Category Archives: Uncategorized

For the Birds: About that coyote

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Photo by Chris Bosak A coyote trots across a field at Huntington State Park in Redding, CT, fall 2024.

My experience with the coyote the other day got me curious about the species. As I mentioned last week, coyotes are fairly common throughout all of New England these days, but I’ve seen them on only a few occasions.

 

The recent sighting was my closest encounter with a coyote to date and the only one so far that afforded a photo opp. As is often the case, once I get a decent photo of a species, I do a deep dive into its life history.

 

Here are some interesting facts (at least I found them interesting) about the eastern coyote, gleaned from several sources on the internet.

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For the Birds: Coyotes crosses the scene

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Photo by Chris Bosak A coyote trots across a field in New England, fall 2024.

My usual walk at a park near my home starts with a slight downhill trail abutting a huge field. The trail soon branches off in two directions: right leads into the woods, and left takes you along a wide trail with brushy habitat on either side.

Nine times out of ten, I take the trail to the left. The brushy habitat is home to a greater number and variety of birds than the narrow trail through the woods. While the left trail is rather wide, approximately 15 feet, the brush on either side is tall and thick and blocks the view of what lies immediately on either side.

There is one spot along the trail, however, where the brush is matted down, exposing a crumbled rock wall and an expansive view of the field. For the adventurous, this spot also offers a chance to gingerly walk on the matted-down brush, step on some of the fallen rocks from the wall and jump down into the field on the other side.

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Purple finch vs. house finch

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Here are some photos of house finches and purple finches, for comparison.

Males

Photo by Chris Bosak – Male purple finch
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Another shot of the downy woodpecker on wasp nest

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Here’s another shot of the female downy woodpecker looking for food by tearing apart a dormant wasp’s nest.

Photo by Chris Bosak

For the Birds: Look carefully in the fall

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black-throated blue female

Last fall, I watched and attempted in vain to photograph several little birds fitting among low-lying bushes at a particular spot in the woods.

Eventually, I was able to get a good look at one and identify them as golden-crowned kinglets. Fitful for kinglets, they moved constantly. They sat still for only a second or two as they moved from one branch to the next. Most of the time, they remained concealed by leaves.

The other day, I walked by that same exact patch in the woods and noticed two small birds flitting among the bushes. My instinct was to move on without getting a better look, as I assumed they were golden-crowned kinglets that wouldn’t let me photograph them anyway.

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For the Birds: What’s in a (bird) name?

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Photo by Chris Bosak – A northern flicker (yellow-shafted flicker) preens in New England.

Some bird names are spot on. Yellow-rumped warblers have yellow rumps as an obvious field mark. Mourning doves have a mournful-sounding call. Bluebirds are, well, blue birds.

Some bird names do not seem to make sense. A red belly is hardly a red-bellied woodpecker’s most distinctive field mark. Yes, their bellies are red and yes, the name red-headed woodpecker is already taken by a more deserving species, but still. American robins are actually thrushes, and most warblers do not warble.

Then there are bird names that make sense only after looking up the meaning of a few words. Semipalmated plovers and semipalmated sandpipers are so named because there is partial webbing between their toes. The zoological definition of palmated, according to dictionary.com, is “web-footed.” I was several years into my birding hobby before I learned this. I don’t think I gave it a second thought before I heard it for the first time. I just accepted that as the name and moved on.

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Catbird photo just because

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Photo by Chris Bosak – A gray catbird at Huntington State Park in southern Connecticut, summer 2024.

Here’s a handsome, cooperative gray catbird I came across on my walk this morning.

For the Birds: Fishing, birding: It’s all good outdoors

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Photo by Chris Bosak – A semi-palmated plover rests on a log near Long Island Sound earlier this month.

My oldest son Andrew, who somehow is now a full-blown adult at age 21, recently took up shore fishing as a hobby. I was happy when he told me because any hobby that requires spending a lot of time in the great outdoors away from screens and technology is a good thing.

I was equally happy when he asked me to come along on a recent outing. I have fished on and off throughout my life, but the hobby never really grabbed me in the same way as some other outdoor pursuits. I have great memories of trout fishing with my brother when we were teens and teaching my boys to fish when they were youngsters, but other than that, my fishing experiences are rather few and far between. 

I purchased a few marine fishing licenses online, and Andrew and I headed to the Connecticut coast of Long Island Sound. I brought my camera just in case there happened to be birds there too. 

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A few more gray tree frog photos

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Here are a few more photos of the gray tree frog spotted the other on a trail at work.

Here is the original story.

Photo by Chris Bosak – A gray tree frog sits in the middle of a trail in New England. Gray tree frogs can change color (from gray to green) depending on the surroundings.
Photo by Chris Bosak – Gray tree frog

For the Birds: A flurry like no other

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Photo by Chris Bosak An eastern towhee perches on a branch in New England, April 2019.

Birdwatching can be a roller coaster at times with next to nothing happening for long stretches and then, seemingly out of nowhere, short bursts of activity will lift your spirits and make it all worthwhile. 

When the birdwatching is slow, particularly in the winter, birdwatchers always hold out hope for that flurry. While spring offers a more consistent level of sightings, summer can be similar to winter on that roller coaster ride.

In the winter, the flurry usually consists of a mixed flock of titmice and chickadees with perhaps other species such as nuthatches and goldfinches joining in. In the summer, the flurries may consist of robins, catbirds, blue jays, cardinals and other New England nesting birds.

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