Judging from my own experience this morning and several posts on birding community websites, last night was a good night for migration with many of the long-awaited warblers and other songbirds arriving this morning. I had 43 species on my eBird list, including a few warblers, rose-breasted grosbeak, Louisiana waterthrush, Baltimore oriole, and American woodcock.
Here are a few shots from the day.
The weather icons on my iPhone showed rain starting at 8 a.m. I figured that would give me about an hour of dry weather to look for some early spring migrating birds.
No such luck. The rain started even before sunrise so my hour of dry weather wasn’t going to happen. Instead of rolling over and going back to sleep (a very tempting option) or mindlessly scrolling through social media, I decided to head out into the rain anyway. OK, I did take a few minutes to do Wordle quickly before heading out.
The walk started in a light rain, and a lot of birds were out singing. Immediately, I heard robins, cardinals, blue jays, song sparrows and a field sparrow in the distance. Field sparrows have a very distinctive song that sounds like a ping-pong ball bouncing on a table with the time between bounces getting progressively shorter, just like a real ball would do.
As soon as I committed to a trail leading me farther into the woods, the rain picked up. It never turned into a downpour, but it was a good, steady rain. Thankfully, the temperature was a very manageable 55 degrees, so I just got wet instead of wet and cold. I like birdwatching in all types of weather, but a cold rain is probably the worst. Heavy wind is not much fun either, but I would take it over a cold rain.
The walk progressed without any overly thrilling sightings. There were a few eastern phoebes, a handful of northern flickers and a fairly large group of red-winged blackbirds. I looked through the binoculars to see if there were any other blackbird species mixed in with the red-wings, but the dark gray sky, foggy aura and falling rain made it hard to pick out any details on the birds.
On the way back to the parking lot, I did hear and see a few nice early migrants: a lone gray catbird singing and skulking in the brush, and a few male eastern towhees in the bramble. One curious towhee popped up and showed me his handsome white, black, and rusty-red plumage.
Despite the rain, I ventured down to the pond for a little detour to see what might be on or around the water. The winter ducks such as mergansers and ring-necked ducks had all disappeared (they were there last time I visited), but a male wood duck swam across the surprisingly calm water and an unseen kingfisher rattled in the trees somewhere along the pond’s edge.
The rest of the walk back was uneventful until I got within half a football field’s length away from the car. There, I noticed a pileated woodpecker working the top of a dead tree. When I walked a few more steps and changed my angle, I noticed a northern flicker sharing the same tree a few yards farther down the trunk. I’m pretty sure it was the first time I had seen a pileated woodpecker and northern flicker in the same tree.
While there are some obvious disadvantages to birding in the rain, such as poor photography conditions and getting soaked, one of the great advantages is that you are almost guaranteed to have the area to yourself. I did cross paths with one hardy jogger, but that was it in terms of other human beings. Not that this park is usually crowded, but there are typically a decent amount of people enjoying their various hobbies.
It wasn’t a long walk or a particularly successful walk in terms of bird species, but it was refreshing and much more invigorating than lounging in bed all morning. In fact, after the long winter, the warm rain felt quite nice.
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.
A Day on Merganser Lake XI
As the spring progresses, I’ll get better shots of eastern towhees. They are one of the earlier migrants in the spring. My hot spot for towhees yielded only a few of them yesterday. In another week or so, the area will be filled with “tow-ee” and “drink-your-tea” sounds. I do like this shot because it shows towhees how they are often seen, hiding among the thickets.
Spring migration is picking up quickly. This morning I’ve already seen a yellow-rumped warbler. My hummingbird feeder is hanging as well, just in case an early arrival shows up. Let me know what you’re seeing out there.
(Repeat text for context: I’m running out of COVID-19 lockdown themes so from now until things get back to some semblance of normalcy, I will simply post my best photo from the previous day. You could say it fits because of its uncertainty and challenge. I’ll call the series “A Day on Merganser Lake,” even though that’s not the real name of the lake I live near in southwestern Connecticut, it’s just a nod to my favorite duck family.)
Photo by Chris Bosak
An Eastern Towhee perches on a branch in Ridgefield, Conn., April 2017.
Here is the latest For the Birds column, which runs in several New England newspapers.
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I was on a tight schedule so I planned a quick out-and-back bird walk, instead of trying to tackle the entire several-mile loop.
The entire walk on the “out” portion was quiet with not a single bird seen or heard. I found that very peculiar considering it was the middle of April when the spring migration should be heating up. No warblers, no vireos, no regular birds. It was a drizzly day, so perhaps that had something to do with keeping the birds hunkered down.
The “back” portion of the trip started in similar fashion. No birds to be seen, no birds to be heard.
Then, deep in the woods, I heard a familiar call. It was a sharp and fairly loud two-syllable call. It was an eastern towhee. Based on where the sound was coming from, there was no way I was going to find it. I could have tromped through the brush and woods, but I didn’t want to risk being covered in ticks. It’s early spring, and I’ve already found several ticks on my clothes and a few attached to my body. In fact, that started back in February.
I’ve heard from several sources that the conditions are right for a bad tick season, so be careful out there. Check your clothes and self frequently.
It turned out it was no big deal that the towhee alluded me as several other towhees made their presence known as I made my way back. These towhees were much closer and some were even cooperative for the camera. From my experiences, that is pretty rare for a towhee — although the breeding season makes birds, and other creatures, do strange things sometimes.
By the end of the walk, I had seen about eight towhees. Only one of the birds was a female, and she stayed out of range of the camera. I did bring her in with my binoculars and got good looks at her. A male was close by, singing and calling. It was likely her mate.
Like many species, eastern towhees are sexually dimorphic, meaning males and females differ in appearance. But unlike many bird species, female towhees, in my opinion, are just as handsome as the males.
While the males are decorated with black, reddish-brown and white plumage, the females are light brown and white. Both have a similar pattern with white bellies and rufous-colored flanks. The males also have red eyes, which I always find cool.
As I mentioned before, time was short on my walk but the towhee sightings extended the walk — I’ve never been one to leave cooperative birds because of being in a rush. Two towhees in particular were cooperative and allowed me to grab some shots of them. Neither was overly cooperative, but each offered a few seconds worth of perching on an obvious, unobstructed branch. Towhees are infamous for hiding among the thick brush.
The walk ended void of any other bird sightings. No warblers, no vireos, no tanagers or grosbeaks. Just towhees. I’ll try again on a sunnier day.
Photo by Chris Bosak
An Eastern Towhee perches on a branch in Ridgefield, Conn., April 2017.
I spent some of the rainy Saturday at Bennett’s Pond in Ridgefield, Conn. I didn’t see or hear a single warbler, but I did see and hear several eastern towhees. It is a great bird with interesting plumage and a unique song.
Formerly called the rufous-sided towhee, this bird has light brown/reddish flanks. Its call is a loud and quickly uttered “tow-hee” and its song is the famous “drink-your-teaaa!” They are more often seen on the ground, scratching in the leaves to uncover food. The male is pictured in this post. The female, which I couldn’t photograph yesterday but did see, is also a handsome bird with white and reddish light brown plumage.
They were passing through in large numbers Saturday. I hope at least a few of them stick around locally to nest. It’s a great bird to see in summer when the birding can get a little slow.
You can even see the little rain drops on this guy.
Here’s one of him singing: Drink-your-teaaa!
Photo by Chris Bosak
An Eastern Towhee sings from a perch in Ridgefield, Conn., April 2017.
Photo by Chris Bosak
An Eastern Towhee searches a garden for food in Jan. 2015.
This weekend I was looking at the regular visitors to my birdfeeders, which in my case include Tufted Titmice, Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker and White-throated Sparrow (at least this time of year). Then I noticed another bird on the ground under the feeder: a male Eastern Towhee. Towhees are not typical feeder birds and this bird wasn’t necessarily around the feeder looking for sunflower seeds. It scratched under leaves and sticks in the garden for other seeds and any insects that may still be around. Towhees also eat berries during the winter.
Most towhees have flown south by now, but a few are still around trying to stick out the New England winter. I remember seeing several last winter, too.
I’ve been seeing more and more towhees over the last few years. Hopefully that means they are doing well overall as a species.
An Eastern Towhee in the garden in January: Not a bad way to start 2015.
Photo by Chris Bosak
An Eastern Towhee searches a garden for food in Jan. 2015.
Photo by Chris Bosak
An Eastern Towhee calls from his perch at Selleck’s Woods in Darien, Conn., April 2014.
For years I’ve struggled to get decent shots of Eastern Towhees. Either I couldn’t find them or they remained in thick brush, rendering them unphotographable (but safe from predators, which I guess is way more important than me getting a photograph of one.)
But last fall and early winter, I saw plenty of towhees. The best part is they occasionally came out into the open to be photographed. It was one of the highlights of last fall/early winter. Then, remember, the Snowy Owls came in force into New England.
What will this year bring? I guess we have to wait and see. If you see something interesting out there or you’ve taken a neat photo of a bird (or other wildlife), drop me a line at bozclark@earthlink.net. I’d love to put more photos on my “Reader Submitted Photos” page.
Photo by Chris Bosak
An Eastern Towhee eats a crab apple during a cold winter day at Weed Beach in Darien, CT., Jan. 2014.
I’m far from a landscaping expert. Anyone who has seen my jungle of a garden in the summer can attest to that. But I do know that using native trees, shrubs, bushes and flowers are the way to go.
Whether they are planted with the intent to attract birds or not, using plantings that are native to your area reduces the risk of potentially using an invasive exotic species that will eventually overtake native species. It also is better for the native insect population because in many cases the insects can not feed off the non-native plants, thereby reducing the number of insects that serve as valuable food for birds. Reducing the number of insects may sound like a good thing at first, but we’re not talking about pest insects such as mosquitoes, we’re talking about insects that you probably never see, but have high value to birds.
There are a million other reasons to use native plantings and a million great options for doing so. Again, I’m not a landscaping expect, but a simple internet search of “planting native species [enter your state here]” will lead you in the right direction.
Quickly though, here are a few suggestions of native plants that have worked well for me – coneflower [great for goldfinches and other small birds], black-eyed susan, crab apple, sunflowers, and bee balm.
Feel free to comment below to say which native plants work well for you in regards to attracting birds.
Thanks for visiting http://www.Birdsofnewengland.com
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.”
Birds of New England.com 