Tag Archives: For the Birds column Bosak

For the Birds: Sapsucker make surprise winter visit

Posted on by
1
Photo by Chris Bosak – A young yellow-bellied sapsucker visits a suet feeder in New England, January 2026.

At first it looked like a growth on the tall bush near my bird feeding station. I quickly realized it wasn’t a growth at all but rather a yellow-bellied sapsucker hugging a small branch. 

It was a first-year bird, and its dark coloration, lack of red head or throat, and barred plumage made it look like part of the bush. It also caught me by surprise because yellow-bellied sapsuckers are migratory and are not frequent visitors to feeders. It was also perfectly still for several minutes as, from the comfort of my living room, I watched it brave the single-digit temperatures.

Continue reading →

For the Birds: Eerie noises during a night in New England

Posted on by
1
Photo by Chris Bosak – A red fox works its way through the New England woods.

This fox had no consideration for my sleep schedule.

I was sound asleep when the fox decided it was a good time to sit on the shared driveway that separates my house from my neighbor’s house and start barking over and over. I rolled over, tapped the screen on my phone and saw 3:01 displayed. 

The fox was about 15 yards away from where I had been enjoying a good night’s sleep. I pulled back the curtain and there it was, plain as day (even though it was the middle of the night), sitting in the middle of the driveway barking away.

If you’ve ever heard a fox barking, you know it’s not like a dog barking. We’ve all been jarred awake by dogs barking before, but that sound is familiar, and usually the owner is quick to respond and stop the barking. 

Continue reading →

For the Birds: Looking back on birding highlights of 2025

Posted on by
1
Photo by Chris Bosak – A dark-eyed junco eats goldenrod seeds at Huntington State Park in Redding, Connecticut, November 2025.

It’s time for one of my favorite annual columns, as I take a look at my top 10 birding/wildlife moments from the past year. It’s always fun to look back at a year’s worth of For the Birds columns and pick the moments that continue to resonate with me the most.

Here are my top 10 birding moments of 2025:

10. Early in 2025, when ice still dominated most ponds and rivers, I found a small unfrozen pond with a hooded merganser pair and a small flock of ring-necked ducks. The pond was small enough to afford good photo ops of the birds but large enough that they felt safe on the opposite shore.

Continue reading →

For the Birds: Nonprofits to consider for year-end gifts (donations)

Posted on by
1
Photo by Chris Bosak
A common loon swims at Grout Pond in Vermont, spring 2023.

It’s never too late to celebrate Giving Tuesday.

Giving Tuesday, which occurred this year on December 2, is a day that supports acts of giving, most notably donating money to charities of one’s interest. It follows Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Unlike those other days, Giving Tuesday encourages people to think outwardly in their giving.

While that specific date is when many nonprofit organizations make a push to raise funds for their cause (you probably received many emails that day), the spirit of Giving Tuesday is a year-round concept.

Continue reading →

For the Birds: Breaking down hawkwatch season

Posted on by
1
Photo by Chris Bosak A broad-winged hawk perches in a tree in northern New Hampshire, July 2020.

The fall hawkwatching season is winding down. Raptor sightings at the various dedicated locations are slowing down, with only a handful of birds counted each day as November progresses.

It’s a good time, therefore, to check in to see how the various hawkwatching sites fared this year. New England has several popular sites, but Pack Monadnock at Miller State Park in Peterborough is New Hampshire’s most active and popular site. The hawk count is a project of the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock.

Continue reading →

For the Birds: Surrounded by juncos

Posted on by
3
Photo by Chris Bosak – A dark-eyed junco eats goldenrod seeds at Huntington State Park in Redding, Connecticut, November 2025.

Have you seen any videos of kayakers being surrounded by whales? 

I’ve seen a few such videos. I’m not sure where they were filmed, but I’m reasonably sure they are real and not AI-generated. Of course, it’s getting harder to tell these days.

While being surrounded by whales would be a moment you’d never forget, I’m not sure I’d want to experience it. I didn’t get into bird- and wildlife-watching for extreme, brush-with-destiny experiences. 

I did, however, have a similar experience last week. Granted, this was far less risky and would never go viral on social media, but for me, it was a moment I won’t soon forget.

Continue reading →

For the Birds: Fall is different, but still great for birdwatching

Posted on by
2
Photo by Chris Bosak – A black-throated green warbler, September in New England.

Fall is a great time to watch birds, but it’s much different than watching birds in the spring. It’s quieter, sometimes harder to find the birds and many of the birds don’t look the same.

It’s quieter because most of the birds are not singing. In the spring, birds are singing constantly as the urgency of securing a territory, finding a mate and breeding is foremost on their minds. The songs of perhaps dozens of birds overlap and it can be difficult to isolate the songs of a single species.

That urgency has long passed by the time fall comes around, and foremost on their minds is getting to their winter grounds safely. That doesn’t mean they are silent, however. Fall is when you hear more calls than songs as the birds issue warnings to other birds and try to remain in contact more quietly. 

Continue reading →

For the Birds: Fall migration under way

Posted on by
2
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. 

Continue reading →

For the Birds: New England birding from top to bottom

Posted on by
1
Photo by Chris Bosak Piping plover, Milford, Connecticut, summer 2025.

I’ve looked for birds in New England from top to bottom this month. At the beginning of July, I drove to Pittsburg, NH, near the Canadian border, and last week, I visited a beach/nature preserve on Long Island Sound in southern Connecticut.

Yes, technically, northern Maine would be top of New England, but let’s not split hairs here.

It was quite a contrast in habitat and birdlife between the two points, from the boreal forest up north to the marsh and shoreline down south. 

Continue reading →

For the Birds: Warbling vireos everywhere

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Chris Bosak A warbling vireo sings from a branch in New England, spring 2025.

It’s funny how you can still discover new things after so many years.

I’m sure that applies to most hobbies, but it certainly applies to birdwatching. I have only recently “discovered” the warbling vireo. The small, loquacious bird, of course, has been around for far longer than I have been birdwatching, but I am only recently taking notice of it.

Part of the reason I may not have paid it much mind previously is that it is a small, fairly nondescript bird that typically hangs out in the middle to upper branches among the leaves. It is not like some birds that take an obvious perch somewhat low in the trees or brush and are easily found on a birdwalk.

Over the last couple of years, however, I have come to know warbling vireos not only because the males sing constantly, but I am finding them almost everywhere I go in the spring.

Continue reading →