Shorebirder

I had a stretch of free time last week and aimed to spend one entire day at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, CT. This is arguably the best all-around birding location in the state. After several days of "blocking weather" (= weather not conducive to migration), back-to-back cold fronts were forecast to pass through the region on Oct 1st and 2nd. Sandwiched between the two fronts were very light north winds (essentially calm at the surface) and cloudy skies on the night of the 1st into the 2nd. Friday the 2nd seemed as good a day as any to try this: migration conditions seemed halfway decent, and a cloudy, cool, dreary day would keep this popular park mostly free of visitors. I arrived at 5:10am for some predawn owling, railing, and NFC (Nocturnal Flight Call) listening. Upon opening the car door, I was greeted by the sounds of passerines calling overhead. The good migration conditions, low ceiling, and lack of wind helped create an ideal scenario for hearing nocturnal...

This past weekend I spent both mornings monitoring Morning Flight at the north tip of Willard's Island inside Hammonasset Beach State Park. On the heels of a strong cold front, birds would be moving. The flights were reasonably productive relative to other regional Morning Flight locations, so I have hope that this site will prove to be a reliable location to observe this phenomenon to some degree when the weather is right. Time will tell. Saturday (9/19) was the better day. From 630-930am, 420 individual warblers flew out the north tip of Willard's (2.33 birds/minute). Twelve species of warbler flew out, the best being one CONNECTICUT WARBLER. Northern Parula was the most common warbler. Forty-six Flickers were on the move too.  It was a slow but steady movement throughout the entire time period. Nearly all birds seen were solely in flight, as I positioned myself too far from the trees/shrubs to see birds there. Identifications were made from a combination of field views and ...

Bluff Point State Park in Groton, CT is well-established as one of the best places in the region to observe "Morning Flight" of passerines during autumn migration. Discovered years ago by Dave Provencher, Dave and other eastern CT birders monitor the site each year and log thousands of songbirds as they funnel out the northwest corner of the park after each cold front. During the first few hours of daylight, these birds  "reorient" into the wind after their night's migration, moving back into preferred habitat after being pushed offshore by northwest winds overnight. I usually visit Bluff only once or twice per season because it is a bit of a haul for me at just over an hour's drive. I have half-heartedly been trying to find a closer Morning Flight spot over the last several years without much consistent success. I've dabbled with a handful of spots along the coast between New Haven and Madison. A couple have been total duds, and a couple others have bee...

In recent years, thanks to good old fashioned field work, Tim Spahr of Massachusetts has developed a knack for finding Connecticut Warblers in southern New England during autumn migration. He is kind enough to share his secrets with us here. Thank you, Tim! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright Tim Spahr Finding Connecticut Warblers in Fall Migration by Tim Spahr Connecticut Warblers are sought-after species due their shy and retiring nature, elusiveness, and overall rarity. Northeastern United States birders are fortunate to get a shot at these birds during the fall migration period, as they often stop in our area to refuel ahead of their long, overwater flight to South America. The sheer difficulty of locating one of these gems in migration can also make finding one a satisfying conclusion to any fall birding outing. Copyright Tim Spahr General information: Connecticut Warblers breed from Western Quebec westward across the b...

Advanced travel planning in 2020 has been a bit of a lost cause for obvious reasons, so I have been eager to pounce on whatever reasonably safe opportunities have presented themselves for getting the %&$# out of Connecticut. This past weekend's hot, humid and dry weather inspired a long weekend on Cape Cod with friends. Shorebird migration should be in full swing, and seabird activity had been picking up at Race Point...hopes were high for a birdy weekend, and that's exactly what we got! Dave Provencher and I departed CT very early on Friday  (7/24) morning as we drove to Chatham with kayaks mounted on the car. We would attempt to kayak out to the South Beach/Monomoy complex in search of shorebirds and terns. We knew that this would pose a challenge, as the landscape out here has changed drastically since South Beach breached during a storm in 2013, making the waters extremely difficult to navigate. We paddled out of Morris Island on the low tide and were met with large ex...

Last weekend was spiced up by Tropical Storm Fay, a weak cyclone by tropical standards, that made landfall in southern New Jersey after a quick run up the coast from North Carolina. Given the brevity of the storm's track over open ocean, not much entrainment was expected, but you never really know with these systems...they are ALWAYS worth birding [safely]. Here in coastal CT we were expecting an 8-12 hour window of 30mph east winds during the evening and night of the 10th. When that magic number of 30mph is reached, it seems to greatly increase the chances of something pelagic being blown into Long Island Sound. Several birders spent the early morning of the 11th (Saturday) sound-watching along the CT coast. The eastern Sound delivered with a few GREAT SHEARWATERS from land in the first 90 minutes of daylight. They were generally seen flying east, back towards the open ocean. A mid-morning ferry ride across the eastern sound yielded nothing of interest - clearly those few shearw...

The weather on Long Island Sound was looking good yesterday, save for some PM thunderstorms that were likely to pop up. A friend of mine had been eager to get on the Sound for some fishing, so we took advantage of the opportunity to get out there. We traveled eastward about 20 miles from New Haven to the best local Black Sea Bass grounds, and sure enough the fishing was hot. We boated five species (Black Sea Bass, Porgy, Northern Sea Robin, Striped Sea Robin, and Smooth Dogfish), saving some for a future dinner. Mid-morning we received word that there might be a TEREK SANDPIPER at Napatree Point in Rhode Island, right near the CT state line. Napatree Point is a long sand spit that separates Little Narragansett Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. While waiting for confirmation, we weighed our options. My fishing pal was keen on chasing down such a mega rare shorebird. We were only about 35 miles from Napatree, so rather than boating back west to New Haven and then driving east to Rhode Is...