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What is this bird?
I was walking through Selleck’s and Dunlap Woods when this bird popped out of a slow-moving stream and jumped up (really flew) onto a nearby branch. The sun was behind the bird so all I got was its silhouette. It doesn’t make for a nice photo, but it gave me an idea for my next “birding quiz.” I haven’t done a birding quiz in a while so here you go …. what is this bird?
Here are some choices:
A photo for Mother’s Day
Photo by Chris Bosak
A baby mallard stays dry during a rainfall by huddling under its mother’s wing.
Here’s a tribute to all moms as Mother’s Day 2015 heads into the evening. This photo pretty much sums up a mother’s love: Take care of the children with no regard for yourself. It was raining on this day and about five little chicks all huddled under the mother Mallard’s wing for shelter. The mother coped with the rain, but the little ones were nice and dry.
If this photo makes you think of your mom, share it with her.
Thanks to all moms!
(Yes, I used this photo for an Easter posting last year, but I like it better as a Mother’s Day “card.”)
A “colorful” little warbler
Photo by Chris Bosak
A Black-and-White Warbler looks throughout an evergreen for food at Selleck’s Woods in Darien, Conn., 2015.
The second-most abundant warbler was the Black-and-White Warbler. True to its name, this warbler has no flashy colors to make it stand out among the leaves. Which is fine because this warbler is usually found on the trunks and lower branches of trees anyway. It’s one of the few warblers that does most of its hunting on the trunks of trees. It will often hunt low in trees, making it one of the easiest warblers to find on a bird walk. Many warblers hunt almost exclusively among the leafy tops of trees, making them very difficult to find.
It may lack the color of other warblers, but it’s still a striking little bird with its streaked plumage.
So what’s your warbler story? Feel free to comment or send me an email.
It’s that time of year again. Warblers abound.
Photo by Chris Bosak
A Prairie Warbler perches in a tree at Selleck’s/Dunlap Woods on May 5, 2014.
I took a quick walk before work this morning. As usual, I was running behind getting my third-grader to school, so I had only about 15 minutes for this walk. But it was enough to know that we are in what many birders consider the most exciting two weeks of the year. The warbler migration started with a trickle a few weeks ago in New England. Based on what I saw on my quick walk this morning, the warbler season is picking up fast. A Prairie Warbler was the first bird I saw — not a bad start to a walk. A few Yellow Warblers darted here and there, too. Yellow Warblers nest at Selleck’s Woods, so hopefully they are looking to set up shop for the summer.
The walk included a few other warbler species as well as the sounds of other colorful songbirds, such as Baltimore Orioles and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. It’s a great time to be out there. Let me know what you are seeing.
Here’s a post from last year featuring some of the warblers you may see out there this time of year. Click here.
A few more Osprey photos
Photo by Chrisi Bosak
An Osprey flies into its nest with nesting material at Veterans Park in Norwalk, Conn., April 29, 2015.
Here are a few more photos of the new Osprey nest at Veterans Park in Norwalk, Conn. See previous post for more information about the nest and its Continue reading
The new Osprey nest in photos
Photo by Chris Bosak
An Osprey adjusts a stick in its nest at Veterans Park in Norwalk, Conn., April 29, 2015.
Photo by Chris Bosak
A male Osprey flies into a nest occupied by its mate at Veterans Park in Norwalk, Conn., April 29, 2015.
There’s a new Osprey nest in town. Big deal, you may be thinking, Osprey are everywhere these days. Well, that’s true and, of course, that’s a good thing.
This particular Osprey nest is in Veterans Park in Norwalk, Conn., a coastal town in southern New England along the Long Island Sound. What makes this Osprey nest special is its accessibility for people to see. Hopefully when the busy s Continue reading
Bluebirds are back at Mather Meadows
Photo by Chris Bosak
An Eastern Bluebird stretches a wing as it rests on a birdhouse at Mather Meadows in Darien, Conn., April 2015.
Last spring I had a post on this site featuring a pair of Eastern Bluebirds at Mather Meadow, a property of the Darien Land Trust. This weekend I paid a visit to the property again and, sure enough, the bluebirds are back. I checked quickly and noted four blue eggs in the house. It’s so good to see them nesting there year after year. It wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and determination of so many people at the Darien Land Trust. If the property (which is largely critical meadow property) Continue reading
Bird Book Look: “Inside a Bald Eagle’s Nest”
Cover of “Inside A Bald Eagle’s Nest”
Here’s the first of many (hopefully) posts about bird books, or Bird Book Look, as I will call the posts. They will not be full reviews of the book, but rather quick posts with some information about the book and a few thoughts about the text and images. These bird book posts will be used mainly to let everyone know that the books are out there and give a general sense about it.
The first book to be featured here is “Inside A Bald Eagle’s Nest,” by Teena Ruark Gorrow and Craig A. Koppie, published by Schiffer Publishing. The nonfiction book is rich with pictures and accompanying text about a Bald Eagle pair raising young in a neighborhood outside Washington DC. It includes Continue reading
Did the Norwalk eagles have babies yet?
Hour photo/Chris Bosak
Rick Potvin, manager of the Stewart B. McKinney NWR, holds a sign before it was posted on Chimon Island on Wednesday. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife officials were on the island to mark off areas to protect a bald eagle nest.
The answer is a definite “probably.”
I wrote my latest For the Birds column in The Hour newspaper (Norwalk, Conn.) about the topic.
Here’s the start of the column:
Now for the answer to the burning question in the Norwalk birding world: Most likely.
The question, of course, is: Did the Bald Eagles have babies yet?
Again, the answer is “most likely.” Without climbing the tree or somehow hovering above the tree on Chimon Island where the nest is located, it’s hard to tell with all certainty. Since no one is going to climb the tree or otherwise hover above it, it’s basically a waiting game.
The eagles are still out there and one is sitting on the nest at all times. You could see that from Calf Pasture Beach with a spotting scope or good pair of binoculars. In talking with Norwalk’s Larry Flynn, the eagles have been sitting on the nest long enough that eggs would have been laid and hatched by now. Flynn is monitoring the birds for the state DEEP.
The vantage point from Calf Pasture and, indeed, even closer from Long Island Sound, is such that only the adult eagle’s head and maybe part of its body is visible. There is no way to tell what, if anything, it is sitting on.
If there are actually eaglets in the nest, it will be several weeks until they are large enough to be seen in the nest. So we play the waiting the game. Hopefully our patience will pay off and eventually we’ll all get to see fledgings flying about Long
Birds of New England.com 