several types remain here all winter. I also think house sparrows are so ubiquitous that they are the only birds some people think about when they hear the word sparrow. But over the past few days, I’ve seen chipping sparrows, swamp sparrows and field sparrows. Don’t forget that eastern towhees are sparrows too. I’m growing more and more fond of the sparrow family as time goes on – house sparrows excluded. 

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For the Birds: A not-so-good first of the year

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Photo by Chris Bosak Yellow-rumped Warbler at Selleck's Woods in Darien, Conn., April 2014.
Photo by Chris Bosak Yellow-rumped warblers are one of the first warbler species to arrive in New England in the spring.

Birdwatching firsts are usually good things.

A new birdwatcher sees a scarlet tanager for the first time. The first warblers show up in the spring. An evening grosbeak visits a feeder for the first time. (I’m still waiting for that one, by the way.) Witnessing a unique behavior, like an eagle harassing an osprey into dropping a fish, for the first time is always a thrill.

But not all firsts are cause for celebration. Some firsts are best avoided if at all possible. I was reminded of this last week when I woke up and found this year’s first deer tick embedded in my thigh.

I should have known better, of course. But there I was tromping through waist-high grass trying to get a better look at a swamp sparrow. It will be okay, I thought, it’s still early in the season, and it hasn’t really warmed up yet. Every year, it takes this lesson for me to realize that ticks emerge before I think they will.

I returned to the car after my unsuccessful attempt to close in on the swamp sparrow. As I sat down and got ready to turn the key, I noticed a deer tick on my pants, its tiny black-and-red body slowly crawling as it searched for a way to get to my blood.

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For the Birds: Good time to think about preventing bird window strikes

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Photo by Chris Bosak – Dark-eyed junco that did not survive a window strike.

I’ve had the unpleasant experience of finding dead birds under windows several times in my life. 

Whether at home, work or elsewhere, it’s always a sad sight to see a lifeless bird that has struck a window and become a statistic. It is estimated that more than a billion birds die each year in window collisions. That’s a billion with a b, as my dad used to say.

It’s even more horrific if you think about the bird’s final moment. One second, the bird is migrating, searching for food, fleeing from a predator, or simply going from point A to point B, and the next second, it’s dead on the ground. That’s if the bird is “lucky.” The unlucky ones are the ones that strike the window, fall to the ground and die painfully and slowly. 

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For the Birds: American black ducks in the spotlight

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Photo by Chris Bosak American black ducks stand on a frozen pond in New England last month.

The American black duck is, in my opinion, one of the more underrated birds in New England.

While it is true that black ducks are not the most exciting or colorful ducks in New England, I think the black duck is often overlooked because a lot of people assume it is a mallard. Mallards, of course, are extremely common and tame. Black ducks are not as common and certainly not as tame.

Differentiating an American black duck from a female mallard is one of the more common difficult identifications to make. It is up there with the house vs. purple finch and the sharp-shinned vs. Cooper’s hawk.

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For the Birds: Warblers come early

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Photo by Chris Bosak A pine warbler seen March 31, 2025, at Huntington State Park in Redding, Connecticut.

It’s an early start to the warbler season for me.

I was walking at my usual patch on March 31 when I heard a familiar trill-like song from the top of a tall white pine. A fast-paced trilling usually means it is a junco, chipping sparrow, or pine warbler. All three of these birds are in New England now, so unless you are an expert at identifying birds by song, it is best to find the bird and get visual confirmation.

Like most warblers, pine warblers do not sit still for very long, so it took only a few seconds of searching to find the tiny bird moving among the branches. It was indeed a pine warbler, a mostly yellow bird with white wing bars on gray wings.

Pine warblers are always the first, or at least one of the first, warblers to show up in New England each spring. I usually do not find them until a few days into April, but this year, my first warbler sighting came on the last day of March.

Coincidentally, I saw my first chipping sparrow of the spring last week as well. Yes, spring migration is underway.

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For the Birds: Return of the coyote

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Photo by Chris Bosak A coyote scratches itself in a field at Huntington State Park in Redding, Connecticut, March 2025.

This is the second column in the last few weeks where I end up writing about and using a photograph of an unintended subject because the primary target fell through.

A few weeks ago, you may recall, I wrote about a missed opportunity to photograph blue jays harassing a barred owl. The blue jays successfully drove off the owl before I could get into position for a photo. On the walk back to the car, I came across a flock of cedar waxwings eating berries and stopped to photograph them.

This time, the intended target was American woodcock, but I ended up coming home with more photos of my coyote friend. Late in 2024, I wrote about getting lucky and spotting a coyote in a field as I passed a small break in the thick, tangled, brushy border between the woods and field. I’m assuming this was the same coyote, as I spotted it in the same field very near where I had seen it before.

But first, my intended target. American woodcocks, or timberdoodles, have been a nemesis species of mine for many, many years. I’ve seen their evening aerial displays a few times, but I haven’t found one during the day when getting a photograph would be possible. The aerial displays come shortly after sunset when the evening light has faded.

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For the Birds: Eagles soaring in New England

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Photo by Chris Bosak Bald eagle in New England, March 2025.

I pulled into the small dirt parking lot at the reservoir to see what ducks were hanging around the dam. The water by the dam does not freeze, and there is always a good variety of waterfowl there all winter.

As I stepped out of the car, I noticed two large birds perched in a tree along the shoreline. I knew immediately they were much too large to be hawks. They must be eagles. Sure enough, it was one adult and one immature bald eagle. It takes eagles four or five years to get their signature white heads and tails. Immature eagles are, however, just as large and impressive as adults.

Of course, I was thrilled to see the bald eagle. However, I was not surprised. Bald eagle sightings have become increasingly common over the last several years as the population continues to rise.

The bald eagle’s recovery is one of the best conservation stories of the last several decades. The osprey recovery is equally exciting.

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