Remember a few weeks ago when I urged readers to “check those blotches” carefully. Here’s the column for those who missed it. Basically, the column said that if something looks out of the ordinary in the distance, it should be checked out. It may be a plastic bag or mylar balloon stuck in a tree; or it may be a hawk, owl or something else of note in the tree.
I took my own advice the other day and checked out a small clump on one of the old windmills that grace the property at Happy Landings, an open space in Brookfield, Connecticut. Turns out, it was an American kestrel, a small falcon that is somewhat Continue reading →
Photo by Chris Bosak
A Pine Warbler sits on a deck railing in New England this fall.
The early warblers started arriving in New England a week or two ago. Pine warblers and palm warblers are typically the first two species to make their way back this far north and, sure enough, both are back now. This post includes photos of both species so you know what you’re looking for. (Above is the pine warbler; below is the palm warbler.)
The spring warbler season is the highlight of the year for many birdwatchers. It will pick up gradually over the next week or so and then erupt from late April through the middle of May. At the height of the warbler migration, a New England birdwatcher can see between 20 and 30 warbler species in a single day. (It would take some effort, of course, but it’s very possible.)
Photo by Chris Bosak
A brant seen at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk, Conn., April 2019.
You didn’t think I’d see thousands of brant and limit the experience to just one post, did you? Here is the first follow-up to Saturday’s post. The original post is here in case you missed it.
Photo by Chris Bosak Brant at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk, Connecticut, 2019.
This brant is banded with silver bands on each leg. I can’t make out the numbers and letters, however.
Photo by Chris Bosak Brant at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk, Connecticut, 2019.
Photo by Chris Bosak A dunlin walks through the shallow water of Long Island Sound in Westport, Connecticut, during Nov. 2017.
The spring migration is under way and many birds have made appearances in New England already. Birds such as red-winged blackbirds started showing up in February but the spring migration here is still in the beginning stages. By the end of April and into May, we’ll be hitting full stride.
Today I heard my first eastern phoebe. That, to me, is a true sign of spring. I’ve also seen a few American woodcock, thousands of mergansers, a handful of hawks, and several great blue herons flying with large sticks in their bills.
Eventually, all the talk will be about warblers and other songbirds. But we have a few weeks before that happens. To me, the large flocks of shorebirds that move through New England is an underrated aspect of spring migration. Shorebird migration is underrated in general, probably because it is so spread out. The northward movements start in late March and April and continue all the way into June. The southward movements start in July and continue into November. Of course, many shorebirds remain in New England throughout the winter.
So while we are excited to see the ducks, songbirds, hawks and other birds return to New England, don’t forget about the shorebirds dotting our saltwater and freshwater shorelines.
Photo by Chris Bosak Dunlins stand in the shallow water of Long Island Sound in Westport, Connecticut, during Nov. 2017.
Photo by Chris Bosak
A downy woodpecker eats peanuts from a feeder in Danbury, CT, March 2019.
Here’s a downy woodpecker getting peanuts from the homemade feeder I mentioned in yesterday’s post.
It’s funny how birds prefer their food offered in different ways. White-breasted nuthatches and downy woodpeckers are all over this feeder. They typically perch on the feeder and peck away at the shell to expose the nut inside. My other peanut eaters — blue jays, red-bellied woodpeckers and tufted titmice — barely touch this feeder and prefer to grab their peanuts from a platform feeder and fly off with it.
Photo by Chris Bosak A nothern bobwhite seen at Happy Landings in Brookfield, Connecticut, fall 2018.
Here are some more photos of the northern bobwhite I spotted yesterday at Happy Landings in Brookfield, Connecticut. Click here for the original post.
Photo by Chris Bosak A nothern bobwhite seen at Happy Landings in Brookfield, Connecticut, fall 2018.Photo by Chris Bosak A nothern bobwhite seen at Happy Landings in Brookfield, Connecticut, fall 2018.
Photo by Chris Bosak A broken birdbath and several inches of snow made for an ideal canvas to make a face made out of nuts and seeds used to feed birds.
It’s supposed to be 70, pushing 80, degrees this week. Although New England can throw us some surprises, I’m fairly confident we are done with winter and spring is ready to bloom.
So with that said, here are my last leftover winter photos. I love the photo above. My birdbath bowl broke in half this winter and I didn’t have the heart to throw it away. I used it as a small platform feeder, but when the snow came, obviously it accumulated and covered the seeds. After one of the storms I used some peanuts and sunflower seeds to make a face on the accumulate snow. I was hoping a bird would show up and enhance the photo even more, but no such luck … at least not when I was looking. But it made for a neat photo anyway.
Enjoy and happy spring.
Photo by Chris Bosak A black-capped chickadee grabs a sunflower seed from a Christmas decoration during the winter of 2016-17 in Danbury, Conn.
Photo by Chris Bosak A white-breasted nuthatch sits on a bird-shaped bird feeder during the winter of 2016-17 in Danbury, Conn.
