Tag Archives: birds of New England

Towhees and thrasher in the snow

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Photo by Chris Bosak An Eastern Towhee eats a crab apple during a cold winter day at Weed Beach in Darien, CT., Jan. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
An Eastern Towhee eats a crab apple during a cold winter day at Weed Beach in Darien, CT., Jan. 2014.

It was bitterly cold, but bright and sunny. Perfect day for a quick bird walk. Perfect day for a long bird walk, too, but I had limited time before my son Will’s basketball game, so it had to be a quick one.

After seeing a few Fox Sparrows at Weed Beach in Darien, Conn., as soon as the walk started, the only species I could find was White-throated Sparrow. And there were lots of them. I love my White-throated Sparrows, of course, so I’m not complaining. My eyes, however, were darting around the brush for other birding goodies.

Trudging through the snow and doing my best to ignore the

More photos below, click on “continue reading.”

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The latest For the Birds Column: Counting some lucky larks

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Photo by Chris Bosak Peregrine Falcon at Veterans Park in Norwalk, Dec. 2013.

Photo by Chris Bosak
Peregrine Falcon at Veterans Park in Norwalk, Dec. 2013.

Click below to read the latest For the Birds column, which appears every Thursday in The Hour (Norwalk, CT) and Monday in The Keene Sentinel (Keene, NH). I talk about my experiences during the Dec. 15 Christmas Bird Count. Those are some lucky larks!

Click here for story.

Oh, and Merry Christmas, everybody.

Latest For the Birds column

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Snowy Owl sits on a rock on an island off the coast of Norwalk in November 2008.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Snowy Owl sits on a rock on an island off the coast of Norwalk in November 2008.

This one’s hot off the press (in fact not even off the press yet, but will be on Thursday morning.)

Here’s a link to my latest For the Birds column about the Snowy Owl irruption in New England. Click Here.

 

Purple Sandpipers on Long Island Sound off the coast of Darien

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Photo by Chris Bosak Purple Sandpiper on rocky island off the coast of Darien, CT. (Dec. 2013)

Photo by Chris Bosak
Purple Sandpiper on rocky island off the coast of Darien, CT. (Dec. 2013)

Snowy Owls and a Fork-tailed Flycatcher are grabbing all the headlines in Connecticut this week _ and deservedly so. Snowy Owls are being found up and down the coast and that flycatcher has been entertaining birders in Hadlyme.

I haven’t seen either species yet this fall/winter, but I thoroughly enjoyed a canoe trip on Long Island Sound this weekend. I launched from Pear Tree Point in Darien and canoed over to Green’s Ledge Lighthouse and back along the Darien coast. Common and Red-throated Loons were abundant. Long-tailed Ducks were constant companions and even uttered their unique song over and over.

But, for me, the highlight was Purple Sandpipers. I came across two flocks _ one a sizable flock of about two dozen; the other just two birds. Purple Sandpipers are hearty birds that live on rocky islands and breed in the Arctic. They winter on isolated rocks off the coast of New England, including Long Island Sound. 

(Way more photos below. Click on “continue reading.”)

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Two “regulars” converge

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Great Blue Heron rests along the shoreline as Mallards eat in the water at a cemetery in Darien, CT, on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Great Blue Heron rests along the shoreline as Mallards eat in the water at a cemetery in Darien, CT, on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013.

I checked out a pond at a local cemetery this morning on my way to work and was pleasantly surprised to see a Great Blue Heron along the shoreline. Sure, Great Blue Herons are not rare and I’ve seen plenty of them in my lifetime, but it’s one of those birds I always enjoy seeing.

I grabbed the camera to capture the moment and, just then, a group of mallards worked their way into the shot. Mallards, of course, are not uncommon either — quite the opposite — but the convergence of the species made for an interesting photograph.

A pair of Red-tailed Hawks, an American Robin, a few Song Sparrows and dozens of Canada Geese were the only other species around on this morning.