Spinning My Wheels

This weekend's birding was more like a series of unrelated events. My attempts at enjoying time outdoors seemed to be fragmented and lacking their usual natural flow. On Saturday, I took a walk with some Connecticut Audubon Members as they gave a tour of some of the properties they own in Wethersfield Meadows. Some of the people who joined the trip had binoculars but most didn't. It was okay to talk about birds on this walk but only to a certain extent. The main purpose of the trip was to give those who attended a history of the land parcels owned by the Connecticut Audubon. I pointed out a few birds to a some people who were interested but had to avoid being a distraction when the leaders of the trip were speaking. At one point I saw a Bald Eagle fly right over our heads but didn't say a word. It was an odd conflict of interest. I handed out a Hartford Audubon field trip schedule to 2 people who said they would like to get more involved with birding as a hobby. Birds seen on this walk included: Belted kingfisher, Bald Eagle, Great Blue heron, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Common Merganser, White-breasted Nuthatch, Tufted titmouse, and Red-tailed Hawk. There was one bird that was perched on a tall, dead tree that may have been a Pergrine but it was too distant to tell.


-------------------- click on play button to play gull video-----------------
On Sunday, I decided to search for Bald Eagles and other birds at stops along the lower Connecticut River. It was a beautiful sunny spring-like day on the drive down but it started to rain shortly after I arrived at Haddam Meadows. Species I saw there included one immature Bald Eagle and ten Common Goldeneye.

My next stop was at Chester Ferry. It was raining pretty good by the time I pulled in. I chatted a while with a friendly birder named Keith that I met there. He showed me a nice collection of bird photos including one of a Golden Eagle and another of a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. He is interested in attending some Hartford Audubon trips. We saw a Great Cormorant perched on a snag in the river but neither of us saw any eagles here, which is unusual. It must have been the weather.

I drove a little further down the road to Deep River landing. there I saw some Mute Swans, 1 Bald Eagle, and some gulls. The Ring-billed Gull in the video seemed to be trying to tell me something-like "Go Home-it's just not your day." On my way back, I stopped at my favorite breakfast place in Tylerville. At least I knew that I could be successful eating breakfast--or so I thought. Would you believe they closed down the restaurant for not paying their taxes!

On Sunday afternoon, the rain stopped and the sun came out. I headed out to Wangunk Meadows in Portland to make one last attempt to do some birding before the weekend was over. Of course there were 40 mile per hour winds to contend with and it started to snow soon after I arrived. As I started to walk along the river trail, I looked down and saw this jeep turned on its side. Fortunately, no one was in it. People like to go four wheeling in the meadows but it looks like someone took too wide of a turn.

I didn't see a lot of birds during my walk but I enjoyed getting out for some fresh air. There were a few American Tree Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, chickadees, and woodpeckers around. The last bird that I saw was a Northern Harrier hunting in the fields. It was kind of distant but I made an attempt at getting some video. I call this bad hawk cinema. Yes, this weekend seemed to have a strange feel to it. I'm looking forward to next weekend in hopes that I can spend more time in the field.

click on play button for Northern Harrier Video