The 4th of July Birding Challenge

Gray Catbird

Last week, June 29th, an email came through on the CTBird email list about a challenge - the 4th of July Birding Challenge.

Eastern Kingbird

The 'rules' are simple - any common bird name that has 'American' or a state name in it as well as a state's bird counts and of course, the Bald Eagle!  So birds like: American Crow, Tennessee Warbler, and Brown Pelican (state bird of Louisiana) count.  For complete list and more details, go to http://www.thermalbirding.com/2013/06/4th-of-july-birding-challenge/.

Song Sparrow

So I figure I would give this challenge a hand by birding over at Nonnewaug High School.  I chose Nonnewaug for a few reasons - it's close, I like birding there, has a variety of habitats, and I have not been there in a while. So off I went.

Butterfly sp?

I had planned on doing my usual loop - lower athletic field then over the foot bridge to the field where the garden is.  However,  nothing beyond the footbridge had been mowed and since I saw one tick on me already (I had put DEET spray on), I did not want to take any chances so I did not go to the other field.  Darn - and that is where I tend to see warblers too.  Oh well.

So, here's what I saw/heard:

Damselfly sp?

Eastern Bluebird (male), Turkey Vulture, Red-Tailed Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Kingbird, Blue Jay (3), American crow, Tufted Titmouse (2), White-Breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, American Robin, Gray Catbird (9), Cedar Waxwing (4), Chipping Sparrow (3), Song Sparrow (3), Northern Cardinal (2 - m/f), American Goldfinch (5), House Sparrow (3)

 So now, here's the species that count towards the Challenge:

Coyote (?) Scat

American Crow, American Robin, and American Goldfinch because they have 'American' in their names and the following state birds: American Robin (CT, MI, WI), Northern Cardinal (IL, IN, KY, NC, OH, VI, WV), and the Eastern Bluebird (MO, NY).

So of the 19 birds I saw, 5 qualify for the Challenge or 26% of the species I saw/heard.  I was surprised not see see a Mockingbird or Black-Capped Chickadee which would have counted as state birds which I have seen at Nonnewaug in the past.

 So my question is this:  Do I bird Nonnewaug again next year or find another place to take the Challenge?  Decisions, decisions, decisions.

DATA:  10:40am-12:21pm; 79F/82F; partly cloudy; breeze; humid

Orioles

If you are a baseball fan, you might already be familiar with the Baltimore Oriole.  But there are other orioles besides the Baltimore that can be found in the United States - the Streak-backed, Bullock's, Hooded, Orchard, Altamira, Spot-breasted, Scott's, and Audubon's.However, only the Baltimore and Orchard are found eat of the Mississippi River (Sibley, 2000).  Of the two, the Baltimore is considered to be fairly common in Connecticut and the Orchard uncommon (Hanisek, 2008).

According to Hanisek (2008), the Baltimore Oriole breeds in Connecticut from late May to early July where as the Orchard Oriole breeds here in June.  From this it is easy to see why the Orchard is less common - the Baltimore Oriole gets here sooner, establishes territory sooner, and nests and breeds sooner causing the Orchard Oriole to be out competed for resources in open woods where both are found.

So here are two pictures - the Baltimore Oriole on the left and the Orchard Oriole on the right.  I need to point out that the Baltimore Oriole (May 27, 2013) was photographed in very good lighting where as the Orchard Oriole (June 2, 2013) was photographed in dim light.  Both were about the same distance away from me, but you can see just how dark the Orchard Oriole is compared to the Baltimore Oriole.  The Orchard is more of a reddish/brown/rust and not the bright orange of the Baltimore Oriole.

Baltimore Oriole

Orchard Oriole

Sources

 Hanisek, Greg. "Connecticut Birds by the Season." The Connecticut Warbler 25.1 (2008): 12+. Print.

 Sibley, David. The Sibley Guide to Birds. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. Print.

May 27, 2013 - Memorial Day Loop

Red-Shouldered being chased

Flicker

Last year on Memorial Day, I did about a 7 mile loop in Woodbury as I was working on my Hometown Big Year.  So even though I am not doing a Big Year, I thought it would be good to repeat the loop and see what's out there.


Basically, the loop was from my house down Cat Swamp Road to Tuttle Road to Trolley Bed Road then back to Route 64 to Old Sherman Road to Bacon Pond Road to Ash Swamp Road to Middle Road Turnpike then home.

Mockingbird

Hawk and Red-Winged Blackbird

The highlights were:  Red-Shouldered Hawk being chased by Red-Winged Blackbirds, a Broad-Winged Hawk, Eastern Kingbird, and a Prairie Warbler (heard that ascending buzz).  In all, I saw 35 species.

Turkey Vulture

Northern Oriole

SPECIES:  Canada Goose (6), Wood Duck (male), Turkey, Turkey Vulture (2), Red-Shouldered Hawk, Broad-Winged Hawk, Mourning Dove (7), Chimney Swift, Red-Bellied Woodpecker (2), Hairy Woodpecker (2), Northern Flicker, Eastern Phoebe (4), Eastern Kingbird, Blue Jay (3), American Crow (6), Tree Swallow (4), Barn Swallow, Black-Capped Chickadee (3), Tufted Titmouse (4), Eastern Bluebird (male), American Robin (6), Gray Catbird (7), Northern Mockingbird, European Starling (2), Yellow Warbler (2), Prairie Warbler, American Redstart (2), Chipping Sparrow (2), Song Sparrow (3), Northern Cardinal (female), Northern (Baltimore) Oriole (male), and Red-Winged Blackbird (7)

Oriole

Turkey Vulture

DATA:  9:14 am - 1:30pm; 54F/64F; clear; sunny; slight breeze; low humidity

May 18, 2013 - The Chimney Swift

This is the second year now that I have been helping Shannon Kearney-McGee, of the Connecticut State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (click the link to access information on Chimney Swifts) to monitor, count, Chimney Swifts roosting in the chimney at the Mitchell School here in Woodbury, CT.
 
Most birding books describe Chimney Swifts as lookign like flying cigars, and after watchign them for two years now, it's a pretty good description.  Watching them flying and maneuvering to catch insects, as well as circling around the chimney, reminds me of World War II fighter planes - like the P-51 Mustang.  

 Last night, I counted, in 5-minute intervals, 144 Chimney Swifts going into the chimney to roost for the night - 98 in one 5-minute interval!  The swifts begin to circle the chimney about 15 minutes before sunset and increase in numbers closer to sunset.  Then about an half hour after sunset, they start to "fall" into the chimney for the night. To see a video I made last year of the swifts, click here.
 
 Besides the swifts, I also saw a Common Nighthawk - it was showing the same erratic behavior of the swifts but was much larger.  So I grabbed my binoculars and as it flew by I was able to see the swept-back wings and the white bars in the middle of the wings - Nighthawk for sure!

 DATA:  7:46-8:46pm; 67F; cloudy; slight breeze

April 30, 2013 - Jamaica Bay, New York

Butterfly House

Empire State Building

Since I was going to pick up my grand daughter at JFK Airport, I figured I would also do some birding at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. 



My only other time there was on April 7, 1979 on a field trip for my Bird Identification course I was taking at the University of Bridgeport.

Mute Swan

Canada Goose

I walked the trail around the West Pond going as far as teh brreach made by Hurricane Sandy, turned around, back tracked, and then went through the North and South Garden areas back to the Visitor's Center.  Also, because of the breach, the West Pond has become brackish.

Forester's Tern (white body)

Prickly Pear Cactus

 I had forgotten that you can see the New York City skyline from Jamaica Bay and even saw the new WTC Tower going up as well as the Empire State Building.

Tree Swallow

Snowy Egret (note yellow feet)

 I had also forgotten how Jamaica Bay is better known for shore birds than passerines (perching birds) which would explain the numbers that I saw of some species

.

 SPECIES:

Tree Swallow

New World Trade Center Tower

 Brant (295), Canada Goose (14), Mute Swan (5), Mallard (3), Shoveler (6), Great Egret (4), Snowy Egret (5), Glossy Ibis (3), Osprey (2), Herring Gull (8), Great Black-Backed Gull, Forster's Tern (3), Mourning Dove, Crow, Tree Swallow (30), Robin (7), Mockingbird (2), Brown Thrasher (2), Yellow Warbler (2), Red-Winged Blackbird (4), Common Grackle (3)



 
 DATA:

Glossy Ibis

Northern Shoveler

   64F; Sunny; Partly Cloudy, Light Breezes; 12:23 - 3:04 pm

Mute Swan

Yellow Warbler (male)

Yellow Warbler (male)

April 27, 2013 - Birding with the Western Connecticut Bird Club

Great-Horned Owl

Osprey

Ten members of the Western Connecticut Bird Club went birding around Southbury.  With April coming to an end, it was hopeful that we would see arriving migrants such as warblers, for example.  However, the places we went to were very quiet and not much action was seen.  Oh well - that's birding.

The highlights of the day had to be a nesting Great Horned Owl, a Winter Wren, a Broad-Winged Hawk for birds and Trout Lily, Trillium, and Ramp for plants.

Woodpecker Holes

Ramps

STOP #1:  River Road
SPECIES: Great Horned Owl chick, Fish crow, and Belted Kingfisher.
DATA:      8:25-8:45 am; 41F; Clear; Calm


STOP #2:  Janie Pierce Park (the Blue Trail)

Trillium

SPECIES: Titmouse (4), Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher (2), Belted Kingfisher, Red-Winged Blackbirds,                   Canada Goose (2), Downy Woodpecker, Mute Swan, Black Duck, Wood Duck (4 - 2 pairs), Chickadees, Osprey,

Fern Fiddle-heads

Yellow-Rumped Warbler (2), Robin (2), Red-Shouldered
Hawk (2), White-Breasted Nuthatch.
DATA:       9:00-11:00am; 45-60F; clear; little breeze now and then

Trout Lily

Trillium Closeup

STOP #3:  Platt Farm/Park (up to the pond and back)
SPECIES: Red-Shouldered Hawk, Tree Swallows (4), Cardinal, Winter Wren (heard), Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Phoebe, Canada Goose (2), Broad-Winged Hawk
DATA:       11:19-12:10pm; 67F; clear; breeze now and then

Mute Swan

Tree

Saturday April 20 , 2013 - Where Did The Water Go?

Being Saturday, it is usually the day I take recycles and trash to the Transfer Station here in Woodbury.  Last year (see April 7, 2012 of my Hometown Big Year blog) I found out that in the wetlands behind the Transfer Station was a Great Blue Heron rookery (saw 11 herons on April 7) which can be seen best from the upper level area where leaves and discarded trees are placed.  So, today I decided to take a look.

Knowing that Sandy probably did some damage to the area I wanted to see the extent of any damage.

When I got there, not only was there tree damage but also the water level was down!  Whether the change in water level was due to the possible breaking up of the beaver dam that is there or activity by O & G, I do not know.  However, I will send an email to the Town and see if they know anything.

So, here is a comparison from April 7, 2012 to today, April 20, 2013.

April 20, 2013

April 7, 2013

April 7, 2013

April 20, 2013

April 7, 2013

April 20, 2013