Shorebirder

It's that time of year again! I made my first landfill visit of the season yesterday, and despite low numbers overall (~250 large gulls present at any given time) there was a nice flurry of at least 4 first-winter Iceland Gulls. One darkish bird, one very white bird (not around long enough to photograph), and at least two in between. #1, the darkest #1 #2 #2 #3 #3 There appears to be an above-average number of first-cycle Iceland Gulls around so far this year, so perhaps this will bode well for a fun gull season.  - NB

Yesterday morning I escaped from work for a bit to check out Crook Horn Road in Southbury, CT. Back in the day, before the expansion of athletic fields, this location was one of the best places in the state to find sparrows during autumn. That's going way back, before my birding time, so I was never able to experience that. However the place can still be somewhat productive around the edges of those playing fields. I was only able to spend about 30 minutes before being called back into work, but in that time turned up a few FOX SPARROWS in the thickets among the many White-throats. "Red" Fox Sparrow Maybe I'll be able to get back there before the season is completely over.  - NB

This is a long-overdue post (I have a LOT of catching-up to do...maybe a winter project). Back on August 17th I was birding Griswold Point in Old Lyme, CT and was lucky enough to have a juvenile "Eastern" Willet associating with a juvenile "Western" Willet - a side-by-side that isn't often seen so well in Connecticut. On Western (at rear), note paler upperpart coloration, less contrast between scapulars and wing coverts (less-heavily marked upperparts overall), and subtly more elongated rear-end. On Western (left), note larger size and longer, thinner bill. "Western" Willet is a lankier bird overall, while "Eastern" is more compact. another bill and size comparison Later on the "Western" Willet broke off to feed a bit closer to where I was standing: juv "Western" Willet juv "Western" Willet (Semipalmated Plovers in foreground)  - NB

On Sunday, Nov 3rd, friend Frank Mantlik emailed a set of photos to a few folks for ID help. The bird in question was a late Archilochus hummingbird visiting a private residence in Fairfield, CT. Upon viewing the photos I almost fell off my couch. A quick email reply was followed by texts and calls to Frank and others to tell them that I felt this was probably a Black-chinned Hummingbird pending further study, a species not yet (until now) recorded in Connecticut. They all had the same feeling, and before we knew it, we were headed straight to Fairfield. By the time we arrived we were all expecting to see a BCHU, especially since the bird in question was still there per the extremely gracious homeowner. We were all happy and relieved when the bird flew in, confirming its identity as we studied it while it fed and perched in front of us. Awesome bird, awesome weather, awesome people, and some fine celebratory drinks afterwards! A very good day - one I was needing after going most ...

It's been a long time since I've posted anything and that's mainly because I haven't been out. Taking some time off from the blog thing too, obviously, but soon enough I'll get back into it. Hoping to get out tomorrow, at least for some hawkwatching at Lighthouse. Thanks for reading and being patient.  - NB

Last Sunday's pelagic out of Hatteras, NC was most notable for its Black-capped Petrel show, plus one intriguing unidentified bird. First, the Black-caps were spectacular. Dominated heavily by "dark-faced" birds (only a couple classic "white-faced" were seen all day), this species was in nearly constant attendance in the deep blue water of the Gulf Stream, making far more close passes than usual. I don't care how many of these anyone has seen before - a show like the one we enjoyed is always awe-inspiring. Black-capped Petrel (dark-faced) Black-capped Petrel (dark-faced) Black-capped Petrel (dark-faced) Black-capped Petrel (white-faced) Cory's Shearwaters, represented by both borealis and diomedea subspecies, were rather abundant. Cory's Shearwater ( borealis ) Cory's Shearwater ( diomedea AKA Scopoli's Shearwater) One particular Calonectris shearwater stood out from the rest. I spotted this bird from a m...

As we have now entered the peak of the hawk migration season along the east coast, there may be no better time to review the latest entry into Richard Crossley’s “ID Guide” series. This one is entitled “The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors” and is authored by Crossley, Jerry Liguori, and Brian Sullivan. Just like his other recent works, this is a photographic guide that places as much an emphasis on GISS (General Impression, Size, and Shape) as it does on plumage features. For more detail on this style, you can check out my review of his “Eastern Birds” effort. After a very brief Introduction (5 pages), this book is divided into two segments: Plates and Species Accounts. Plates: The Plates, just like in Crossley’s “Eastern Birds”, consist of several photos set against a natural landscape background (that particular species’ preferred habitat). The authors generally do a nice job of depicting all angles of each age, sex, or color morph of every species. The more variable a s...