Yesterday, I used a photo of a rose-breasted grosbeak for my Singing in the Spring series. Today, I’m including a few bonus shots of a male rose-breasted grosbeak. You gotta love spring migration.
A few bonus rose-breasted grosbeak photos
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Tag Archives: birds of New England
Scaup continue Duck Week
Lesser scaup drake in a river bay in New England, March 2025.
Scaup congregate in large numbers off the coast of Long Island Sound and its tributary rivers during the winter months. The flocks can be several hundred individuals strong, including drakes and hens. On occasion, a redhead may be found within the flock. Greater and lesser scaup are commonly seen in large numbers throughout New England in the winter.
Click here for more information about the greater scaup.
Scaup in a river bay in New England, March 2025.
Northern pintail continues “Duck Week”
The northern pintail is the next fowl up for birdsofnewengland’s Duck Week, a very unofficial declaration made by me because I have a lot of recent duck photos that need to be shared. Pintail drakes are one of the most handsome ducks we have in New England. If you missed the first Duck Week post, click here to meet the hooded merganser.
For more information about the northern pintail, click here.
Here is that pintail pair with an American wigeon pair swimming behind them, March 2025.
Hooded merganser kicks off “Duck Week”
Welcome to Duck Week, birdsofnewengland.com’s very unofficial declaration to celebrate the spring duck migration. Duck Week will be a collection of duck photos I have snapped over the last few weeks. Now seems like a good time, as I’m starting to see fewer ducks as they make their way north to their breeding grounds.
I’ll start with the hooded merganser, one of my favorite birds of all time. I saw a ton of hooded mergansers this late winter/early spring. Look for them in fresh or brackish water, including relatively small bodies of water.
Click here for more information on the hooded merganser.
One more bonus photo …
Just a few larks
I came across these horned larks during a recent walk along a beach in southern Connecticut the other week. Larks and buntings are often seen during the winter along the Long Island Sound coast. I’m yet to get a quality photo of one with its “horns” raised. Until then, enjoy these photos.
Continue readingMore robin and berry photos
I wrote a few weeks ago about robins being the frontrunner for the Bird of Winter. Click here to find out what that even means. The photo I ran with it showed a robin eating border privet berries. Separately, I also wrote recently about my fascination with photographing birds eating berries. Click here for that one.
Well, here are more photos of those robins eating berries.
A few weekend surprises
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.
A few birds from a late-April morning walk: field sparrow, eastern towhee, bald eagle
Not as many migrants as I expected, but a good walk nonetheless at Huntington State Park in Redding, Conn. I heard only one warbler (black-and-white), but I have heard and seen dozens of eastern towhees over the last two days. It’s (arguably) the best time of year to be out there. No excuses! (I’m talking to myself too). The bald eagle flyover was a bit of a surprise, hence the lousy photo.
For the Birds: Patience pays off again
Any birdwatcher knows that patience and faith are perhaps the two most important components to a successful bird walk.
I started a recent walk with high hopes, as I always do, but as the morning went on and no birds were to be found, I started to lose hope of seeing anything. To compound matters, the field at the park had recently been mowed for the first time of the year, making bird encounters even less likely.
It still would have been a pleasant walk because the autumn morning chill had given way to a beautiful and warm sunny day. But with fall migration in full swing, I was disappointed in the birding results.
Continue readingFeeder birds with New England fall backdrop
There’s nothing like a New England fall, especially when it provides a colorful backdrop for bird photos. I found a rotted log in my backyard, positioned it on my deck railing in front of a small sassafras tree, sprinkled some sunflower seeds and peanuts on the log and enjoyed the show. It was nonstop action for hours. I hope to make a video soon as well.
Birds of New England.com 