Author Archive
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010
Q: When should I start feeding birds, and what is the best seed? A: Recent research has shown that since birds do not use feeders as their sole means of support, it is acceptable to feed birds whenever you like and as often as you like. For instance, we used to think that it was […]
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Friday, September 10th, 2010
Here are some more upcoming fall events are three more Connecticut Audubon Society centers. Please take a look to see if you or anyone you know, especially children, may be interested. At our Glastonbury Center…(1361 Main Street, Glastonbury, 860-633-8402) “Pee Wees” programs on Tuesdays, 10-11 a.m. are for 1-3 year olds with an adult, beginning […]
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Tuesday, January 11th, 2011
The photo below was taken at the coastal grasslands of Stratford Point. It shows a raptor sitting on top of an American Kestrel box. The picture is small, isn’t it? It is 25% of actual size. It is as if you had nothing but your eyes or possibly a pair of binoculars while watching it. […]
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Friday, January 7th, 2011
A cold night, slight haze and no wind created perfect viewing conditions of the Long Island Sound from Stratford Point yesterday. Although we already know that there are a lot of ducks in the area, it was quite amazing to be able see every duck, loon and grebe in at least a half a mile […]
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Sunday, January 9th, 2011
You may have read this post I made on the Westport-Fairfield Christmas Bird Count, as I was a part of Charlie Barnard’s count team for his Fairfield shoreline area. The rest of the team included Dave Zawisha, Alex Burdo, and James Purcell. In the middle of the day, our group found a banded Canada Goose. […]
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Thursday, January 6th, 2011
Here’s another entry from CAS Director of the Coastal Center at Milford Point, Frank Gallo, concerning a possible hybrid raptor: Lynn Jones and I found this odd raptor on the Oxford CBC. It nearly made our heads explode trying to work out what it was. It had a short white and black-banded tail with wider […]
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Wednesday, January 5th, 2011
Every once in a while I come across a little pile of feathers in the woods or some other sign that a raptor succesfully captured its prey. Recently, while surveying in fresh snow, I came across this scene: It was located along the edge of a field near a line of trees; no tracks leading […]
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Monday, January 3rd, 2011
Best wishes from all of us at Connecticut Audubon Society! May 2011 be full of wonderful surprises! My new year certainly started off well when this little Eastern Screech Owl emerged from the bird house in the front yard of my in-laws! It’s a nice reminder that exciting discoveries can be made in one’s own […]
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Saturday, January 1st, 2011
The following post and photos are from CAS Director of the Coastal Center at Milford Point, Frank Gallo. On 21 December 2010, I went to Longshore Country Club in Westport hoping to see and photograph the Cackling Goose I’d missed on my previous trip to the area. When I arrived, a large group of Canada […]
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Tuesday, December 28th, 2010
Sunday’s Stratford-Milford Christmas Bird Count went on despite the weather forecast. Between the lack of available days to reschedule the count and the fact many people would be unavailable it seemed prudent to go out and get what observers could find before the snow came in. After checking my yard briefly and getting a feel […]
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Monday, December 27th, 2010
The Blizzard of 2010 started about halfway through the Stratford-Milford Christmas Bird Count on December 26. Technically, it was actually even earlier, as flurries from the storm began around 8AM while I was in the field with Frank Mantlik in his section of Stratford. However, significant snow held off until about 11AM. I will post […]
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Friday, December 24th, 2010
We do not have the snow to show for it as of Christmas eve, but winter has arrived. It was quite evident in my own yard on Thursday as I looked out at my bird feeders. I had the honor of picking up the bird below when it flew in with a group of Red-winged […]
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Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
On Sunday, I participated in the first of two Christmas Bird Counts, this one for the Westport-Fairfield count circle. Next weekend I will be going out for the Stratford-Milford circle. I was a part of the Fairfield shoreline sector. Charles Barnard Jr. is the captain of the area and graciously had myself and fellow birders […]
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Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
I am thrilled to see eBird is continually rolling out new ways to explore and utilize data on a regular basis. In 2011, Twan and I will be conducting eBird classes – more information on that will be coming soon! For now, the following is directly from eBird in a post which can you find […]
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Friday, December 17th, 2010
The Dark-eyed Junco is one of the most abundant, variable, and controversial species in North America. The controversy lies in its subspecies, and whether or not they should be considered their own distinct species. It can be very confusing. Suffice it to say, the one we have to be concerned with in Connecticut is slate-colored. […]
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Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
Frank Gallo just sent me a few digiscoped pictures of the sea duck flock off Cove Place/Stratford Point, taken yesterday. They illustrate nicely what great views we are getting of these often difficult to observe ducks. Note the female King Eider at the bottom of the first image!
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Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
As reported on the CT-Birds list serve, there is currently an impressive flock of sea ducks present on the west side of Stratford Point. Thousands of ducks of both scaup species and all three scoters are within easy scoping distance from shore — best viewed from the bottom of Cove Place, but also visible from […]
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