Shorebirder

Last year's CT Big Day effort would have been considered a success if our expectations had not been raised so greatly by our record-breaking 192 run in 2011. I took 2012 off, but was back last year and hoping for a new record. Instead, we came up with 186. Not quite the number we were hoping for, but it did tie the old record that stood for so many years, showing that our 2011 run was no fluke. Entering 2014, I had set aside over a week for scouting, so my expectations were high. Dave and Fran, the kings of the north, already had their basic route set from the past few years, so they didn't need as much time as in past years to feel comfortable with it. Patrick and Frank had a whole lot going on so their scouting time was more limited than expected, but somehow Frank managed to sneak out most days and cover some of our most productive coastal locations. My schedule flexibility allowed me to cover whatever ground the others could not get to, including the CT River Valley and m

Over the next year I'll be leading or co-leading a few overnight tours for Connecticut Audubon Society. I will keep links to these trips in the sidebar to the right. Join us for high quality birding, culture, and great fun! Nonmembers from anywhere in the world are welcome of course! BRAZIL'S PANTANAL October 2015 Journey to the Brazil’s Pantanal, the world’s largest freshwater wetland and the richest wildlife viewing in the Americas! Covering an area of 360,000 square miles, the Pantanal is a huge complex of aquatic and terrestrial environments resulting in an extremely rich fauna. The variety of birds is astounding, including the endangered and beautiful Hyacinth Macaw, the world’s largest parrot. The Pantanal is also a refuge for many threatened mammals like the Jaguar, Ocelot, Giant Anteater, and Giant River Otter! For reverse chronological postings from my 2010 trip to the Pantanal with CAS, click HERE .  - NB

Over the next year I'll be leading or co-leading a few overnight tours for Connecticut Audubon Society. I will keep links to these trips in the sidebar to the right. Join us for high quality birding, culture, and great fun! Nonmembers from anywhere in the world are welcome of course! BAXTER STATE PARK June 26-29, 2014 Enjoy an escape that takes you to clear mountain waters, lakes abundant with native trout, and the brightest star-filled nights you’ve ever seen—all in the beautiful woods of Maine. Visit the places where Frederic Church painted his landscapes of Mount Katahdin. Climb away from the busy world among the moose, carnivorous pitcher plants and sundew, orchids, and birds unique to this northern habitat. Northern species such as Bicknell’s Thrush, Three-toed Woodpecker, Black-backed Woodpecker, Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee and Spruce Grouse are the targets. Breeding warblers may top 20 species, including the stunning Bay-breasted, Magnolia, and Wilson's. For

Feb 5 - at sea, heading west After six different islands in six straight days we spent all of today cruising back west towards our final port-of-call before arrival back in Fort Lauderdale, most of it without any land in sight. We did some on-and-off seawatching throughout the day, not expecting much given our experience in these waters the week before when we were heading in the opposite direction. Even though we had few birds again, we were treated to some great quality. The day began the same way yesterday ended, with an adult RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD. Like the other two tropicbirds of the trip thus far, this one was also distant and not interested in the ship. Red-billed Tropicbird Things were quiet after breakfast until mid-morning when we had a brief flurry of activity. The following is copied from my eBird report: "While scanning off the port side of the 10th deck I spotted distant a high arcing seabird that was about to cross the bow from left to right. Runnin

Feb 4 - St. Maarten Today was our sixth consecutive day of island birding, making those first two full days at sea seem like a distant memory. On St. Maarten, given what we had already seen elsewhere, we had just one major target here: Caribbean Coot. However, the validity of this species has been called into question for some time now, and further research may reveal it to be conspecific with our American Coot. Time will tell. Anyway, we spent most of our time on the French (North) half of the island because it is less developed, thus birdier, than the Dutch half. We hit several patches of habitat throughout the day, never lingering at any one site for very long. Most stops had water, either tidal or ponds. Highlights included our best looks at CARIBBEAN ELAENIAS and trip list-padding flocks of shorebirds and ducks. Some of the better shorbs and ducks were Whimbrel, "Western" Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, WHITE-CHEEKED PINTAIL, Ring-n

Today is May 1st but you couldn't tell by the lack of foliage and warblers, thanks to lackluster migration conditions throughout much of the east over the past few weeks. However starting as soon as tonight we should start to see a big change, and the next few days should bring many new arrivals to southern New England. Migration is about to kick into high gear. Enjoy it.  - NB