Birding Hammonassett and around

Around nine this morning, with bikes, helmets, birding and photography gear, we headed south to the coast for a day of birding. Hammonasset Beach State Park was our destination - where Sebastian, Max and I divided our time between biking, birding and beach-walking, and Jorge concentrated on photographing birds.


Mute Swans, Cygnus olor, at Rocky Neck State Park, photo by Sebastian.

When a noisy group from a Springfield Mass birding club came on the scene at Meigs Point, we headed in the opposite direction, enjoying some quiet at the west end of the park.


Van-load of bikes and gear at Four-mile River, Old Lyme.

Leaving Hammonasset with a tally of 32 birds, we tried to find Hatchett Point in Old Lyme, where a Glossy Ibis had been reported recently. Unfortunately we were unable to find a place to park and found no coast access for non-residents. We gave up and continued east, discovering a public boat-launch area on Four-mile River.


Marsh grasses, Spartina patens, at Four-mile River, Old Lyme.

The tide was dropping, leaving hardly any water behind, hence few birds. So now with 36 species, we opted for a quick tour through Rocky Neck State Park - added two new birds and continued east, into Niantic.


Beautiful clouds, sky and budding trees, Rocky Neck State Park.

After picking up some hot pizza (by now it's 4pm) we found ourselves in front of Niantic's famous Book Barn! Forget the birds - here's a huge used book shop. There's a main house with three levels of books, all connected by little doorways and stairways, then there are six or eight out-buildings and sheds with more books.


Max perusing the section on Ancient Egypt and Classical Greece at the Book Barn in Niantic.

We all agreed that we could spend an entire day here, browsing the books, playing with the cats, playing chess, wandering and exploring. Our haul amounted to four books on birds and birding, three Redwall books (Brian Jacques) and a book on Greek and Roman history.


Jorge and Sebastian discuss a game-winning strategy at the Book Barn, Niantic.

Another fun outing, with a little something for everyone.

Today's birders: Max, Sebastian, Jorge and Sue
Today's birds:

1. Double-crested Cormorant - Hammonasset State Park
2. Mute Swan - Hammonasset and Rocky Neck State Park
3. Canada Goose
4. Mallard - Hammonasset
5. Black Duck - Hammonasset, Black Hall River in Old Lyme and Rocky Neck
6. Green-winged Teal - Black Hall River
7. Ring-necked Duck - Norwich, on the drive home
8. Greater Scaup - Hammonasset
9. Surf Scoter - Hammonasset
10. Red-breasted Merganser - Hammo and Black Hall River
11. Great Egret - Hammo and Black Hall River
12. Ring-billed Gull
13. Herring Gull - coast
14. Great Black-backed Gull - coast
15. Killdeer - Hammo
16. Black-bellied Plover - Meig's Point at Hammonasset
17. Dunlin - Meig's Point at Hammonasset
18. Sanderling - Meig's Point at Hammonasset
19. Woodcock - in Mansfield at dusk, on the way home
20. Turkey Vulture
21. Red-tailed Hawk
22. Osprey - Rocky Neck State Park
23. Mourning Dove
24. Rock Pigeon
25. Downy Woodpecker - at home in Willington, morning
26. Red-bellied Woodpecker - Rocky Neck
27. American Crow
28. Blue Jay
29. Tree Swallow - Hammonasset
30. American Robin
31. European Starling
32. Carolina Wren - Niantic
33. Black-capped Chickadee
34. Tufted Titmouse - Old Lyme
35. House Finch
36. Song Sparrow
37. White-throated Sparrow
38. Northern Cardinal
39. Brown-headed Cowbird
40. Common Grackle
41. Red-winged Blackbird
42. House Sparrow

So, the winner for today's species estimate?? You know, we always do this...
Maxed guessed 33
Sue guessed 37
Sebastian guessed 41
Jorge guessed 45

And the winner is... Sebastian.

Essex Eagles and Rocky Neck State Park

In the middle of February we always think of Bald Eagles on the Connecticut River in Essex. The official Connecticut Audubon Society Eagle Festival has been cancelled for several years now, but of course, the eagles are still there to be seen.

By 7:30 this morning we were loaded into the van with birding gear, photography equipment, breakfast and a picnic lunch. Temperature 25 degrees F, with a pale sky, occasionally blue behind thick hazy clouds - a New Delhi sky. The driveway was slick - a thin layer of ice dusted with snow, and the snowbanks are still two feet of hard, though porous ice.

We started counting species as soon as we rolled out of bed - with Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers topping the list. Today's birders: Jorge, Sue, Max and Sebastian.
Along the highways between Willington and Essex, we had an impressive count of fourteen Red-tailed Hawks and a surprise flock of Wild Turkeys. Six other species rounded out the highway list: Rock Pigeon, American Crow, Ring-billed Gull, Northern Cardinal, Mourning Dove and European Starling.


Sebastian and Papa watching a Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia, which was actually singing
We arrived in Essex just as other birders were beginning to gather for the 9 am eagle cruise. The Connecticut River was fairly calm, with a light wind just ruffling the water's surface. Sub-zero temps kept a thin layer of ice on the near-shore waters, and thick ice still filled the quieter coves.

We finished our list of gulls here, adding Herring and Great Black-backed. Small numbers of Canada Geese, Mallards and Common Mergansers were milling about, feeding, preening. One male Bufflehead was seen behind boats in a marina, another Red-tailed Hawk and two Turkey Vultures were well out over the river.

Then, slowly soaring up over a distant hill came two immature Bald Eagles. Massive birds, they are impressive even at a distance. This was the only glimpse we would have of the eagles. Meanwhile the eagle cruise had headed out into the river - perhaps they'll have better luck, but our eagles were free!

Exploring small waterfront streets of Essex, we added a few passerines to our growing list. Pairs of House Finches sang from treetops, Common Grackles creaked in the bare maples, Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice and White-breasted Nuthatches called from backyards. A Song Sparrow, two Northern Mockingbirds, House Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds and a female Cowbird finished the new additions to our list.

Back to the van for coffee, hot chocolate, a second donut - and now it's time to guess at a species total for the day. With twenty seven already listed, Max guesses a high of 43, Sue 39 and Jorge and Sebastian fill in the gap, with 40 and 41 respectively.

View of Long Island Sound from Rocky Neck

Now we're off to Rocky Neck State Park to see what we can see at the coast. Temperature's up to 35 degrees now, in many places the roadside woods are free of snow, and skunk cabbages are showing in the low wetlands.

Near the parking areas we add American Robin, Red-bellied Woodpecker and Dark-eyed Junco. In the quiet wetlands of Bride Brook were American Black Duck and Hooded Merganser - with the males of the latter species displaying their showy crests.

Max watching geese on the quiet stream

Out on Long Island Sound the wind is cold and strong, with the flying gulls making no headway, and dry weed stalks rattling on the shore. We explore the high granite headland, which we assumed was the namesake for the park, put the telescope on a Common Loon in the mouth of Four Mile River and found a distant Surf Scoter hugging the rocky coastline.

Heading back along the woodland trails towards the parking lot, the first mumblings of "I'm hungry" were heard. Otherwise the woods were fairly quiet, but we were treated to the sight of a titmouse pausing to drink at a pool of meltwater.


Max's very nice photo of a Canada Goose, Branta canadensis

Chicken milanesa sandwiches in our bellies, with goldfish crackers and strawberries filling in the edges, we head out of the park for home. We're up to thirty four species now - and catch a glimpse of a Cedar Waxwing as we pull onto the highway - thirty five.

The boys are engrossed in an Indiana Jones movie during the drive home until we make an undisclosed stop at Mansfield Hollow to see if we can find more birds. Two Eastern Bluebirds fly off from roadside wires and two mergansers (common) fly off from the small patch of open water on the reservoir.

One last stop, the manure piles behind Horsebarn Hill on the UConn campus, adds White-throated Sparrow and Blue Jay to the list. Now we're at thirty nine species for the day. That's my number! Wait, now there's a call for one more stop - I can see that somebody's trying to beat me!

The hill itself was still entirely snow-covered, so there was no chance for the hoped-for flock of snow buntings. W-Lot will be the final stop. Just as we pull into the far corner of W-Lot, the birder's corner, Jorge sees the flock. Both Snow Buntings and Horned Larks are feeding amongst the rubble of old snow piles, mud and churned-up corn field.

Forty one species. We're done... unless we see a toucan fly across the road before we arrive home. It was great to be out on a bright winter Saturday, enjoying the first glimmers of the spring season to come.

hiatus

Rufous Hummingbird on Sunday Afternoon

Hard to resist taking another photo of sugar maples... [along the road, Somers, CT, Sue's photo]

Chickadees, Crows and Bluejays here.

and marshy places ringed with red and yellow... [Shenipsit State Forest, Stafford, Sue's photo]

Juncos, White-throated Sparrows and Song Sparrows here.

and quiet ponds reflecting more autumn color... [Shenipsit State Forest, Stafford, Sue's photo]

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Belted Kingfisher and Downy Woodpecker here.

And it's very hard to resist chasing birds who show up in our state only in the fall...

This is Bob and Linda Dixon's female Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus. [Sterling, CT, Jorge's photo]

female Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus. [Sterling, CT, Jorge's photo]

She has been a most cooperative yard bird for the Dixons, and for all of us strangers who were welcomed to venture into the back yard for a glimpse of this diminutive beauty. The hummingbird has been frequenting a standard sugar-water feeder for about a week and a half now, but takes natural nectar from the nearby honeysuckle flowers as well.

View looking down on the hummingbird's preferred feeder, and one of several trellises and gardens. [Sterling, CT, Jorge's photo]

The vantage point for above photo is a platform that Bob has built, eight feet off the ground, against a small outbuilding in the middle of his yard - a good place to scan the skies or do a "big sit", he explained.

The Dixons have made their back yard into an oasis for birds - and by virtue of this, for themselves as well. Gardens, shrubs, trellises, vines, feeders and nest boxes fill every corner and curve. A lovely path loops back into the woods, with an observation blind, more nest boxes - and, where you discover that you have a warbler's-eye-view of treetops growing up from the wetlands below. Fantastic habitat - no wonder they have 164 yard birds!

Karen and Sue chat with Bob in between visits of the Rufous Hummingbird.

A big thank you to Bob and Linda Dixon for welcoming us, and many other birders, to enjoy views of the hummer and their beautiful yard.

I was so fixated on the hummingbird that I may not be able to recreate an accurate list of other birds we saw there.

Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Bluejay
Tufted Titmouse
Black-capped Chickadee
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Purple Finch - many!
American Goldfinch
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Sharp-shinned Hawk
American Crow

On the way home, in the very last light of the afternoon, we stopped at the little pond in Mansfield Center [the one with the boy scout bird blind, behind Mansfield's restaurant]

Karen and Sue calling it a day.

Here I had good looks at a Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris, with its dark crown, strong eye stripe and streaky back. The taped wren call brought in only a Song Sparrow, but the wren could be heard from within the marsh grasses - just didn't show itself again for a photo!

And a post script.
This is the first time we've seen the Rufous Hummingbird - which makes it a lifer - except...
The bird was identified in the hand through a series of measurements. This is a bird that cannot be positively identified in the conditions under which we saw it in the Dixon's backyard - a female, of a western species, in October, in Connecticut. We take the word of those who took the measurements.

Back to Fenton-Ruby

Taylor Pond with Rosa multiflora in foreground

On a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon, we made for one of our favorite spots - the Taylor Pond Trail at Fenton-Ruby Park in Willington.  We weren't alone - lots of folks were out enjoying the woods.  Despite the "crowds" we managed a list of sixteen species of birds within the park, and two more on the drive home.

Today's birders:
Karen, Sebastian, Sue, Max and Jorge

Red Maple, Acer rubrum, filtering the sun

Today's birds:
1. Wild Turkey
2. Mourning Dove
3. Downy Woodpecker
4. American Crow
5. Blue Jay
6. American Robin
7. Gray Catbird
8. Black-capped Chickadee
9. Tufted Titmouse
10. White-breasted Nuthatch

Yellow leaf of Red Maple, with needles of White Pine, Pinus strobus

11. Golden-crowned Kinglet
12. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
13. Yellow-rumped Warbler
14. Palm Warbler
15. Black-and-white Warbler
16. Rufous-sided Towhee
17. Song Sparrow
18. White-throated Sparrow

And a few stray reports

On a recent Thursday afternoon (September 23rd) we hightailed it over to Rocky Hill after work, to pick up a few more birds from the Connecticut River Meadows. A flock of American Golden Plover, Pluvialis dominica, had been reported on Connecticut Birds the day before, along with their precise location, and it didn't take us long to find them.

Sorting through the crowd of Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus, we eventually counted seven goldens - elegant large plovers, feeding in the freshly turned soil. In amongst the flock was another other pretty special little shorebird - two Buff-breasted Sandpipers, Tryngites subruficollis. And given how hard we were studying the flock, it was no surprise that we turned up another species - one Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos.

A very exciting outing, because the Buff-breasted is a new bird for me, and tho' it sounds mushy, but I was left breathless by the wildness and elegance of the Golden Plovers. Checking my life list back at home, I discovered that I had already recorded this species as "NH - 1970's". Probably something spied on a coastal birding trip with my father and Arthur Borror -- "see that one, second from the right, at the edge of the flock of Black-bellied's? -- that's the Golden" -- so my twelve-year-old's tick mark on the list wasn't even a memory, just a tick mark. I'm so glad we made the hasty trip down to the meadows!

Seeing those two species for Jorge was bittersweet - they're on their way south - all the way to Argentina and Uruguay. A large percentage of the world population of Tryngites subruficollis winters in Uruguay. [if you follow this link to Bird Life International, look for the Important Bird Areas heading, and click the link to the map - I couldn't make a proper direct link to the map].

The American Golden-Plover, Pluvialis dominica, has one of the longest recorded migratory routes of any bird. Nesting in the Canadian Arctic, when they head south, they make coastal landfalls along the eastern US to feed, before the long flight to northern South America. Here they pause to fatten up again, before heading over the Amazon forests en route to sites in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

After all of that migratory shorebird drama, one final not-to-forget bird is a solitary little Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis, seen in the yard at home on Wednesday afternoon last week, September 29th.

Weekend birding at home

Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis and Black-capped Chickadee

We headed down for a walk around the cornfield Saturday afternoon, to enjoy the bright blue sky and see if there were any birds about. Sebastian took a guess that we'd see ten species, Max called out fifteen, and Jorge said nine. Karen, Jorge and I were halted pretty quickly by a mixed flock in the pines, and the boys took off for a game of hide-and-seek amongst the cornstalks.

A big foraging group of Chipping Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadees, and the first Dark-eyed Junco of the season started off the list. Blue Jays screamed overhead, a Yellow-rumped Warbler flitted high in an oak, and Seba came running back shouting Mourning Dove!

Around the next bend was an Eastern Phoebe and more chickadees, and we heard an American Robin call from within the woods. Returning along the far edge of the cornfield, and nearing the barn we found Gray Catbird and Northern Cardinal.

Along the woods path heading back to the yard we had a White-breasted Nuthatch and a Downy Woodpecker. And then something was SINGING in the top of still-leafy tree. To my ear it was some sort of flycatcher, but Karen recognized it right away as a vireo. It flew off before any of us could get binoculars on it, but reviewing the songs on the ipod, it must have been a Yellow-throated Vireo!!

We pursued the vireo back out to the cornfield, and as Jorge tried playback, I was distracted by movement in the nearby brambles. Trying to ignore the pair of catbirds, I finally focused on a small sparrow - a Lincoln's! I called Jorge away from the vireo quest - since not only was this a new Yard Bird, it would be a lifer for him! Lincoln's Sparrow - a delicate-looking, quiet fall visitor.

To round out the afternoon, with its now fading light and falling temperature, a male Red-winged Blackbird flew up out of the cornfield to alight in a tall hickory tree, White-throated Sparrows chipped from the brush near the barn, and a young Cedar Waxwing made its presence known in the very highest branch of an ash tree, alongside another Yellow-rumped Warbler.

And that was just Saturday!

Sunday morning, Karen and I went out to try for the vireo again - with no luck - but added American Crow, Broad-winged Hawk, Northern Flicker and Song Sparrow to yesterday's list. After a typical Sunday of a trip to the dump, a trip to campus and various and sundry errands we had just settled onto the living room couch to relax when I saw bird activity at the new feeder.

A Red-breasted Nuthatch was making quick trips back and forth from the big white pine, in the company of many chickadees, and then there were TWO. And wait, what's that larger bird silhouetted on the low branch of the pine? A female Purple Finch... she flew in to the feeder with a another, and they both settled in to occupy the tube for a good while - keeping the nuthatches and chickadees away.


female Purple Finches, Carpodacus purpureus

To finish up the weekend of birding, I saw a Cooper's Hawk fly through, and Jorge found a Hairy Woodpecker in the cherry tree. A small flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers joined the numerous Chipping Sparrows, titmice and chickadees foraging around the edges of the yard. So, the migrants are still out there!

This weekend's birders: Karen, Sue, Jorge, Sebastian and Max,
and the birds for the weekend of October 2nd and 3rd:

Broad-winged Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Mourning Dove
Eastern Phoebe
American Crow
Blue Jay
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
Gray Catbird
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch - new yard bird
Northern Cardinal
Purple Finch - new yard bird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Song Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow - new yard bird, and LIFER for Jorge
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird

Well, there won't be too many more weekends with a count of twenty five species in our own yard!