Category Archives: Random photos

Merganser Lake: Quick walk in the snow – finally

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Photo by Chris Bosak Oak leaves covered in a light coating of snow on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, in Danbury, Conn.

Photo by Chris Bosak
Oak leaves covered in a light coating of snow on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, in Danbury, Conn.

Snow has been scarce in southern New England this winter so when I woke up to an unexpected covering of the white stuff this morning, I couldn’t wait to take the quick walk through the woods to Little Merganser Lake.

After I got the boys off to school, I set out. It was colder than I expected but it was still a pleasant and scenic walk. Any walk in the snow is scenic and rejuvenating.

Here are a few more iPhone shots of the walk. Continue reading →

Featured photo on “The Birding Wire”

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The Birding Wire is an electronic newsletter that comes out weekly as a service of the Outdoor Wire Digital Network. It includes news, events, equipment reviews and other odds/ends about the birding world. It also includes a featured photo of the week.

Guess who had this week’s featured photo? (The Birding Wire is actually much larger, but I just spliced via Photoshop the top and the section with the featured photo.) To see the Birding Wire, click here.

https://birdsofnewengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/birding-wire-mash.jpg

The Birding Wire featured photo, Dec. 9, 2015.

Young Cooper’s Hawk after meal

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Photo by Chris Bosak An immature Cooper's Hawk rests in a tree after eating a songbird in Norwalk, CT, summer 2015.

Photo by Chris Bosak
An immature Cooper’s Hawk rests in a tree after eating a songbird in Norwalk, CT, summer 2015.

I love when these types of calls come in.

“Hey Chris. It’s Alex. There’s a hawk in the parking lot. Come down.”

I jumped in the elevator, went down and met Alex (one of the photographers here at The Hour) in the parking lot. Sure enough, there was an immature Cooper’s Hawk sitting in a tree right above some cars. I grabbed a few shots, shot the breeze a bit with Alex and went back to work. Not all good bird photographs happen that easily, trust me.

Before I arrived, the young hawk had been eating a smaller bird, perhaps a catbird or titmouse, it was tough to tell from the scraps I could see on the ground. Alex captured a few shots of the hawk eating. He tweeted one, which may be seen here:

 

An extra winter bird photo

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Photo by Chris Bosak A male Northern Cardinal in Stamford, Conn., March 2015.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A male Northern Cardinal in Stamford, Conn., March 2015.

As spring takes over from this long winter, here is a photos I took this winter that never saw the light of day _ until now. Happy spring, everybody.

 

Must be spring, the phoebes are back

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Photo by Chris Bosak An Eastern Phoebe perches on a branch in Selleck's Woods in Darien, Conn., in late March 2015.

Photo by Chris Bosak
An Eastern Phoebe perches on a branch in Selleck’s Woods in Darien, Conn., in late March 2015.

A very quiet walk in a patch of woods the other day suddenly turned interesting when a lone Eastern Phoebe made an appearance. Overall, the phoebe is somewhat drab, but its habit of bobbing its tail constantly gives its identity away immediately.

I’ve always liked phoebes despite their nondescript appearance and quiet voice. Perhaps it’s because they migrate so early and offer some hope that winter is finally in the rearview mirror.

I’ve been seeing them almost daily now, so it’s nice to know spring is here. Phoebes, just like chickadees and several birds, are named after the song they sing.

 

A sunny, cold winter’s day for a birdwatcher

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Photo by Chris Bosak A junco looks for seeds on a dried up plant at Weed Beach in Darien, Conn., in Jan. 2015.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A junco looks for seeds on a dried up plant at Weed Beach in Darien, Conn., in Jan. 2015.

Photo by Chris Bosak An American Robin perches on a rock at Weed Beach in Darien, Conn., in Jan. 2015.

Photo by Chris Bosak
An American Robin perches on a rock at Weed Beach in Darien, Conn., in Jan. 2015.

I dropped off my third-grader at school and faced a decision heading out of the parking lot: Take a left to the beach and see what birds might be there; or take a right and basically start my work day earlier than I have to.

Of course I took the left. It’s a good thing, too, because there were some pretty cool birds down at the beach. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but some good photo opps of birds such as Continue reading →

Clearing out my 2014 photos, Take 5: Gray Catbird

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Gray Catbird perches on a thorny branch in Selleck's/Dunlap Woods in summer 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Gray Catbird perches on a thorny branch in Selleck’s/Dunlap Woods in summer 2014.

Here’s my next photo in the series of 2014 photos that I never got around to looking at and posting.

I probably overlooked this photo because I have so many Gray Catbird photos. In the summer in southern New England, birds can sometimes be scarce as they are busy raising families and hiding from potential predators. Catbirds, however, always seem to be around. They aren’t always in the open, but they are more so than the other birds. Birders and nature photographers with itchy “clicking fingers” are thankful for the photo ops Gray Catbirds give us in the summer.

Clearing out my 2014 photos, Take 4: Icy Branches

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Photo by Chris Bosak Ice covers branches in New England during a storm in Jan. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
Ice covers branches in New England during a storm in Jan. 2014.

Here’s my next photo in the series of 2014 photos that I never got around to looking at and posting.

Sometimes the most interesting things you see on a bird walk are not the birds at all. Here’s an example. A cold rain turned to ice while I was in the woods one day last January. It was fairly unpleasant out there, but the way the ice sheathed everything in the woods made it worth it. The drive home wasn’t fun either, but I made it.

Hooded Mergansers handle the snow

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Photo by Chris Bosak Four male Hooded Mergansers swim in Norwalk Harbor near Veterans Park in Norwalk, Conn., Jan. 2015.

Photo by Chris Bosak
Four male Hooded Mergansers swim in Norwalk Harbor near Veterans Park in Norwalk, Conn., Jan. 2015.

Much of Norwalk Harbor was frozen on Tuesday afternoon, but the spots that weren’t frozen made for ideal hunting grounds for Hooded Mergansers. It was the first measurable snow of the year for coastal southwestern Connecticut so I figured I’d take a quick drive to see what photographic opportunities presented themselves. Hooded Mergansers are often the only birds around on such days. Ducks, with their down feathers close to their bodies, are supremely adapted to handle such conditions.

Clearing out my 2014 photos, Take 2: Piping Plover preening

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Piping Plover preens on the beach at Milford Point, Conn., in April 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Piping Plover preens on the beach at Milford Point, Conn., in April 2014.

Here’s my next photo in the series of 2014 photos that I never got around to looking at and posting. I ran a similar photo in April, but here’s another look at a Piping Plover _ an endangered bird in New England _ preening at Audubon Coastal Connecticut Center at Milford Point. The photo was taken in April 2014.

Click here to read more about Piping Plovers and to see more photos of this spectacular shorebird.