Fly-overs and fly-bys

This morning while driving through campus, Lynn had an exciting fly-over - she was able to open the sunroof of her car in time to watch a Great Egret passing overhead. Then at noontime out near the loading dock of our building she saw a pair of Northern Rough-winged Swallows, circling the area where they nested last year. Trouble is, last summer they selected a nest site in a rented trailer, which is no longer on site. We hope they'll stick around and choose a new site, after all, the trailer was only here one summer - what did they do before that?

So, thanks to Lynn's sharp eyes, we add two new species to our West Campus list.

Great Egret, Ardea alba
Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Stelgidopteryx serripennis

new AND returning

Birds of note recently are a Chipping Sparrow, seen foraging under our bird-feeder this morning, and Savannah Sparrows, seen on our lunchtime walk. Both are returning species which breed across much of the US and throughout Canada, and winter across the southern US and into Mexico.

Last Friday after work, Lynn saw a female American Kestrel, sitting miserably in the rain. She was perched atop one of the many buildings here at West Campus. The Kestrel is new to our bird list, with the caveat that some of us saw one here late last winter (March 2009) - but we weren't listing then, were we...

The Kestrel is North America's smallest raptor, just a bit larger than our Robin. It requires quite a bit of open space for hunting (small vertebrates and arthropods), and a cavity for nesting, either re-using an old woodpecker hole or choosing a man-made nest box.

Chipping Sparrow, Spizella passerina
Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis
American Kestrel, Falco sparverius

Lots of activity, but

we're still waiting for our Phoebe. There are lots and lots of robins, many cowbirds, sparrows in abundance, cardinals, bluejays and goldfinches. The Cowbirds have apparently discovered our birdfeeder, and between them and the house sparrows, we can't keep it full.

Out for a walk at noon today, Lynn saw one female Dark-eyed Junco and a Brown Creeper! Last fall we had two or three sightings of Brown Creeper, and I remember how excited I was to find the first Junco. Could this be the last? They typically head north in mid-April, becoming downright rare by the first week of May.

Juncos breed all across Canada, south into the western mountain states, south into northern New England and in the Appalachian Mountains as far south as North Carolina. There are some nesting records for Connecticut in the far northwestern corner of the state.

keep enjoying the returning birds!
ciao, Sue

We'll take it!

Not what we expected, but Lynn saw bird number 71 today.

I'll just keep you in suspense for another minute, though. Today was another warm spring day, lots of insects around, including flies, bees and butterflies. After delivering some specimens to the Nature Center for Tom, the three of us went out looking for birds.

Today's birders:
Lynn, Tom, Sue

Today's special birds:
Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus - one hopped out into view on top of a blackberry cane and sang and sang
Swamp Sparrow, Melospiza georgiana - one scurried deep into the brambles, but we persisted at trying to pish it out, and eventually were rewarded with a great view of this striking sparrow

And, we saw the usuals. Sorry to be so dismissive of the usuals, not that we don't always appreciate the usuals, but I don't really have time to write up the whole list.

Okay, so now for bird number 71. Flying over the road as Lynn was driving through campus was a pair of...
Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos

yippee, another bird for our list, but, as I said at the top, not what we expected!

Still Waiting!

We're still waiting for the next new bird to add to our West Campus list - a warbler? a swallow?

Today's lunch-hour ramblers:
Lynn and Sue

Today's lunch-hour birds:
Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo
Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis
Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus
Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens


Wild Turkey feather. One of the most commonly found turkey feathers is this wing feather, which at first glance might be confused with a hawk or owl feather.

continuing the bird list:
Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
Fish Crow, Corvus ossifragus - heard only
American Robin, Turdus migratorius
European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa
Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapillus
Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor - heard only


Black-capped Chickadee. Lynn was whistling to the White-throated Sparrows, when a pair of chickadees came close to investigate.

more birds:
Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis
White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis
Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia
possible Swamp Sparrow, Melospiza georgiana


Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) and spring green along the Oyster River.

Other campus birds for the day:
House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus
Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater
Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
House Sparrow, Passer domesticus

Early butterflies too!!
Mourning Cloak, Nymphalis antiopa
Cabbage White, Pieris rapae
an orange one, likely from the subfamily Nymphalinae, a "true brushfoot"

I just found these butterfly resources on the web:
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map?ds=7&_dcs=1
http://www.connecting-with-nature.net/spring-butterflies.html

And mammals:
Eastern Chipmunk, Tamias striatus
Eastern Gray Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis
evidence of White-tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus


Short video of a Water Strider (family Gerridae) on the Oyster River.

Life is too short, make yours sweet - get out in the natural world, don't wait for tomorrow.

Two days of heavy rain...

Good weather for a duck - or a swan*. And for the robins, who are gobbling up the drowning earthworms left and right.


The depression under our feeder is a lake this morning.

We haven't been out to fill the feeders since last week, and also since we realized that it was the House Sparrows who were the primary customers.


Our weekly bird-sighting list, which is tallied with a dry erase marker on a glass partition in the hallway opposite our feeders.


This is the final feeder count for the winter. Starting in November, Lynn submitted weekly lists of activity at our bird feeders to the New Haven Bird Club's annual feeder survey.


A few more wet denizens of West Campus - our Wild Turkey flock took cover from the heavy rain under this ventilation structure.


What --- you don't have turkeys in your parking lot??

*The reference to a swan in my opening line is for a pretty special bird which is making an appearance in Stratford Connecticut this week. Stratford is close enough to us here at West Campus that Lynn and I took a lunchtime trip to see it on Monday.

A pair of Trumpeter Swans, Cygnus buccinator, are feeding and resting in a little inland pond in a wooded residential area of Stratford. For both of us, this was a life bird - the first time we've ever seen one. The largest bird (by weight and length) native to North America, and the largest waterfowl in on EARTH!

link to Lynn's blog to see her photos!!!!!

This majestic swan is easily distinguished from our common Mute Swan by its all black bill (Mute's is orange and black), and by its habit of holding its neck very straight (Mute's is often curved). The Trumpeter is less easily distinguished from the Tundra Swan, another native swan which is occasionally seen in Connecticut. Here the primary distinction is in overall size of the bird, and in details of the shape and color of the bill.

I'll refer you now to Cornell's Birds of North American Online - where you can also see range maps of these two native swans, and get an idea of how uncommon they are in Connecticut.
http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/105/articles/introduction

Friday field trip, and the week's birds

Don't know why, it just seemed like a good day to get to the coast. Lynn and I spent the better part of an hour at the mouth of the Oyster River at lunchtime, searching the flock of Bonaparte's Gulls for the one Black-headed Gull which had been seen off and on yesterday. Within a few minutes of arriving, Lynn picked out one that was different than the others - or so we thought. The flock was feeding and preening and would occasionally spook, wheeling away in unison. Sometimes they flew down the beach out of sight before returning and settling on the mudflats again.

When they returned we searched and searched and did not see that "different" bird again, finally convincing ourselves that we really had not seen the Black-headed Gull in the first place.
- it should be a larger bird, 16 inches long vs 13.5 for the Bonaparte's, actually closer to the size of a Ring-billed Gull (at 17.5 inches)
- it should be completely white at the back of the neck, where the Bonaparte's shows a shadow of gray, and should appear paler gray on the mantle and back in general than the Bonaparte's

Anyway, it's always good to get out birding, even if you don't find your target bird! I had never seen a large flock of Bonaparte's Gulls - we estimated about 150 birds.

This week's West Campus (and coastal) birds:
Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo
Canada Goose, Branta canadensis (and coast)
Brant, Branta bernicla
Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
Red-breasted Merganser, Mergus serrator
Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus
Herring Gull, Larus argentatus (and coast)
Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis (and coast)
Bonaparte's Gull, Chroicocephalus philadelphia
Sharp-shinned Hawk, Accipiter striatus
Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
Rock Pigeon, Columba livia (and coast)
Monk Parakeet, Myopsitta monachus
Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens
American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
Fish Crow, Corvus ossifragus
Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
American Robin, Turdus migratorius
European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapillus
Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis
Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia
Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis
Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater
Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula
American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis
House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus
House Sparrow, Passer domesticus

Thirty species for the week - including today's field trip to the coast - but still no Phoebe or Tree Swallow to report - hopefully next week! The Tree Swallow will be a new bird for our list, since we started our birding efforts last fall after the swallows had flown south.

Friday noon birding anyone?

I'm sitting at my desk on a sunny Thursday and just checked the weather forecast for tomorrow. Looks like Friday's rain may clear up in time for lunchtime birding - anyone up for a quick trip to the coast? I'll leave the A-21 parking lot shortly after noon and pick up anyone who'd like to join in the outing. Plan a portable lunch and I'll bring my 'scope. I can shift the time to later if it works better for some, but either way, plan for a full hour out in the cold wind.
Good weather for gulls, ducks, maybe a shorebird if we hit the right patch of shoreline.
later - Sue

Oyster River gulls

Mixed gull flock resting and feeding at the mouth of the Oyster River, Orange/Milford town line - yes, and one pigeon strolling through the foreground

Right after work I headed to the shore to see if I could locate the Bonaparte's Gulls which have been hanging around at the mouth of the Oyster River. This is a species which becomes more common along our coastline during late winter and early spring. There were at least 12 of these small, agile gulls mixed in with the usual flock of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls.

I singled out the Bonaparte's Gulls by their fluttery, almost tern-like wingbeat, their overall much smaller size, uniquely marked black and white pattern in the wing and a small dark bill. They are still in non-breeding plumage, manifested by a dark "smudge" behind the eye, rather than the fully black cap of a breeding bird.


A short video, taken through my binoculars, of Bonaparte's Gulls, Chroicocephalus philadelphia, on the beach at the mouth of the Oyster River, Orange, Connecticut.

As the tide ebbed, the gulls shifted from feeding on what looked to be small minnow-like fish just offshore, to bathing in the fast-moving brackish current of the Oyster River as it flowed into Long Island Sound. After a period of bathing, they came up to the sandy shore to preen.

So the same Oyster River from which a West Campus robin took a drink at lunchtime, is now afternoon bathwater for the local gull population. There's a water cycle for you.


this photo is cropped from the larger one above - the Bonaparte's are the smaller gulls in front, and also sit with the tail and wingtips tilted up quite high


this is also cropped from the same photo from above - there are three Bonaparte's Gulls on the beach, the far left, the far right and the smaller gull in the center back

Another walk...

Another noontime too beautiful to be indoors, so we walked around campus for our lunch-hour. Pretty quiet out there, but I know the phoebes will be back soon!

Today's birders:
Lynn, Debby and Sue

Today's birds:
Canada Goose
Wild Turkey
Killdeer - returning migrant! *
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon
American Robin
Blue Jay
European Starling
Northern Cardinal
Black-capped Chickadee
Song Sparrow - singing
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
House Sparrow

yesterday there were House Finches

Watchful birders throughout the state are beginning to report migrants:

Eastern Phoebe
Tree Swallow
Piping Plover
Broad-winged Hawk
Yellow-rumped Warbler - singing
Eastern Bluebird

And many bird species have been observed nest-building:

Osprey
Red-shouldered Hawk
Eastern Bluebird

*Although it's possible to see the Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), year-round in Connecticut, it is a migratory species, traveling as far south as Colombia and Venezuela. It breeds across nearly all of North America, from northern Mexico to Canada's mid-latitudes.