Shorebirder

UPDATE: Phil Rusch just emailed me with news that a flock of 8 White Pelicans was seen in Providence at 1:00pm today. With the weather already deteriorating by then, it's likely that they weren't able to leave Rhode Island. There's a decent chance that these birds fly through CT tomorrow on their way to warmer climes. ORIGINAL POST: Yesterday a flock of 6-7 White Pelicans were reported from coastal Maine, and a few days before that a flock of about a dozen were seen in New Jersey. Everyone else in New England should be on the lookout, especially for those Maine birds, which should be heading south, particularly with winds out of the north for the next couple days. I've only seen one White Pelican in New England, a near-frozen bird in Rhode Island that I believe kicked the bucket soon after I saw it. (Come to think of it, I never actually saw it move while I was watching it....) Anyway, I'd love to catch up with one in CT, but that's easier said than done. Althou...

As of today, I have finished the Physician Assistant program at the Yale School of Medicine after 2+ years! Done with school, forever. At 26, it's been a long time coming! I'll spend the next several weeks studying for the national boards, which I'll take in mid-January. Once I get the results and all the paperwork goes through, I should begin practicing as a PA sometime around March 1st. Hard to believe, but I do feel ready. In the meantime...I'll be on my own schedule with studying, so that should mean a good deal of birding ahead... - Nick

While birding Hammonasset State Park in Madison, CT back on 11/17 I located 2-3 Baltimore Orioles (or so I thought) including an adult male (actually found by Kim) and two apparent young birds. The birds weren't especially cooperative on this breezy afternoon, with the young birds being seen for only a couple seconds each. The adult male was seen for a couple of minutes hanging out at the tops of a pine and a cedar, but at the time I did not notice anything odd about the bird. Fast forward to last Sunday 11/29 when I returned to Hammo. Again walking the campground for rare passerines I came across the orioles again in the same spot. I estimated at least 3, maybe 4 birds including the adult male once again. I got a quick look at one of the young birds that had a pale belly and what appeared to be a pale supercilium, which piqued my interest. Unfortunately I couldn't relocate the birds and decided to move on for the time being. I soon ran into Mark Szantyr who was photographing (...

Today's cooler, blustery conditions combined with the appearance of an Ivory Gull in Cape May got me thinking more about the upcoming gull season and reflecting on last year's. The 2008-09 gulling in the northeast was pretty damn good and included a few really exciting birds. The season started out with a bang exactly one year ago today with CT's first Slaty-backed Gull . On 12/12 an adult Thayer's Gull put in a brief appearance at the Windsor-Bloomfield Landfill, CT's premier gull hotspot, followed by a first-winter bird on 12/23. A Black-headed Gull spent the winter in New Haven Harbor. Perhaps 'gull of the year' was a subadult Glaucous-winged Gull in Rochester, NH, found by Scott Young...a first record for New England. Meanwhile Gloucester, MA was once again the gull capital of New England. I happened to already be up in Boston when news of an adult Ivory Gull broke on 1/17. I still get chills thinking about that weekend. Of course there were plenty ...

Yesterday morning, before the family dinner, I took advantage of the dead-calm conditions and took the boat out of Norwalk for the last time this season. Fishing was slow thanks to a weak tide, but waterfowl are clearly increasing out there. Highlights in CT waters included a large flock of 1300 White-winged Scoter, 52 Long-tailed Duck, and several of each loon. NY waters held a westward adult Northern Gannet and 2 adult Bonaparte's Gulls. It was a spectacular morning out there...it's going to be a long wait until the boat goes back in next spring. WW Scoters WW Scoter part of the scoter flock Long-tailed Ducks On the other hand, now I can put my full focus back on birding, especially once I finish school next week! - Nick

Home sweet home! My first visit to the Windsor-Bloomfield Landfill of this gull season was uneventful as compared to last year's first visit . In fact, it really was last year's early Slaty-back that motivated me to make an earlier visit this year. However this time the only bird of note was an adult Lesser Black-backed. I can even say pretty confidently that there we no weird Herring Gulls that made me scratch my head. Still looking forward to that first white-winged gull of the season. Lesser Black-backed Gull The highlight of a 11/18 walk through the campground at Hammo was a flock of 3 Baltimore Orioles. Only one of the birds, an adult male, was in view for very long. Baltimore Oriole And here's a nice shot of Manhattan from Long Island Sound just behind the Norwalk Islands, taken at sunset after an afternoon of jigging bass and blues in the sound with Larry Flynn. - NB

A trip to Hammonasset Beach SP in Madison on 11/10 yielded the continuing Western Kingbird. This bird arrived at Hammo without a tail, but the bird quickly replaced its rectrices. By the time I saw it on this visit, its tail was really starting to take form. Western Kingbird American Bittern Lapland Longspur - NB