Shorebirder

About two months ago I flew to Houston, TX for a medical conference. Before flying home I took some time to get outside and see a few birds along the way. A few photos below. Mountain Plover Long-billed Curlew Common Pauraque Common Pauraque Northern Jacana "McCall's" Eastern Screech Owl Crimson-collared Grosbeak Crimson-collared Grosbeak Greater Roadrunner Chihuahuan Raven Audubon's Oriole White-tipped Dove Green Jay White-collared Seedeater Olive Sparrow Northern Cardinal  - NB

Late last summer I purchased a boat of my own, a 20-ft center console, that I have tentatively named "Ardenna." I say tentatively because there is no actual decal on the boat yet, and I reserve the right to change my mind at the last minute if I want to :) Boating has been in my family as long as I've been alive, so I have been boating and fishing western Long Island Sound for years now (we keep our boats in Norwalk Harbor). But now that I have one of my own, I have the freedom to spend more time birding from it. I can put it in the water earlier in spring, keep it in the water later into autumn, or even trailer it elsewhere if I'd like. Honestly, as far as actual pelagic birding goes, there probably isn't a worse place to keep a boat in New England than western Long Island Sound (we don't even get Wilson's Storm-Petrels on a regular basis). But the opportunity still exists to be out there in case something interesting shows up, like the time we chased t...

Hey, Stefan Martin just had a really nice few days of birding. On the 19th he and Danny Williams found a ROSS'S GOOSE at Seaside Park in Bridgeport. On the 21st he found a CALIFORNIA GULL at Hammonasset Beach SP in Madison. I saw both of these birds this afternoon...one somewhat expectedly, the other not. The Ross's Goose continues at Seaside Park, today on the triangular field at the far west end before it flew across the harbor to Black Rock. Ross's Goose This evening I stumbled across the California Gull, but not anywhere near Hammonasset. I relocated the bird at the West Haven boat ramp, a good 20 miles straight-line to the west from where it was last seen the evening before. Photos confirm this to be the same individual. first cycle California Gull  - NB

Here are some photos of the state's first CALIFORNIA GULL found by Stefan Martin at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, the current gull hotspot of Connecticut! Huuuge thanks to Stefan for what was simply an awesome find.  - NB

The annual spring plankton bloom (apparently mostly barnacle larvae) began here in Connecticut a couple weeks ago. This event, which takes place during March through mid-April with varying degrees of intensity, is a magnet for gulls and sometimes waterfowl. Along the rocky central and western CT coast of Long Island Sound the birds sit on the water’s surface and actively pick at the abundant larvae that surround them. I have yet to observe the larvae from a boat, but I have heard from others that the bloom can be impressively thick at times. Sometimes the birds are concentrated in tight flocks, while other times they are rather spread out. These flocks are very mobile and can move west-east or onshore-offshore in the blink of an eye. It is a very hit or miss type of birding. And if you do find the flocks, they may be too far offshore to study closely. But when you do “hit,” the gull show can be spectacular. With the recent closure of the last bulk-waste landfill in Connecticut, thi...