Tag Archives: birds of New England

New Facebook page for www.BirdsofNewEngland.com

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Photo by Chris Bosak Sanderlings and Dunlins on the shore of Long Beach in Stratford, CT, Jan. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
Join the crowd and ‘like’ Birds of New England on Facebook.

To go along with this website and its accompanying Twitter page (@NewEnglandBirds), a new Facebook page has been added for BirdsofNewEngland.com. Posts to this site will automatically be announced on that Facebook page. Plus, who knows what else will end up on the page. It gives me another avenue to communitication to help spread the word about the wonderful birds and wildlife of New England.
If you have the time and inclination, please “like” the new Facebook page that accompanies this site. Type in “Birds of New England” into the Facebook search bar. Thanks and, as always, feel free to share your bird sightings and photos with me.

It’s a robin kind of winter

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Photo by Chris Bosak American Robin in Selleck's Woods in fall 2013.

Photo by Chris Bosak
American Robin in Selleck’s Woods in fall 2013.

I’ve written a lot about American Robins this winter — and do so again in this week’s For the Birds column — but the demand for such information is great as everyone seems to be seeing tons of robins this winter.

Here’s an excerpt from the column: “True, they are known as a harbinger of spring, but American Robins are with us all year here in New England. Some robins migrate south to warmer places, but many robins stick with us throughout winter, too, surviving on berries, crab apples and other natural foods they can find in the woods and our backyards. Robins are usually found in flocks, some rather impressive, during the winter.”

Click here for the rest of the column.

It was really comments and questions from readers that prompted the column. Here are some comments I have received from readers.

Jack from Norwalk, Conn., wrote: “Saw around 10:30 this AM small flock of Robins just 30 yds West from junction of S Continue reading →

A few of my snow birds

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Carolina Wren holds onto the bottom of a suet cage during the February 13, 2014, snowstorm.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Carolina Wren holds onto the bottom of a suet cage during the February 13, 2014, snowstorm.

Photo by Chris Bosak An American Tree Sparrow perches near a feeding station during the snowstorm of Feb. 13, 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
An American Tree Sparrow perches near a feeding station during the snowstorm of Feb. 13, 2014.

It was a busy day at the feeder on Thursday as snow fell hard and steady in the morning and afternoon in New England. It was a beautiful scene and I’m sure it played out at many feeding stations throughout the region.

I had the juncos, White-throated Sparrows, cardinals, and Mourning Doves I expected, but I didn’t see a single chickadee, titmouse or nuthatch. Very odd for winter snow day. Starlings and House Sparrows also paid a visit.

The biggest surprises were a Carolina Wren (actually, not too big of a surprise, but a welcomed sight for sure) and an American Tree Sparrow. Tree Sparrows come down to southern New England in the winter, but they are not often seen at feeders. This guy made a few brief visits, but never got real comfortable and was easily chased away by other feeder birds.

 

Many people are sick of the snow, I’m sure, but I love it when it comes to birding.

All in all, a good day at the feeders. How did you do with your feeders? Post a comment, or better yet, send me a photo to bozclark@earthlink.net and I’ll use it in the “Reader Submitted Photos” page on this site. 

Young Peregrine Falcon picks on the wrong bird

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Photo by Chris Bosak A young Herring Gull chases away a young Peregrine Falcon at Holly Pond in Stamford in Jan. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A young Herring Gull chases away a young Peregrine Falcon at Holly Pond in Stamford in Jan. 2014.

The distance and quickness of the event yielded an admittedly lousy photo, but it’s good enough to show that this young Peregrine Falcon has a lot to learn about what prey to target.

I was at Holly Pond in Stamford, Ct., trying to get some photos of a Hooded Merganser pair swimming in a small pool of water surrounded by ice. Suddenly the entire huge flock of gulls (Ring-billed, Herring and a few Greater Black-backed) that had been resting peacefully on the ice rose into the air started making a racket. I assumed at first that someone nearby had a bag of bread to offer the birds, but they all stayed above the water.

Then I noticed that a young Peregrine Falcon had swooped in on the flock. At this point the falcon was trying to single out individual gulls to pursue. Each chase was short-lived as the falcon quickly realized it was smaller than the birds it was trying to take down. Birds of Prey taking down larger prey is not unheard of, but this falcon did not yet have the strength or experience to handle a gull. It tried on three or four bird, got scolded and chased away, and eventually gave up and perched in a nearby tree.

Hey, you can’t blame the falcon. It was hungry and tried for a big, fat meal. Besides, if you don’t try, you’ll never succeed. The falcon learned a lesson and gained some experience. That’s always good in life.

What’s a snow day without a new junco photo?

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Photo by Chris Bosak Dark-eyed Junco during Jan. 2014 snowstorm.
Photo by Chris Bosak
Dark-eyed Junco during Jan. 2014 snowstorm.

When the snow flies — as it has done often this winter here in New England — you can be sure the Dark-eyed Juncos will come visit. Normally accompanied by at least a few White-throated Sparrows, juncos are typically found under bird feeders looking for fallen seeds. This snowstorm, however, I had juncos on the suet feeder, on the platform feeder and on the ground. So, of course, I had to break out the camera. What’s a snow day without a new junco photo?

Young Peregrine Falcon in flight

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Photo by Chris Bosak A young Peregrine Falcon flies overhead in Norwalk, CT, Dec. 2013.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A young Peregrine Falcon flies overhead in Norwalk, CT, Dec. 2013.

I spotted this young Peregrine Falcon flying around Veterans Park in East Norwalk a few weeks ago. It had a half-eaten prey (a crow, I think) in an open part of the park about 100 yards away, but kept circling around the parking lot where I was. It even has blood on its hooked bill. As many of you know, I’ve been photographing a few Peregrine Falcons along the Norwalk River where I work. (With limited success, admittedly.) This rare and close opportunity was certainly welcomed considering the distance from which I normally have to try to photograph them. Notice the brown plumage of this youngster, as opposed to the blue-gray of the adult.

I have some more photos of this beauty in flight that I will post later.

Sanderlings and more Sanderlings

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Sanderling runs along with food on the shore of Long Beach in Stratford, CT, Jan. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Sanderling runs along with food on the shore of Long Beach in Stratford, CT, Jan. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak Sanderlings on the shore of Long Beach in Stratford, CT, Jan. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
Sanderlings and Dunlins on the shore of Long Beach in Stratford, CT, Jan. 2014.

A recent trip to Long Beach in Stratford, CT, yielded one Snowy Owl sighting _ it was far in the distance, but still nice to see, of course. It also yielded more close-up views of Sanderlings, another bird that breeds in the Arctic. Sanderlings are small and common shorebirds that are seen along New England coastal areas from fall through spring, and even in summer at times. Sanderlings are the shorebirds you see chasing the fading waves looking for food and running away from the incoming waves. So much fun to watch.

They also make for good photographic subjects. So with that said, here are several Sanderling photos I took earlier this week. Click on “continue reading” for lots more photos. Continue reading →

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.”

Continue reading →

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.