For the Birds: Icy conditions good for photography, not so much for birds

Posted on March 1, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak Black-capped chickadee perches on an icy branch, February 2025.

Every so often in New England, everything is covered in ice. I’m not talking about lakes and rivers freezing or icicles dangling from the edge of roofs. I’m talking about when literally everything outside is covered in ice. Every branch, every leaf, every pine needle, every blade of grass is sheathed in its own covering of ice.

It doesn’t happen often. Sometimes it’s once or twice a winter. Sometimes it’s once every couple of years. The conditions have to be just right.

The other week, the conditions were just right. A near-freezing rain fell hard in the evening, and, when the temperature dropped just a bit after the sun went down, it turned into freezing rain. By morning, everything was ice, including a slick covering on the remaining snow.

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For the Birds: Flushing a Cooper’s hawk will get the heart pumping

Posted on February 7, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak Adult Cooper’s hawk seen in Norwalk, Connecticut, January 2025.

I was walking along a short but windy trail in southern New England the other day in search of overwintering warblers. This short path is known for harboring these tiny songbirds during the winter, as it is adjacent to a water treatment center that features open water on even the coldest days.

I came around one of the many bends and jumped back as I flushed a large bird that was on the ground next to the trail. With my heart racing from the surprise, my immediate reaction was that it was a ruffed grouse. It flushed with the familiar exuberance and noise of a grouse, so my mind immediately went there. Ruffed grouse, however, do not live in that area of New England any longer, and the habitat wasn’t right for the popular game bird.

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A few weekend surprises

Posted on January 5, 2025 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak – An eastern bluebird gets a drink from a birdbath in New England, January 2025.

I had a nice bird walk this weekend and found 24 species in the bitter cold. When I got home, I was treated to a surprise eastern bluebird sighting in the yard. Below, a winter wren was one of the highlights of the walk.

Photo by Chris Bosak – Winter wren in New England, January 2025.

Christmas Bird Count 2024 photo highlights

Posted on December 23, 2024 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak – A merlin at Taylor Farm in Norwalk, CT, December 2024.

Photo by Chris Bosak – A pine warbler at the esplanade in Norwalk, December 2024.

On Sunday (December 22, 2024), I participated, as usual, in the Christmas Bird Count and covered my usual area of coastal Norwalk (SW Connecticut). Instead of my usual birding partner Frank, I covered the area with Adam and Jo. It was 13 degrees when we started and didn’t seem to get much warmer as the day went on. In fact, the wind picked up and made it seem even colder. The things we do for the birds.

We had a successful day with plenty of highlights, including bald eagle, peregrine falcon, merlin, pipit, pine warbler, yellow-rumped warblerf and both types of kinglet.

Here are some photo highlights of the day:

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For the Birds: Good times, bad times …

Posted on December 26, 2022 by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak — A northern cardinal and red-bellied woodpecker share a feeding station in New England.

For those who feed birds, it seems that there are slow times, busy times, and routine times.

It can be disconcerting and frustrating during the slow times. You glance out of the window hoping to see a few birds to lift your spirits or to just appreciate a bit of nature during the day, and nothing is there. It can be worrisome because the thought often arises as to whether or not the lack of birds indicates that something is wrong with bird populations.

Populations of many bird species, of course, are indeed in decline. But a slow period at the feeder is typically not an indication of a broader concern. There are certain times of the year when birdfeeders go through a slow period. Seasonal fluctuations are normal. We are perhaps going through one of those fluctuations now as I’ve received a few emails recently wondering why the birds have suddenly stopped visiting.

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