Finishing Big January On My Own Terms

I went into this weekend needing just a handful of birds to pass the 100 mark that I reached last year. On Saturday I made a stop at Hammonnasset and ran into a group of birders that were in the midst of a Hartford Audubon field trip. It was so cold that the eye cups on my binoculars were freezing to the material on my ski mask. I saw some interesting birds during the short time I spent there. Birds included a Great-horned Owl a jumbo Cooper's Hawk with fluffed up feathers, American Pipits, Horned Lark, Cedar Waxwings, and Fox Sparrows. I was able to add the waxwings and Fox Sparrows, to my January total. After I left Hammo I was able to locate Monk Parakeets in Old Saybrook.

Sunday was not as cold as Saturday as the bright sunshine made it much more comfortable. For my final day, I chose to visit Pease Brook Wildlife Management Area, a place I had tried this past fall . The habitat consists of open fields, powerlines lined with cedars, and woods with a very shallow brook running through it. I thought that I would have a chance to find Brown Creeper, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Field Sparrows, Ruby-crowned kinglet and Eastern Towhee at this location.

I decided this was the place I was going to end my Big January whether I found the birds I was looking for or not. I was going to cover this area thoroughly and enjoy a beautiful winter morning observing birds and nature. I had enough driving around for the month so this was where I would make my final stand.

So I watched Eastern Bluebirds taking turns picking berries from the bush...........

.........and a Downy Woodpecker that was searching for food close to the ground.

I searched the cedars near the powerline carefully and caught a glimpse of a kinglet on one. If this was a Ruby-crowned kinglet on the branch, it would be a new January species for me. I raised the binoculars to my eyes and what I saw was--fog! My binocular lenses completely fogged up at the wrong time. The kinglet had moved on to another area but I think it was a golden anyway.

After I missed the kinglet, I found a Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers near the top of a tree and shortly after that a Brown Creeper at the base of a tree. This brought my total to 101 which was one more than my 2008 January total. Earlier in the month I had higher expectations but on the last day of January I was quite pleased to reach 101.

I kept on birding for a while after that. It was fun having the whole place to myself. There was no sign of any human footprints in the snow. I watched as chickadees, goldfinches, and bluebirds took turns sipping water from a stream. It was happy to be finished with Big January so that I could go back to watching birds for the simple reason that I like to.

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The list: Brant, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Gadwall, American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Mallard, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Common Eider, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Wild Turkey, Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Cormorant, American Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, American Coot, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Purple Sandpiper, Dunlin, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Glaucous Gull, Greater Black-backed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Monk Parakeet, Great Horned Owl, Belted kingfisher, Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Common Raven, Horned Lark, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Carolina Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, American Pipit, Cedar Waxwing, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Tree Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Lapland Longspur, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, House Finch, American Goldfinch, and House Sparrow.

Total Species 95 Thanks To A Rain Turkey

I was optimistic that I might reach 100 species by the end of weekend. My total was at 89 for the month and I only needed 11 more to reach my goal.

On Saturday, I attended a field trip that concentrated on finding gulls . I was surprised when a group of about 30 birders showed up. I was hoping to pick up a species or two and to learn a little bit more about gulls in the process. It's going to take me a long time before I become any better at gull identification because I can only take it in small doses. Nice weather, socializing with other birders, and a good field trip leader made the trip enjoyable. The trip took place at Windsor Landfill. We had a great view of a pair of Bald Eagles that were perched in a tree at the edge of the landfill. I was able to add Glaucous Gull to my January list. It was basically an all white gull with a black tipped bill which you can see even in this distant photo. I think it looks like Snoopy's head attached to a pair of gull wings. The white object might be a UFO-(unidentified flying ornithologist from another planet).

On Sunday, I went back to Hammonasset for another visit. There were dozens of Yellow-rumped Warblers throughout the park. They are nice to look at but they distract me from finding other birds. After a while I lose patience trying to check through every yellow-rump to see if another warbler is mixed in with the flock.

I knew that I wouldn't leave Hammonasset empty handed. I was able to add Black-bellied Plover (above), American Bittern, Common Eider, and Great Horned Owl. The owl was being mobbed mercilessly by a murder of Crows. It flew from one side of Willard's Island to the other several times. The Common Eiders were an interesting find. I passed several people who told me that a King Eider, which had been seen around Hammonasset since the summer, was being seen again at Meig's Point. I took a good look at it through my scope and was surprised at how much the plumage had changed since the summer. I remember the immature male being a very drab bird. The eider I was now seeing had some striking black and white markings, particularly in the face. I checked the field guide and something didn't seem right. It just didn't fit the description of a King Eider. It turned out that it was a Common Eider, not a King Eider. The female was swimming right along side him. Two other birders that were in the area confirmed my identification since I'd never seen a Common Eider before. I took today off hoping that I might get in a little local birding. Unfortunately, the forecast called for heavy rain for the entire day. I woke up early anyway, and was able to get 2 hours of birding in before the rain really started coming down. I took an early morning walk through Hurd Park hoping that I might come across a Brown Creeper. If a creeper made a sound from any direction within 50 feet of me I was ready for it. I gave myself a false alarm when the zipper from my vest made a jingling creeper-like sound. After an hour of walking through the rain soaked woods, I came up empty. Not a creeper was stirring, not even a titmouse.

-I decided to change my strategy. Instead of walking though the woods, I would drive past large open fields out in the country. I was sure that I would eventually come across a turkey if I drove past enough fields. I saw deer, crows, even pet Mallards, but not a single turkey.

I finally decided to give up and go back home defeated. When I returned, what did I find standing in the front yard of a nearby house? You guessed it! -number 95-Wild Turkey!

-Although, I didn't reach 100 this weekend, I still have another chance to reach my goal next weekend. My wish list includes: Ruby-crowned kinglet, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Field Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Brown Creeper and whatever might turn up.

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It was back in November that I was fortunate enough to discover a Red-headed Woodpecker in Northwest Park. He finally became number 90 on my January list this weekend after two failed attempts. He was a very popular woodpecker this weekend as a number of birders went to view him. It didn't seem to be bothered by the attention as it went about its business of searching for food in the top of a tree. I haven't been a able to get a decent photograph of the bird but did manage to capture a short video.

I Hope To Reach 100 Before I'm Out Of Gas

I knew that driving around the state for the entire day trying to add birds to your list can be exhausting but I decided that it would be best to give my max effort early on so that I could relax a little towards the end of the month. I'm at 89 species now and hope to exceed 100. It won't be easy but I should be able to slow my pace a little and select birding areas that are closer to home for the remainder of the month.
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The American Coot photo was taken at Birdseye Boat Ramp in Stratford this past Saturday. I spent the day at the western shoreline with a few other birders who are also working on their Big January lists.

One of our first stops was at Sherwood Island State Park. We spotted 3 Red-breasted Nuthatches upon entering the park. This Red-tailed Hawk was posing in a tree as we entered the beach area. Maybe it's compiling a people list for the month of January. We scanned the water and spotted numerous Long-tailed Ducks gathered together in the distance.

We saw a small flock of Boat-tailed Grackles gathered in a small urban park in Stratford. The female is easier to identify with its bronze coloring.

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The weather was terrific on Saturday. It was clear and sunny with temperatures in the upper 40's. You can't expect much better than that for a day in the middle of January in the state of Connecticut. I've been using Meopta Meostar 8x42 binoculars binoculars for over a month now. They've performed really well in the dismal weather conditions we've had during that time but it was great to finally use them on a cloudless day. We stopped at Long Beach and found a few Lapland Longspurs foraging for food in some vegetation along the bay side of the beach. There were also a few sparrows including this Savannah Sparrow. Some of the Savannah Sparrows at Long Beach are of the Ipswich variety.

The Great Cormorant like the one in this photo taken toward the end of the trip is the more common of the two cormorant species to be found in Connecticut during January. it has white showing near the base of the bill on the side of its face. We were also able to find 2 Double-crested Cormorants.

I didn't get home until dark on Saturday and by Sunday I needed a break from the hectic birding pace of the previous day. I took a ride to a place along the Farmington River where a male Harlequin Duck had been reported for several days in a row. After an hour of looking around we were finally able to locate the Harlequin Duck next to a Common Merganser. That was a nice addition to my January list and a lifer as well.

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Notice how this coot takes a quick break to do some preening before continuing on with its search for food. I hope everyone else is coming along well with their January lists. I'll look forward to reading your posts soon.