Local Birds Are Like Veggies From Your Garden

My search continued this weekend for first of year birds to be appreciated but not to be listed. I decided to keep my birding activities local so I could work around necessary errands like getting my oil changed. Staying in town is by no means a compromise for me though. There's no need to drive half way across the state to find a house finch when there are dozens waiting at the local power lines.

 I know there's at least one Mallard at the Brownstone Quarry.

I can't find every Connecticut species in Portland. Some birds can only be found near the shoreline. Rare birds are only found by luck or are tracked down using information from the daily rare bird reports.

One of the surprises this January was that I didn't see my first American Robin until this weekend. Last January I saw thousands of them. On the other hand, I had great difficulty finding any Common Grackles or Red-winged Blackbirds. On Sunday, I saw a mix flock of several hundred passing through the area with some landing in a corn field to feed on toasted corn flakes.

One of the most fun and rewarding parts of January birding for me is searching my hometown for birds that fall somewhere in between Red-tailed Hawk and Northern Shrike.Those species that aren't considered rare but can be challenging to find.

During a 3 mile walk through Wangunk Meadows I was able to find American Kestrel, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and..............

 .....the ever-sneaky Brown Creeper (this a photo of one from earlier this year). 

 You can buy vegetables at the store or at a farm stand when they're in season but there's nothing like fresh-picked veggies from your own garden. I get that same sense of satisfaction when I find those hometown birdies!