Connecticut Audubon Society

Connecticut State of the Birds 2012

2012-02-10T18:55:00.004-05:00

We had a good crowd at our Fairfield headquarters today for the release our Connecticut State of the Birds 2012 report and a slate of recommendations and action steps based on the report’s findings.

Connecticut State of the Birds 2012 examines the dwindling amount of time kids are spending outdoors and its implications for the future of conservation of birds and their habitats. Based on the report’s findings, we at Connecticut Audubon Society will be increasing our emphasis on outdoor environmental education for young people and reaching out to our partners in government, education and the environment to collaborate on the endeavor.

We've been providing high quality environmental education since our founding in 1898. But Connecticut State of the Birds 2012, titled “Where Is the Next Generation of Conservationists Coming From?” shows that we need to concentrate on creating more outdoor educational opportunities with more partners for more children.

The goal is to help create a deeper, long-term commitment to conservation, as well as to contribute to the health and academic success of our state’s children.

We were pleased that Susan Frechette, assistant commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, was able to come down from Hartford to join us. Rep. Kim Fawcett of Fairfield was there too, as was Michael Tetreau, Fairfield's First Selectman.

We made a point of reaching out to the education community too. Pamela Iacono, chair of the Fairfield Board of Education, joined us. Len Tavormina, headmaster of the Eagle Hill School in Southport, was there, along with Gary Rosato, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for Fairfield public schools and Tony Vogl, Director of Development and Marketing, the Connecticut Yankee Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Among the many highlights was a short speech by Amanda Flanagan, chair of the John Patrick Flanagan Foundation, a supporter of our education work. And Julia Serrano and
Neyra Benoit, 10th graders at Stratford's Bunnell High School, almost stole the show with their account of how their time at Connecticut Audubon Society inspired them to want to make a career of conservation.

This is our 7th annual Connecticut State of the Birds report. It has become the leading research-based assessment of conservation conditions in Connecticut.

We will soon be mailing the report to CAS members. If you are not a member, we encourage you to join (which you can do by clicking here).

You can find a full summary of Connecticut State of the Birds 2012 and a PDF of the report on our website, here.

Here's news coverage of the event:
Connecticut Post
Norwalk Hour
New Haven Register
Main Street Connect

Patch.com

Tom Andersen

Director of Communications and Community Outreach

Wilson's Snipe Shot

2012-02-08T14:53:00.000-05:00

This cool Wilson's Snipe photo comes in to us courtesy of Ross Allen. He took this shot on January 30 near the Birdseye Boat Ramp in Stratford.

Wilson's Snipe by Ross Allen

This is a classic spot to see them in the winter months, though typically you would get lucky enough to see only one or perhaps two. Ross was able to capture four in this photo alone while also spotting two more nearby. It sounds to me like we have another example of a species with increased numbers spending the winter here in Connecticut and enjoying the above-average temperatures and ice-free water. It is hard to imagine the Housatonic River is ever frozen in the winter when we have weather patterns such as the current one in place. Feeding must be a breeze for these snipe right now even if the water does get a little too close for comfort at high tide.

Thanks for the shot, Ross! Please feel free to send in your own photos for more information and identification or simply to show us a neat sighting like this one. We may even put it up here in the conservation blog.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photo © Ross Allen

Big January 2012 results

2012-02-06T12:31:00.000-05:00

Many of Connecticut’s most active birders hit the field each January in search of the most species they can tally in the month. This friendly competition, called the Big January, can be a lot of fun between friends, a great way to start a list for the year, a method of learning about birds and where to find a given species, and a means to make even more birding acquaintances. Twenty years ago, this would have meant one would have to search through habitats across the state using only their own knowledge and experience. At most, a phone call to a good friend or local bird club meeting may have helped disseminate information.

In 2012, list servs, eBird, blogs like this one, Twitter, smartphones, and so much more also help to spread the news about what rare or out of season bird is here or there, helping people assemble much larger lists. With that said, we are all still limited by what species are actually in the state able to be found by someone. Excuse the Yogism, but if a bird isn’t here, then it isn’t here! Last year featured nonstop historic snowfall events as January 2011 went down into the record books in multiple weather categories. Nevertheless, a whopping 154 species were seen by the twelve birders submitting lists, including a state-first Common Murre.

This balmy January, setting records for high temperature on multiple days, featured only one moderate to minor snowfall event depending on where you reside in the state. Many out of season birds were able to remain here through the winter. As it turns out last year’s group total of 154 is rather insignificant as one of this year’s participants broke that collective total from last season by herself! Tina Green saw 156 – yes, one hundred and fifty-six – species of birds in Connecticut in January. Sara Zagorski’s total of 152 was not far behind. The collective reported species for January was 170. Rarities included an alcid bounty with Thick-billed Murre, Common Murre, and so very many Razorbills, plus a Pink-footed Goose, Harris' Sparrow, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Barnacle Goose, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Yellow-throated Warbler, and more. Out of season birds included birds like Northern Rough-winged Swallow to Nashville Warbler to Saltmarsh Sparrow.

Between a fortunately warm season, the affect of climate change, more reports coming from more birders in the field, and advancing technology, will someone eventually crack 200 species in January? Congratulations to Tina for her incredible mark and to all of the participants for putting up big numbers. Meredith Sampson’s list is quite impressive considering she limited herself to only birds in the town of Greenwich. Charlie Barnard and Frank Mantlik largely did the same in Stratford. Each individual's list is linked to in their name (this includes Word, Excel, PDF, and TXT files).

Here are some photos of the many birds seen thanks to Bill Asteriades, Meredith Sampson, and Charlie Barnard, each credited to the appropriate photographer.

Yellow-throated Warbler by Bill Asteriades

Common Murre by Bill Asteriades

Harris' Sparrow by Bill Asteriades

Northern Shrike by Bill Asteriades

Bonaparte's Gull by Bill Asteriades

Razorbill by Bill Asteriades

Black-legged Kittiwake by Bill Asteriades

Razorbill by Bill Asteriades

Common Murre by Bill Asteriades

Yellow-breasted Chat by Meredith Sampson

American Bittern by Charlie Barnard

Baltimore Oriole by Meredith Sampson

Green-winged Teal by Meredith Sampson

American Pipit by Meredith Sampson

Cooper's Hawk by Meredith Sampson

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photos © their respective photographer

Federal Mercury Standards Aid Birds

2012-02-03T10:10:00.000-05:00

Twan and I wanted to pass along this New York Times article to make sure all of you had seen this great development for conservation. It may not have been a direct action, but the new federal mercury standards to help prevent human exposure to the pollution from power plants also helps birds and other wildlife. Our section of the country is in particular trouble...

"Methylmercury, the most toxic form of the heavy metal, was found to be widespread throughout the Northeast — not just in lakes and rivers, as had already been known, but also in forests, on mountaintops and in bogs and marshes that are home to birds long thought to be at minimal risk.
The new study found dangerously high levels of mercury in several Northeastern bird species, including rusty blackbirds, saltmarsh sparrows and wood thrushes."

What else do you notice about those three bird species? They are three very diverse songbirds in a great deal of trouble. Their numbers are plummeting for a multitude of reasons, from sea-level change (Saltmarsh Sparrows) to habitat loss and forest fragmentation (Wood Thrush) and, honestly, reasons that are largely unknown (Rusty Blackbird). Mercury has been suspected as a potential cause of the Rusty Blackbird decline, one of the most precipitous of any bird on the continent.

Mercury makes it way up the food chain and adversely affects the breeding success of birds that have even miniscule amounts in their blood. When you reduce nesting success rates by any amount, especially some of the high rates mentioned in the article, you are adding to an overwhelming set of problems already taxing various species. These standards could help the birds in our backyards tremendously.

They could also mean a great deal for bats who are in deep trouble in Connecticut and neighboring regions under the stress of white-nose syndrome. This deadly fungus is devastating entire populations and going largely unnoticed by the general public. Anything that can help them is a welcome change for conservation.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Leucistic Northern Cardinal

2012-02-01T13:54:00.000-05:00

Check out this oddity and see if you can figure out what is going on! A visitor to the Connecticut Audubon Society Center at Glastonbury named Jane sent these photos of a female leucistic pied Northern Cardinal to Director Cynthia Bartholomew, who passed them along to the conservation department.

Jane did not need our help to figure out what was going on with this gal as she determined the cause of the aberrant appearance herself. Leucism is essentially a reduced pigmentation as normal colors still occur over much of the feathers. It is not the same condition as albinism, a mutation that prevents melanin from being produced at all. You'll notice I said this bird was pied, a term for birds with patches of white. Others are called pale as their entire body has a reduction in pigmentation, though in the same manner or to the same degree as an albinistic bird.

Leucism is rare in birds, and albinism is exceptionally rare. If you feed your backyard birds for many years you stand a good chance of seeing a leucistic bird at some point. I once had an American Tree Sparrow that closely resembled the look of Jane's bird, with the head and only a couple small patches on the body being affected by the mutation. That would be another pied individual, the more common type of leucism.

One good thing about such genetic conditions - for bird watchers at least - is that you can easily track this bird. This can help you get an idea of how long one individual remains in your yard each day, what times they come and go, if they are a year-round resident, if they come by feeding young in the summer, and so forth. Such a marked and unique individual can provide a lot of insight into the life of a specific bird you might not otherwise be such attention to.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Q&A with Our Pomfret Sanctuary Manager

2012-01-31T18:47:00.001-05:00

Ever wonder what the good parts of the job are for someone who works as a land manager for a conservation organization? And the bad parts?

According to Andy Rzeznikiewicz, the sanctuary manager at our Grassland Bird Conservation Center at Pomfret, the answer is pretty much the same: being outside. The Norwich Bulletin ran a nice Q&A with Andy in today's paper, and here are two of the questions they asked him:

Q: What’s the best part of your job?
A: Being outside and the job changing throughout the seasons. It’s not the same thing every day throughout the year.
Q: What’s the hardest part?
A: Probably dealing with the extreme temperatures, when it’s really hot and humid and when it’s really cold and windy. And the ticks and things like that.

You'll learn a couple more things about Andy as well. For one thing, he's a wheat farmer. For another, the Working Lands Alliance recently honored him with the Farmland Preservation Pathfinder Outstanding Individual Award. Congratulations, Andy!

You can read the Q&A here.

And if you're wondering how to pronounce Rzeznikiewicz, it's just like it's spelled.

Tom Andersen
Director of Communications and Community Outreach

Gray Catbirds in January and changing seasons

2012-01-30T15:51:00.003-05:00

As I was on my way to Stratford Point today after a morning of field work, I saw a Gray Catbird feeding in the bushes along Oak Bluff Avenue. I discovered it after spotting a bunch of more typical birds in the area (House Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, White-throated Sparrows, Northern Mockingbird) while slowly driving by, stopping for a moment to see if anything else was lurking in this warm patch. This is the road that borders Stratford's Great Meadows Marsh on the east side, and the one many birders and beach goers are familiar with as it leads to Long Beach and Pleasure Beach.

It was cooperative for only a moment before dashing back into brush far from the road and my camera. There's always something awesome about finding a very common bird out of season like this one. This particular Gray Catbird has been living the good life in Connecticut as the winter of 2011-2012 has consisted of one moderate snowfall that melted with temperatures in the 50s mere days after. From what I have read and heard, it is not alone.

Look at this eBird map of Gray Catbird sightings in only January 2012 across the northeast and nearby regions, whoa! The birds are definitely concentrated on the Atlantic coast, though that is also where the most birders are.

Connecticut has had plenty, and our friend and excellent birder John Marshall told me he has actually seen one in each county already! There are certainly some Gray Catbirds that spend the winter here each year, but this is an abnormally high total. It seems obvious that they and other species, from a variety of warblers to even some Northern Rough-winged Swallows, are able to survive because of the little snow and very warm temperatures. If this were last winter - well, even if approximately the same number attempted to remain here, few would have survived all the way to spring with feet of snow and frigid temperatures being commonplace.

We have had two extreme winter seasons in a row, exactly what climate change should be bringing more of. The birds will have to adapt as best as they can. Overall, we can expect more and more attempting to remain here through the colder months as long-term temperatures will be on the rise, and monitoring weather and climate conditions will become even more important. This rapidly changing reality also means the survey work we complete on a daily basis is even more critical to the application of our best management practices in a variety of habitats across the state.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photos © Scott Kruitbosch; map courtesy of eBird.org

Big January 2012

2012-01-27T10:36:00.000-05:00

One of the most exciting parts of the New Year for birders is starting a new list of species seen for the upcoming 12 months. However, some people take this up a level by participating in the Big January competition, a friendly and fun game to see who can spot the most species in the month. In the past, this was essentially left to each person to complete on their own, though in 2012 we have internet list servs, eBird, cell phones, and so many other ways to keep in touch and spread bird sightings around. This means average total is going up each year, and with a warm season like this one, I am guessing there may be some never before seen species in January in Connecticut.

This competition is not limited to a small group of elite birders - anyone can join in! Our friend Frank Mantlik usually moderates the event, but as he will be unable to this year, I have taken up the duties. Check out the 2011 results that we posted in the blog last year here.

If you have not heard about this, here are the rules as you may qualify even without knowing about it:

To qualify, one needs to have a minimum of 90 species for the month within
CT.
All species seen/heard need to have been counted on public property, your own
property, or private property with permission.
Report your species list in the same order as the COA ARCC Official CT List:
http://www.ctbirding.org/ct_checklist.htm
Deadline for submission is Saturday, Feb. 4 at 10 pm. Send them to me here:
skruitbosch@ctaudubon.org
Digital photos you have taken, especially of rare species, are welcome.
Note that smaller photo file size makes for easier/quicker emailing. Credit will be
given on any photos used in the summary report.
Since this event is based on the honor system, please make every effort to be
honest and certain of your identifications.
Provide the date and location for the first time each species was identified
(optional, but encouraged).

I would also encourage everyone to think of conservation when birding this year. Instead of "chasing" down rare birds across the state every weekend perhaps you should see how many you could find in your own town, or at a given sanctuary or two. I have participated in some exceptionally exciting town competitions. You'll find a bird or two you never expected, a new patch to explore, and feel better for helping the environment and your wallet. Whenever I spend $40+ at the pump to fill up the car I think of how even donating the money saved from one tank a year from the thousands upon thousands of nature-loving Connecticut residents could help conservation in our state all while helping not pollute just a little more.

Remember, if you're participating in the Big January competition please send me your results by 10 p.m on February 4. If you do not qualify at 90 or more species but have a great sighting or wonderful photo please feel free to pass it along to me. Thank you and good luck!

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Help conserve threatened beach nesting birds in Connecticut

2012-01-25T14:36:00.002-05:00

Connecticut's shoreline provides critical habitat for the federally threatened Piping Plover. You can help us conserve this threatened beach-nesting species:

Do you have an interest in wildlife?
Do you enjoy walking along the beaches of Long Island Sound?
Can you spare at least two hours a month to help threatened birds in our state?

Please consider volunteering as a Piping Plover monitor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service!

For the last several years the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Connecticut Audubon Society, Audubon Connecticut, The Nature Conservancy and The Friends of Milford Point/Stratford Great Meadows NWR have partnered together to monitor beaches between West Haven and Stratford for nesting Piping Plovers.

These migratory birds return to the Connecticut coast each March from their wintering grounds on the Gulf Coast and stay here up to five months to nest and raise their young. Located on the beach, their nests are extremely susceptible to human disturbance, destruction by predators, and tidal wash outs. Volunteer monitors make a big difference, enhancing the survival and productivity of plovers and terns in our state.

As a monitors, you will observe and record data about various beach nesting birds and their chicks at one of four locations: Milford Point near the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center; Silver Sands State Park in Milford; Long Beach in Stratford; and Sandy Point in West Haven. The primary duties involve assisting the USFWS with observation and data collection about nesting Piping Plovers, and helping to educate the public about these species. Volunteers work 2-hour shifts from April until the end of the breeding season (usually in August) and must donate a minimum of 2 hours per month.

If you are interested, please attend the training and orientation session held Saturday, March 10, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point.

The session will include piping plover natural history, the state of plovers in Connecticut, volunteer organization and logistics, reporting responsibilities, and beach training with simulated plovers and eggs.

For more information on the training session, directions to the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center, or to make reservations, please call USFWS Ranger Shaun Roche at (860) 399-2513 or email Shaun_Roche@fws.gov

Thank you!

Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbird Conservation, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society partnering to improve conditions for coastal waterbirds in Connecticut.

Red-shouldered Hawks at a Fairfield High School

2012-01-24T16:44:00.001-05:00

It’s only January, barely the start of breeding season, but a pair of territorial hawks have been strafing students at Fairfield Ludlowe High in recent days, raising the level of angst among students and teachers. Last week one of the hawks reportedly landed on a student’s head; this week one swooped down and grazed another student’s head.

Police were called to the scene (although to do what is unclear). The Connecticut Post wrote about it twice, the second time catching the attention of the New York City media. Today, WCBS 880, Fox 5 News, and WCBS Channel 2 news were all at the school.

Coincidentally our Birdcraft Museum and Sanctuary is just up Unquowa Road from the school, and the reporters made the most of it, interviewing Milan Bull, our senior director of science and conservation.

Milan’s opinion? It’s very unusual behavior (the birds, that is, not the media).

“It’s rare that red-tailed hawks become aggressive on their territory, but it does happen. This particular pair became aggressive last year defending a nest that was right next to the high school. And now, although it’s early in the nesting season, they’re setting up their territory and are becoming aggressive towards people who are coming close to the nest.

“They’re trying to send a warning, but they will make contact. It’s a brief contact, but it’s a very surprising contact when you get hit in the back of the head with a couple pounds of red-tailed hawk.”

Interestingly, when Channel 2’s Mark Morgan showed up, he asked if we were sure the hawks were red-tails, as was reported. Nobody at Connecticut Audubon had actually seen them, so all we knew was what we were told.

Mark said he himself is a birder and that these hawks -- which he got a good look at -- had banded tails, rather than red tails, and that he was pretty sure they were red-shouldered hawks. He described them to Milan, who agreed that from Mark’s description they seemed like red-shouldered hawks rather than red-tails: Buteo lineatus rather than Buteo jamaicensis.

But his main opinion didn’t change: It was still very unusual behavior.

State environmental officials may try to remove the nest, assuming there is a nest and assuming they can find it. Milan’s advice for people in the area: stay alert and, if you see a hawk swooping towards you, put your hands in the air.

Here’s a link to the WCBS story, with audio; and here’s the latest Connecticut Post story.

Tom Andersen
Director of Communications and Community Outreach

February Stratford Point bird walk

2012-01-23T22:14:00.000-05:00

Connecticut Audubon Society Conservation Biologist Twan Leenders and Conservation Technician Scott Kruitbosch will lead a public bird walk at Stratford Point on February 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with an inclement weather date of February 28, same place and time. It will be a great chance to find more wintering water birds, from loons to scoters to gulls and grebes and much more. The coastal grasslands and dune habitat often attracts Snow Buntings, Horned Larks, and a variety a sparrows. It is also a good time of year to find irruptive raptors like Short-eared Owl or Rough-legged Hawk.

We will discuss the exciting habitat management and conservation projects that will be taking place at Stratford Point late this winter and into the summer. The walk will be free and we suggest bringing binoculars and a spotting scope, if you have one. Make sure to dress for the season! It is usually safe to assume that this exposed coastal spot is windier and colder than much of the state. Please meet in the visitor parking lot by the buildings. Stratford Point is located at 1207 Prospect Drive, Stratford. For more information, contact Scott Kruitbosch: skruitbosch@ctaudubon.org

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Name that bird answer

2012-01-22T13:16:00.000-05:00

So did you have any luck naming that bird? I heard a bunch of guesses, in person, on Twitter, via email, but not many correct answers. It is a tough one, especially at that distance. By far the most common response was some type of sparrow, such as Savannah or Vesper. Here is the same photo again...

Followed by a larger version of it...

Any thoughts now? Keep in mind this bird is on a beach and it was in the winter, thus you are seeing non-breeding plumage. This is actually the only realistic way you would see this bird in Connecticut since it does not nest here.

Here are better shots of the same individual as it fed.

Do you have it now? It is a Lapland Longspur. They are very difficult to spot in Connecticut sometimes, this winter being one of those times. With that said, one or two are seen usually at least a few times on Long Beach or Pleasure Beach in Stratford and Bridgeport, respectively, each winter season. Seaside Park in Bridgeport is another good spot, as is Short Beach in Stratford, where I saw a lone individual a couple weeks ago. The bird pictured above was on Long Beach on January 5, 2010.

The best way to find them, aside from walking through coastal dunes on a frequent basis, are to seek out the much more obvious flocks of Snow Buntings and Horned Larks, as they will often associate with them, even if only loosely. It might be an even easier time to pick them out right now since coastal Connecticut was buried in several inches of snow yesterday. Always watch any part of the uncovered beach or nearby areas where grass has been ripped up along with plowed snow for a variety of good birds.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Name that bird

2012-01-19T18:06:00.000-05:00

Here's another photo quiz for all of you busy January "listers" and casual conservationists - name that bird!

Even though I have done essentially no birding outside of work-required time in the field, it is on my January list. It would likely be found in open areas similar to the photo. It may be alone, as it is here in this photo, or it may not. This is the sort of view you might get through a scope or some strong binoculars.

It is not much to go from, but I have faith in the skills of our readers. I'll put the answer up in a few days.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Citizen science and the road less traveled

2012-01-17T14:54:00.000-05:00

Birding can be of great assistance to conservation when the birder is a responsible and conscientious observer. This includes carefully recording all of the birds they see at every location they visit, the approximate distance they traveled, the time they take, and at least relatively accurate numbers of the birds of each species they identify. These types of citizen science surveys can enhance the more exhaustive, extensive, and detailed work done by organizations like Connecticut Audubon Society across the state. Of course, this information cannot help if it is not properly disseminated and examined. If these detailed notes are sitting in a book in an attic somewhere, it will not help conservation because we will never know about it.

Do you know of or possess such data you would like to share with us? We always appreciate it, whether it is 100 years old or from 2011, and it helps the birds of Connecticut and our natural world immensely. The best way for you to share that with us would be entering it yourself into eBird.org, but if you cannot do so, we can discuss other options. All of this came to mind after we received a wonderful box of journals full of carefully taken notes from a long-time Connecticut birder. It is a glimpse into a state much unlike our own in the current day.

In a somewhat similar citizen science birding survey sort of topic, I wanted to mention this eBird article: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/data_gaps_Jan_2012

Team eBird had a wonderful idea and filled in a map for every state at the county level with eBird data density levels to see how many checklists are submitted. It is a quick and easy way to see what areas are heavily birded and which are not. Very populated areas are well covered and, unlike parts of the Great Plains where there is little or no data whatsoever, Connecticut is no exception, as you can see in these maps of each state.

With that said, Windham County needs some help! If you are a birder in the area or simply want a good excuse to get out into the field, take a trip to the northeast part of the state. My suggestion would be to visit our Grassland Bird Conservation Center in Pomfret and its 700-acre Bafflin Sanctuary. Twan and I have been working on some of the data for it recently, and I noticed our total there went over 200 bird species already with limited survey efforts. It has some incredible birds that are often uncommon or rare elsewhere in the state. Please go discover them, tell us about your trip, and share your data with us on the Center's site on eBird!

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Bird Questions

2012-01-13T20:01:00.002-05:00

One thing I didn’t quite realize when I started working for Connecticut Audubon Society in December is that when ordinary folks encounter a bird they don’t recognize or think is unusual or suspect is in the wrong place at the wrong time, they call or email the Audubon Society.
Another thing I didn’t realize is that it would be my job to respond. Not that I'm complaining. It's been kind of fun.

There was the day, for example, when I answered my phone at Connecticut Audubon’s state headquarters and a nice sounding gentleman wanted to know what was the biggest bird you would expect to see in Fairfield -- because he was sure he just saw it.

We talked it over and came to the conclusion that he had probably seen a great blue heron.

Or another day when a man called and wanted help identifying an owl. I asked why. Because there’s one sitting on the window shutter of my house, he said. I asked where that was.

Whitney Avenue in New Haven. It’s been here about a week, he said. It flies away at night and sits on the shutter during the day. It’s about a foot and a half tall, he said.

All of that seemed unlikely but not impossible (I guess), so I asked him to email me a photo. Unfortunately I never heard from him again.

This photo (at left) arrived in an email from a woman who lives in Lyme. The only words were in the subject line: “Strange junco?”

Nope. Brown-headed cowbird.
“You’re right,” she said. “I never thought of that. I’ve never seen one in the winter before, much less a lone wolf.”

A gentleman from Westport emailed: “There has been a flock of migrating birds at Compo Beach that I have been unable to identify. They are about half the size or smaller than our Canada Geese, have relatively long black necks and heads with a white ring on their neck about a third down from their head, white rumps, grey sides, and fly in a flock - not a V. I can't find anything like them in the books I've looked at. Can you help?”
I suggested they might be brant, and sent him a link to a page on the Cornell Ornithology Lab’s website. He responded:

"Thank you very much!!!! None of the books I looked at were any help other than finding that there were a range of Canada Geese sizes. "

And finally this, which accompanied the photo above: “I took this picture of what I think is a Albino Chickadee in Coventry CT on 1-8-2012. I am not sure if this bird is uncommon in Connecticut or not. I have not seen one in the 45 years I have lived here.”

I forwarded the email to our bird experts and ... it turns out the gentleman from Coventry was just about right. It’s a leucistic chickadee, technically, rather than an albino, but close enough.

Got a bird question or identification problem? Let us know. We’ll try to help.

Tom Andersen
Director of Communications and Community Outreach

Rare birds in the water

2012-01-13T15:54:00.003-05:00

Many Connecticut birders are starting their 2012 by taking ferry crossings of Long Island Sound from New London to Orient Point to see sometimes dozens of Razorbills, a few Black-legged Kittiwake, and even a Common Murre! One has been seen repeatedly in Connecticut waters, representing the second...third...fourth? and so on...Connecticut record(s). It has yet to be sorted out, though several were seen in total on a recent trip in both Connecticut and New York waters.

It is out of season, but this made me think of a short local trip taken by our Senior Director of Science and Conservation Milan Bull in late September as he took his skiff through the Wheeler Marsh at the CAS Coastal Center at Milford Point. He found some fantastic birds in only a couple of hours, in terms of both species and numbers. It is already known as one of the best places in the state for birds and birding, but watching from our tower or down on the beach often doesn't even begin to show how wonderful the marsh is.

Here are some of his notable birds:
Green-winged Teal 42
American Bittern 1
Least Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 5
Great Egret 7
Black-crowned Night-Heron 3
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 2
Northern Harrier 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Clapper Rail 3
Sora 60
Marsh Wren 32
Saltmarsh Sparrow 15
Bobolink 25

Even Connecticut experts can be happy with seeing one Sora a year, forget 60+ on one day! He thought there were likely many more. The same can be said for a Least Bittern, and the great views of an American Bittern he was able to get. 32 Marsh Wren is also a ridiculous total. I wonder what is left out there right now in this warm winter. I hope all of you remember this for next season and join the Coastal Center staff for a canoe trip through the marsh. It will be a pleasant thought as arctic air settles in to Connecticut this weekend.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Environmental Issues Seminars Open to Public at Three Rivers Community College

2012-01-10T17:27:00.000-05:00

Christina Levere of Three Rivers Community College in Norwich asked if I would pass along information on free environmental seminars they are offering. Since they are no cost and the list of speakers and topics includes some names and information that may be of interest to many of you we decided we would pass it along.

===============

NORWICH, Conn.—Three Rivers Community College is offering a series of environmental issues seminars, which may be taken for credit (as part of a paid program) or at no cost for personal enrichment. The seminars run from 6 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. and include an impressive slate of topical experts. The seminars will be held on the Three Rivers campus in room C101.

For more information or to register contact TRCC Professor Diba Khan-Bureau at 860-885-2383 or email dkhan-bureau@trcc.commnet.edu.

1. Jan. 25^th – William Leahy, Eastern Connecticut State University: “Electric vehicles and their potential contribution to a sustainable environment and economy”

2. Feb. 1^st – Thomas Worthley, UConn Extension Forestry: “Forest ecosystem services”

3. Feb. 8^th – Dr. David Bingham, President, Salem Land Trust: “The importance of environmental stewardship”

4. Feb. 15^h – Judy Preston, Tidewater Institute: “A growing problem; coastal water quality challenges from lawns”

5. Feb. 22^th – Elizabeth Timpe, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology PhD Student, UConn: “Global amphibian declines: are we in the midst of the sixth mass extinction?”

6. Feb. 29^th – Ed Jutila, State Representative: “Connecticut regulations and the environment”

7. March 7^th – Anthony Irving, former president of the Lyme Land Trust: “Lessons from the Eightmile Wild and scenic river designation”

8. March 14^th – Greg Bugbee, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station: “Invasive aquatic plants found in Connecticut lakes”

March 18^th – 25^th SPRING BREAK – NO CLASSES

9. March 28^st - Brian Murphy, Conn. Department of Environmental Protection: “Stream restoration efforts in eastern Connecticut”

10. April 4^th – Adam Ney, CBIA, Corporate Sustainability Operating in the Growing Green Economy: “Connecticut’s businesses enhancing their commitment to environmental stewardship, social responsibility, workforce development and ROI”

11. April 11^th – Don Gerwick, Gerwick - Mereen Engineering; Tom Wagner, Director Town Planner and Maureen Fitzgerald, Town Planner Inland Wetland Officer for the Town of Waterford: “The Coca-Cola project: environmental planning and stormwater management”

12. April 18^th – Dr. Hedley Freake, UConn Nutritional Sciences: “Food, health and the environment”

13. April 25^th – Michael Beauchene, Conn. Department of Environmental Protection:
“Rapid bioassessment, benthic macro invertebrates survey and management”

14. May 2^nd - David Stokes, Conn. Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Waste Management: “Hazardous waste management and enforcement”

15. May 9^th – Hank Gruner, Vice President of Science Center of Conn. & Biodiversity Coordinator, Connecticut Programs, Wildlife Conservation Society: “Construction design challenges to maintain biodiversity”

16. May 16^th - Dr. Michael Dietz, UConn Extension office Program Director NEMO: “The Jordan Cove Project: stormwater and low impact design”

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Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

New Year avian presents

2012-01-09T14:03:00.000-05:00

2012 has yielded a lot of great bird sightings already including a bunch of warblers like Nashville, Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, Palm Warbler, and even a rare Yellow-throated Warbler that has apparently been hanging out at a feeder in Madison since October! There have been Great Egrets seen in numbers all over the coast. A Little Blue Heron is still around, and Nick Bonomo found a Northern Rough-winged Swallow yesterday at the East Shore Park treatment plant. The warm weather is definitely to blame for those birds. On New Year's Day Frank Mantlik found a Snowy Owl, possibly even the same one we had on November 30 based on appearance, at Stratford Point.

Snowy Owl at Stratford Point by Frank Mantlik

Whether or not it was the same bird it did not stick around for long, like the last time, and was not seen since that day. Despite all these lingering birds I mentioned to Frank and Charlie Barnard that I was surprised in all of our Christmas Bird Counts and New Year birding that no one had found an extreme rarity in Connecticut. The very next day Mike O'Leary found a Pink-footed Goose, a third state record, on Somersville Pond in Somers with a few hundred Canada Geese. It has been moving around the general area quite a bit, but once again Frank Mantlik was on it and provided us with these photos.

Pink-footed Goose photos by Frank Mantlik

Congratulations to Mike for the awesome find and thanks to Frank for the great shots of a very rare bird. The warmth, in relative terms, and snow-free days should continue so be on the lookout for more odd overwintering birds and the big passerine rarity I still feel the state is so due for. If you ever have any crazy sightings please email us!

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photos © Frank Mantlik

Fewer Moose on the Loose

2012-01-07T19:14:00.001-05:00

Moose are still active in our 700-acre Richard G. Croft Memorial Preserve, in Goshen, but our conservation biologist, Twan Leenders, confirms what the Connecticut DEEP is saying -- that there seem to be fewer around than in previous years.

"There has been less moose activity in our Croft preserve this past year," Twan wrote in an email, "but they are still there. I saw fresh tracks when I was there last -- just before the holidays."

The Hartford Courant reported that statewide there were a lot fewer moose sightings in 2011 than in 2010:

Andy Labonte, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said moose sightings from 2010 to 2011 dropped by more than half – from 201 to 61. "It's been a quiet year for moose in Connecticut," said LaBonte, a scientist with DEEP's deer and moose program. "Moose prefer colder climates and it just hasn't been that cold."

It's estimated that about 100 moose live in Connecticut, mostly in the northwest corner.

You can read the Courant report here. As for the Croft Preserve, it's an amazing place -- a true wilderness in the middle of thousands of acres of other preserved land -- and well worth a visit, although trails are minimal. Directions to it and all 19 of our sanctuaries are here.

Tom Andersen
Director of Communications and Community Outreach

For Non-Football Fans Only

2012-01-06T18:26:00.000-05:00

How's this for savvy communications planning? I will be on BirdCallsRadio at 1 p.m on 1490/WGCH AM on Sunday to talk about conservation in Connecticut and New York, conditions on Long Island Sound, the work Connecticut Audubon is doing, etc.

It's sure to draw a really big audience because nothing else is going on then, right?

Except of course the Giants have a playoff game at 1. Which three-quarters of the homes in the metropolitan area will be watching.

But if you happen to not be a football fan, tune in. You can listen live wherever you are on the planet, here. Afterwards BirdCallsRadio Archive will be available within three days here.

Go Giants!

Meanwhile, in a part of the state where there is no football until the Pats play next weekend, Kasha Breau and Mike Corcoran, of Connecticut Audubon's Center at Glastonbury, will be on WTIC's Garden Talk show, from noon to 2 on Saturday, January 7. WTIC is at 1080 AM. We'll provide a link to the podcast as soon as it's available.

Tom Andersen
Director of Communications and Community Outreach

Town of Stratford bird walks with CAS

2012-01-06T17:18:00.000-05:00

Connecticut Audubon Society is a fixture in the town of Stratford, from our presence at Stratford Point, to the Boothe Park Hawk Watch, several bioblitzes, the Great Stratford Bird Festival, and all of our decades of survey work in the McKinney Refuge and other important areas of habitat in town. We are enhancing and expanding our relationship in 2012 with the town of Stratford, one of Connecticut's best birding and most critical bird municipalities, and you can expect more collaborative efforts throughout the year. One of these expansions is joint nature walks with the town's recreation department and our friend David Wright as I will be taking part in many scheduled for this winter, spring, and summer.

Come join Connecticut Master Wildlife Conservationist, David Wright, for informative spring and summer discovery walks, "Exploring Natural Stratford - Forest to Shore". Walk Stratford's shore and trails and see them as you have never seen them before. Walks are free. Get in shape while enjoying the great outdoors. Advanced Registration is requested at the Recreation Department (203) 385-4052 or online at www.townofstratford.com/recreation

Stratford, Natural-ly Nature Walks & Hikes - Winter/Spring/Summer 2012
Walk	Date	Location	Time
Winter Wonderland	1/15	Far Mill River	9-11
Inland Winter Forest Walk	1/29	James Farms Road Open Space	3-5
Birds, Beans & Burgundy	2/12	Shepaug Dam/Vineyard	9-1
Late Winter Marsh Walk	3/11	Great Meadows Marsh at Long Beach Blvd	3-5
Early Migrant Birding Beach Walk	3/25	Long Beach	8-11
Spring Wildflower/Earth Day Walk	4/8	Veterans' Park/James Dillon Park	3-5
Greenway Walk	4/22	Academy Hill/Birdseye Dock/Greenway	8-11
International Migratory Bird Walk	5/6	Roosevelt Forest	8-10
Pequonnock Valley State Park	5/20	Pequonnock Valley/Jones Vineyard	3-5
International Trails Day Walk	6/3	Short Beach to Stratford Point	8-10
Inland Town Park Walk	6/17	Wooster Park	3-5
Housatonic Bridge Walk	7/1	Sikorsky Bridge	8-10
Beginning Birding Walk	7/15	Town Hall/Union Cemetary	8-10
Mid-summer Shore Bird Walk	7/29	Long Beach	3-5
Summer Migrant Birding Marsh Walk	8/12	Great Meadows Marsh at Long Beach Blvd	8-10
Lower Housatonic River Walk	8/26	Dock Parking Lot/Bonds Dock	8-10

It will likely be a relatively (for January) warm and snow-free walk next Sunday. You would be able to expect woodland birds for the most part, with sightings of species you may see at your feeders, some wintering raptors, possibly an uncommon forest interior species like a Pileated Woodpecker or Brown Creeper, and hopefully an insectivore or two hanging around. You never know, it may be a good time to find an American Woodcock or even something more out of season like a Gray Catbird. I hope you will be able to join David and I at some point during the year, especially if one of the walks takes place at a spot you have yet to visit in this amazing town.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Stratford Point bird walk 1/5 results

2012-01-05T18:10:00.000-05:00

It was a cold and cloudy morning at Stratford Point today, with a steady westerly wind keeping all of our visitors bundled up while they scoped out waterfowl. Upland birds were quite quiet, though early in the morning Twan got a brief glimpse of a bird that was likely the Palm Warbler spotted during the Stratford-Milford Christmas Bird Count at nearby Russian Beach.

A couple of visitors saw likely Razorbills far off in Long Island Sound. There was also a Northern Gannet early in the morning. Otherwise, mostly everyone got very good views of birds like Long-tailed Duck, American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Gadwall, Common Goldeneye, Great Cormorant, Sanderling, and Surf Scoter.

We had good views of both typical loon species - do you know which one this is?

Here's the full list:

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Greater/Lesser Scaup
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Common Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Northern Gannet
Great Cormorant
Sanderling
Dunlin
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull (American)
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Carolina Wren
Northern Mockingbird
Song Sparrow
House Sparrow

This continues to be a somewhat slow winter for uncommon upland birds that can frequent Stratford Point in winter like Eastern Meadowlark and Short-eared Owl. We still have a lack of any snow along with above-average temperatures in much of the region. It was frigid for a short time this week but that will be coming to an end with temperatures nearing 50 this weekend. Some species, like Mallard, American Black Duck, and Canada Goose were clearly moving south as waters to the north froze, but that will not be a problem.

What a strange season...keep an eye out for our February walk date which may come after the prescribed burn of the site.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

The X in eBird

2012-01-04T07:18:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! 2012 has arrived, and with it comes a fresh start to the year lists for birders of all ages and experience, and a new year of entering data into eBird. Since January 2011 I have seen the total checklists and number of regular eBird users jump through the roof in Connecticut. If you are not putting in your bird sightings into the database, well, you may be alone soon!

We get a lot of questions about eBird during bird walks, from visitors, and via email and Twitter. Please feel free to ask for advice and tips, or get help with troubleshooting, whenever possible. For now, I wanted to briefly address something that comes up even with veteran eBird users - the dreaded X. It would be fantastic to not see any of those entered in the new year.

When entering checklists you put in the number of a given species seen. This can be easy, such as spotting two Black-capped Chickadees at your feeders during the half hour you sat down to watch them and count birds. Putting this sort of data in every day with these exact numbers is as valuable as any other. But let's make it a little more complicated and say you came down to the Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center at Milford Point for the day. Maybe you were lucky enough to see a Snowy Owl, whoa! That is an easy count, one bird.

You took a closer look and found some ducks, American Black. You might be able to count them off and come up with 27, or perhaps you noted about 30. That estimate would be fine. Suddenly you see a group of shorebirds go by, Sanderling! There were a whole lot of them, many tens, no - hundreds! You have no idea exactly how many, and who would really know if you saw a group flying by and heading over the Housatonic to Short Beach. So when you go home and enter all of the day's birds into eBird, you will want to check off the species, and many people would do so by using an X instead of a number.

That can be a problem, and it is a relatively easy one I would like to remedy. An X means you might have seen only one Sanderling, and surely that is wrong. It also means you may have spotted 1,487,392 Sanderling - um, I do not think that seems quite right, does it? It can be counterintuitive, but if you are unable to come up with a specific number for a species, or even a close guess to the nearest five or ten, please enter the best number you can. Even if all you could say was that it seemed around 200 birds that would be fine. Maybe the real total was 241 or 173. It is a lot closer than the X is, even if it does not seem like it "making up" a number is better.

While we're on the subject, please try to be exact with your locations, time, and effort, too. Entering data for an entire town has some use, but is much more limited than one list for each of the stops you made each day. Trust me, as someone who enters hundreds or thousands of checklists a year, I know it can get tiring. Keep in mind how much of a contribution you are making to conservation in the state of Connecticut as you are.

Don't forget, if you want to add to those January lists, join us at Stratford Point for a bird walk on Thursday, January 5.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

A Reply to "A Strange Thing Going On in Cheshire"

2012-01-03T09:42:00.000-05:00

A couple of days ago we posted a query from a Cheshire resident who was wondering why there were so few birds in her town. Here's the gist of it:

"Our birds have disappeared. Any bird smaller than a Large Blackbird have all left. At first I thought it was only occurring at my feeder … however a local Vet. called me last week and asked if I had noticed anything different about the birds at my feeders. He also has not seen a single bird for a few weeks."

You can read the email here. This morning, Twan Leenders, Connecticut Audubon's conservation biologist, replied to our correspondent. I thought it was worth quoting in full:

I understand your concern and although I cannot give you a definite answer, I suspect that the apparent lack of small birds at your feeders is seasonal and related to the weather patterns we have been experiencing. As you undoubtedly know, most song birds migrate away from our area in the fall, leaving a small contingent behind during the coldest months of the year. To some extent our wintering birds are usually supplemented by birds migrating in from our north when water freezes and snow covers the ground there. The snow and ice effectively make 'wild' food inaccessible to small birds. This is generally when feeders become busy because a steady supply of high quality food will be readily available there.

This winter has been very different than our past few and thusfar much of the land and water to our north is still open. As a result of the easy access to local food, the number of winter migrants moving into the state is greatly reduced this year. Combine this unusual winter weather with a bumper crop of tree seeds and nuts to our north and few birds have had reason to move south yet. I think that it is this combination of factors that has truly left us with a lower number of birds in the state so far this winter. Luckily this is not caused by any local detrimental environmental factor, but rather by the fact that things are fine elsewhere and local birds to our north have not had to embark on a dangerous and strenuous journey south because the conditions there have been just fine still. On the brighter side, if this mild winter holds we could be experiencing a fantastic breeding season in northern birds since they did not have to waste energy on trying to locate food, their populations will likely be larger locally since there is less winter mortality, and the breeding season may start early since all birds are in place already - leaving room for a possible second or third clutch next year.

I was in western New York over the holidays where conditions were also very balmy for their standards with no snow cover (they are already a stunning 70" of snowfall behind on last winter!). There were very few birds on the local feeders until one day a few inches of snow suddenly made the local, wild food supplies unavailable and birds immediately flocked to suet and seed feeders. I'm betting that in the next few days as our temperatures drop, activity at your feeder may pick up a bit. If we get a little snow to cover the ground, you will probably see even more activity. But still keep in mind that until the land to our north is white, we will have fewer birds around than in past winters.

Thank you for your concern over the local bird populations and keep your feeders stocked. There are birds out there and you will see them again if/when conditions are right.

I should add that there seems to have been quite a bit of lake effect snow in upstate New York this week, so maybe northern birds will start to move down toward the coast. -- Tom Andersen

A Strange Thing Going on in Cheshire

2012-01-01T18:11:00.000-05:00

We get bird questions emailed to us year-round. Some we can answer easily; others are more baffling. Here’s the first question of 2012. I’ll be passing it along to our experts but if anyone in the greater Connecticut birding world has an answer, please let us know:

Thank you for taking the time to read this:

I asked UCONN [to] recommend who to contact about a strange thing going on in Cheshire CT. They suggested I contact you about this strange problem.

Our birds have disappeared. Any bird smaller than a Large Blackbird have all left.
At first I thought it was only occurring at my feeder … however a local Vet. called me last week and asked if I had noticed anything different about the birds at my feeders. He also has not seen a single bird for a few weeks.

Also noted was that we both observed a significant decrease in Goldfinches. The previous year I would have 40 or more at my feeders at any given time. This year the most I had was 4!

It is eerie to go outside and not hear a single chirp. There is something very wrong going on and I wish to find some answers.

Can you shed some light on this problem?

Unfortunately, I can’t. I’ve got bluebirds and Carolina wrens singing in my yard. But maybe there’s something unusual in Cheshire. Any thoughts? -- Tom Andersen

Lost Puffin in Montreal

2011-12-29T13:31:00.001-05:00

We have been talking a lot about alcid species in Connecticut in the past month. Razorbills are being seen on a daily basis in Long Island Sound. It feels like it is almost only a matter of time before someone gets a great look at a Black Guilletmot, a Dovekie, a murre species, or more. Finding an Atlantic Puffin would be incredible, the rarest of the rare, though it is on Connecticut's bird list.

Last week I read this story on a lost Puffin that found itself in the streets of Montreal: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1104858

Yes, it was literally running down the streets in the city, lucky enough to be found by someone who knew what it was and that it did not belong there. These birds are adept at swimming and flying, not running, so I am sure it would have been an easy catch. Nevertheless, the intrepid rescuer made sure that it found its way to an expert, and it will be returned to the Atlantic as soon as it is well enough. There is a photo of the bird in the full article as well.

If a bird like that can be thrown off course that far then it is entirely conceivable that we could see one in Long Island Sound when so many Razorbills are already joining us. It seems more and more likely, as we watch the Razorbills flying west into the Sound each morning, that they are coming in to feed. Small species of fish are known to be on the rise in recent years, and observations from many people, including my own, suggest that they are landing and then feeding after entering our waters. I have watched them doing this off Stratford Point on multiple occasions during the last couple of weeks. We will keep watching and hoping for an Atlantic Puffin of our own, a healthy and well-fed individual that wants to come have a snack in the Sound.

If you want to come to Stratford Point to see some Razorbills for yourself I would suggest you join us for our walk on January 5.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Techinician

Christmas Bird Count 2011 - Stratford-Milford

2011-12-27T13:37:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I participated in my second Christmas Bird Count of the season, the Stratford-Milford count. I joined Frank Mantlik for his section of Stratford along with Tina Green, surveying from the Washington Bridge connecting the two towns down the Housatonic all the way to Stratford Point and across to the edge of Long Beach. This count took place on the same day as last year, Boxing Day, though it did not feature a crippling blizzard halfway through the day. It was a chilly start, though quite seasonable on the whole, even with the very powerful winds we felt on the Stratford coast in the mid-morning through the afternoon.

There were many special targets we had in mind for this count. A Snowy Owl had been seen in Stratford the day before. Razorbills had been seen on an almost daily basis for a few weeks now in Long Island Sound, and I had spotted them from our own managed Stratford Point on several occasions, including already in the count week. A Little Blue Heron had been seen infrequently, mostly near the Birdseye boat ramp. However, we went in knowing that many irruptive species might be tough to get this year, including Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, and Rough-legged Hawk to name a few. Additionally, the constant warmth of the fall season meant that more of the birds could remain inland, from ducks on open ponds to sparrows in fields without any snow cover on them.

With the sizable exception of that Snowy Owl, our targets were reacquired along with some more great finds. After successful stops at the DeLuca field area and Frash Pond, Stratford Point was a haven in the early morning with some fantastic birds one does not see too frequently. While we scoped Long Island Sound I picked up a Northern Gannet to our west. Not long after, Tina found those Razorbills once again, with two flying towards us from the east before landing in a group of American Black Duck and Gadwall. They disappeared underwater rather quickly before I spotted another fly in to the same area. It seemed as if things went quickly- another Gannet, Surf Scoter after many White-winged Scoter, and every duck species you can reasonably expect. A Snow Bunting flew in, a lone bird I had seen on Christmas day as well, only slightly bested by the lone American Pipit on the revetment wall. Frank and Tina picked out a Merlin along with two Northern Harriers hunting in the distance.

The full account of the long and busy day would be an exhaustive read, so I will keep the rest of this summary to some of our better finds. Tina first spotted the only warbler of this count, unlike last weekend's extravaganza, but it was a good one and a different species for the month for me - a Palm Warbler!

It was along Russian Beach, just to the west of Stratford Point, and very camera shy in such an open area. Continued looks at Long Island Sound did not yield much more than we had at the Stratford Point, and a stop at the marina was largely uneventful until suddenly this Greater Yellowlegs appeared in front of us.

It was like magic, not there one moment and then mere feet beyond the three of us on the dock. We have no idea what happened. When searching for the Little Blue Heron in another stop at the boat ramp I had one of those classic birding moments when you find something you aren't looking for because you're so focused on the target in mind. I nearly walked into - literally - three Wilson's Snipe sitting on the side of the parking lot. They flushed and startled me, moving further onto the floating debris that builds up here. I was able to snap some shots of one that stayed in the open.

That Snowy Owl may not have been flying around the Great Meadows Marsh on Monday, but an American Bittern was. Short Beach Park, directly on the east side of Stratford Point, continued the run of presents that this connected shoreline area had already given us. We were treated to a Fox Sparrow that popped up from a bunch of White-throated and Song Sparrows behind the tennis courts and on the edge of the landfill. A Great Egret was tucked away there as well as a single Horned Lark with several Savannah Sparrow on the dunes. We often speak of how important Milford Point and Stratford Point are, but Short Beach Park and Russian Beach are also enormously significant to birds, plant life, and other wildlife. On a non-bird note, I was amazed at how much Prickly Pear Cactus, a state-listed species, was now growing at Russian Beach.

We tallied an astonishing 81 species on the day, finding several of the highlights of the entire circle in the process. The overall total was 102, lower than usual with some silly misses, likely due in part to the warmth. No Chipping or Field Sparrows, Brown Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, and American Kestrel may be because they are still in open inland areas. No Bald Eagle or Wood Duck was probably aided by the abundant unfrozen water here and to our north. At this time of year I could very easily have a Common Grackle or Brown-headed Cowbird at my feeders, but neither were seen as they have been able to feed freely away from our counting eyes.

We have a lot to work on in the next few days to get some of those birds for count week! The weather will not be helping to bring birds south as this warmth looks like it may go on through much of January.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Birds crash into parking lots in Utah

2011-12-24T12:41:00.001-05:00

Last week I read a remarkable story in USA Today that you can read in full here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/story/2011-12-14/bird-crash-landing-utah/51927250/1

It seems that thousands of migrant grebes somehow mistook parking lots for ponds or lakes, attempting to land in them and instead smashing into the paved surface. The theory put forth is that clouds over the area, and especially over the lights of the parking lots, apparently made it seem as if they were bodies of water, perhaps reflecting the moonlight, waiting for the grebes to land in. No humans were injured and no damage took place other than thousands of birds being killed in these terrible crash landings.

The story takes a more positive turn when it comes to the efforts of wildlife officials and many volunteers. They actually saved thousands of grebes by collecting them from the parking lots the next morning and bringing them back to an actual suitable habitat. While I am guessing some may have been injured and needed some medical attention, many more may have been stunned and simply needed time, like some of the lucky birds that survive window strikes. Others were likely confused and dazed, unable to determine a course of action, and putting them back to where they belong was a huge help.

This tale makes you wonder how often events like this occur without our knowledge. This was a horrible accident brought on by unique conditions - how often do similar situations occur and how can we prevent such events in the future? We likely need to reevaluate leaving lighting such as this on at night as it is often a cause of bird mortality. It would save many birds while also saving everyone some money on the power bill and reducing our usage of fossil fuels, a winning situation for everyone involved.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Stratford Point Public Bird Walk - January 5

2011-12-22T09:57:00.000-05:00

Connecticut Audubon Society Conservation Biologist Twan Leenders and Conservation Technician Scott Kruitbosch will lead a public bird walk at Stratford Point on January 5th from 9-11AM. We will take a look at what wintering ducks are present and see how many species we can find at the mouth of the Housatonic River. This is a great opportunity to bird one of the prime locations in Connecticut and get a head start on your list for the New Year. We will also discuss the exciting habitat management and conservation projects that will be taking place at Stratford Point in 2012.

The walk will be free and we suggest bringing binoculars and a spotting scope, if you have one. Make sure to dress for the season! It is usually safe to assume that this exposed coastal spot is windier and colder than much of the state. Please meet in the visitor parking lot by the buildings. Stratford Point is located at 1207 Prospect Drive, Stratford. Notification of cancellation will be posted on the CT-BIRDS listserve and the Connecticut Audubon Society website (www.ctaudubon.org). Our tentative back-up date is January 11th. For more information, contact Scott Kruitbosch: skruitbosch@ctaudubon.org

We will definitely be looking for another Snowy Owl and other beautiful rarities! Apart from the Snowy seen at Stratford Point on November 30, another one was reported in the general area in Milford on December 20. There have also been frequent and nearly constant Razorbill sightings across Long Island Sound, so have your scopes ready.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Construction of novel erosion control and habitat restoration project at Stratford Point is making excellent progress!

2011-12-20T09:44:00.005-05:00

Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene left Stratford Point's Long Island Sound-facing shore in shambles and during the month of August the site saw a lot of activity as this damage was repaired. Large trucks and several excavators moved mountains of large boulders into the storm-damaged revetment wall to stabilize and armor the 'high-energy' side of the site. The use of hard structures, such as rock or concrete walls, has traditionally been the method of choice to control erosion in tidal areas. However, in recent years this approach is being revisited and novel, 'soft' erosion control structures are being put to the test in many areas surrounding Connecticut. Connecticut Audubon Society, together with site-owner DuPont and specialized contractor 'All Habitat Services, LLC', is currently in the midst of constructing such a soft erosion control structure along the 'low-energy' north shore of Stratford Point - a novelty in Connecticut.

Contractors evaluate the projected contour of the new dune in an area affected by Hurrican Irene

As their name suggests, these 'soft' structures are relatively flexible and can absorb some of a wave's energy as it crashes onto the structure, rather than deflect it like a hard surface would. The latter scenario often results in undermining of the structure and/or excessive erosion at its base, causing a sea wall to become compromised over time. In areas where wave impact is relatively minor and in areas of sensitive coastal habitat, a soft erosion control structure may be a better fit. The northern cove of Stratford Point fits both descriptions since its orientation protects it from most direct wave impacts while the coastal habitat found on-site is among the most threatened in the state. Once completed, the newly constructed erosion control feature will be contoured, covered with a thick layer of sand and planted with 38,000 dune grass plugs to form an artificial coastal dune system extending the length of the north shore.

The first tube goes in to set the baseline

Historically, the intertidal zone of Stratford Point was densely vegetated with Smooth Cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), rooted in banks of organic peat. A large-scale remediation in 2000-01 led to the removal of large amounts of lead shot from the site's upland and tidal areas - a remnant of the site's history as a trap and skeet shooting club. However, this environmental clean-up also caused the loss of all peat substrate and associated plant life from the intertidal zone. This loss of vegetation zone has destabilized beach sediment and led to erosion of the site's shoreline due to unabated exposure to wave action. Between 2001 and 2011, over 100 horizontal feet of upland was lost along sections of the north shore of Stratford Point, and erosion continued to be a problem.

Each additional layer of tubes is wrapped in sheets of geotextile and anchored in the
upland, while the entire stack is also tied together by a geotextile covering

In 2010, Connecticut Audubon Society's Conservation Biologist, Twan Leenders, carried out a feasibility study to evaluate whether the concept of creating erosion control structures that are integrated in coastal habitat elements was feasible at Stratford Point. Monitoring studies to assess the species of plants and animals currently found along the northern shore of Stratford Point, and additional surveys of nearby high-quality coastal dune habitats to investigate the potential target species composition for the newly created coastal dune were completed this past year. The latter study was carried out by CAS Science & Conservation staff and students from Sacred Heart University, with financial support from The Nature Conservancy. Once all the pieces of the plan were in place, by fall of this year, it was decided to move ahead as soon as possible to stop further erosion of the site's shoreline. The unseasonably warm weather in recent weeks has helped the project tremendously and extended our work window well into December. If this pattern holds, we should see a finished project before the end of the year!

The plantings arrive at Stratford Point: 38,000 beach grass plugs and their private chauffeur.

The plants are temporarily stockpiled here until the dune is ready to be planted.

The process of constructing the basis for this artificial dune is worth a closer look. Rather than using traditional stone elements for a foundation, the entire structure is built around a series of sediment-filled geotextile tubes. Each tube is filled to capacity with a mixture of sand and organic compost to form a 12-inch diameter 'sausage' that runs the entire 750 foot length of the dune. Individual tubes are arranged in a step-ladder fashion, stacked up to nine tubes high in some places, and held together by sheets of additional geotextile fabric. The sediment-filled tubes are flexible and dynamic and settle snugly around the variable contours of the shoreline. They are placed against the face of the eroding shoreline and the entire structure is engineered to match the height of the existing bluff. Once completed, the tubes will be hidden from view by the sediment and plants that cover the dune, but they will provide stability and bulk to the entire system. The dune grass plantings will gradually be enhanced with a more diverse mixture of vegetation, but initially it is most important that these fast-growing grasses establish an extensive root system to stabilize all the sediment on top of the dune.

The tubes are in and a substantial section of the structure is covered with sand already.

The new shoreline contour is taking shape...

Apart from the creation of the artificial dune system, the 2010 feasibility study also recommended restoring the historic tidal marsh vegetation lost during the 2000-01 large scale remediation at Stratford Point. Smooth Cordgrass plants growing in the intertidal zone move with the water's tidal motion and absorb energy from waves before they hit the shore. The combination of decreased erosion as a result of lower wave energy and the sand-trapping ability of salt marsh vegetation will promote the growth of a sandy beach habitat. Restoring the salt marsh fringe present at Stratford Point prior to 2001 will help to protect the newly created coastal dune system, while enhancing the tidal marsh habitat at the site. This salt marsh restoration project is next on the docket for 2012.

Beach Grass is being planted in the foreground, while the finishing touches are put on the dune contour
in the back. The end is in sight!

Stratford Point's new dune system is designed to be dynamic and to allow for deposition and migration of wind-blown sediment. In the long term, the appearance of this coastal dune habitat will be shaped by the prevailing elements and will hopefully become an integral part of the site's coastal landscape. Continued monitoring of the area will tell us not only whether the soft erosion control structure does its job of stabilizing the shoreline, but we are also very interested to see whether plant and animal species that depend on coastal habitats will gradually occupy the newly created habitat. In the next couple of years, Connecticut Audubon Society staff will implement additional novel habitat management and conservation projects at Stratford Point and we will keep you informed on how they turn out. Through a series of creative habitat restoration and management projects we are hoping to see the recovery of local at-risk species while the site transitions from what was once an environmental hazard to a vibrant coastal nature preserve. Come see it for yourself some time!

Twan Leenders, Conservation Biologist
Photos by Twan Leenders

Christmas Bird Count 2011 - Westport-Fairfield

2011-12-18T21:00:00.002-05:00

Today I participated in the Westport-Fairfield Christmas Bird Count as I do annually, joining Charlie Barnard Jr. for his area of the circle. He covers the Fairfield shore, an area with a tremendous variety of habitats, allowing us to take an arduous hike out to the end of Penfield Reef and a walk through the old landfill that is now part of the Pine Creek Open Space, among other stops. Suffice it to say, there is a lot of ground to cover, and often many "good" birds to find. I did not think today's highlight theme, on this naturally frigid December day, would be warblers.

Alex Burdo and James Purcell, two young and very skilled birders, got a head start on things during count week, tallying a bunch of nice birds we hoped to find again today. The highlight of the day for me was relocating a Nashville Warbler along with an Orange-crowned Warbler...and another...and...what...another! Yes, we ended up with three Orange-crowned Warblers along with the Nashville after I initially pish-ed out the first two birds exactly where they were seen the day before. Here are some shots of the Nashville, the bird I focused on getting shots of because of the late date at the expense of photographing the three Orange-crowned Warblers.

The three others eluded my camera as I struggled to focus on them while they moved in and out of bittersweet tangles and other brush, but those on hand had fantastic looks.

This was all after another cool find made all the more special because of the date. They may be common in some parts of the year, but this Common Yellowthroat is anything but that a week before Christmas!

One warbler that we did not record that Alex and James found yesterday was a Yellow-breasted Chat, though I bet it was right there staring at us, hiding from our eager eyes. Earlier in the morning, we had a Yellow-rumped Warbler at Jennings Beach making it a total of six individuals of four warbler species on the day. I hope next week's Stratford-Milford count has just as many unexpected highlights and Stratford Point provides a few of them.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Connecticut Audubon Society names new Communications Director

2011-12-17T09:48:00.000-05:00

Connecticut Audubon Society has named conservationist and author Tom Andersen as its director of communications and community outreach.

Tom will oversee all of Connecticut Audubon’s communications with members, the general public, and the press, and will also coordinate the organization’s public policy and advocacy work.

“We’re poised to grow and to play a bigger role in conservation issues in Connecticut,” said CAS President Robert Martinez. “Tom knowledge and experience in the not-for-profit world and in conservation will help us focus our message and our work, reach more people, and be even more effective in protecting Connecticut’s critical natural habitats.”

Tom will oversee Connecticut Audubon’s website and direct communications with members and the general public; social media; and press relations. He will lead a team of Connecticut Audubon staff and board members in identifying, and then formulating positions on, the public policy issues that make up the core of Connecticut Audubon’s advocacy work.

He is the author of This Fine Piece of Water: An Environmental History of Long Island Sound, published by Yale University Press. Tom spent 10 years at Westchester Land Trust, in Bedford Hills, N.Y., as director of communications and special projects and as acting executive director. He helped Westchester Land Trust protect an average of more than 600 acres a year from 2000 through 2010, a decade during which the total amount of land the organization protected rose from 900 acres to more than 7,000 acres.

Previously he worked as a newspaper reporter in Westchester County, mainly writing about environmental issues. A former 15-year Connecticut resident, he now lives in Pound Ridge, N.Y.

He can be reached at tandersen@ctaudubon.org.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Razorbill flight and a Common Eider

2011-12-16T11:04:00.001-05:00

A strange event took place in Long Island Sound yesterday as tens of Razorbills, perhaps more, flew through heading to the west. They were seen throughout the morning and afternoon at several locations on the Connecticut coast. They are almost a regular sight at Hammonasset State Park right now. A flight like this along with increased reports of the species in the past few years leads one to suspect something has changed as they are very rare here otherwise. The most common theory is that they are coming in to the Sound much more often because of an increase in their prey, small fish. Perhaps we will be able to piece it together in coming years.

I had actually seen a single Razorbill flying west from Stratford Point a few weeks ago on November 22. Yesterday, Charlie Barnard found a couple of Razorbills swimming around off Stratford Point early in the morning, though they headed off to the southwest relatively quickly. I spent an hour or so seawatching and tallied six more, all flying right by to the west. While I was scoping the Sound I found another rare bird that is increasingly reported, a Common Eider. This female flew in directly in front of me, just east of the lighthouse, and swam around with a few American Black Ducks for a while.

It seems Stratford Point is only going to be more active for species such as these in the immediate future, so keep them in mind if you visit us, and please tell us if you see them or anything even more rare.

Scott Kruitbosch

Conservation Technician

Stratford Point bird walk 12/14 results

2011-12-14T15:07:00.000-05:00

A quick but big thanks to everyone who joined us for the bird walk this morning at Stratford Point. We will announce the date of next month's walk soon. The weather was remarkable for December 14 with only a very light wind and above-normal temperatures in the warm sun. The beautiful conditions made it a little quieter than a typical December day for us as ducks are still coming in Long Island Sound from the north, and as Tom wrote about yesterday and we in the conservation department suspect, some may not spend the winter on our shore this year. Nevertheless, we saw 30 species, with some nice looks at the ducks that were present and a very entertaining group of around 75 Snow Buntings that frequently flew right over our heads. Here are all of the species spotted today:

Brant
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Common Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Great Cormorant
Northern Harrier
Black-bellied Plover
Sanderling
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull (American)
Great Black-backed Gull
Mourning Dove
American Crow
Carolina Wren
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Snow Bunting
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
House Finch
House Sparrow

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Diving Ducks and Oyster Beds

2011-12-13T18:59:00.001-05:00

The mouth of the Housatonic River and the stretch of Long Island Sound immediately to the east and west is one of the richest natural spawning areas for oysters not only in the Sound but probably in the northeast.

Oysters that spawn in the Housatonic populate the mouth of the river, and currents sweep oyster larvae around Stratford Point, where they settle out on Bridgeport Natural Bed, a four-square mile area from Point No Point to Black Rock that is so important to the Sound’s oystermen that state regulators allow oyster boats to use hand-powered dredges only, so as not to damage the beds with power dredges.

I visited Stratford Point today to learn about Connecticut Audubon Society’s habitat restoration project there, and in the course of an hour’s conversation with Scott Kruitbosch, Connecticut Audubon’s conservation technician, some interesting speculation about the Housatonic oyster beds emerged.

Last year at this time, Scott told me, there were “massive” numbers of diving ducks on the mouth of the river. Greater and Lesser Scaup. White-winged Scoters and Surf Scoters, maybe Black Scoters, as well as Redheads and King Eider.This year, nothing. The protected cove to the north has plenty of dabblers -- American Wigeon, Black Ducks, Gadwall -- but the diving ducks are not around.

The diet of diving ducks includes small oysters. The speculation by Connecticut Audubon’s conservation staff -- a guess, really -- is that something happened to the oyster beds. And the further speculation is that what happened was Hurricane Irene.

Numerous oystermen reported in September that the storm had damaged their equipment and smothered their oyster beds with sand and mud. Historically, the infamous hurricane of 1938 did so much damage -- wrecking oyster boats and oyster beds -- that it almost wiped out the Sound’s oyster industry. It took two decades for it to recover.

I haven’t seen a full assessment of the damage that Irene did to the Sound’s oysters. But if the lack of diving ducks on the Housatonic is an indication, the damage includes not only the Sound’s oystermen but possibly the wildlife that relies on the Sound’s oysters as well.

You can read more about Stratford Point here and here on Connecticut Audubon's website. -- Tom Andersen

8,041 Broad-winged Hawks

2011-12-12T15:08:00.002-05:00

I have greatly enjoyed many of the days spent hawk watching thus far in three seasons at Boothe Memorial Park in Stratford, though I do not think any surpassed the thrill of September 16, 2011, when 8,234 raptors were recorded including 8,041 Broad-winged Hawks. Contrary to the prelude to the day in my last writing on the historic Turkey Vulture flight, I felt extremely certain that we were about to be enthralled by a flight of thousands of Broad-winged Hawks in the week leading up to it. Even a full six days before the flight we were set to receive I was mentioning it to friends and fellow observers, saying in an email that a fast and strong cold front would be “hard to time…exactly a week away but it'll be fun, mega Broad-wing push”. Boothe’s previous Broad-winged Hawk daily record was only 1,884, this was only year three, and I am not a psychic – what made me so confident about that day?

Looks like a good day for hawks! (See the weather vane at the top of the tower in this northwest facing photo by Frank Mantlik)

I went back and examined some of the "mega" flights at various points in Connecticut's history in the year since the conclusion of the 2010 hawk watch season in an effort to determine when one would occur again. Thanks to Neil Currie and so many other vigilant hawk watchers over the last 40 years we have a very strong set of data that can guide you to general flight dates. The late teens of September are a superb time for Broad-winged Hawks to fly, and this has become generally basic knowledge among those invested in the hobby. Knowing when a given species has the itch to get on the move to the south is one very important factor, but what happens if the weather doesn’t cooperate? Some birds, especially the Broad-winged Hawk, would never want to move against a southerly wind or under particularly overcast and rainy skies.

Atmospheric success

I put on my weather hat and dove in to meteorological data, using the dates of some of the biggest flights of Broad-winged Hawks the region had ever seen and examining the weather conditions that made them possible. I looked for patterns in the atmosphere on a large scale – wind speed and direction, the placement of high pressure centers, any blocking weather in the days before, sky conditions, temperatures and precipitation, and more. Some of the major motivating factors fell in line with conventional hawk watch wisdom, namely that raptors often take to the skies after the passage of a fall cold front. However, this is where things get much more complicated as a simple frontal passage is not sufficient for a strong hawk movement, let alone a historic one.

The most important factor, in my eyes, is the recent placement of a strong high pressure center over the vicinity of the Great Lakes region during the daytime hours of a given flight day. Such a perfect placement is seen infrequently with a cold air mass filtering down from Canada in the wake of a low in September. For the most part, the cold front passage has to be swift enough and clean, without any other areas of low pressure remaining nearby, without the presence of residual precipitation via a subsequent shortwave or other means, and sizable enough to encompass at least the entire northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. This seems to be the best conveyor belt for Broad-winged Hawks, pushing them to the south across multiple states, and such a placement puts Connecticut squarely under northwest winds from the anti-cyclonic flow of the high. The timing of the movement of the high is important for the flight but also for the pressure gradient as the winds have to be light to moderate, as a howling wind from the northwest will move some birds, but not allow thousands to stream through.

There are actually many more ways a passing cold front could permit a small or moderate flight, though not a sizable one. Let’s say a cold front passes through with high pressure moving in from the south – this flow will be westerly and ultimately southwesterly, disallowing any substantial movement whatsoever. We could have a weak cold front passing through with showers followed by a lack of any significant air mass, or an upper trough causing completely overcast skies (limiting thermals) and some precipitation on its heels. Sometimes a cold front will pass through only to stall out just to the east or southeast of Connecticut, making it difficult to get raptors moving through our air in any great numbers. Sometimes you do not need a cold front at all, and one of the best periods of movement in 2011 proved that. The departure of a sluggish upper level low spinning over the region in early October was followed by a high that graced us with light northwest winds on October 5 and 6, pushing through 352 and 621 raptors, respectively, with October 6 allowing Boothe to break daily Sharp-shinned Hawk and Bald Eagle records, among others.

September 2011’s weather

The key to a massive Broad-winged Hawk flight is clearly the weather leading up to and on the day in question, and this held true in 2011. Early September was plagued by a nearly constant southerly or southwest flow in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene. The few fronts that passed through Connecticut stalled near or over the region, with one coming through in the first week of September stopping off our coast as Hurricane Katia came north through the Atlantic. Her sizable influence and cyclonic flow actually provided the best hawk watching day for Boothe Park prior to this Broad-winged Hawk flight, with 40 raptors seen under light northwest winds – yes, only forty. It is abundantly clear that the hawks were stopped from any significant movement whatsoever prior to the date of the major flight this September, and it is likely this contributed to the extremely large movement that followed.

Once we were around one week away, I noticed that long-range models indicated the likely possibility of a large and strong cold front stretching from southeast Canada to the Gulf coast pushing through late in the following week, clearing the entire eastern seaboard. A strong high pressure center would move through the northern Great Plains and possibly settle near the Great Lakes or Ohio Valley. This is essentially what occurred with wondrously fortuitous timing as the front cleared well off the Atlantic coast overnight on September 15, allowing for the air mass of the high to take over as it moved in to position near the Great Lakes near sunrise. The distance between pressure centers was enough to keep the winds at a moderate strength, around 8-12 MPH at our site, with occasional gusts lessening in frequency and intensity as the day went along. We were even able to muster up some light cirrus overhead to top off the near-ideal conditions.

Boothe Park’s position

A lot has been said about the position of Boothe Memorial Park in discussions about the high number of raptors occasionally passing over. It is situated approximately three miles off Long Island Sound from its closest point, actually in Milford. Somewhat like Turkey Vultures and some of the other buteo species, huge numbers of Broad-winged Hawks are reluctant to move much closer to the coast than our position, and indeed, many that come over are heading to the west or west southwest rather than south or even southwest. We can have streams of birds in a long train heading west while more are being added to it by incoming kettles from the north. Below is a shot of us on September 16, unfortunately the only photo taken that day during the nonstop action, counting the streams of Broad-wings going to the west southwest.

From left to right, Charlie Barnard, the clipboard on the chair, Scott Kruitbosch, Bill Banks - taken by Frank Mantlik

Once again, like the Turkey Vultures, the key at Boothe Park is to have a light to moderate wind from the north or northwest. Any easterly component pushes birds away from us due to geography, and when it comes to Broad-winged Hawks, they will not take to the sky in nearly the same force. As I discussed in the above section, the winds were mostly light to moderate, with occasionally stronger gusts that wore down as the day progressed. This ensured that the Broad-wings would be pushed from all inland areas down along the coast, but not so much that they were battered in the air, kept from attaining the appropriate altitude, or forced to fly to our south.

Nine exhilarating hours

The count began at 8:00 a.m., with Bill Banks joining me bright and early. We would remain there for the next nine hours, with Charlie Barnard and Frank Mantlik spending significant portions of the heavy afternoon flight there, and Penny Solum joining us for some time in the morning. As most hawk watchers know, it takes some time for raptors to get into the skies mostly because of the fact they are waiting for thermals, rising columns of warm air that help them almost effortlessly glide to the south. This is particularly true at Boothe Park for another reason as it is difficult to see much around ground level because of trees, buildings, and other impediments. The birds have to be relatively high in the sky to see them, and we typically only get early birds either directly over our heads or in gaps to the east and southeast near the Housatonic River.

We tallied a few quick Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Cooper’s Hawks, a bunch of Sharp-shinned Hawks, a Northern Harrier, and an American Kestrel. In the case of Broad-winged Hawks, it takes them an especially long time to wake up and get on the move, and we did not have any of them until 18 passed through between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. By this point, I was beginning to get a little anxious about my prediction, and whether or not we would be able to pull off a large enough flight in approximately the next four or five hours. Catching even a couple thousand birds in such a time frame seemed like an insurmountable task at the rate we were going, but I kept repeating to myself (in my head and out loud, as others can likely attest to) that this was a perfect setup on a perfect date, and we were going to be paid off soon enough.

I suppose many of the Broad-winged Hawks we saw that day had some distance to cover after taking to the skies, moving to the south from other parts of Connecticut or coming in from nearby areas in the first few hours of the day before reaching us. Not long after 11 a.m. the major flight started, and before the hour was over, we had broken our hourly record of 876 birds (set on 09/20/10 by me, counting alone, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. that day) with a strong 892. Even if we maintained this rate we would have a tremendous afternoon, and we thought that if we could get a few more clouds than the 15% cover of cirrus we had that hour, this could be spectacular. Suffice it to say, we did, and it was more than we could have hoped for. We shattered the hourly record and the daily total record between 12:00 and 1:00 p.m. as we tallied 1,278 Broad-winged Hawks, pushing our total over 2,000.

I certainly did not anticipate doubling this over in the next hour, but from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. we counted a mind-blowing 2,887 passing over our heads. For the most part this took the form of an exceptionally long and seemingly endless river of raptors nearly directly above our position, slightly to the north of straight up from the site. It spanned the sky from the trees and neighborhoods to the west all the way to the horizon over the Housatonic in the east. We craned our necks until we could not bear the physical pain any longer, the four of us trying to somehow keep track of and count every single bird in this enormous river. Part of the problem I recall having was that they flew in a wide track stretching beyond one or even two binocular views, especially tough for my “10s”.

One had to sweep their binoculars back and forth simply to count all the birds in even one small section of the river all while they moved to the west. Bill, Charlie, and Frank were fantastic, calling out the numbers to me as I added them up in my head and occasionally scratched down totals on the data sheet. We all tried to count these overwhelming numbers as best we could while keeping on the conservative side if we ever lost track of a few, being careful not to double count any. Our independent counts of sometimes hundreds of birds were often extremely close to one another. A few times we had to stop and stare in awe, being overwhelmed by the sheer outrageousness and splendor of the sight, unable to think correctly or process it fully. I thought we would be able to cruise past 3,000 in the hour, but they started to slow down from their peak movement before we got to 3 o’clock.

That is not to say the movement was anything but astonishing in the next hour as we totaled more 2,468 Broad-winged Hawks. Our bodies would finally get a respite from constantly staring upwards as the flight rapidly slowed down before 4:00 p.m., and we concluded at 5:00 after a final hour of 175 more. Here are the unreal totals for the raptor migrants tallied during our nine hours of observation:

Osprey - 30
Bald Eagle - 11
Northern Harrier - 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 122
Cooper's Hawk - 12
Broad-winged Hawk - 8,041
American Kestrel - 12
Un. Buteo - 1
TOTAL - 8,234

Broad-winged Hawk flight history

I had some idea of the magnitude of our total in that it was of limited historic nature, though that it was nowhere near the top days seen in Connecticut, as some flights have been over 10,000 birds, with Quaker Ridge in Greenwich having a couple of days over 30,000. I surely thought the other coastal sites that day, Quaker or Lighthouse Point in New Haven, would have numbers similar to ours, probably greater at the former and lesser at the latter. However, the conditions I described apparently did play out perfectly for us, as we beat the more-inland Greenwich total of 6,342 raptors, 6,176 being Broad-winged Hawks. Lighthouse Point, being right on the water, had 3,713 raptors with 3,116 Broads, having had more of the other species, also to be expected.

Neil Currie, one of the founders of the NorthEast Hawk Watch and raptor migration expert, has been a force in creating and promoting hawk watching for 40 years. It is because of him and others that we have all of the information on migration that we do now, from prime locations to observe raptors, to the dates of flights, and decades of data. Neil was kind enough to compile and send me information on the largest flights of Broad-winged Hawks ever in Connecticut so that I could get a sense of the significance of this flight and compare it further to when others like it occurred. All of the data discussed below does not yet include the 2011 season.

There have been 456 days in which over 1,000 hawks were observed at a given location in Connecticut, with 2,000+ being seen 192 times, 3,000+ recorded 99 times, 4,000+ tallied 67 times, and a sensational total of 5,000+ on 47 occasions. All of the dates of the sightings of 5,000+ raptors fall between September 12 and 25, with the majority being between the September 14 and 19. Unsurprisingly, Quaker Ridge leads the pack with 14 of these days, followed by a tie for second of four each for Lighthouse Point and Whippoorwill Hill, out of 20 different sites. In consideration to our total of 8,234 at Boothe Park on September 16, there had been 19 previous counts of 8,000+ hawks in Connecticut history, this being the 20th in the last 40 years.

On the surface, this leads one to think such an event happens every other year, but this is not the case. Some of the mammoth flights have been recorded at multiple locations on the same day at these extreme levels, such as a movement on September 19, 1993 that featured 25,307 raptors at Booth Hill in West Hartland, 23,371 at Woodchuck Lane in Harwinton, and 22,475 at Quaker Ridge in Greenwich. Some have occurred back to back, like a flight of 30,786 raptors at Quaker Ridge followed two days later by a movement of 10,022 more at Greenwich Point. Interestingly, 24 of the flights over 5,000 took place in the 1980s, and 19 took place in the 1990s, with only three being recorded in the first decade of the 21st century.

As far as I can tell, the 8,234 raptors we recorded at Boothe Park on September 16, 2011 was the highest one-day total seen in Connecticut since 11,107 were counted at Booth Hill in West Hartland on September 13, 1998, when I would have been just shy of 13 years-old and quite clueless as to the very existence of such phenomena possibly occurring down the road from me at Boothe Park. That is an extraordinarily remarkable time period, and only makes the observations and memories of that day even more special. Let us hope that more days like this are coming in the future, and the population of Broad-winged Hawks to our north did not peak in the past. I cannot wait to see what September 2012 has in store for us and if we will be able to predict it so accurately once again.

You can see more information, from directions to all of this data, on our HawkCount page here:
http://www.hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=703

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photos © Frank Mantlik

Migratory bats

2011-12-10T15:10:00.000-05:00

I wanted to bring up the subject of bats after some sightings that I have had in the past few weeks. On November 26, I noticed a unique flying creature swirling around through my neighborhood around sunset. It was quickly obvious that it was not a swallow or a swift. I was able to determine that it was a Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis), a species of Special Concern on the Connecticut Endangered Species Act, before it flew off to the south continuing its migration as darkness overtook the area. Red Bats are forest dwellers, and while it was certainly not out of place in my neighborhood, it did seem late in the season for a sighting.

Little is known about the migratory routes and timing of departure from Connecticut or points north for the various bat species we can expect to see in our state, but November and December can be brutally cold months for insectivores. Even October was a perilous month this year. Stratford Point is actually a good place to spot Red Bats in the fall, and we are starting to think the site may be on a migration route with bats following either the Housatonic River to the south or the Long Island Sound coastline to the west. An extreme example occurred on the morning after Tropical Storm Irene. I arrived at Stratford Point well before sunrise, and around 6 a.m. I spotted a Red Bat coming in from Long Island Sound and heading towards our main building, likely roosting there, possibly in the vents along the roof, for the day. I believe it was returning to land after finding itself over water as the sun came up, as many birds do.

Again, the Red Bat is a forest dwelling species, and the mouth of the Housatonic River, sands of Long Island Sound, and Stratford Point's coastal grasslands are well out of place for it. Inclement weather likely pushes some of the others to stay here and hunt the area, once again just like some bird species that are out of habitat on the property do. Another notable sighting was of a bat species flying into the gable vent on the main building of Stratford Point on Tuesday afternoon, December 6, as the rain poured down and fog continued to cover the area. Twan believes what I saw was an Eastern Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus) as we have already encountered the species on the property in December before, with a single Eastern Pipistrelle seen roosting in a building during an extreme cold snap a couple years ago. We do not know if it was a migrant or a resident.

I also had a recent report via an at-reply to our Twitter account of what an observer believes to be multiple Little Brown Bats every night in their yard. Clearly, there is a lot to learn about bats in Connecticut, and we would always appreciate hearing about any sightings you have, especially during the fall and winter months.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Historic Turkey Vulture Flight

2011-12-07T17:32:00.001-05:00

The Boothe Park Hawk Watch has now closed for the 2011 season with a sensational 12,215 raptors counted in only 115.5 hours. This is the first of a series of pieces that I, as the coordinator of the site who spent the vast majority of those hours there, will be writing during the offseason on some of the special sightings and notable numbers we enjoyed this year.

One of the many Turkey Vulture kettles from 10/28/11

On October 28, 2011, the hawk watch at Boothe Memorial Park in Stratford experienced an unprecedented event as those on hand tallied 521 migrant Turkey Vultures in only 7.5 hours of observation, obliterating any known flight record in New England and even some beyond. This astounding total was supplemented by 218 Red-tailed Hawks, a sum not to be relegated to an afterthought. The Red-tail count is believed to be the third highest in New England history, falling short of a Lighthouse Point total of 237 on November 7, 1999, and Boothe’s own total of 249 on November 1, 2010, the current record holder. Not coincidentally and as will be examined, that day held Boothe’s previous Turkey Vulture high count of 190, also one of the best ever in the northeast. In only the third year of opportunistic observation, Boothe has established itself as a regional force to be reckoned with when it comes to buteos and vultures, and a strong site for nearly every other Connecticut migrant raptor species.

Comparisons

It is safe to say that no one could have predicted the enormity of the Turkey Vulture explosion of October 28 as such a sum has traditionally been reserved for an elite group of watch sites with decades of experience. Many of these sites are far to our south, like Kiptopeke in Virginia, or buoyed with supreme geographical aids, as is the case in Cape May each fall or Braddock Bay in the spring. Cape May was one of my first thoughts at the conclusion of the epic day – specifically, had we come even close to touching one of their best flight days for Turkey Vultures? One has to bear in mind that they hold records that the vast majority of count sites can never dream of impinging upon. Seeing 1,023 Osprey or 278 Northern Harrier in one day is laughable for us here in Connecticut, but still not as impossibly insurmountable as daily totals of 7,000 Sharp-shinned Hawk or 1,231 Cooper’s Hawk are. For now, I can only dream that Boothe Park will complete an entire season with those sorts of numbers in the not too distant future.

Cape May’s top three Turkey Vulture flights are “only” 784, 607, and 602, still comfortably beyond the 521 we witnessed on October 28, but not at all embarrassing in comparison to Boothe’s new record. This immediately invigorated me, and I looked at many other sites in New England and the Mid-Atlantic, finding few if any that came even close to this spectacular fall flight. I already knew that Connecticut’s two major sites, Quaker Ridge in Greenwich and Lighthouse Point, in a combined total of over 80 years of observations, were nowhere close to our new record. Their top flights were 192 and 135, respectively. Moving out of state to a couple of other infamous sites, Franklin Mountain in New York topped off at 136 Turkey Vultures and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania peaked at 123, and several more locations were around these numbers. I should add one condition to these decades and decades of observations - the Turkey Vulture population is increasing to our north over time, and it must be understood that more migrants will be passing through, generally, every year. Regardless of that fact, Boothe’s total remains almost supreme amongst many similar and strong opponents.

The day’s weather

After that examination, the most obvious question remained: why did such an extremely high number of Turkey Vultures take to the skies to head south on this particular day? October 28 is in a range of time quite conducive to significant flights, though it is still relatively early in the season, with the last Boothe record occurring four days later the previous year, and the instant conclusion being that the date did not act like a late trigger to suddenly spur the birds south. One would presume beforehand that they would have kept migrating in a regular manner for another few weeks at the very least. I have already discussed the lack of totals approaching this one at other sites, thus for the moment making the small sample size of Boothe’s data somewhat less of a confounding variable, and this flight more of an anomaly. For the sake of argument, let us assume it was - that leaves us to wonder what exactly that trigger was and what in the world could have prompted this.

What remains is the weather, the conditions on and around this special day that helped to allow such an event to take place that Friday morning. The Tuesday before, October 25, had actually been a very productive day at Boothe Park with 276 raptors tallied, 76 of them Turkey Vultures, despite crystal clear blue skies. This flight in itself provides evidence that there were not birds being “backed up” by poor conditions for a week or more, and many had been able to move through Connecticut already. If there had been only a few raptors counted in the days before, or a continual southerly flow of some sort, a subsequent record flight might have been more understandable. That Tuesday movement came after a cold front passed through from a low centered well to the north in Canada and on northwest winds from high pressure moving through the Ohio Valley.

Realistic view of streaming Turkey Vultures going behind the clock tower earlier in the week before the historic flight

On that Wednesday and Thursday, October 26 and 27, the northeast region was plagued by a series of lows along a cold front that finally passed through Thursday night. As that front swiftly cleared our area and headed southeast, one of the biggest keys to the event came in the form of a superbly placed high moving in from the Great Lakes towards western New York and Pennsylvania just in time for the daytime hours on Friday. The pressure gradient was not very strong because of the rapid exodus of the front, and the high provided northwest winds of approximately 4-7 MPH for most of the day on Friday, a perfect strength to aid raptors moving south and gently push them to follow the coastline, but not thrust them all the way to the shore. This wind speed and direction has been shown to be optimal for Boothe Park on numerous occasions with it being a few miles off Long Island Sound.

2010 flight conditions

These conditions were, not coincidentally, nearly indistinguishable to the ones that provided the terrific flight at Boothe Park previously mentioned on November 1, 2010. The movement of the cold front, the placement of the high, wind speed and direction were all essentially the same, though there had been no cloud cover whatsoever that day. Turkey Vultures do sometimes fly by Boothe Park at high altitudes, though most go through at a moderate height compared to other species, and nearly all are detectable to the naked eye or binoculars even against the deep blue sky with their dark color and slow drifting style. Even when streaming through they often come in groups, thus the likelihood of missing a significant amount because of a lack of clouds, or finding more because of even partial cloud cover, is negligible.

Typical streaming Turkey Vultures at Boothe Park

Looking past the weather and at the personnel, I was the official counter on both of the record days, and I had either two or three people with me for the most part, with Charlie Barnard joining me both years, Tina Green and Frank Mantlik assisting for parts of the 2010 flight, and Bill Banks on hand for the day in 2011. We actually put in 8.25 hours on November 1 compared to the already stated 7.5 hours on October 28. Calculating the Red-tailed Hawk average per hour for the November 1 flight yields 30.18, and for the October 28 movement it comes in at 29.07, a minuscule difference. Obviously, the Turkey Vulture rates are much greater, with 23.03 per hour on November 1 and a mind-blowing 69.47 on October 28. Nearly every factor between the two days is identical except for this extremely abnormal Turkey Vulture count.

Snowtober

After examining every detail and nuance of the day of the historic flight and those leading up to it, I was left to scrutinize what came after, and having the very next day go down in New England weather history was a heck of a coincidence. Snowtober became a popular social media name for the devastating classic “winter” nor’easter that struck Connecticut and surrounding states on October 29 and 30, leaving catastrophic damage in its wake and well over a foot of snow in many areas. There are absolutely no comparisons to a storm of this magnitude occurring in October in any year, decade, or century, even apocryphal tales from colonial history. It was undoubtedly a multi-century event that left some birds in desperate straits, having to cope with an early snowfall of such a depth when many of those ill prepared for it had yet to vacate the northeast.

Frank Mantlik spent 1.25 hours at Boothe after the storm ended on the afternoon of October 30 with brutally strong northwest winds and saw 135 Turkey Vultures go by, as they were evidently still moving in marvelous numbers over the snow-covered landscape. I considered all of this more and more on Halloween, as it was a particularly “birdy” day on the shores of Long Island Sound, with birds like Savannah Sparrow and Eastern Bluebird flying in to Stratford Point in the middle of the day from the north. Stratford Point had no snow left whatsoever already after only a few inches falling that weekend and quickly melting on the comparably warm coastline. Had the Turkey Vultures been able to deduce that such a snowfall was on the way and planned their escape from the north the day before with such favorable conditions? Could they have possibly surmised a nor’easter would bury the ground and make finding carrion all the more difficult?

I readily admit such a suggestion may seem ludicrous, but after investigating all of what I have I am left with little other conclusion beyond tremendous coincidence and sheer luck. One might fall back to the fact we have scant data at Boothe Park in comparison to other sites, and although these sites have not had similar flights, we just be on the premiere Turkey Vulture flight path in the northeast United States. I wholeheartedly embrace such a title and welcome it with open arms, though I do not think we can make our acceptance speech quite yet. One remaining matter needs to be mentioned – what occurred at Lighthouse Point on October 28, 2011.

Will a sight like this from the historic day be common multiple times each year for us?

That other record

While we at Boothe Park were celebrating a wondrously successful day, the observers stationed at Lighthouse Point were shattering the previous record as well, as they tallied an astonishing 371 Turkey Vultures in 8.75 hours. As I mentioned earlier, their previous record, in over 40 years of nearly constant vigilant hawk watching, was only 135. This new total, nearly tripling the historic high count, is a strong piece of evidence in the argument that something was in the air on that day. If Lighthouse Point had totaled say, 150 or so Turkey Vultures, I think it could be seen as a new high count on a terrific day that could be expected as the population has grown to the north in recent years. But to so decimate the record that has been derived from decades of data suggests that this was truly a special event and gives us a hint that maybe, somehow, someway, these birds may have known what was in store for them had they not departed from the region as quickly as possible.

Perhaps results from next year will render all of this moot with an even more stupendous flight, but either way, a vulture’s ability to anticipate poor weather conditions it is something to consider. I cannot wait to see what the 2012 season has in store for us, and though it may be some time away, I invite you all to join us whenever possible as Connecticut Audubon Society increases monitoring efforts at Boothe Memorial Park. Once again, you can see more information, from directions to all of this data, on our HawkCount page here: http://www.hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=703

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Winter of 2010-2011's toll on birds in Connecticut

2011-12-06T11:49:00.000-05:00

The winter of 2010-2011 was one of the worst Connecticut has ever experienced, with some stations recording the greatest snow depth ever, the snowiest January ever, and one of the highest snowfall totals for an entire season. The Boxing Day Blizzard was only the beginning as the state took major hits several more times before all was said and done with a March 24 light snow event. Such a constant onslaught of snow can spell disaster for a number of bird species who succumb to the frigid conditions or perish when they cannot find sufficient food sources. Carolina Wrens, a resident species, are said to be a great indicator of how conditions impact birds as snow can take a toll on their population, preventing them from feeding on various invertebrates on the snow-covered earth. You may have seen some come to your feeders to eat primarily suet, or perhaps peanuts or peanut butter.

I wanted to see if this assertion was accurate or not, and how much their numbers changed from 2010 to 2011, so I decided to use eBird data to take a look at things. I chose to use data by year primarily because, apart from the blizzard in the last week of 2010, the snow for the season in question was focused all in 2011. I excluded December from the 2011 totals as checklists are still being submitted, and we must bear in mind some may still have yet to come in for other parts of the year as well. However, as of around 9 a.m. today, there have been 16,434 checklists submitted to eBird for Connecticut in 2011, and 14,410 for 2010, so sample size for each year does not appear to be an issue. I do acknowledge that we are dealing with data from hundreds of unknown observers of various skill levels across only two years, and it would be foolhardy to draw any certain conclusions.

Look at frequency first, the percentage of all checklists submitted reporting Carolina Wrens of any number in 2010 and 2011:

Whoa! There is a lot to look at here...

In 2010, there is a spike in the spring as breeding season begins, with males singing, territorial disputes, etc.
There is also a drop in the middle of breeding season, as parents stay quiet and are busy feeding young, before a return to more constant levels
See how fast the percentage falls from the last week of 2010, and the Boxing Day Blizzard, to the first week of January in 2011, though both years have falling numbers as winter approaches
Then they plummet during the January bombardment of snow in 2011 compared to more constant numbers in 2010
2011 mimics 2010 in some regards with a slight spike in spring, and a decrease in breeding season
The recovery is swift and by late summer and fall the 2010 numbers touch 2010 levels briefly
While the current population is certainly less than 2010 at the same date, the breeding season definitely looks to have brought numbers of Carolina Wrens back up to some degree

Let's say the species is recorded on a checklist - how many birds are then seen, on average?

Once again, a good correlation between years with similar features
Notice how the average number drops quickly in January in both years and spikes around June with pairs feeding young - while the species may be seen less, they are often seen together
2011's average is a bit less than 2010 overall, though not enormously
However, the most obvious observation is what the heck is that spike?!

The anomalous increase occurs in the December 15 period in 2010, and it does not appear to be a fluctuation that we can attribute to limited sample size. That number, about 2.5, is the average number of birds seen derived from a total of 71 checklists reporting the species between December 15 and 21 in 2010. That many checklists reporting the species in that period is actually higher than average since Carolina Wrens were seen on approximately 52.7 checklists for each of the 48 periods in 2010. If they had been reported on, say, 15 or 20 checklists, then we might have been able to explain it away by saying the data was lacking. That does not appear to be the case.

Looking back up to the frequency graph, we can also see a spike in the period after a consistent decline in December that went unnoticed when we first looked at it. Did the birds suddenly start showing up at backyard feeders in high numbers that week? Were more tallied during surveys because of sheer luck? Could some have been moving to the south a bit and through Connecticut? They are not said to be migratory. It may simply be a coincidence, but it makes one wonder what happened...and it makes my always suspicious and imaginative mind wonder if the wrens had a hint that we were about to be inundated with snow.

Finally, the total number of birds reported each period, a straight sum...

Basically what we expected by now with the spring spike, winter drops, and the anomaly previously discussed
There is a nice jump in both Octobers as well, with the highest level in 2011 outside of the rapid January decline
Interestingly, the highest frequency in 2011 was also in October, though in another period
One would figure this would occur after a successful breeding season, but why October instead of earlier in the fall or late summer?

It seems from this data that yes, Carolina Wrens are indeed quite susceptible to large snowfalls and sizable snow depths, but that they can recover relatively quickly with the right breeding conditions the next season. Numbers are down still right now, but not nearly as far as they were at the end of the brutal winter. That strange jump in numbers last December prior to the week of the Boxing Day Blizzard may still be an anomaly overall despite the fact it was sufficiently reported in the context of the period. I do not like coincidences, though, and for the most part, I do not believe they exist. It feels somewhat ridiculous to even imply that birds can predict a storm days before its formation thousands of miles away, but it makes me wonder what was going on there.

Perhaps if we start seeing a bunch of Carolina Wrens in our yards and at our feeders we will know some snow is on the way...hey, wait, I saw one looking for insects in the wheel of my car yesterday!

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Western Kingbird continues

2011-12-05T11:22:00.000-05:00

I surveyed our H. Smith Richardson Wildlife Preserve and Christmas Tree Farm again last week and enjoyed seeing the vagrant Western Kingbird continue to thrive in our field and grasslands habitat. It has been eating a few berries, though it is doing very well hawking insects in this unseasonably warm weather. It is fortunate to have such a pattern in place during a time where every night could easily be well below freezing. Here are a couple more photos and some HD video of it.

Insect target acquired!

Later this week I believe we will finally begin to see some actual December-like weather, and I hope it chooses to move on back to the south sooner rather than later, as it may have already. I have not heard any reports of it in the last few days. Don't forget to buy a Christmas tree from us if you visit our preserve on Sasco Creek Road in Westport!

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Connecticut Audubon Society to Develop Conservation & Management Plan for Aspetuck Land Trust’s Trout Brook Valley Preserve

2011-12-03T11:50:00.001-05:00

By Twan Leenders
Conservation Biologist
Connecticut Audubon Society

Aspetuck Land Trust (ALT) announced plans in October this year to work with the Connecticut Audubon Society (CAS) to develop an adaptive management and conservation strategy for the Trout Brook Valley Preserve. The objective is to gather information to help ALT maintain Trout Brook Valley in a natural state while simultaneously supporting its public use goal, encouraging passive recreational use and enjoyment of the property. CAS is delighted to partner with ALT in this important project.

Over the course of a year, biologists and staff from the CAS Science and Conservation Office will carry out surveys to detect the presence of threatened, endangered or otherwise at-risk species in the Trout Brook Valley Preserve and to identify sensitive habitat areas contained within the preserve’s forested uplands.

Within the 1,009 acre preserve, spanning Weston and Easton, are vernal pools, shrub swamps, talus slopes, grasslands and other specialized habitats harboring plant and animal species. These species are uniquely dependent on these biological ‘islands’ within an otherwise largely forested area intersected by a 22-mile trail network. The trails were laid out gradually over the past 12 years, often without knowledge of these special microenvironments.

Risks of Disappearing Species

These specialized habitat pockets tend to be the first to disappear or become degraded when environmental pressure increases. The species that rely on them generally disappear simultaneously. Due to their very specific environmental requirements and because of the overall scarcity of the habitats they occupy, these specialized plants and animals tend to be rare and in need of protection.

We already know that the Trout Brook Valley preserve is home to some species included in Connecticut’s Endangered and Threatened Species Act. We believe that there are more to be found.

Across the state, Connecticut forests are gradually becoming more homogeneous with reduced species diversity and an increasing numbers of invasive species. At the same time rarer, more sensitive habitats and species slowly disappear. Highly adaptable plants and animals that can survive in a wide variety of habitats (the kinds of species that one tends to see in yards, parks and other areas associated with development – starlings, pigeons, squirrels, raccoons, coyotes, etc.) are very able to expand their range. Without careful land management, all our natural forests are at risk of becoming impoverished carbon copies of such disturbed habitats.

Importantly, this process takes place while the overall habitat may still look like a forest to the untrained observer. Effectively, more sensitive species are driven to extinction under our very noses! The quality and functionality of an area can be irreversibly damaged if no careful management and conservation strategy is put in place to maintain and protect healthy species and habitat diversity.

Meeting ALT’s Stewardship Goals

A carefully designed management and conservation plan based on relevant survey data will allow ALT to carry out its stewardship goal of maintaining the Trout Brook Valley Preserve in a natural state in a way that balances the need for protection of the area’s resources, plants and animals. Simultaneously, the study findings will help ALT fulfill its commitment to provide open space for passive recreational use and enjoyment of the property. Currently, regulated recreational uses of Trout Brook Valley include hiking, dog walking, hunting, fishing, and horseback riding. Hiking with off leash dogs has been suspended for a year while the CAS study is carried out.

The surveys carried out in the preserve will span an entire year, starting fall 2011 and concluding by fall 2012 to ensure complete coverage of all seasons (not all plants and animals are visible year-round). This prolonged survey period will also allow Connecticut Audubon Society staff to evaluate a wide variety of factors that could potentially affect the preserve’s future health. These range from the spread of invasive plants, plant diseases and pests, to the location of the existing trails and the management practices used to maintain sections of the property.

Throughout the year there will be opportunities for interested members of the public to directly help us and participate in the surveys. Please stay tuned for more information!

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You may have noticed a taste of the results of our survey work already here in the blog. We are very excited about the data collected so far, and we will keep you up to date from time to time with any particularly noteworthy, intriguing, or just plain cool discoveries during our progress.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Glastonbury nature walks

2011-12-02T15:09:00.000-05:00

Our thanks to CTnow.com for putting up this video on Connecticut Audubon Society guided nature walks based out of our Center at Glastonbury. Watch it below for more information:

We hope you can enjoy one soon!

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Snowy Owl at Stratford Point

2011-11-30T18:00:00.005-05:00

During a waterfowl survey at Stratford Point this morning I came upon a Snowy Owl sitting on the rock revetment wall on the Long Island Sound side, not far from the lighthouse. It was resting out of the strong west wind, away from the maintenance work at the lighthouse and dune construction at Stratford Point. It sat there, barely moving, for over two hours, admired by birders and non-birders alike, only fully waking up and moving around some because of noise from the lighthouse. It flew from rock to rock, perhaps also interested in catching a snack there, too. Here are a bunch of photos and then HD video I took of it.

Yawning!

It was dozing off from time to time

After it moved closer to the water

Blends in so well

The HD video! (also available here)

Here are some of Twan's magnificent photos...those eyes and talons!

And a few from Frank Mantlik...

Relative location to the lighthouse

Check out this timely eBird article on the big fall and soon to be winter Snowy Owls have been having and to learn more about the species! http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/got-snowies

Stratford Point is an excellent spot for them as it provides an open habitat full of small mammals. This was such a cooperative bird, allowing great looks for everyone who visited while we gave it enough room so as not to stress it out. It may stick around a few days or it may move on tonight - we will have to see tomorrow. If you visit and cannot find it, walk slowly and quietly to the revetment wall surrounding the site. Look along it and out on the breakwater in the mouth of the Housatonic, and check any perches, from trees to poles.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Video © Scott Kruitbosch; Photos © Scott Kruitbosch, Twan Leenders, and Frank Mantlik

More late November birds

2011-11-29T12:18:00.000-05:00

Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center Director Frank Gallo sent me the following on another apparently record late bird and still more from the migrant trap that is East Shore Park in New Haven...

Patrick Dugan sent me these photos of a Philadelphia Vireo that he took in Newtown on the morning of November 28th. It's the latest New England record by at least a week. There was a Maine record this year around November 17th and one in Massachusetts around November 7th. October 11th is about Connecticut's latest previous record...amazing!

Here are record photos of three of the five species of warblers I found at East Shore Park this afternoon (November 28). There was one Palm (western), one Tennessee (very late), two Nashville (one bright, one dull), a Common Yellowthroat (probably a young male), and a new one for the list, Yellow-breasted Chat (so long as we still call the debated bird a warbler). They showed up around 3:30 p.m. down by the harbor in the tall vine tangle and behind it along the fence. We've now documented 13 warbler species for the park this November.

Tennessee Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Yellow-breasted Chat

Scott Kruitbosch

Conservation Technician

Name this bird answer

2011-11-28T09:17:00.001-05:00

Have you been able to come up with the right species in the latest photo quiz, "name this bird"? It is one you could find in Connecticut in the fall, winter, and early spring. It may look brown in the photo, but it has a difference appearance come breeding season. It likes to pick at weeds and grass for seeds along driveways and areas of gravels at times like is shown in the photo, though it is very comfortable in the middle of a field, farm, dirt patch, or beach.

It is...

...a Snow Bunting! They can be tough to find outside of a very open space, but two good places to see them in Connecticut are our Coastal Center at Milford Point and Stratford Point. They have been especially common at the latter feeding on grass seeds that were replanted in some areas after repair work was completed on the seawall after Irene. If you walk the perimeter of the site, especially near the path to the Long Island Sound side, you may see them quietly feeding on the ground, anywhere from a couple to several dozen. I saw three right there this past Saturday.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Snow Geese flying by Stratford Point

2011-11-25T11:51:00.001-05:00

We all have some sort of nemesis bird or birds, whether it is a species you have yet to add to your life list or one that you have not seen in a long time and "should" have at some point. After literally hundreds of hours spent hawk watching at Boothe Park in Stratford, besides thousands of other hours of survey work, I had not seen any Snow Geese, not one Goose, since a group of around 75 flew over our heads at Boothe on November 2, 2008. Thankfully, while I was inside at Stratford Point Wednesday afternoon, our friend Frank Mantlik was outside scoping Long Island Sound and called me out of the office when he found a large group of around 115 Snow Geese coming off the Sound.

They were heading north through the low level clouds of the system that was still clearing to our east. They were probably lost in the rain and rapidly moving cloud deck, finding themselves over water and now resetting their course. They came directly over Stratford Point heading north, then east, then west, and then north again. Getting back on track wasn't easy for that lead bird, but I am sure they found their way eventually. I did not have my camera when they came directly over (naturally, this often helps you find birds!) but I grabbed it out of my car as they moved away, snapping a few photos of them bending this way and that way through the sky.

Take a look at the shot below that I left a little larger so that you can see the details of some of the geese a bit better. While I was unable to pick out a Ross's Goose from the lines, I did pick out what looks like a juvenile blue morph Snow Goose, highlighted in the red box.

Apart from ticking off the species for the first time in three years, I was so glad to have them at Stratford Point. The only other time we had the species there was also the third week of November. I guess it is time for me to find another nemesis bird...

Scott Kruitbosch

Conservation Technician

Name this bird

2011-11-23T11:13:00.000-05:00

Take a gander at the latest subject of our photo quizzes and every detail in the shot below. See if you can identify this bird that you can spot in the appropriate habitats around this time of year. Where it is and what it may have been doing in the photo will definitely help you.

Good luck! And Happy Thanksgiving! The answer will be coming on the weekend.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Embed photos in eBird

2011-11-21T12:59:00.000-05:00

The people at eBird have come out with another great feature to tempt you in to using the database while also helping those of us who are already addicted to it. You can now embed photos into your checklists!

"We are excited to report that it is now possible to embed photos within checklists! This not only makes the checklists look more attractive, but also makes it easier for reviewers to review and confirm your rare sightings. These images will be viewable in eBird checklists (accessed via My eBird and point maps), in eBird Alerts online, and will be accessible to eBird reviewers, making their job much easier."

Please check it out in full detail here: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/embed-photos-in-your-checklists

That link provides some very cool examples, guidelines for embedding your photos in your checklists, how to link to them via outside sources, and even how to include a link to sound or video which I hope will be able to be put directly into lists in the near future. This feature is not only useful for those people who verify rare birds on checklists submitted to eBird but to anyone who wants to help remember a day in the field, correlate their photos to their data, or share everything with a friend.

Please keep using eBird as much as possible! Later this week I will provide an example of what one can do quickly and easily with all of the data now being entered on a daily basis.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

December bird walk Stratford Point

2011-11-19T09:35:00.000-05:00

Connecticut Audubon Society Conservation Biologist Twan Leenders and Conservation Technician Scott Kruitbosch will lead a public bird walk at Stratford Point on December 6th from 9-11AM. We will take a look at ducks and waterfowl, seek out any owls or raptors, look for hardy wintering songbirds, and we’ll discuss the exciting habitat management and conservation projects that are taking place at Stratford Point. The walk will be free and we suggest bringing binoculars and a spotting scope, if you have one. Make sure to dress for the season! It is usually safe to assume that this exposed coastal spot is windier and colder than much of the state, even in the heart of winter. Please meet in the visitor parking lot by the buildings. Stratford Point is located at 1207 Prospect Drive, Stratford. If weather conditions are not conducive we will move the walk to December 13th (same time & meeting place). Notification of cancellation will be posted on the CT-BIRDS listserve and the Connecticut Audubon Society website (www.ctaudubon.org). For more information, contact Scott Kruitbosch: skruitbosch AT ctaudubon.org.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Probable dark morph adult Broad-winged Hawk

2011-11-17T16:39:00.001-05:00

Let me preface this by saying this summary is being written very quickly to get all of the details out of my mind as fast as possible. It includes some of what I wrote down shortly after the sighting.

Today was yet another exciting day at the Boothe Park Hawk Watch in Stratford as friend and expert raptor counter Bill Banks and I spent some time counting a few hawks behind a cold front. There was not much movement as an upper trough came over, bringing virga and eventually light showers with it, and the few raptors going by under nearly completely overcast skies were all low. We had a decent variety with Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks, several Turkey Vultures, a Peregrine Falcon, a Merlin, and a late Osprey moving directly south staying over the Housatonic River. That was a smart move for that bird, and we thought it was the highlight of the day.

However, at about 11:25 a.m., Bill spotted a dark bird heading right for us over the trees to the northeast, coming from the direction of the river. It took me several seconds to get on the bird as I looked through the gap between the blacksmith shop and the small storage building to its immediate east with him. Once I saw the raptor, I had initially no clue what I was looking at. It was not a falcon, vulture, or an accipiter, that was easy to see. It was definitely a buteo. It was small, in relative terms and as opposed to many Red-tails and Red-shoulders you see passing by right now, but had broad and stocky wings, short for a buteo. As it came over and by us, I picked out more identification points that we called out to one another during and after.

General flight path so you can see our position and the views/angles we had. Map is set at due north.

Looking at the undersides, breast, head...they all appeared completely dark brown, with only minor variations in intensity, almost a chocolate sort of color. Then I noticed the tail, and even from underneath, I could see distinct contrasting white and black thick bands. They were not differently sized - all the same - not like those of a Red-shouldered Hawk, for example, with multiple thin white bands. A second or two after I noted this the bird flared up at 80 or 100 European Starlings that dove at it, bringing the upper part of the tail, back, and wings into view, showing off those classic and unmistakable bands of an adult Broad-winged Hawk. The rest of the upper parts appeared exactly as depicted in Sibley's Guide to Birds on page 118. It is a perfect example of our hawk with one exception - the under wing did not appear to have that bright white as depicted for an adult dark morph Broad-winged Hawk. Otherwise, that is precisely what we saw.

Several seconds later, it was gone as it went over the trees to our west and continued on its journey. As it angled away, I thought there may have been a slight appearance of darker edges to the left wing, which was more exposed to us with the angle it was flying at, as it moved more parallel to us with the sun (behind clouds, as mentioned before). This was not much, darker against dark, and not nearly as obvious as the other marks.

It was surreal. Bill and I have both seen literally thousands of Broad-wings in the last two months during hawk watches at Boothe and Lighthouse Point, and simply, that is what that was to me. In my eyes, the only problem remaining was that lack of contrast of white or at least lighter color on the under wing against the dark brown. Lighting could have been an issue here, and this bird may not have had the bright white that is illustrated in some the field guides. What about other semi-rare or rare buteos? Swainson's Hawk and Rough-legged Hawk are both too large in size and wings and have the wrong shape. Having seen both morphs of Rough-legged Hawks on countless occasions living and working where I do in Stratford - this was not one. Moreover, definitively, neither of those species has the perfectly banded tail of a Broad.

Yes, it is November 17, but even eBird has records of Broad-winged Hawks going through the third week of November, let alone other sightings that have not been entered, such as three in the last 12 years on Christmas Bird Counts in Connecticut. On October 6 at Boothe, we counted 106 Broad-winged Hawks, and if that is not enough, we even added six more birds on October 28, just 20 days ago. I think that information is already more than enough evidence that we could easily have one Broad-winged Hawk go by the count site right now.

I know, that is easy to say and all good and well for a typical Broad-winged Hawk, but not a dark morph bird from way out west that should have been in Mexico two months ago. All I can say to that is look at the continuing theme of western rarities that have shown up in another fall full of incredible weather events and frequent west or southwest flow patterns. I do not feel it is inconceivable for one bird to have been brought up this way, like so many other species, only to be turned around and headed back south after the winds finally turned northwest today behind the cold front. Of note, this was the only buteo of any species we saw in 2.5 hours there today. There was not even a local Red-tail in the sky in these somewhat uncooperative flight conditions. I could even argue it was flying despite the conditions because it was so very late or far off course. It was not catching a thermal as it soared through 25 feet above the ground.

We went through all of the buteos and even the most improbable rare birds from the far south and Central America do not fit nearly as well as a regular adult but dark Broad-winged Hawk does. With all of that said, we welcome additional input. Bill and I feel relatively confident in what we saw, albeit unlikely, with that one noted problem in mind.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Housatonic Community College and Connecticut Audubon Society Continue Partnership

2011-11-17T09:24:00.000-05:00

Summer 2011 saw the continuation of a unique collaboration between Housatonic Community College and the Connecticut Audubon Society. Eight Housatonic students undertook a fieldwork experience that found them collecting and identifying a variety of freshwater fish and collecting data on painted turtles. These eight students represented a doubling of the student group that worked during the previous summer. This year’s fieldwork was a continuation of the previous summers fish survey of the streams located at the Roy and Margot Larsen Sanctuary and the start of a life history project on the painted turtle population from the sanctuary’s Farm Pond.

The summer field experience had several goals:

Introduce a group of community college students to methods of fieldwork;
Have the students collect data on stream fish populations;
Learn techniques of collecting and identifying organisms and gathering the data a biologist would require to assess a fish or turtle population;
Become proficient in the use of a variety of measuring devices including dial calipers and weighing scales.

The students working on this project were a self-identified group chosen from members of my General Biology class. Students had to commit to working in the field one day per week, throughout the summer and adhere to this schedule despite the fact that no one was paid or given class credit for their efforts. It has always been my belief that students benefit greatly from academic activities that take them beyond the classroom. They experience real world applications of biology and put to practice what they learn in class.

Some of the behaviors and skills that students take away from this project include:

A sense of responsibility by arriving at the project site in a consistent and timely manner;
Cooperating with each other to collect and identify organisms and record data. No individual serves as a permanent “secretary” simply recording numbers and names. All students are actively engaged in all aspects of the project;
The field site is a public area. Members of the public frequently come along and ask about our work. Students develop skills explaining, the research to the public;Handling an animal in a manner that minimizes stress to the animal and is safe for the students.

I would like to thank the staff of the Connecticut Audubon Society, particularly Dr. Twan Leenders, Conservation Biologist and Mr. Robert Martinez, President, for allowing us to use their facilities at the Roy and Margot Larsen Sanctuary. Dr. Leenders advice on trapping and marking turtles was invaluable to the project.

Dr. Tony Pappantoniou
Assistant Professor of Biology
Housatonic Community College
Bridgeport, Connecticut

October global climate events

2011-11-16T14:38:00.002-05:00

In the past week, I have been spending a good deal of time remembering and researching weather events over the last few years at Stratford Point while working on coastal restoration and management plans for the property. Stop for a moment and think of how much Connecticut has experienced since just 2008 - multiple tornadoes, several blizzards, countless nor'easters, dozens of days with winds gusting well past 30 or 40 or even 50 to 60 MPH along the shoreline, record amounts of rainfall and snowfall, the hottest day ever, Tropical Storm Irene, the most snow depth recorded, several brutal straight-line wind and supercell thunderstorm events, the recent October storm that shattered every snowfall record for the month nearly everywhere, and so much more.

The month of October was notable across the country and even the world, and this graphic, courtesy of NOAA, shows you what was going on in other parts of the globe in the eighth warmest October since 1880.

Global warming does not mean the end of snow and cold temperatures, and it is a misnomer. We use the term climate change because that is what results from the warming of the Earth - a changing climate. As average temperatures increase across the planet we will continue to see unbelievable events such as these increase as well. What we know as weather is primarily driven by temperature and moisture differentials on the Earth, and when this gap widens, there are going to be more potent and more frequent storms of various types. This will often involve extreme events like heavy snow in October or record-breaking heat in the summer. What we are seeing is only the beginning of what could be a frightening ride.

I do not think many people in Connecticut are skeptical of a changing world after what we have experienced this year alone. At Connecticut Audubon Society, we continue to monitor our weather and climate, adjusting our planning and management practices as needed.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Western Kingbird continues

2011-11-15T12:45:00.001-05:00

The Western Kingbird at our H. Smith Richardson Wildlife Preserve continued to be seen on Monday. Check it out now while you can on this beautiful day before a cold front moves through tomorrow, bringing some rain and a much colder air mass for Thursday. I had to share this spectacular photo of it from our friend A.J. Hand who frequents the preserve on a regular basis - our thanks to him!

Update: another shot from A.J.!

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Western Kingbird at H. Smith Richardson Wildlife Preserve

2011-11-13T11:56:00.003-05:00

A Western Kingbird was reported to eBird late yesterday by an unknown observer who I will give credit to when I learn their name(s) at the Connecticut Audubon Society H. Smith Richardson Wildlife Preserve and Christmas Tree Farm. Our thanks go out to them. I was there early this morning and sure enough, here it is!

Our sanctuary is on Sasco Creek Road in Westport. You can read about it in more detail on our website here - these are directions to the property:

Directions: FROM I-95 Eastbound: Take Exit 19 – Southport. Go left off exit and proceed to traffic light at Rt. 1. Turn left onto Rt. 1 (Post Rd.) and go to second traffic light. Take a left and follow from * below.

FROM I-95 Westbound: Take Exit 19 – Southport. Stay straight off exit to traffic light at Route 1 – Post Road intersection. Take a right onto Rt. 1 and at third traffic light, take a left. Follow directions from * below.

* At fork, take right and proceed straight on Green Farms Rd. Take a left onto Sasco Creek Rd. Preserve and Tree Farm are 0.1 mile on left.

The sanctuary consists of three parcels: a 24-acre Christmas tree farm, a 14-acre field habitat, and a 36-acre evergreen plantation that has remained virtually undisturbed for the last 30 years. The Western Kingbird is in the field habitat across the street from the Christmas tree farm. It was flycatching from tree to tree while I was there, snacking on some rather large insects, and even chasing a few Eastern Bluebirds angrily. It called with an upset tone after flushing one from a branch near it, probably not wanting them to take any of the insects it has its eyes on. We have worked hard to rid the property of mile-a-minute vine, and the planted grasses that now fill the field have been very productive this year, this bird being the highlight.

A Connecticut Audubon Society property snags yet another awesome rarity - keep them coming, please! Connecticut was due for a western rarity as many have been spotted in other states in the northeast. What's next?

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Multiple banded Canada Geese

2011-11-11T11:55:00.000-05:00

While walking around my neighborhood on November 1, I spotted a group of 11 Canada Geese in a pond adjacent to my yard. Considering I once found a Purple Gallinule in this pond, I always check it out. You never know what you will find even in your own yard!

As you can see in the photo, three of these Canada Geese had yellow neck bands.

The bands read C279, C286, and C295. After entering all of the birds into eBird as usual, I went to reportband.gov to enter the bands. You are lead to a form where you have to provide information including band type and placement, color of the band and letters or numbers, positioning of these characters, and so forth. You also provide the location with GPS coordinates, the status of the birds, and all of your own information.

When I received the band information back from USGS, I learned that all three of these birds were banded on June 23 of this year. They were all adults at banding, two males and a female, and all three of them were banded at Beardsley Park in Bridgeport by the DEEP. Considering the fact these three banded geese were together when I spotted them and the band numbers were close I had surmised they were banded together.

Despite the fact many Canada Geese fly south for the winter these birds are obviously still here. Perhaps they are residents and will remain in the general area year-round. Nevertheless, it is still important to learn how banded birds move around, whether it is by a few miles like this or much more.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Stratford Point bird walk 11/10 results

2011-11-10T14:25:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone who came to Stratford Point's first free public bird walk, held this morning from 9 a.m. to about 10:30 as showers started moving in. We were lucky to be able to avoid much in the way of fog or rain and even wind, allowing for some very good viewing conditions of Long Island Sound. We had a good variety of birds as well, totaling 44 species on the day. That is a very strong number considering the date and the fact that, somewhat surprisingly, many species of waterfowl and ducks have yet to arrive in any numbers beyond a handful spotted here or there. This is probably due to continued warm weather to our north.

An adult White-crowned Sparrow, seen this morning by the group

We were also treated to some uncommon and rare Connecticut species, which are listed in capital letters in our tally for the day below:

Brant 68
Mute Swan 2
American Black Duck 6
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER 2
Red-breasted Merganser 3
Red-throated Loon 5
Common Loon 16
NORTHERN GANNET 2
Double-crested Cormorant 12
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Merlin 1
Black-bellied Plover 123
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER 3 - late birds for November
Sanderling 58
Dunlin 345
Laughing Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 15
Herring Gull (American) 25
Great Black-backed Gull 3
Monk Parakeet 45
Belted Kingfisher 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 1
Horned Lark 3
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Carolina Wren 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 65
AMERICAN PIPIT 2
Cedar Waxwing 42
SNOW BUNTING 24
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 2
Savannah Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 6
White-throated Sparrow 4
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 8

We will be having a bird walk each month, so stay tuned and we will announce the December date soon. Here are a couple more birds seen at Stratford Point this week. The first is an "Ipswich" race of Savannah Sparrow, a state-listed bird we see relatively often along our beach and dunes. Note the lighter overall tones than your typical Savannah Sparrow, the much bulkier size, and less streaking on the breast.

The second bird is another state-listed species, a Vesper Sparrow, with three great photos taken by Twan Leenders.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Eight warbler species in November

2011-11-09T11:02:00.002-05:00

CAS Coastal Center Director Frank Gallo had a very cool experience at East Shore Park in New Haven on Monday, November 7. He was able to see and take a record shot of eight (8!) species of warblers still in the park. East Shore Park is a well-known migrant trap site because of the water treatment plant there. This keeps the local climate much warmer than any nearby areas, allowing insects to survive and birds to feed off of them. East Shore Park and similar locations are always great places to keep checking well into the fall and even during the winter. You never know what songbirds these spots can hold. Additionally, Frank wanted me to remind everyone to watch for rare Cave Swallows this week with a good weather pattern at this time of year.

Here are Frank's record photos of: Wilson's Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Northern Parula, Palm Warbler, and Pine Warbler. Some of those are very late birds, though this phenomenon is becoming more common each year in Connecticut.

Scott Kruitbosch

Conservation Technician

Buteo hybrids - eBird mention

2011-11-08T12:15:00.000-05:00

I wanted to make sure everyone took a few minutes to read this cool post on eBird that their team put up yesterday: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/hybrid_HALHxRLHA

It discusses a possible hybrid Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk x Rough-legged Hawk in Kansas. This in-depth examination is complete with some fantastic photos. If you read to the end you will see examples of other buteo hybrids, with the first being a Red-tailed Hawk x Red-shouldered Hawk that CAS Coastal Center Director Frank Gallo and Lynn Jones found on the Oxford Christmas Bird Count last year that we featured in this blog entry. If you haven't read that awesome account please do. Our thanks to eBird for the mention!

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Snowtober

2011-11-07T17:05:00.005-05:00

That was one of the many names of the historic, unprecedented, catastrophic, and utterly ridiculous winter storm event that took place on October 29 and 30 in Connecticut and across the northeastern part of the nation. It was classified as Alfred, though you can put me in the category of people who do not like to name anything besides tropical cyclones. It was also one of the most well-predicted major storms in recent memory, coming two months after the superbly projected Hurricane then Tropical Storm Irene. Together they were two of the most widespread disasters in Connecticut history, toppling trees and power lines across the state, reshaping habitats and taxing birds, many of which were not at all prepared to be covered in snow in late October at this latitude.

On October 27, I was already frantically emailing and calling people about what computer models, particularly the European model, were showing. We would all likely see snowflakes that weekend, but inland areas could have several inches, perhaps more if things went right (or wrong) along with powerful winds well over 30 or 40 MPH. This storm would come towards us south of Long Island and head over the "40/70 benchmark", a centered position at 40 degrees north and 70 degrees west, a classic track for devastating winter nor'easters. Model consensus was soon to follow, and the National Weather Service along with many Connecticut meteorologists were quickly warning the public of the utter devastation that would follow because of the fact leaves were still on the trees. I also wondered how some of the later-moving or simply late birds, from warblers to sparrows to vireos and other stragglers, would do in such a situation.

It turned out to be colder initially as the powerful storm brought in chilly air and was even more intense in some areas, dumping more than a foot of snow in many locations in Connecticut and feet in parts of Massachusetts. For all of the tree damage that occurred in Irene along the coast, even more occurred inland in many areas because of this storm.

Heavy snow in Stratford with nearly every tree still completely full of leaves; mixing and turning to rain for several hours saved the coastline

The amounts did not matter as much once we went past several inches because so little is necessary to damage or destroy a tree still full of leaves. The Taunton, MA, NWS office has a great storm summary here. Below are the Connecticut totals courtesy of the NWS:

...HARTFORD COUNTY...
WINDSOR LOCKS         20.3   200 PM 10/30  BRADLEY AIRPORT
BRISTOL               17.0  1256 AM 10/30
EAST FARMINGTON HEIG  13.0   138 AM 10/30
BURLINGTON            12.5   806 AM 10/30  FINAL
WEST HARTFORD         11.5   742 AM 10/30  GENERAL PUBLIC
MANCHESTER            11.0   342 PM 10/30  HAM RADIO
ENFIELD                9.0   900 AM 10/30
SOUTH WINDSOR          8.0   730 AM 10/30
SOUTHINGTON            6.0  1205 AM 10/30  HAM RADIO

...TOLLAND COUNTY...
COVENTRY               9.8   313 AM 10/30
VERNON                 9.0   132 AM 10/30  HAM RADIO
STORRS                 6.5   918 AM 10/30
ROCKVILLE              4.0  1055 PM 10/29

...WINDHAM COUNTY...
POMFRET                8.0   911 AM 10/30
HAMPTON                6.0   629 AM 10/30
ASHFORD                6.0  1023 AM 10/30  HAM RADIO
EAST KILLINGLY         5.8   727 AM 10/30
PUTNAM                 3.0  1022 AM 10/30  HAM RADIO
DANIELSON              2.5   926 AM 10/30  HAM RADIO

...LITCHFIELD COUNTY...
BAKERSVILLE           18.6   830 AM 10/30  CO-OP OBSERVER
WINSTED               18.0   800 AM 10/30  1215 FEET ELEVATION
LITCHFIELD            16.5   600 AM 10/30  CT DOT
NEW MILFORD           14.0  1210 AM 10/30  PUBLIC
WINCHESTER CENTER     13.5   600 AM 10/30  CT DOT
THOMASTON             13.5   600 AM 10/30  CT COT
FALLS VILLAGE         12.8   840 AM 10/30  TRAINED SPOTTER
NEW PRESTON           12.8   845 AM 10/30  TRAINED SPOTTER
NORTH CANAAN          12.0   600 AM 10/30  CT DOT

...FAIRFIELD COUNTY...
DANBURY               17.2   800 AM 10/30  SKYWARN SPOTTER
RIDGEFIELD            17.0   630 AM 10/30  PUBLIC
SHELTON               12.8   745 AM 10/30  PUBLIC-480FT ELEVATION
GREENWICH             12.0  1230 AM 10/30  PUBLIC
BETHEL                11.5   830 AM 10/30  SKYWARN SPOTTER
3 SSE BROOKFIELD      11.0   700 AM 10/30  COCORAHS
BROOKFIELD            11.0   700 AM 10/30  SKYWARN SPOTTER
WILTON                10.8   840 AM 10/30  PUBLIC
MONROE                10.5   930 AM 10/30  SKYWARN SPOTTER
NEW CANAAN             6.0   400 AM 10/30  CT DOT
NORWALK                5.5   600 AM 10/30  PUBLIC
NEWTOWN                5.0   323 PM 10/29  SKYWARN SPOTTER
BRIDGEPORT             4.0   715 AM 10/30  NWS COOP
DARIEN                 3.5   559 PM 10/29  SKYWARN SPOTTER
STAMFORD               3.5   730 AM 10/30  SKYWARN SPOTTER

...MIDDLESEX COUNTY...
EAST HADDAM            8.1   830 AM 10/30  PUBLIC
OLD SAYBROOK           2.5   400 AM 10/30  CT DOT
HADDAM                 2.0   400 AM 10/30  CT DOT

...NEW HAVEN COUNTY...
OXFORD                12.3  1230 AM 10/30  SKYWARN SPOTTER
SOUTHBURY             10.5   400 AM 10/30  CT DOT
WATERBURY              8.8   400 AM 10/30  CT DOT
BEACON FALLS           8.8   400 AM 10/30  CT DOT
NORTH HAVEN            7.7   705 AM 10/30  SKYWARN SPOTTER
SEYMOUR                7.0   457 PM 10/29  PUBLIC
HAMDEN                 7.0   740 AM 10/30  PUBLIC
MERIDEN                7.0   400 AM 10/30  CT DOT
WALLINGFORD            6.1   830 AM 10/30  SKYWARN SPOTTER
2 NW NEW HAVEN         2.8   800 AM 10/30  COCORAHS
3 ESE MILFORD          2.6  1010 AM 10/30  COCORAHS

Considering the Hartford area had three snow events previously in October, with only a little over an inch being the record there and in many locations, records were shattered across countless towns and cities in the region. Parts of Connecticut have seen some October snow, yes, but mostly at elevation and never at such a magnitude or widespread manner. There is no comparison to be made with this storm. It was a multi-century event, and I would have to believe it could be upwards of a 300 or 500-year system. These types of storms are severe, notable, and dangerous in January, forget before Halloween.

There were surprisingly few odd bird reports, but I think this is mostly because over half the state was without power, and many were focused on safety rather than seeing a strange feeder species or finding birds taking refuge in warm pockets or near open water. Coastal areas did have a very quick uptick in quantity of birds and overall species counts in the days immediately after as these areas were left with little snow in comparison. As such, the coast was a destination for many birds fleeing the suddenly uninhabitable north. I noticed birds like Savannah Sparrows flying in to Stratford Point on Halloween, a strange sight in itself in the middle of the day. I also had a male and female Eastern Bluebird fly in that day, the first time I have ever seen the species at the site, and the second they have ever been recorded there, clearly birds trying to escape the snow cover to the north. They went right to flycatching after their arrival.

Now we are left to survey damage across the landscape of the state, from yards robbed of important oak trees to sanctuaries with sizable holes in the canopy. One would imagine more damage will be coming from the next big snowstorm or any ice storm that impacts Connecticut this winter as much of the woody vegetation remains weakened and damaged, ready to break or fall with any more punishment. Connecticut Audubon Society's Croft Preserve in Goshen was a location I would have been very concerned about, with hundreds of acres of upland hardwoods, though our Conservation Biologist Twan Leenders reports it has very little if any damage. It seems to be an exception to the rule.

All of what has occurred in 2011 is something to learn from. The weather, and these increasingly frequent severe events, is another constantly changing variable in our management plans across the state. What I am still pondering is whether some birds were also able to accurately predict this astonishing snowfall...more on that soon.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Adult Lecture Series at the Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center at Milford Point

2011-11-05T10:28:00.000-04:00

Join us this fall here at the Coastal Center as conservation and wildlife experts come in to share with you their knowledge on an array of topics. Pre-registration is required for all programs. No fee, but donations are encouraged and appreciated.

Connecticut Amphibians - Wednesday, November 9th, 7:00 PM
Gregory Watkins-Colwell, collections manager of Herpetology and Ichthyology at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, will discuss Connecticut’s diverse frogs, toads, and salamanders, how they can be used to gauge the environmental health of an area, and shed light on the decline of many amphibian species worldwide. This presentation features live animals.

Mountain Lions - Wednesday, November 16th, 7:00 PM
Noted mountain lion authority Bill Betty will present a natural history of the cats, discuss human effects on population, and recent sightings in the Northeast, including here in Milford. We hope you can join us for what is sure to be an interesting evening! Seating is limited. Please call to pre-register.

Shellfishing - Wednesday, November 30th, 7:00 PM
Aquaculture, or the farming of aquatic plants and animals, can reduce human impact on local aquatic ecosystems while providing economic benefits in coastal areas. Join David Carey, Director of the Bureau of Aquaculture in Connecticut, to explore Milford’s recreational shellfish opportunities and the history of Connecticut’s thriving commercial shellfishing industry.

Conserving Our Forest Birds - Wednesday, December 14th, 7:00 PM
Over the past 35 years, Connecticut forest cover has declined more than 13%, the steepest loss of any state in New England. Join us for a presentation by Milan Bull, Senior Director of Science and Conservation for Connecticut Audubon Society. He will discuss how and why this is happening, its effect on our forest birds, and what is being done to conserve our forests.

Name this migrant answer

2011-11-04T13:54:00.000-04:00

Were you able to determine what this bird is? If not, here it is on the same branch a few seconds later, head turned - do you have it now?

If not, this should help you out.

That is a Palm Warbler, and a drab one at that. The bird was feeding along the edge of the grasslands at Stratford Point all by itself. You typically see Palm Warblers pumping their tails which gives them away even from afar. In my opinion, seeing some birds with conspicuous behaviors frozen in time in a photograph can sometimes make them more difficult to identify as it can confuse your mind (or mine at least!). Fall warblers are always tough, too.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Birds of October in photos

2011-11-03T09:35:00.000-04:00

Here are some of the birds I photographed while out and about this October. They were at Connecticut Audubon Society properties, sites that we manage, or areas that we are actively surveying for other entities.

Eastern Phoebe, so many everywhere

Savannah Sparrows are abundant at Stratford Point in October, with dozens each day

White-crowned Sparrows are much less so; this individual was on the Sikorsky walkway in Stratford

A Merlin on the ground mid-hunt rather than flying by a hawk watch

One of Milford Point's staggering total of Yellow-rumped Warblers

Atlantic Brant, some of nearly 4,000 I watched go by Stratford Point in only a few hours one day

This late Semipalmated Plover got out just in time before the snowy nor'easter

Can you count all of those Tree Swallows? Many more were present at Stratford Point

This female Eastern Bluebird flew into Stratford Point with a male on Halloween, a very rare sight there - fleeing snow cover to the north?

A bad year for Eastern Meadowlarks in Connecticut but 2-3 have been present some days at Stratford Point

Finally, this Vesper Sparrow at Stratford Point, who refuses to allow me a good photo

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Bird walk postponed

2011-11-02T13:06:00.000-04:00

The Stratford Point public bird walk scheduled for tomorrow, November 3rd from 9-11AM, is postponed until one week from that date, November 10, same time and meeting place. Let us hope by then that all of Connecticut is back to normal after last weekend's catastrophic storm.

There have been many great bird sightings at Stratford Point as we transition from fall migrants to winter waterfowl. The fall and, amazingly, the summer seasons are still hanging on as just today we had one very late Royal Tern and at least nine Forster's Terns. A Vesper Sparrow is still here headlining the songbirds on their way south, while 17 Snow Buntings came in today as a taste of the songbirds that will winter here with us.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Name this migrant

2011-11-01T21:02:00.001-04:00

Instead of that migrant, name this migrant bird! Last time I gave you a photo that made the bird appear as it would in the field without a big zoom lens or binoculars. This time I'll give you a great look at the bird, seen in October in Connecticut...

...but the side may not be the one you're used to looking at. So what do you think? I'll post the answer, and the other half of the bird, in a few days.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Storm closes Center at Glastonbury

2011-10-31T11:26:00.002-04:00

Due to this weekend’s storm, the Center at Glastonbury is closed until further notice. For any questions, please contact the State Office at (203) 259-6305 x 102.

We will have more to post on the storm including any other closings or cancellations as well as an analysis of this multi-century event in terms of birds and weather soon.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Help Rusty Blackbirds

2011-10-28T00:06:00.004-04:00

Rusty Blackbirds are one of my favorite species. I don't know why exactly, though I imagine part of it is their tendency to appear in my yard in the winter. Another part is simply my fondness for their slick brown and black appearance during their time here that contrasts so well with their bright yellow eyes. This Rusty Blackbird, with a Red-winged Blackbird, was in my yard in January 2010.

Sadly, they are also a species in serious danger. To give you a better sense of what is happening, I'll quote directly from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center's website:

"The rusty blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) is a widespread North American species that has shown chronic long-term and acute short-term population declines, based both on breeding season and wintering ground surveys. Rusty blackbirds are ecologically distinct from other blackbirds, depending upon boreal wetlands for breeding and bottomland wooded-wetlands for wintering. The decline, although one of the most profound for any North American species, is poorly understood. Moreover, no conservation or monitoring programs exist for this species. Given the species close association with wooded wetlands throughout the year, it could prove to be an excellent indicator species for environmental processes in these threatened ecosystems."

I am lucky enough to be a member of the International Rusty Blackbird Technical Working Group composed of scientists researching that decline. Connecticut hosts decent numbers of Rusty Blackbirds in fall and spring migration, though as I mentioned above, a fair number do overwinter in the state. Most often I see a pair or two here or there taking advantage of a feeder or warm and wet woodland patch, though some areas can hold dozens. I really want to take monitoring of the species in our state to the next level of awareness. Here is how you can help:

By recording all sightings as precisely as possible in eBird or sending me the information via email to skruitbosch 'AT' ctaudubon.org.
Detailing the sighting with how many birds were seen, their sex and age, the habitat they were found in, the ground wetness (dry, moist, partially or fully flooded), the date and time, their behavior (foraging, preening, singing, roosting, etc.), the birds they associated with (such as Common Grackles, Brown-headed Cowbirds, or others, if applicable), and any other information you feel is relevant.
If they were foraging, explaining what they were feeding on or around.
Noting the general weather and conditions at the time - a six-inch snowfall bringing them to your yard? A sunny and warm day?
Taking a photograph or shooting video of them, if possible.

If you have a long-term sighting, such as several birds visiting your feeders every day for a month, I would really appreciate a general overview including the information requested above. However, I do want to know about every sighting, no matter how brief, as it will do a great deal to fill in the many blanks we have for the species.

Last Sunday, I led a walk at the Trout Brook Valley Preserve, part of the Aspetuck Land Trust. We walked through the expansive orchard that runs all the way to active farm fields. Once there, I spotted a group of Brown-headed Cowbirds feeding on the edge of a wet pumpkin field. Looking through them carefully I was thrilled to see a male Rusty Blackbird feeding with them! A moment later, they moved around enough to expose a female Rusty Blackbird as well. Not long after spotting her, a hunting Merlin flew over, flushing up all of the birds and ending our sighting. It was still one of the highlights of my year in the field.

That is the type of situation I would love to have recorded in detail by everyone in Connecticut. Trout Brook Valley, with its wet woodlands and farm fields, may be a regular migration or, as I am hoping, wintering site for the species. Twan and I will continue our surveys there year-round and find that out soon enough.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Public Bird Walk at Stratford Point

2011-10-26T12:38:00.000-04:00

Connecticut Audubon Society Conservation Biologist Twan Leenders and Conservation Technician Scott Kruitbosch will lead a public bird walk at Stratford Point on November 3rd from 9-11AM. We will take a look at what waterfowl have arrived, find lingering migrants and other birds that winter on the site, and we’ll discuss the exciting habitat management and conservation projects that are taking place at Stratford Point. The walk will be free and we suggest bringing binoculars and a spotting scope, if you have one.

Make sure to dress for the season! It is usually safe to assume that this exposed coastal spot is windier and colder than much of the state. Please meet in the visitor parking lot by the buildings. Stratford Point is located at 1207 Prospect Drive, Stratford. If weather conditions are not conducive we will move the walk to November 10 (same time & meeting place). Notification of cancellation will be posted on the CT-BIRDS listserve and the Connecticut Audubon Society website (www.ctaudubon.org). For more information, contact Scott Kruitbosch: skruitbosch AT ctaudubon.org

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

White-crowned Sparrow and more at Trout Brook Valley

2011-10-24T18:49:00.001-04:00

Here are some photos taken during survey work over the last week at the Trout Brook Valley Preserve, a part of the Aspetuck Land Trust. We will have an annoucement and more information on that work coming soon, but for now, enjoy this HD video of a White-crowned Sparrow plus some other beautiful birds Twan and I have recorded there.

Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Bluebird against the hills

Palm Warbler looking for a snack

"This pumpkin might be tasty!"

Record shot of a Vesper Sparrow, a Connecticut endangered species, and my first of the year

Big Sit 2011 results

2011-10-21T09:43:00.006-04:00

The Big Sit crew

Below is the Big Sit 2011 species list from Coastal Center Director Frank Gallo who wishes to thank everyone for their contributions. The weather was tough with it being such a hot (record high of 85F!) day, but the team was able to add three new species to the historic total from the count circle in Broad-winged Hawk, Yellow Warbler, and Black-and-white Warbler. 88 species were tallied plus 1 scoter species.

Milford Point marsh

Black-capped Chickadee - Frank says a flock of 21 Tufted Titmice and a Chickadee kept flying out to the end of Smith's Point, returning 20-30 minutes later to vanish off towards the Coastal Center only to return to try again an hour later

Male Northern Harrier over marsh

Thanks to observers Jim and Patrick Dugan, Tina Green, and Frank Mantlik, who were also joined for a short while by Denise Jernigan and Sarah Zagorski. Here is the full species list, seen from 4:20 a.m. to 7 p.m. on October 9th.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
American Wigeon (Anas americana)
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)
scoter sp. (Melanitta sp.)
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
Common Loon (Gavia immer)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Merlin (Falco columbarius).
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris)
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica)s
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus)
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca).
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
Red Knot (Calidris canutus)
Sanderling (Calidris alba)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)
White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis)
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
American Pipit (Anthus rubescens)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)
Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
Nelson's Sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni)
Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Scott Kruitbosch

Conservation Technician

Connecticut Audubon Society and Sacred Heart University receive grant from the Long Island Sound Futures Fund to restore Stratford Point coastal habitat

2011-10-19T16:35:00.004-04:00

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Dr. Mark Beekey and Dr. Jennifer Mattei of Sacred Heart University's Biology Department and the Environmental Systems Analysis and Management Graduate Program (ESAM) along with Dr. Twan Leenders, Conservation Biologist with the Connecticut Audubon Society are the recipients of a $54,854 grant from the Long Island Sound Futures Fund and the Environmental Protection Agency. The grant, which was announced by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Long Island Sound Study at a ceremony at the Peabody Museum in New Haven on Friday, will be used to develop a plan to restore coastal habitat at Stratford Point.

Stratford Point is located at the mouth of the Housatonic River Estuary and has historically supported a substantial coastal bluff, tidal marsh and a patchwork of dunes and coastal grassland habitat. In the early 1900s, the coastal bluff was removed and the tidal marsh was ditched and filled in during subsequent decades. Stratford Point became home to Remington Arms Gun Club in the early 1920s. The club operated a trap and skeet range there for 60 years until concerns over lead shot in the environment forced them to shut down. Accumulated lead shot in the upland and intertidal portions of the site was removed during large-scale remediation in 2000-2001, and small-scale spot removal of residual lead shot is ongoing in some sections of the site.

Dr. Twan Leenders, Conservation Biologist at Connecticut Audubon Society; Dr. Mark Beekey of Sacred Heart
University's Biology Department and the Environmental Systems Analysis and Management Graduate Program;
Jenny Gazerro, ESAM grad student; along with Robert Martinez, President of Connecticut Audubon Society
proudly display a check from Long Island Sound Futures Fund and the Environmental Protection Agency to be
used to develop a plan to restore coastal habitat at Stratford Point.

DuPont, the company that currently owns the site, placed a conservation restriction on the site in December 2001. This restriction is granted to the State of Connecticut's Department of Environmental Protection and describes the ultimate purpose of Stratford Point as a protected habitat management area and educational facility open to the general public. In 2008, the Connecticut Audubon Society (CAS) was appointed as the caretaker for the site. CAS also coordinates its statewide habitat management and conservation efforts from their Science & Conservation office located at Stratford Point.

Drs. Beekey, Mattei, and Leenders intend to address the cumulative effects of almost a century of anthropogenic habitat alteration by developing a plan to restore functional coastal grassland, dune and tidal marsh habitat to Stratford Point that will create a dynamic mosaic of coastal habitats. This will benefit the plants and animals that rely on the habitats and will stabilize the shoreline, Dr. Beekey said.

The project will begin with the development of a management plan to guide the restoration, he said. Development of the restoration plan will be supported by graduate students in the ESAM program. Jenny Gazerro, a current ESAM graduate student spent this past summer collecting baseline data that will be used to evaluate the success of future restoration activities.

The success of the project also depends on matching funding in the amount of nearly $62,000. The Nature Conservancy has already contributed $24,000 to the cause and the DuPont Corporation has provided significant material and financial support for the ongoing restoration efforts. Dr. Beekey notes that "this is a unique project that involves a corporation, a university and a non-profit organization working together to restore one of the State's most threatened habitats. It's an exciting opportunity for hands-on research and application for our graduate students," Dr. Beekey said.

He noted that the project also fits in with Sacred Heart's commitment to community service. "Through this project, students will not only receive a hands-on education, but will also have the opportunity to donate their time to an exciting and important restoration project."

Twan Leenders and Mark Beekey with Senator Richard Blumenthal who is a dedicated supporter of the
LISFF program and environmental protection in Connecticut

Posted by Twan Leenders, Conservation Biologist

Photographs by Tracy Deer-Mirek, Sacred Heart University

Hermit Thrush - foot quivering

2011-10-17T12:12:00.000-04:00

About a week ago, I saw my first-of-fall Hermit Thrush in my yard. It was right on time and is a bird I have certainly seen in the yard before, even in the middle of winter. What made the sighting notable at first was that it was only several feet from the house instead of only several feet from the edge of the woods. I grabbed my camera and ran over to the closest window to see what I could do with it.

The problem was that I was shooting through a window and a screen, and if I dared to open either I would be sure to scare it off. Beggars can't be choosers, right? Watch it below and observe the behavior as it quivers it feet, stomping one or the other on the ground while foraging for insects.

This intricate little dance was very funny to watch up close. However, it had scientific value as well. The Hermit Thrush account on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds site has this to say about it:

"Hermit Thrushes sometimes forage by “foot quivering,” where they shake bits of grass with their feet to get insects. They also typically begin to quiver their feet as they relax after seeing a flying predator. Some scientists think the quivering happens as the bird responds to conflicting impulses to resume foraging or continue taking cover."

That first line is exactly what you see in the video, and as you may also have noted, it was very effective as the bird captured several prey items while I watched it. What I can say for certain is at no time was it under threat from an aerial or terrestrial attacker. There were other songbirds around that were not agitated in the slightest. This behavior was maintained the entire time I watched (several minutes), first from a distance, then up close. I was so close that it would not have stayed there had it seen me, so I was not affecting it. I think it was nothing more than a crafty foraging behavior it utilized with great success.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Coastal Center canoes in New Haven Register

2011-10-14T00:14:00.000-04:00

Our Coastal Center Director Frank Gallo has been a man of the media lately! Here is a link to an article by Jim Shelton of the New Haven Register on Frank's popular family canoe trips through the marsh of Milford Point: http://newhavenregister.com/articles/2011/10/13/life/doc4e9614a411216505626554.txt

You can also see some video and photos at the link as well. Frank is the master of the marsh, and he will show you some amazing birds sometimes hidden among the beautiful vista. There can be more tucked away than meets the eye, and many birds may go unseen if not for the canoe trips. There are two trips left in October that you can still sign up for, so call the Coastal Center soon at 203-878-7440 x 502.

Sunday, October 16 at 1– 3:30 p.m. (foliage canoe)
Sunday, October 30 (Halloween Canoe) 1– 3:30 p.m.
Bring water and wear shoes that can get wet. Contact the Coastal Center for more information. Trip routes are subject to change due to weather. Wind may cause trips to be canceled, even on sunny days; please call 1-1.5 hours in advance for trip status. Advance registration required. Sign-up early for these popular tours!

Coastal Center Canoes
CAS Members $25/person, $65/canoe (3 people)
Non-members $35/person, $95/canoe (3people)

Private Canoe/Kayak
$19 CAS Members, $29 Non-members

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Frank Gallo on WTNH Connecticut Style

2011-10-12T14:27:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, as you may have seen live, our own Coastal Center Director Frank Gallo was on television on WTNH as he appeared for a Connecticut Style piece. The focus was on birds and bird song, with how difficult it can be to learn the many various songs of the hundreds of birds you can expect to see in Connecticut in a given year. Frank's lifelong experience with birds makes him the perfect teacher - and imitator - of bird song.

If you want to see the piece in full you can watch the video here on the WTNH website. Our thanks to WTNH! I know he had a lot of fun. Here are some of the classes Frank will be teaching at the Coastal Center in the next two months. There is something for everyone of every experience level, and I highly recommend taking them. Call Louise at the Coastal Center at 203-878-7440 x 502 to register for any of these programs.

Birding Programs
Birding for Beginners
Wednesday, Oct. 12, 7–9 p.m. (classroom)
Sat., Oct. 15, 9-11:30 a.m. (field trip)
Learn the basics for identifying birds on your own! During this fun and comprehensive hands-on course, longtime instructor and expert birder Frank Gallo will teach you ID skills as well as how to choose and use field guides and binoculars, and where to find birds locally. The course culminates with a field trip to a local birding “hot spot”. No experience is necessary. Bring the “Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Birds.” (Field guides are available for sale at the Coastal Center.) Meet at the Center at Milford Point. Fee: $75/person.

Birding By Ear – New!
Wednesday, October 19, 7 – 9 p.m.
Birdsong can be an incredible aid to finding and identifying birds. Instructor Frank Gallo, an avid student of birdsong, has created a challenging new program designed to give students practice with identifying similar sounding birds. Group participation is encouraged. Meet at the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point. Fee: $35.

Advanced Birding – New!
Tuesdays, Oct. 25 and November 1, 7- 9 p.m. (classroom)
Sat. November 5, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (field trip)
This course approaches more difficult identification challenges, including gulls, shorebirds, and terns. Other local experts will be encouraged to participate. The course culminates with a field trip to find birds at a local birding hot spot. Bring the Sibley or National Geographic Field Guides. (Field guides also for sale at the Center.) Meet at the Center. Fee: $105/person. The class meets at the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point.

Autumn Owl Prowl
Thursday, Nov. 3, 7:15– 9:15 p.m.
When the sun retreats, owls awaken to go in search of prey. Some say that owls are wise, others that they sparked legends of ghosts. Whatever the truth, a night near All Hallows Eve is a fine time to uncover the mysteries of these amazing nocturnal hunters. We’ll learn about a few of the species that co-exist in our area, and then carpool to a local park to try to call one in. It’s a hoot! Fee: $35/person.

Birding 101
Thursdays, November 10 and 17, 7 – 9 p.m. (2 nights in classroom)
Saturday, November 19, 9 a.m. – noon (field trip)
Discover bird watching with naturalist Frank Gallo. Frank leads bird tours worldwide and is a member of Connecticut’s Avian Rare Records Committee and a past president of the New Haven Bird Club. His enthusiastic hands-on style quickly teaches you the basics of identifying birds using field guides and observational skills. The course culminates with a field trip to find birds at a local birding hot spot. Bring the Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Birds. (Field guides also for sale in class.) Meet at the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point. Fee: $105

Birding Basics - New!
Tuesday, November 15, 6:30–9 p.m. (classroom)
If you are interested in birds but don’t know where to begin, this introductory course is for you. Learn the basics of bird identification, how to choose and use binoculars and field guides, and where to find birds in our area, during this fun hands-on course with expert birder Frank Gallo. No experience is necessary. Bring the Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Birds. Sibley’s Birding Basics is highly recommended. (Guides are available for sale at the Coastal Center.) Meet at the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point. Fee: $45

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Name that migrant answer

2011-10-11T08:09:00.003-04:00

So what was the answer to the photo in this post? Why this cool Blue-headed Vireo...

It was near the entrance to Stratford Point, only giving me an occasional glance from its safe place in the tree tops. A couple of Golden-crowned Kinglets were much more cooperative, as usual, coming to within arm's reach. However, being so close can make it tough to photograph them, especially when they're moving so quickly from branch to branch.

If you were unsure on that other bird, it was named a Yellow-rumped Warbler for an obvious reason. Both that and the Blue-headed Vireo certainly have names with origins we can readily understand as opposed to some other more complex explanations (Dark-eyed Junco anyone?) Check back here soon for HD video of a fall migrant who stopped by my house a few days ago, the first of the season for me. Here's a hint - it did a little dancing.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photo © Scott Kruitbosch

Boothe Park Hawk Watch 10/6

2011-10-09T10:04:00.002-04:00

The last week featured a few very good hawk watching days. You'll find all the details of the best day below, Thursday (10/6), one of the best days in the site's now three-year history. The "I" is me, the coordinator of the Boothe Park hawk watch site. I should also point out that this day brought us over 10,000 raptors for the season there in only, then, 69.25 hours of watching. If the site was regularly staffed, boy oh boy...

Day's Raptor Counts	BV	TV	OS	BE	NH	SS	CH	NG	RS	BW	RT	RL	GE	AK	ML	PG	UA	UB	UF	UE	UR	Total
Day's Raptor Counts	0	32	13	15	1	359	32	0	0	101	29	0	0	29	0	2	1	5	0	0	2	621

Observation Start Time	08:00:00
Observation End Time	16:30:00
Official Counter	Scott Kruitbosch
Observers	Bill Banks, Charlie Barnard, Lynn Jones
Weather	Beautiful again. Second day after the upper level low departed allowing the high to grace us with a NW flow, lighter than yesterday, perfect to push the birds to our hybrid site. Temperatures maxed out at 64 after a chilly start with dry air and a very clear sky. That made it tough but we still had one of the best days ever.
Observation Notes	Bill spotted 5 BLACK VULTURES we decided to call local birds as they lingered by the river and never came through. We had a mess of TUVU and RTHA that were dismissed as locals. BWHA were shockingly plentiful, with one kettle of about 25 birds! Most came by in small groups, many staying over the Housatonic and moving down along it. Nearly all of us saw every bird and they were frequently scrutinized with scopes to confirm that, yes, they were actually BWHA. It provided a few good laughs. We shattered yesterday's record SSHA day and set a new BAEA daily record, too. It was the second best day for COHA and AMKE.
Non-Raptor Notes	A ridiculously high number of YRWA broke the morning flight record, and since I was alone basically that whole time, many more likely flew by our site. Total number of birds was around 174 between those in the park (38) when I arrived before beginning the hawk watch and those that flew in during it (136). Southbound migrants included: Canada Goose 711 Common Loon 17 - wow! Double-crested Cormorant 61 Great Egret 1 RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD 1 - getting late Tree Swallow 78 Cedar Waxwing 24 Palm Warbler 6 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 136 Brown-headed Cowbird 12 Migrants in the park included: YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 1 Eastern Phoebe 2 Gray Catbird 1 Blackpoll Warbler 1 Palm Warbler 4 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 38 Black-throated Green Warbler 1 Chipping Sparrow 1 - FOF migrant Song Sparrow 3 White-throated Sparrow 3 Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 1 - FOF Notable other birds: 2 COMMON RAVEN at least as we frequently saw one or two harassing inbound raptors.

Besides some record raptor numbers I sure saw more Yellow-rumped Warblers than I ever had in one morning. The next day, Friday (10/7), featured two Northern Goshawks in a little over five minutes! You just never know what you're going to get here, and nearly anything is possible.

Here's hoping this is a yearly trend, with each year more eyes to the skies and more raptors and other wondrous birds dropping by. If I can be there on a semi-daily basis each September through November with some help we may end up having a third tremendous fall hawk watch site in Connecticut with its own unique profile. Boothe Park is what we call a hybrid site - not coastal, but not inland, able to capture many Broad-wings in September via strong northwest winds (that go no further than a few miles from the shore, like our site's position) and still get the other species that move to the coast while heading south in good numbers. Being on the Housatonic River helps a lot, especially with eagles and some songbird migrants.

There is still plenty of fall 2011 to go, from the Red-tailed Hawk and Turkey Vulture migration peak to blackbirds that will fly over with numbers in the tens of thousands. Last year we had two northeast record flights on November 1 tallying 249 Red-tailed Hawks and 190 Turkey Vultures. Considering that was of the few days we have been there in November in only year two, I think we have a chance at besting one of those soon enough.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Name that migrant

2011-10-07T21:21:00.000-04:00

Just what the title says - name that migrant! It is a relatively common bird in the middle of October. This photo was taken this afternoon at Stratford Point.

You can note it is a passerine, or songbird, but what is it? See if you can tell from this more realistic view, without binoculars or a big zoom lens to help you out. The tree and leaves should give you a general sense of the size. Even this view offers enough to identify the bird. I might have asked you to name this migrant...

...but that would be way too easy.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Techician

Eastern Gray Squirrel that isn't

2011-10-05T21:16:00.001-04:00

You know those "hmm" moments when something is not quite right? I had one while peering out my window the other day. Take a look at this squirrel...

We do not have American Red Squirrels in my town - though they aren't far, this is not one. We have Eastern Gray Squirrels, and nothing more. But this "gray" squirrel is clearly much closer to being a brown one. They can certainly have some brown in their fur, but this was above and beyond the norm. So what do you think is going on here? Connecticut has a bundle of odd squirrels that seem very popular and are sometimes a source of pride - do you have melanistic black ones? Or albinistic white ones? We have some of those, but definitely no brown ones. Or at least until now.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photo © Scott Kruitbosch

Wave action at Stratford Point

2011-10-03T09:24:00.000-04:00

Check out these waves crashing against Stratford Point in the HD video below from last week.

No, these are not from a hurricane, tropical storm, or nor'easter - it is the result of simply strong easterly winds near high tide. You can imagine how much worse this would have looked during Irene and many other major storms in the past few years, and that more days like this are in store for the future for all of the Connecticut coastline as sea levels rise and stronger storms become more frequent. All of these kinds of events go in to our habitat management and planning across the state.

Naturally, after I stopped shooting and watched the video on my camera and I turned my back to the water to keep the spray from hitting it more, a much larger wave crashed onshore and soaked me...

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Big Sit 2011

2011-10-01T17:38:00.000-04:00

Here is a message from Coastal Center Director Frank Gallo:

Sunday, Oct 9
This year our Connecticut “Big Sit!” champion team, the B.W. Surf Scopers, (Jim Dugan, Patrick Dugan, Frank Gallo, Tina Green, and Frank Mantlik) will defend, and attempt to break, their own Connecticut “Big Sit!” birding record--107 species seen from within a 17-foot circle. This international event, created by New Haven Bird Club, and sponsored by Bird Watchers Digest, will be held this Sunday, October 9, 2011, with teams competing worldwide. Our goal is to spot as many different species of birds as possible without leaving our seats! In 2010 the Surf Scopers placed third in the overall competition, besting 239 other teams representing 51 countries!

We need your help to make this event the best yet – support our record-breaking quest and the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center with a pledge. Every dollar you pledge will go directly to support the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point – truly one of the best birding destinations in the Northeast! Your donation is 100% tax deductible; the money is used to support our conservation and education efforts. Please click here for pledge form, or contact us at 203-878-7440 x 502. We appreciate your generous support. Thank you!

Check the blog in the week after the Big Sit to see the results.

Stratford Point panoramas

2011-09-29T19:09:00.000-04:00

Twan put together two fantastic panoramas of Stratford Point, both being Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene-inspired. The first is a ridiculously low tide that exposes all of the sandbars and sediment built up in the mouth of the Housatonic River. They are rising in height each year, and it will not be long before we start seeing some permanently exposed. Theoretically, this could be a great development for birds like terns, plovers, oystercatchers, and more that could rest, forage, or even nest on some.

This next photo is from around 8AM on August 29, the morning after Irene.

This was a couple hours after very low tide, -0.5 feet, but as you can see her storm surge was still pushing the water levels up and the tide was not that low. It was a memorable summer. I'll bet if we compare these photos to ones we will take next August and September we will see some major differences. Fall, winter, and spring storms await us...

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Great Stratford Bird Festival 2011

2011-09-28T09:58:00.000-04:00

This Friday through Sunday, September 30 to October 2, is the fourth annual Great Stratford Bird Festival. As the name says, the event takes place in Stratford and most of the activity will be based out of Connecticut Audubon Society's managed Stratford Point property at 1207 Prospect Drive. There will be boat trips on the Housatonic River, live raptor demonstrations, bird walks at Stratford Point and Great Meadows Marsh, hawk watching at Boothe Park (with me, and as the weather looks right now, with a ton of raptors!), bird banding, a dinner with Phil Donahue at the Beardsley Zoo, vendors at Stratford Point, and more.

If you have been looking for an excuse to come see one of the most wondrous properties in Connecticut or see Stratford and all of its birds this weekend is a great time. Many organizations have come together to put this event on with the town of Stratford and Connecticut Audubon Society, and you can check them out with more information on the festival here: http://www.greatmeadowsmarsh.org/

Click here for a PDF schedule of events for the three days so you can plan out a visit. We hope to see you there!

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Yellow-breasted Chat at Stratford Point

2011-09-26T21:24:00.002-04:00

Today was an exceptional day at Stratford Point. Migrants were everywhere on the site, and Twan and I were able to come up with a long list of notable passerines for the day, with the highlights being a rare Yellow-breasted Chat and Clay-colored Sparrow. Here are photos of the cooperative Yellow-breasted Chat and a short HD video of it.

They are known to hide in thick brush and tangles, maddening observers as they are so close yet so far from sight. However, we were able to work on this bird for a while, and it eventually showed itself very well considering the species. This morning Twan thought of finding a Clay-colored Sparrow as we enter the season for one, and a few hours later I did. This afternoon we discussed finding a Yellow-breasted Chat, and an hour later I said "Twan!" quietly but excitedly as we were walking and tallying birds left and right - he knew immediately what I had seen without another word. I was not that surprised, regardless of their rare status, considering how many birds were there. Here is the complete list of only passerine migrants for the afternoon at Stratford Point:

Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Eastern Phoebe 5
Red-eyed Vireo 1
House Wren 2
Swainson's Thrush 1
Gray Catbird 4
Blue-winged Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 7
Northern Parula 4
Magnolia Warbler 1
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 2
Palm Warbler 2
Pine Warbler 1
Prairie Warbler 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Clay-colored Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 7
Song Sparrow 3
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 1
Bobolink 6

Have you seen any exciting migrant groups or fantastic birds lately? It's been a fun couple of days, with my Sunday highlight being a Golden Eagle soaring past the Boothe Park hawk watch. If you have good bird stories from the last week, tell us about them!

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photos 1-2 & video © Scott Kruitbosch; photos 3-5 © Twan Leenders

Birds In Their Habitat this weekend

2011-09-23T10:48:00.000-04:00

Connecticut Audubon Society's Center in Fairfield is bringing together talented artists from around the country who specialize in avian art during its second annual Birds In Their Habitat juried artists’ exhibition and sale. This annual event is taking place September 23-25.

Twenty one artists working in a variety of media have been selected to display and sell their works. Jury selection of participating artists was based upon technique, execution, quality and uniqueness of work. The exhibition will illustrate that wildlife artists are committed to close observation and rendering fine artworks so that others may recognize the beauty of our natural world. Media includes: painting, photography, sculpture, printmaking, wood carving and fine art crafts.

In addition, Connecticut Audubon Society has selected Floyd Scholz as its 2011 “artist of the year.” A professional carver since 1983 and in his forty-first year of carving, Floyd Scholz is universally recognized as a top carver of birds in the world. His portrayal of eagles, hawks, owls and many other large birds has won him a large international following and many top awards at major shows throughout the country. When not in his studio, traveling and doing essential field studies of birds take up most of his time.

Here is a PDF file with information including the times this weekend, some of the artists, and more.