Stratford Point this week

At least once a week we will try to show you what is going on at Stratford Point. Each season has its own distinctive set of birds given the site's location. There is never a quiet part of the year. As the ducks depart and passerine migrants move in there have been a lot of changes in species counts in the last few weeks. You may have already seen the picture of the Merlin that visited us for most of the week in the blog entry from April 5. It seems to have left, but the middle of the week found anywhere from 30 to 60 Northern Gannet feeding offshore in Long Island Sound. Most of these birds were so far out they could only be seen using binoculars or a spotting scope. Occasionally one will make a pass closer to shore. A couple of bad pictures were snapped of one of those birds:

During the somewhat dreary and quiet day today, we had a pair of American Oystercatcher foraging and resting along the shoreline. The species has been spotted flying by a few times in the last week. Our "Connecticut State of the Birds 2008" Report, which can be read here, featured the American Oystercatcher as one of six species with plummeting populations for which Connecticut habitat is vital to its global survival. It is a state-listed "species of Special Concern". The pair posed for a quick picture:

Photographs by Scott Kruitbosch.