Not many birds, but a snapper on this walk

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Snapping turtle

Snapping turtle

The birding was fairly slow on a quick walk I took this morning at a cemetery in Darien, CT.

Canada geese filled the pond. No wood ducks or hooded mergansers, which may also be found there on occasion. Lots of starlings and a few robins, but otherwise pretty scarce in terms of birds.

But the walk was made when I turned a corner to see a big, dark lump along the side of one of the roads that wind around the cemetery. The lump was moving and turned out to be a snapping turtle. I was surprised to see one this late in the year (Nov. 18.) Then again, late sightings are becoming less surprising.

I wish I had my boys with me for this walk. They have recently discovered “Call of the Wildman” on Animal Planet and love the “Turtle Man’s” antics. Wildman often catches and relocates snapping turtles so the boys would have loved this sighting — not they would have tried to catch it. Check out the claws on this turtle. No wonder they are such great diggers.

Turtles know where they are going and this snapper was safely off to the side of the road within the confines of the cemetery, so I didn’t interfere either.

Photo by Chris Bosak Snapping turtle in cemetery in Darien, CT, Nov. 2013.

 

Interesting new feature by CT Audubon

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cropped-birdwalk-sign.jpg

This should be a great tool for birdwatchers planning a trip to Connecticut.

http://www.thehour.com/blogs/green_outdoors/ct-audubon-launches-a-weekly-guide-to-the-state-s/article_f1b7656e-4e09-11e3-8019-001a4bcf6878.html

First post for the new BirdsofNewEngland.com

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Green Heron in southern Connecticut, November 2013.

Green Heron in southern Connecticut, November 2013.

Welcome to the new http://www.birdsofnewengland.com. It will be similar to the former website with lots of bird photos and stories from my travels around New England. It will have a different look, however, and new features, such as a video page and “reader submitted” photos page. Feel free to submit photos you have taken of birds or other wildlife in New England (or beyond.)

So let’s just jump right into the first post.

November has been a great month for birdwatching so far, at least from my perspective in southern New England. On the first Sunday in November, I spotted a Green Heron at Selleck’s/Dunlap Woods, a Darien Land Trust property. I’ve seen plenty of Green Herons at this property before, but never in November _ or even October or late September for that matter. It was interesting to see the crow-sized wader surrounded by fall foliage.

Green Heron in Southern Connecticut, November 2013.

Green Heron in Southern Connecticut, November 2013.

The Green Heron sighting followed an hour-long stretch whereby I sat in a dried-out swampy area and watched as Golden-crowned Kinglets, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers hopped along the ground among the weeds and grasses looking for seeds. Previous highlights that weekend included an Eastern Towhee, Brown Creeper and Winter Wrens.

Thanks for checking out the new http://www.BirdsofNewEngland.com. Check back often for updates and new stories and photos. Remember to send in your photos and I’ll add them to the “reader submitted” page. Send the photos or other suggestions to bozclark@earthlink.net