FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER - Stamford, CT



Was very glad to get a wake-up call from Patrick Dugan this morning to inform me that Tina Green had found a FORK-TAILED FLYCATCHER at Cove Island Park in Stamford, CT.

"%$#@! On my way."
[hang up]










Fork-tailed Flycatcher - likely first-year male?

Hopefully some closer, sharper photos will be taken so that we can definitively ID the bird to age/sex, even subspecies if possible in non-adult-males.

- NB

Comments

  1. NedNovember 17, 2010 at 1:33 PM

    Beautiful photographs of a fine bird! Thanks for sharing, Ned Brinkley

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nick BonomoNovember 17, 2010 at 1:48 PM

    Thanks Ned. Digiscoped from a distance. There were some photogs with heavy gear there who will get much better stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousNovember 17, 2010 at 4:35 PM

    Nice pics Nick. I just steal mine from AJ - should have seen the ones I took. At least with this bird no matter how bad they are you can still tell what it is ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownNovember 17, 2010 at 9:05 PM

    Well done Nick! Nice photos Glad many of us got to see this beautiful bird.
    Hopefully others will get the chance tomorrow. http://kymry.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Warblers in Flight: A Photographic Collection

While active migration has always been my favorite bird behavior to observe, my interest in the phenomenon called “morning flight” of nocturnal migrants had been minimal due to the unfortunate reality that I lived well over an hour’s drive from the nearest known reliable observation site, Bluff Point State Park in Groton, CT. In autumn 2020, thanks to improved public access to Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, CT, I began to explore the northern tip of Willard’s Island as a morning flight viewpoint and was pleased to find that under the right conditions a reliable flight could be observed there. The volume of birds passing through is not large (a small fraction of what passes through Bluff Point), but the flight line is consistent and can be observed under good lighting conditions. Between autumns 2020-22 I visited the site 20 times in total and recorded 27 warbler species in morning flight. All but a few of these have been photographed, often poorly! I immediately found mysel...
Read more

Iceland in April

Image
April is an exciting time for the nature enthusiast to visit Iceland. While the weather can still be quite cold and snowy, winter's grip is loosening and signs of spring abound. Several minutes of daylight are gained each day, but there is still enough nighttime darkness to observe the aurora borealis through at least mid-month. It turns out that early spring is also an excellent time for whale watching, particularly if you are keen to find Orcas. Spring migrants are beginning to arrive, including flocks of European Golden Plovers and the first Atlantic Puffins of the year. Given all that, it made sense to consider a long weekend visit to Iceland in mid-April, especially since it is a direct 5-6 hour flight from the northeast USA. Known appropriately as an expensive destination to visit, costs can be considerably reduced by hiring a campervan. Being a super popular mode of transport + lodging in Iceland, there are plenty of companies to choose from. During this shoulder season, I r...
Read more

Western Willet vs. Eastern Willet

Image
While birding Sandy Pt on Saturday afternoon, a juvenile Western Willet was present among five or so juvenile Eastern Willets (the local adult Easterns seem to have departed). I was able to grab a few decent images of both subspecies. Separation of Western ( inornatus ) from Eastern ( semipalmatus ) Willet is something that is being attempted more and more lately, and it is very doable especially when both subspecies are present side-by-side. Someday these two subspecies may be split into full species, so it would be outstanding to get a head start on identifying every Willet we see. Western Willet: - longer-legged, larger size, and more lanky overall - longer, thinner bill (especially the tip) - paler than Eastern; juveniles appear grayish - less contrast between scapulars and wing coverts than Eastern (does not apply to adults) Note the long legs, size much larger than the adjacent Greater Yellowlegs, bill shape, grayish coloration, and the degree of contrast between the scaps and co...
Read more