For the Birds: When to prune, and more

Posted on August 16, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak American goldfinches nest later in the season than other New England songbirds.

Answering a few questions from readers:

John from Swanzey asked a few weeks ago when it is safe to prune bushes and hedges so as not to disturb any birds that might be nesting there. It’s a great question and one that is not as easily answered as one may think.

Spring and early summer are obviously not good times, as many of our songbirds use this type of habitat for nesting. Robins, doves, blue jays and catbirds immediately come to mind as they are common backyard birds in New England. Many other birds, such as yellow warblers and American redstarts, use shrubby areas for nesting as well, although they tend to use more wild areas rather than backyard bushes.

But what about mid and late summer? It should be safe then, right? Not necessarily.

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Piping plover chicks are high on the cuteness scale

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Chris Bosak

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

Here are a few shots of piping plover chicks with an attentive parent nearby. I got these shots on the same day as my recent visit to a beach in southern Connecticut. Cute hardly begins to describe these little birds. Here are some shots of oystercatchers (including a chick) I got on the same day.

Hard to beat an American oystercatcher sighting

A few more oystercatcher photos

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

Clapper rail comes out of hiding

Posted on July 14, 2025 by Chris Bosak

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

Rails are shy birds of the marshlands. Clapper rails are usually heard before they are seen, if they are seen at all. I stood in the muck at low tide for several minutes, and finally, this clapper rail decided to come out of the vegetation and walk along the mud for a few seconds. Several rails were calling back and forth in the marsh.

For the Birds: House wren becomes northern house wren

Posted on July 12, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak
A house wren perches on a branch in New England.

My brother and I were on our favorite birding trail in my old hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, when one of those fantastic bird flurries happened.

It was mid-May and the flurry consisted of four or five types of warblers, two brown thrashers, a blue-gray gnatcatcher, Baltimore orioles, a house wren and a few other species. When the flurry died down and I entered the species into my eBird report, I noticed something that struck me as odd.

When I entered house wren, the only option that came up was northern house wren. What the heck is that? I thought. I assumed that was the species I’ve always known as house wren, but I still wondered where the “northern” came from.

A quick internet search confirmed that the new official name for the house wren species that occurs in the U.S. is northern house wren. The southern house wren, formerly considered the same species as the northern, lives south of the U.S. and there are also five separate Caribbean endemic species. The split and name changes happened in 2024. Somehow, I missed the memo until now.

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Brown thrashers never fail to stir excitement

Posted on May 30, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak Brown thrashers at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pa., May 2025.

Brown thrashers are one of my favorite birds. I think I’ve now said that about 88 birds or more. But, really, brown thrashers are one of those birds that make me stop in my tracks every time I see one. In this case, I saw two. Thrashers are usually quite timid and do not allow for a close approach. I didn’t even try to get closer to these birds because I knew what the result would be. So, I let my zoom lens do the work from a distance that would not disturb the birds.

Below are a few shots of just one thrasher. (Just the name itself is awesome.)

Photo by Chris Bosak Brown thrasher at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pa., May 2025.

A few bonus rose-breasted grosbeak photos

Posted on May 5, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak A rose-breasted grosbeak perches in a dogwood tree, New England, spring 2025.

Yesterday, I used a photo of a rose-breasted grosbeak for my Singing in the Spring series. Today, I’m including a few bonus shots of a male rose-breasted grosbeak. You gotta love spring migration.

Photo by Chris Bosak Rose-breasted grosbeak, New England, spring 2025.

Canada goose profile pic

Posted on April 3, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak Canada goose in New England.

Here’s an interesting shot I took of a Canada goose the other day. I used the vignette feature to make the goose stand out more.

For the Birds: Good and bad news in latest State of the Birds Report

Posted on March 21, 2025 by Chris Bosak

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and other bird conservation organizations released the 2025 U.S. State of the Birds Report last week. Not surprisingly, the news was rather somber and highlighted alarming decreases in bird populations over the last 50 years.

It largely echoes the 2019 study that showed the loss of three billion birds in North America since 1970. Unfortunately, the news has gotten worse for many birds in the five years since that landmark study.

Rather than recapping the press release here, I wanted to point out some of the figures that jumped out at me personally. The full news release may be found online by searching for “2025 U.S. State of the Birds Report” or by visiting birdsofnewengland.com.

Like many studies, there is good news and bad news to be found. This study, sadly, is mostly bad news, but we’ll take a look at both sides.

It’s good news that 489 (68 percent) of the assessed bird species are listed as low concern. That doesn’t necessarily mean that these species are increasing or thriving; in fact, many are declining in number, but they haven’t reached the threshold for priority conservation planning.

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