A good find!

Monday, with a week left in the month, I had a good birding find...


Still too snowy down the stairway towards the river

As I explored the possibility of walking into the Nature Preserve along the Oyster River I saw a large dark bird fly into the treetops. My brain first registered raven - dark bird, larger than a crow. Now perched, through binoculars I could see raptor bill - no raven that.
Then, distinct black and white bands materialized on the tail. Not an immature red-tail either. Wait, it's a new species for West Campus -
a Red-shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus.


Oyster River running through campus

The first paragraph of Cornell University's introduction to this species indicates that it favors exactly the type of habitat that we have here at West Campus. We'll have to keep an eye out for this bird as the weeks progress into March, when breeding behavior is usually observed. West Campus may be too small to support two pairs of breeding buteos - we already have a resident pair of Red-tailed Hawks...

On another bird note - as I leaned over the stone wall to photograph the river, I saw a smallish brown bird flitting in riverside bushes. With our nearly year-old mantra in my head (never say "it's just a...") I raised binoculars again - a Hermit Thrush! Two months ago Lynn and Lourdes had seen three on the Christmas bird count. First-year birds of this species often over-winter here in southern New England, so I wasn't terribly surprised, but it was a great bird find even so.

Take a look at the range map - you'll see a sliver of green (year-round) along coastal Connecticut.
Hmm - I've also seen them in northeastern CT during the winter...

Bird list for the week of February 21-25:
Wild Turkey
Canada Goose
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Red-tailed Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus
Downy Woodpecker
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon
American Crow

European Starling
American Robin
Hermit Thrush
Black-capped Chickadee
Northern Cardinal

White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow

That's just seventeen species for the week - probably because Lynn headed south to Florida and she has often been the primary birder here at West Campus. I hope you're enjoying the birds down there Lynn!!!
I'll be keeping an eye out for Common Redpoll or another Pine Siskin - they're around in good numbers in some parts of the state. Blackbirds are also returning these days - and we still don't have a Rusty Blackbird for our WC list.
This month is usually a real transition time, some northern birds still pushing south in the search for a good food supply, and some early returns pushing north with the melting of the snowcover. Fun times!

A week of warm days

With at least three days of temperatures over 40F (5C), sights like this became more common around campus. And with the increase of grassy patches, there were increases in certain bird species. The goose flock was noticeably larger, spread out in several groups, and totalling more than 100 birds.


American Robins, which have been around recently in smallish groups, were more numerous, and flocked with European Starlings, which had been conspicuously absent the previous week. Another nice surprise came late in the week. As I was leaving on Friday afternoon I saw two Killdeer, back in their old haunts, the parking lot near the A-21 loading dock.


It won't be long before snow is a distant memory here in coastal Connecticut, so I had fun framing this shot. Reminds me of snow-capped Himalayas in northeastern India this past December - the view outside the door of my tent for a week.

The West Campus bird list for the week of February 14 - 18, 2011.

Wild Turkey
Red-tailed Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Canada Goose
Killdeer

Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon
Downy Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker
American Crow
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin

European Starling
Northern Cardinal
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Twenty-one species for the week. Have to say it's respectable, considering all we really do is just keep our eyes open as we pass through our buildings and around campus. If the snow continues to disappear, maybe this week we'll actually be able to get out into the woods a bit.

Blue Sky???

Wow - there's a perfect color.
Seems like it's been three months since we've had a pleasant sunny day. Blue sky, okay, yes we've had that, but it was over 40 degrees today!

I actually took my binoculars out for a spin around campus after lunch today. My fifteen-minute walk yielded two gulls, forty-one geese and two crows. But hey, it wasn't about the birds anyway. It was about the sunshine!
Activity at the feeders in the courtyard remains steady, with the occasional cardinal, regular woodpeckers, a gaggle of chickadees, handful of sparrows and our turkey.


fat flower buds on a maple this afternoon

The official West Campus bird list for last week, February 4 - 11:

Wild Turkey
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove

Rock Pigeon
Downy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
American Robin
Black-capped Chickadee

American Crow
Northern Cardinal
White-throated Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch


typical Connecticut scene this afternoon

Very encouraging today to see rivulets running away from every pile of dirty snow. Daytime temps are above freezing - means the sap is running in the maples - do I smell pancakes on the griddle? I make my own maple syrup every year, and the advantage to this, besides the obvious, is the feeling of actually looking forward to this wet, gray season. If not for the anticipation of maple syrup, this icy- crusty- old-snow time of year would be pure torture!
There, I've said enough.
ciao
Sue