Tag Archives: chris bosak nature photographer

For the Birds: Fall migration under way

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Photo by Chris Bosak A male scarlet tanager in the fall.

It seems like just yesterday we were welcoming back the warblers and other songbirds during spring migration and here we are at fall migration already.

Many of the birds we saw in the spring heading north will look the same on their southward journey. Many others, however, will look different. 

Some, like male scarlet tanagers, will bear little resemblance to what they looked like in the spring. When we saw them in May and June, they were the most brightly colored birds in the woods. A sighting always yielded a gasp of excitement as we wondered how a bird in New England could be so brilliant. After the breeding season, however, they molted and are now dull yellow with less shiny black wings. They are still awesome-looking birds but not the striking birds they were in the spring.

In addition to many adult birds molting, the fall migration includes first-year birds that haven’t attained familiar adult plumage yet. They often resemble females or a mix of male and female plumage. 

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For the Birds: Rails get their turn finally

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Photo by Chris Bosak Clapper rail in Milford, Connecticut, summer 2025.

I’ve written about a lot of different types of birds over the last 30 years. There are some birds I’ve likely written about hundreds of times, and some only a handful of times.

If I searched my “For the Birds” folder for chickadee, robin or woodpecker, I’d get hundreds of hits. If I searched for vireo or flycatcher, I’d get far fewer hits, but still a decent amount.

There’s one bird family found in New England I’m not sure I’ve ever written about or even mentioned within a column. It’s the rail family. Rails are small to medium-sized chicken-like birds of the marshes. The reasons I haven’t written about them before are fairly obvious: rails are not very common, live in a habitat that is difficult for humans to traverse and are extremely secretive.

New England has a few members of the rail family. Virginia rail is the most common and the one most likely to be seen in New Hampshire. Sora is the other most likely candidate in New Hampshire. Clapper rails may be found along the coastal regions of New England.

There are also yellow rails, black rails and king rails found in New England, but they are rarely seen. Virginia rail is the best bet, but even that is a chore.

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For the Birds: When to prune, and more

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Photo by Chris Bosak American goldfinches nest later in the season than other New England songbirds.

Answering a few questions from readers:

John from Swanzey asked a few weeks ago when it is safe to prune bushes and hedges so as not to disturb any birds that might be nesting there. It’s a great question and one that is not as easily answered as one may think.

Spring and early summer are obviously not good times, as many of our songbirds use this type of habitat for nesting. Robins, doves, blue jays and catbirds immediately come to mind as they are common backyard birds in New England. Many other birds, such as yellow warblers and American redstarts, use shrubby areas for nesting as well, although they tend to use more wild areas rather than backyard bushes.

But what about mid and late summer? It should be safe then, right? Not necessarily.

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For the Birds: Plumage challenges of late summer

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Photo by Chris Bosak American oystercatcher chick, Milford, Connecticut, summer 2025.

The Cooper’s hawk I wrote about last week was a bit of an anomaly for me.

It’s not that I don’t see Cooper’s hawks often, but I typically see immature Cooper’s hawks. The one featured last week was an adult. Looking back through my photo collection, the vast majority of Cooper’s hawks I have photographed were immature birds.

With many birds, differentiating young birds from adults can be tricky as the time period between immature plumage and adult plumage is relatively short. With Cooper’s hawks, it’s easier as they retain their immature plumage into their second year. Bald eagles, similarly, do not obtain their classic white heads and tails until they are four or five years old.

As immature birds, Cooper’s hawks (as well as closely related sharp-shinned hawks) are brown with tan-streaked white chests and bellies. As adults, they are blue-gray with reddish-streaked white chests and bellies. Immature Cooper’s hawks have yellow eyes, and adults have red eyes. Interestingly, ospreys are the opposite with adults having yellow eyes and immatures having orange-red eyes.

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For the Birds: Birds sightings can happen anywhere

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Photo by Chris Bosak – A Cooper’s hawk eats a meal in New England, summer 2025.

“One of the nice things about birdwatching is …”

I’ve started many sentences with that phrase over the years. The backend of that line may be finished in almost innumerable ways:

… everyone, regardless of age or skill level, can enjoy it.

… it can be done during any time of the day or year.

… no two days are alike.

… there is always something new to learn or discover, regardless of how advanced you are.

… each time of year brings its own delights.

For the purposes of this column, the sentence will read: “One of the nice things about birdwatching is that it can be done anywhere.” Not many hobbies can be enjoyed in the woods, in a canoe or kayak, at a local park, or sitting in the kitchen looking out the window with your morning cup of coffee.

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A few more oystercatcher photos

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Photo by Chris Bosak American oystercatcher, Milford, Connecticut, summer 2025.

Following up on yesterday’s post, here are a few more American oystercatcher photos. I find both of these photos rather humorous. The top photo looks like an unhappy customer storming away from the counter. The bottom photo looks like an oystercatcher giving someone the evil eye.

Here’s the original post with more photos, including an oystercatcher chick.

Photo by Chris Bosak American oystercatcher, Milford, Connecticut, summer 2025.

A few more early warblers

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Photo by Chris Bosak Palm warbler in New England, April 2025.

My first warbler (a pine warbler) showed up on March 31. Here are numbers two and three for the year: yellow-rumped warbler and palm warbler, both seen today (Friday, April 11, 2025). More to come in the weeks ahead!

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For the Birds: Return of the coyote

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Photo by Chris Bosak A coyote scratches itself in a field at Huntington State Park in Redding, Connecticut, March 2025.

This is the second column in the last few weeks where I end up writing about and using a photograph of an unintended subject because the primary target fell through.

A few weeks ago, you may recall, I wrote about a missed opportunity to photograph blue jays harassing a barred owl. The blue jays successfully drove off the owl before I could get into position for a photo. On the walk back to the car, I came across a flock of cedar waxwings eating berries and stopped to photograph them.

This time, the intended target was American woodcock, but I ended up coming home with more photos of my coyote friend. Late in 2024, I wrote about getting lucky and spotting a coyote in a field as I passed a small break in the thick, tangled, brushy border between the woods and field. I’m assuming this was the same coyote, as I spotted it in the same field very near where I had seen it before.

But first, my intended target. American woodcocks, or timberdoodles, have been a nemesis species of mine for many, many years. I’ve seen their evening aerial displays a few times, but I haven’t found one during the day when getting a photograph would be possible. The aerial displays come shortly after sunset when the evening light has faded.

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Snow goose concludes Duck Week

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Photo by Chris Bosak Snow goose in New England, March 2025.

I know, same as yesterday, geese are not ducks. They are close enough for this very unofficial birdsofnewengland.com Duck Week celebration. Snow geese gather in massive numbers in some parts of the Atlantic flyway. In many cases, they are uncountable because there are so many. In other parts, however, snow geese are a fairly rare sighting. I live in a part of New England where snow geese are not seen often. In fact, this one I saw at a beach was the first one I had seen in years. Usually, when they are seen where I live, it is a single snow goose within a flock of Canada geese. This one, however, was alone near the beach. I hope it finds more of its kind during migration.

Click here for more information about the snow goose.

Thanks for checking out Duck Week at http://www.birdsofnewengland.com

Scaup continue Duck Week

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Photo by Chris Bosak
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.

Photo by Chris Bosak
Scaup in a river bay in New England, March 2025.