A few feeder birds.

Cool and rainy today, and for some reason the feeders attracted quite a diverse crowd. We have black-oil sunflower seed in the big feeder and a suet cake hanging nearby. Eventually we'll get thistle seed and some "ground seed", which is a mixture of millet, corn, sunflower and other seed, favored by sparrows and the like.

Birders at the window: Jorge and Sue
Birds at the feeder:
Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens
Hairy Woodpecker, Picoides villosus
White-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis

photo: J. de Leon, Dec. 2007
Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapillus
Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor
House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus

Birds on the ground under the feeder:
Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus
Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis

Sebastian's View.
Today when I was at school and I heard someone say "a bird a bird" I looked outside to identify the bird. I knew exactly what it was. It was a crow. Then I blurted out "It's a crow!!" My teacher Mrs. Hodge asked me "Where did you learn that from Sebastian?" "I learned it from my dad," I replied. He knows almost everything there is to know about birds. The crow was still there still as a statue and beautiful. When I heard my teacher say that it was time to start learning again I took one last peek at the crow and decided to tell Papa about the whole story.

Another Warm Sunday

Only one more day until December, and we're still enjoying a few warm days. Lucky that they happen to fall on Sundays, when I can get out for a little birding! I walked about a mile along the railroad bed between home and the river, and found two nice mixed flocks of birds.
Today's birds, in the order seen:
1. Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis - a small flock followed me a ways
2. Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor

This may be the very first digiscoped photo we ever made, and it's still one of my favorites. Downy Woodpecker sitting still on a cold, windy, December day in 2006.
3. Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens
4. Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
5. White-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis
6. Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa, several in both mixed flocks, about a dozen total
7. Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapilla
8. Brown Creeper, Certhia americana, one in each group
9. American Robin, Turdus migratorius
10. American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
11. Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
12. Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus

Sunday Birding - around

This afternoon we did a little birding around Mansfield and Coventry, enjoying the golden light of the late afternoon. A little cooler than yesterday, but still a very pleasant late-November afternoon.
Today's birders: Jorge and Sue
Today's birds:
At Eagleville Dam on the Willimantic River:
Mute Swan, Cygnus olor - five juveniles and two adults, probably a family that nested here this spring
Canada Goose, Branta canadensis - several in the distance
Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos - maybe two dozen
Herring Gull, Larus argentatus - pestering the swans

Mute Swans and Herring Gull, 29-second video.
At Coventry Lake:
Black Duck, Anas rubripes - one, hanging with the Mallards
Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis
Hybrid Duck, Anas sp. - two, also with the Mallard flock
Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis
White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis
Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapilla
Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor
Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia - a very gray individual
Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus - two, scolding from the pucker-brush
House Sparrow, Passer domesticus - staying high in the spruce trees
American Robins, Turdus migratorius - small flock passing through
American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos

White-throated Sparrow eating fruit from a Bittersweet vine (Celastrus scandens).
Other birds around and about:
Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
Rock Pigeon, Columba livia
Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis
European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
So, for our afternoon efforts, we counted twenty one species of birds.

Saturday afternoon at Fenton Ruby Park

The Fenton-Ruby Park and Wildlife Preserve comprises 305 acres of forests, fields and wetlands in the town of Willington, Connecticut. The lands were acquired by the town in two transactions, between 1994 and 2001, and are managed by the town's Conservation Commission.

The park has over four miles of hiking trails through mixed hardwoods, and a small pond quite suitable for kayak exploration, largely bordered by cattail marsh.


This afternoon four of us spent about two hours birding along the Taylor Pond Trail, and by the Fenton River and adjacent beaver pond. Sunny, with a temperature in the mid-50's, and no wind, it was a pleasant day to be in the woods.
As usual, we challenged each other to guess the species total for our outing, the guesses ranged from 12 species to 16. The final tally was fifteen for the park, with an additional five after we left.

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

Today's birds, in the order of seeing them:
1. American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
2. Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
3. Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis
4. Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor
5. Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapilla
6. American Robin, Turdus migratorius
7. Hermit Thrush, Catharus guttatus
8. White-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis
9. Hairy Woodpecker, Picoides villosus
10. Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa
11. American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis
12. Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens
13. Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
14. Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
15. White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis

Dragonfly: Ruby Meadowhawk, see previous blog post.



After leaving Fenton-Ruby Park:
16. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
17. European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
18. House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
19. House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus
20. Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis

Sebastian's View

As we walked on Taylor Pond trail we saw some amazing birds. My favorite bird was the red-winged black bird. I went with Sue, Max and Jorge. I had a tree with lots of branches that I could climb. There was a beautiful lake with a beaver house. Taylor Pond trail was .9 miles and we hiked about two hours.

The funny thing is WE ONLY SAW TWO MAMMALS!! a red squirrel and a regular one. I collected 2 pieces of long bark and a piece of birch bark but I lost the birch. Then finally I found a fort out of a big bush.
by, Sebastian

Look at this picture of my fort!!

All bird photos by Jorge de Leon.

White-breasted Nuthatch

White throated sparrow

Hermit Thrush

Golden-crowned Kinglet

The River always lures me

Sue here, again. Jorge is back from Springtime in the South, and will begin posting to BirdingUruguay after he organizes his MANY photos!
So, I once again followed my favorite path down to the Willimantic River on a beautiful sunny Sunday. I had been lying on the couch with a cold for the better part of the week, but today was too beautiful to stay indoors. 65 degrees (19C) and a very pleasant sort of humidity - perfect for my sorry sinuses.
Yes, this started out to be a birding blog, but it sure is easier to photograph plants, insects and scenery!

Verbascum thapsus, Common Mullein, family Scrophulariaceae, order Lamiales. Growing on a rock in the Willimantic River, with nothing but moss underfoot.

Sympetrum rubicundulum, Ruby Meadowhawk, family Libellulidae, order Odonata. There were several pair out and about, in the quiet cove of the river. This dragonfly, to entomologists, is a sure sign of winter approaching - reminiscent of the Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis, for us birders. As I write this, I'm sharing a room with an entomologist-colleague at work - hence the excellent identification, and the lore.

Sympetrum rubicundulum, Ruby Meadowhawk. Basking on an old log in the cove.

Dolichovespula maculata, White-faced Hornet, nest, family Vespidae, order Hymenoptera. This creation is about 14 x 9" (40 x 23cm)- suspended right out over the river. Click on the photo to enlarge, and see the detail of the "paper" created by the wasps.

Oh, and I do have a short bird list for my efforts:
Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens
Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapilla
Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor
White-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis
American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis

And I might as well include the assorted mammals:
Eastern Gray Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis - two, kept a wary eye on me, but didn't scold!
American Red Squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus - at least four, in varying shades of orange and brown
Feral House Cat, Felis domesticus - a gray one, with white bib, lurking behind the barn

Feeder time?

Yesterday afternoon I went out to buy the first bag of sunflower seed of the season. The 'feeding season' since I am definitely not ready to call it w-i-n-t-e-r. So, it was good to have the sun up at 7 this morning, when I went out to hang the tube feeder.

However, there was a very heavy frost overnight, which left frost-cicles hanging from the edges of my car, frost coating the brown lawn, frost on the north-facing roof of the barn. Nooo, it's not w-i-n-t-e-r!!

November!

After taking my "extra" hour in sleeping late (set the clocks back an hour this morning) I rolled out for my Sunday morning bird walk. Yesterday another south wind blew in, with off-and-on light rain during the day and heavy rain at night, but it was WARM all day. The only birds around were the crows - lots of them. Today it's still windy, and a bit cooler, but with patchy sun and clouds.

meandering path along the Willimantic River
birders: only Sue - Jorge is still in Uruguay
birds:
Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, a pair
White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis, likely the same little flock
Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens
Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
American Robin, Turdus migratorius
Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia
heard a Black-capped Chickadee and an American Goldfinch
I also encountered evidence of a few mammals along the way. As I paused by the river to stand quietly and listen, I smelled strong animal smell nearby - looking down, there was evidence that a White-tailed Deer had been right where I was standing . Then, at the edge of the cornfield I found the remains of a Cottontail rabbit.

scat of White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus

tail of an Eastern Cottontail rabbit, Sylvilagus floridanus

solitary Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta