Shorebirder

Yesterday afternoon's birding along the eastern CT shore was rather slow, but a detour to view a red Eastern Screech Owl on private property was quite nice. Also of note, the "Black" Brant continues in Waterford. Eastern Screech Owl - NB

First off, if reading that subject line makes you think of this guy , you're not alone. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you're a better person than I... For something like the fourth winter in a row, an Ivory Gull has appeared in the northeastern US. These recent records include Massachusetts (3), Rhode Island (2), New Hampshire (1), New York (1), and New Jersey (1). But there's one coastal state that has been skipped...Connecticut! The recent discovery of yet another adult, this one in Georgia, combined with all the recent adult records makes one realize that things are not going well for the species in the high arctic. Not that we need circumstantial evidence to see this, because a decline has been well documented . But it starts to hit home when you see the effects first-hand. These birds are likely starving and roaming around in search of food. It's no surprise that they only settle into specific areas when food (fish/bird carcasses) is located. adul...

"Black" Brant ( Branta bernicla nigricans ), Harkness State Park, Waterford CT The past year has been a very good one for unusual Brant in CT. Back in April CT's first "Black" Brant was discovered in Stratford, followed by two possible "Gray-bellied" Brant in Norwalk in the fall. While searching the eastern CT shoreline for Ivory Gull yesterday I had a few nice birds highlighted by a striking "Black" Brant ( B. b. nigricans ) that was keeping company with about 70 typical "Atlantic" Brant at Harkness SP in Waterford. First picked up in flight among ~20 Brant, its blackish belly was obvious. It then put down on the water where its white necklace and darker upperparts were seen well. After much time in the water it decided to feed on the lawn, giving fantastic scope views. Phil Rusch, also out looking nearby for IVGU, came over to have a look. Really a sharp-looking bird. An equally surprising find (given the focus on gulls) was a r...

In addition to yesterday's MEW GULL and THAYER'S GULL , James and I had some other interesting birds on the North Shore. We started off the day at Salisbury Beach State Park with really nothing much to mention. We spent very little time looking for the Sage Thrasher and weren't lucky enough to turn it up though it was seen by others later in the day. Then onto Plum Island where James spotted a Rough-legged Hawk and then a Snowy Owl flying in from the west being harassed by a crow. We had satisfying scope views as we watched the high-flying owl cross Plum Island Sound and drop into the marsh. While on the ground the owl did some curious head-bobbing and seemed on high alert as it looked in all directions. We were anticipating perhaps a pellet regurg or another flight but nothing more developed before we left. At Plum we also had an American Pipit fly by just overhead, Snow Buntings, Horned Larks, a Lapland Longspur and an "Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow. Off Lot 1 were...

As mentioned in the prior MEW GULL post, James P. Smith and I teamed up for a day on the North Shore, culminating with an afternoon of gulling at Niles Pond in East Gloucester. After not too long we located a classic juvenile THAYER'S GULL on the darker end of the spectrum. Your typical scope view of the gulls at Niles Pond. An arrow points to the Thayer's. Darkish mask, dark bill with paling at the base. A hint here of the silvery-white underside of the primaries. Dark-centered tertials and dark brown primaries with thin pale fringes. Though we didn't capture any open-wing shots, the bird had a classic Thayer's wing pattern above and below: "Venetian blind" effect on the outer primaries from above, and a silvery-white underside of the flight feathers with thin dark edges to outer primary tips as in this photo by Jeff Poklen . All scapulars appeared to be juvenile feathers. All in all, a rather straightforward Thayer's Gull (if such a thing exists). - N...

adult MEW GULL Yesterday afternoon James P. Smith and I headed northeast for a day's birding along the North Shore of Massachusetts. Our entire afternoon was spent at Niles Pond in East Gloucester, which is a freshwater pond right along the ocean shore that attracts awesome numbers of large gulls, especially when the pond is partially frozen. While the numbers at any one time are impressive enough, there is constant turnover with new birds coming from the ocean and old birds filtering towards the harbor after a bathe and a rest at the pond. It's quite a sight. I'll spare the narrative and other highlights (incl THAYER'S) for a later post, but long story short our best bird of the day was one of the last. An adult MEW GULL appeared out of nowhere on the ice among the throngs of large gulls very late in the afternoon. Apologies for the poor images, for which we'll blame the fading light, snow showers, and wind :) All photos are digiscoped and entirely unalter...

Just back from a quick run to nearby Durham to see the Sandhill Crane found yesterday by Joanne Luppi. Too close to home to pass up! - Nick

[UPDATE 1/21] Refer to the comments below for updates to this bird, which appears to fall within the range of pure LBBG. [UPDATE 1/19] So far I have only heard from one experienced birder; he feels that the bird is most likely LBBGxHEGU and that GBBGxHEGU is pretty much out of the question. I'll post further updates if I hear anything else. [ORIGINAL POST] A stop at the Pig Farm in Waterford, CT on my way east yesterday yielded a few hundred gulls, one of which was an interesting first cycle bird. The sighting was all too brief, but I was able to get a few photos and then observe the bird in flight. A few dozen gulls were lined up on a large boulder, all facing me. The bird of interest caught my eye because of its coarsely marked underparts, unlike the uniform muddy brown underparts of your typical first cycle smithsonianus Herring Gull. A closer look revealed a bird the size of a medium-large American Herring Gull with longish legs. Its bill was rather stout and jet black with may...

Well, so much for that. Already packed, I'm glad I just checked the latest weather reports, which included the following statements about the next 7+ days in SoCal and southwest: " Most of SoCal will see 3-6 inches at lower elevations, with perhaps triple that amount in favored areas." "Since the models are in such truly remarkable agreement, however, and because of the extremely high potential impact of such an event, it's worth mentioning ." " In short, the next 2-3 weeks (at least) are likely to be more active across California than any other 2-3 week period in recent memory. The potential exists for a dangerous flood scenario to arise at some point during this interval, especially with the possibility of a heavy rain-on-snow event during late week 2. In some parts of Southern California, a whole season's worth of rain could fall over the course of 5-10 days. This is likely to be a rather memorable event. Stay tuned." Now THAT is ba...

Tomorrow I leave for 9 days of fun in the southwest. I'll be renting a car and driving my way from San Diego to the Salton Sea through Yuma to Tuscon and lastly southeast AZ. I've been looking forward to this trip for a while, but the current forecast is actually calling for a large and lengthy rain/snow storm in the southwest...just my luck. Even if the weather sucks I'll make the best of it, take some photos, and post my highlights here! My goal for this trip isn't just to tick and run. Instead, I plan to relax and just bird my way along the route, studying rather than ticking. Of course I'd be glad to tick rarities such as Red-throated Pipit and Rufous-backed Robin, but that's not my focus. In addition to birds I'm looking forward to whatever interesting animals and plants I may encounter. Should be a good time! - Nick

A few more quick hits from the past several days, as I snuck out for some birding between studying, the big exam, and interviews. Jan 8: Glastonbury Meadows - Vesper Sparrow Vesper at left, Savannah at right Jan 13: Farmington River - Harlequin Duck...an exceptional inland find by Sarah Johnston low-light shot of the Harley Jan 14: Hammonasset SP - imm male King Eider, 4 Fox Sparrows King Eider Fox Sparrow adult Sharp-shinned Hawk on a starling - NB