For the Birds: Perspective matters in birding

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Photo by Chris Bosak – Mallards sit on a log in New England, fall 2024. The mallard on the right is a young male.

Some bird sightings are better than others.

Even if you love all birds and nature, as I do and imagine everyone who reads this column does, you still have your favorites. I don’t know many people who enjoy a house sparrow sighting as much as a bald eagle sighting.

Even a particular bird can be more exciting to see depending on the circumstances. I was struck by this realization during a recent birdwalk.

I was doing an eBird list and wanted to be as thorough as possible, so my senses were carefully attuned to my surroundings. Still, the birding was fairly slow, and my species count was well below what I was expecting. I approached the large pond, or perhaps it’s a small lake, with anticipation as I’ve seen cormorants, wood ducks, black ducks, osprey and a variety of waders there on previous walks.

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For the Birds: Goldfinch steal late summer spotlight

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Photo by Chris Bosak An American goldfinch perches on a thistle plant, summer 2024.

You have to love goldfinch season.

American goldfinches are year-round residents of New England, of course, but they are most visible and vocal during their breeding season. For goldfinches, breeding season is August and into September, much later than most New England songbirds. In fact, most songbirds are done with their breeding season, even those that have multiple broods, by the time the goldfinches even start.

Thistle is an important component of the goldfinch breeding season as it provides both food and nesting material for the birds. The pink or purple blooms of thistle are also popular among butterflies and other insects. The rest of the plant looks menacing with its thorny stalk and leaves. It can also grow to intimidating heights for a “weed.” I put weeds in quotes because that is what many people consider thistle to be. It is actually an extremely important native plant for New England birds and insects. Despite its prickly appearance, thistle is also edible for humans, although I have never tried it and cannot vouch for its flavor.

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For the Birds: Phoebes shine in the spring and fall

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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.

They aren’t the most exciting birds on the planet, or even in New England for that matter. Eastern phoebes, however, are a bright spot in the region’s birdscape.


They don’t have flashy colors, impressive size or beautiful songs — in fact, just the opposite on all counts — but there is a lot to appreciate about eastern phoebes. My favorite thing about eastern phoebes is that they are one of the first migrant birds to return to New England in the spring. While most of the colorful songbirds return in late April or early May, phoebes come back to the region in mid- to late-March.   

Their early spring arrival comes just in time for many birdwatchers. About the time we are going stir crazy and desperate for new birds to arrive following many months of winter, the phoebes return and lift our spirits. Typically, I hear the first phoebe before I see it, and it takes a few seconds for the song to sink in and register. Then, when it hits me, I look frantically for the bird and, upon laying eyes on it, get a jolt of hope that spring is indeed coming. 

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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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For the Birds: A few more myths of the natural world

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Photo by Chris Bosak – Porcupines do not shoot or throw their quills, contrary to popular belief.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about some common myths and misconceptions about the natural world. Dragonflies don’t sting or bite people, tarantulas aren’t deadly, and quicksand is not likely to swallow you up on your next walk in the woods.

In this column, we’ll look at a few more wildlife myths, compliments of readers who wrote in with their thoughts.

Al from Nelson wrote, “We have eight species of frogs in the Monadnock area (bullfrogs, green frogs, wood frogs, gray tree frogs, spring peeper, American toad, pickerel frog, leopard frog) and another three species in other parts of New England. Not one of them makes a ‘ribbit’ sound. I have heard that there is a frog that says ‘ribbit’ in southern California, where many TV shows, movies, and ads are made, and that’s why the media has frogs saying ‘ribbit.’ I don’t know for sure if that’s true, but it makes a nice yarn.”

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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: Tree frog make rare appearance

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

I nearly stepped on the subject of this column. One more step without looking at the ground, and the critter would have been underfoot. Thankfully, I looked down just in time.

I was taking my daily short walk at work and rounding the final bend when I looked down to see a gray tree frog. It was directly in the middle of the trail, and since tree frogs can change color to match the environment, it was difficult to spot.

To make matters worse, it just sat there instead of hopping away frantically like most frogs encountered in the wild. You’d never see a leopard frog or wood frog just sitting there on the trail. They start scampering away like their feet are on fire long before they are nearly underfoot. But this tree frog just sat there.

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For the Birds: Myths that seem funny now

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Photo by Chris Bosak – Dragonflies are harmless to humans.

In reaction to my column on blue jays from a few weeks ago, John from the Monadnock Region wrote to say that he too grew up hearing that blue jays were “bad birds.” Blue jays warn other birds in the forest of a hunter’s presence (hence essentially ending the chances of a successful hunt) and rob the nests of other birds.

Those are indeed facts about blue jays, but he has since come to appreciate blue jays for their intelligence, vocalization range and beauty. Taking photos of blue jays in flight is a favorite hobby of his. (One of his shots may be found at birdsofnewengland.com on the “reader submitted photos” page.)

The email from John got me thinking about how stories we hear as children can stick with us for a long time, even into adulthood. Whether or not blue jays are “bad birds” is still a matter of opinion, but there are some things we heard way back when that are clearly not true.

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