New Friends, New Post, New Bird!

 On Friday, May 3rd, Yale affiliated folks joined an official West Campus Bird Walk led by Peabody Museum and colleagues in conjunction with Yale West Campus Administration's program, Belonging Plan. Around 20 individuals gathered at the conference center and after quick introductions by the birding team, we set out across campus, winding our way to the West Campus Barn.

Making our way through the common areas and parking lots, we tallied many year-round residents on campus before making it to the nature trails and our first migrants.   Black-throated Green Warbler and Northern Parula (warbler) were singing from the tree tops.  As we moved along the trail, one of the Black-throated Greens came down low and close enough to give many participants very nice looks. 

Black-throated Green Warbler (photo credit: Cody Limber)

Heading closer to the barn, we experienced a nice push of lower canopy dwellers.  These are birds that usually nest within 15 feet of the ground, including Warbling Vireo, Yellow Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House Wren, and Swamp Sparrow.  Tom Parlapiano of the Peabody had the entire group stop and just listen at one point, trying to count how many different birds they could hear singing all at once.  Almost everyone could hear about 10 different bird species and multiple individuals. 

Birding along the trail (photo credit: Lynn Jones)

Once we made it to the barn and had some lovely refreshments, Alex Lin-Moore (Yale Graduate Student, 2023), informed us of a very nice bird.  He had just spotted a White-eye Vireo, a new species for our West Campus list (number 137)!!!  White-eyed Vireos have recently been found in higher numbers throughout the state, with several individuals being spotted, but are a more southern species.  Again this bird was quite vocal and made a number of appearances so that many participants were able to see it. 

White-eyed Vireo (photo credit: Cody Limber)

Thank you to everyone who came out to participate and especially to those who spread their bird knowledge around.  We tallied 39 species for our walk (see species below)!

Trying to spot warblers (photo credit: Tom Parlapiano)

Canada Goose, Mallard, Mourning Dove, Chimney Swift, Herring Gull, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, White-eyed Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House Wren, Carolina Wren, European Starling, Gray Catbird, American Robin, House Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Grackle, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, and Northern Cardinal

A Christmas Goose

As we all preparing for the excitement of the winter break, residents of West Campus were treated with a special holiday present, a new bird!  Our last new bird for the campus list was last spring over, just about a year and a half ago.  As our list climbs, it's been tougher to find species we haven't yet seen but we have a little bit of end of the year luck.

Snow Goose- young bird, adults are white with pink bill and legs

Monday evening I first spotted a different goose among the Canada Geese but wasn't able to ID it in the dark or take photos.  I came prepared the next day but to no avail, no goose.  Then yesterday, a member from the YU Art Gallery, stopped to ask me about the 'other goose'.  So I grabbed my camera and went on a goose chase.  Not so wild, I relocated the bird in a couple of minutes and took some photos.

Grabbing a snack along the way.

After some help from friends on Facebook, the bird was verified to be a juvenile Snow Goose!  Snow Geese breed in the Arctic and migrate south along flyways to the southern US.  The major flyway is through the middle of the country but a smaller population flies along the east coast to overwinter in Virginia/North Carolina.  Sometimes these birds will take quick stops along the way, including in Connecticut and this year we seem to be popular.

Size comparison with a Canada. Probably a 'Lesser' Snow Goose based on size.

All the birder on campus are excited about this new find and the gaggle seems to be fairly acclimated to people.  Next time you see the geese take a look to spot the smaller white one before it decides to head on south.

Here They Come

Bird Board

Spring and migration have finally begun.  Our usual list of species over the weeks in winter ranges from 10 to 15.  Both this week and last have averaged about 25!!  It's great to see some of the warm weather birds coming back into our area.  Migration started off with the black birds, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, and Brown-headed Cowbird, moving back onto campus.  And now this week we are starting to see the very first warblers trickling in, both Yellow-rumped Warbler and Common Yellowthroat have made an appearance.  I took a quick walk on one of these wonderful warm days.



Here are few shots:

Crocus flowering in front of the Collection Studies Center

Red Maple Flowers

Eastern Cottontail

Little white flowers on the remnants of the old cinder trail.

Savannah Sparrow (First of the year for WC)

"What are you doing?" American Robin

Song Sparrow taking a drink and looking for insects

Male American Goldfinch trying to hide in a pine tree
he may use as a nesting spot in a couple months.

February and Snow

I'm actually going to cheat on the month of February a bit by adding a bit on March as well.  Truth be told, not only was most wildlife hibernating for the month of February but so was I.  The majority of bird watching on campus was done from my office window.  With bird feeders up, I get to see at least ten species a week from the my window including the random fly overs.  The best bird of the month however, came while walking over to the conference center for lunch.  A first for West Campus, putting our total up to 134, were two Snow Buntings!  

Snow Bunting (http://www.garygulashnaturephotography.com)

Snow Buntings are a northern tundra species that comes south during the winter looking for some open grass to find seeds.  They are more than happy to hang out where there is mostly snow and looking at their plumage you can see why. 

New Bird Feeder (photo by Lynn Jones)

The first week of March has brought another northern species down to Connecticut.  Pine Siskins have been reported on feeders throughout the state for a few weeks but without any showing up on campus.  Finally, yesterday in the steady fall of snow two Pine Siskins stopped by the new thistle feeder for a snack. 

Pine Siskin (photo by Lynn Jones)

These little finches have very pointy little beaks that are perfect for fitting into the small opening of conifer cones for seeds.  Earlier this morning I counted four.  With any luck, our next blog will be about another small finch that comes to visit from the north on occasion.

Downy Woodpecker (photo by Lynn Jones)

Feeder Birds:

Mourning Dove

Downy Woodpecker

Black-capped Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

Song Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

House Finch

American Goldfinch

Occasionals:

Blue Jay

Pine Siskin

House Sparrow

2014 Wrap-up

Sue and Lynn on the Christmas Count

With only a few days left in the month of January, I figure it's time to put a wrap on 2014 with a quick synopsis of birding throughout the year.  This year was a bit of an anolamy from past as Sue, one of our best birders, was working in New Haven.  Not only does Sue see lots of birds but she helps to get me motivated to go out and we seem to have lost some of our oomph.  Even with all that we didn't do too bad and we managed to see a few good birds.

Spring Migration Week List

The preliminary tally for birds this year was 90 species seen on campus, still waiting for a few other people to get back to me.  I kept a running list going and added mentions in the blog and also emails from birders on campus.  As a refresher our total list of species is about 133, so this year we saw about two thirds of the full list.  In contrast, in 2012 we saw about 103 although campus this year was much busier with people. 

Yellow Warbler- Common nester on campus

Probably the best bird of the year for me and the only new bird for campus, was spotted near the end of the year.  After hearing rumors that the shuttle bus drivers had seen owls perched on the roof of the conference center, I walked out to my car in the dark on November 25th and quickly heard the hooting of a Great Horned Owl.  I was able to spot the bird sitting on top of the Collections Study Center thanks to the light from the moon. 

Great Horned Owl- record shot

Great Horned Owl- photo heavily edited

New Years resolutions for 2015: submit a bird list to Ebird at least once a week (maybe when it's warmer), post at least one blog post a month, and try to get more impromptu bird walks going throughout the year.  Don't forget to check out the nature walks with Tom Parlapiano on campus; they are list in the West Campus weekly.  Check back here for more birds and send me your bird sightings!

Say What?

The last couple weeks have been pretty busy for much of the staff at the Peabody.  Many of us recently went to Wales to participate in the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections Annual Meeting .  I have been a little behind on keeping the bird sighting board for West Campus up to date between preparing for my trip and work related moves. 

This is what happens when I go away and leave my markers out...

Now that would be a good week of birding!  Back to American Robins and Mourning Doves now. 

WC Community Noon Time Nature Walk: Spring Bird Walk

Walk participant finding a bird

The Peabody Museum's Community Education Center is now hosting Noon Time Nature Walks throughout the summer and fall for members of the West Campus Community.  Tom Parlapiano, the community education center coordinator, led a spring bird walk on Friday, May 2nd to kick off the series.  Check out the bottom of this blog for information on upcoming walks as well as how to sign up. 


Spring has sprung along the Oyster River

Four members of the west campus community joined Tom for a walk in the woods behind the nursing building in search of spring migrants.  Each day during the spring thousands of birds pass through Connecticut on their way north to breeding grounds and many of these stop at West Campus for a rest.

Walk participants with leader Tom Parlapiano

New birders were given a brief introduction on how to use the binoculars provided by Tom for the walk.  Luckily, American Goldfinches fighting for mates were willing to act as models for focusing lessons.  Once in the woods a Great-crested Flycatcher caught our attention.  The states largest flycatcher, the Great-crested is one of the earliest to arrive in Connecticut and while some continue north, many will remain in our area to breed. 

Great-crested Flycatcher

In the tangles along the river, Yellow Warblers, Song Sparrows, and even a Chipping Sparrow all made an appearance.  At one point a Red-tailed Hawk came flying by at tree-top height, either looking for a meal or trying to figure out what we were doing.  Along the river, we were able to find an American Robin's nest, although there were no eggs inside yet, the adult kept scolding until we had walked away. 

American Robin nest

Totals for the walk included, about 20 different birds seen with 18 identified to species.  A blackbird (probably a Brown-headed Cowbird) and a crow (either a Fish Crow or Common Crow) were not positively ID'ed.  Those totals are actually pretty impressive considering that noontime is when birds are least active during the day.  Birds are most active during the early morning hours when they fly to different spots in their territory and sing.  Highlights not already mentioned include: Double-crested Cormorants (flying over), Osprey (flying over), Barn Swallow (WC nesters), and Mallard Ducks. 

As our time wrapped up we did get one non-avian highlight.  This six-spotted tiger beetle came out onto the sidewalk for a quick view.

six-spotted green tiger beetle

 

 

Upcoming Walks

Friday, June 13th- Non-Native Invasive Plant ID Walk

Friday, September 12th- West Campus Hawk Watch

Friday, October 10th- Fall Tree Identification Walk

Friday, November 14th- Fall Bird Walk

 

Let Tom know you want to participate by registering HERE