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Showing posts from September, 2011

A brief interlude

Just back from a last-minute birding trip to CA. In the near future I'll have a trip report for that, plus three book reviews I'm working on: "Multimedia Identification Guide to North Atlantic Seabirds: Storm-petrels & Bulwer's Petrel," "The Birds of New Jersey," and "Antarctic Wildlife: A Visitor's Guide." So stay tuned for those. In the meantime I have an article on Hurricane Irene to co-author with Scott Kruitbosch for the October issue of COA 's "The Connecticut Warbler," a very busy stretch at work, and some personal stuff to tend to...so don't expect much here for at least another week or so. - NB

ALASKA, June 2012

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To anyone who has wanted to bird (or just see!) Alaska but hasn't gotten around to it yet, I will be co-leading a tour next June with John Puschock for Connecticut Audubon Society. It promises to be a stellar tour, including a St. Paul extension! Click to enlarge each page of the brochure below to view the details. - Nick

Sept 3 - 27(!) shorebird species in CT

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[Note: Click to enlarge photos, as usual. Blogger is undergoing a formatting change and there are clearly issues to work out. Thumbnails of photos are showing as very soft, for whatever reason.] On Saturday I set out to challenge my personal best record of 21 shorebird species seen in one day in Connecticut (set twice; once with both Willet forms, so potential for 22 someday) . With a couple lingering rarities at Milford Pt coinciding with the typical peak of diversity in the state, I thought there was a decent chance to beat it. I try to do this once or twice per summer - once in late July when diversity is lower but rarity potential (i.e. stints) is high, and once in late Aug/early Sept when diversity is at its peak. My previous 21-species days were Aug 30, 2008 and Aug 21, 2009. Phil Rusch joined me for most of the day. We started just after sunrise at Griswold Pt in Old Lyme where the tide was middle falling. Plenty of birds were around, actively feeding along the shoreline as the

Last-minute: Fantasy Football

If you're a birder, and you want to play fantasy football this year... Let me know ASAP. We're putting together a fantasy football league last-minute. Our draft is TOMORROW, Tuesday 9/6 @ 5:45pm Eastern time. The baseball league has been a lot of fun. A very active league. We just started playoffs today and I"ll post the results at the end of the season, for all three of you who care.  - NB

Irene update #5

I must admit, I thought I was pretty much done with the Irene updates. But her effects continue to be felt in CT and surroundings. This evening brought a great combo of birds from Milford Pt, located at the mouth of the Housatonic River. Gull-billed Tern, Brown Pelican, American Avocet, and the continuing Black-necked Stilt were all enjoyed by many birders, I'm told. Of special note, a Magnificent Frigatebird was reported this afternoon from the Connecticut River in Hanover, New Hampshire. If that bird follows the river southward, that would of course bring it through the state of Connecticut. Fingers crossed! Otherwise, the past couple days have been highlighted by a couple moribund White-tailed Tropicbirds from the interior northeast and several Brown Pelicans kicking around the southern New England and Long Island coasts. Terns continue to linger, notably Royal, Sandwich, and Gull-billed. Perhaps increased birder coverage this weekend will yield even more storm-related rar