January Quest For Birds To Keep Off The List

Over the years there has been much gnashing of teeth from birders who are passionately for against competitive listing of birds. I've always found the drama involved with those sort of discussions humorous. I've decided to take a stand on this topic that only a politician would be proud of. I will be observe as many species of birds as possible in the month of January but I will not put them on a list!

I started my search at Hammonasset (above). I made 2 visits to there in with my most challenging January finds being Marsh Wren, Killdeer, and Purple Sandpiper. There were tons of Horned Grebe and Red-breasted Mergansers around too. This photo was taken on my second visit which was a bitterly cold and windy morning. I didn't last long that day and started  believing that the phrase Red in the morning-sailors take warning might have some truth to it. 

The very first bird that I saw this year was a Dark-eyed Junco.

Bluebirds plentiful in Connecticut these days, even in the winter. I found this one at Haddam Meadows State Park. There's been a shrike reported at that park which seems to have a talent for avoiding being seen by me. I've probably seen about 70 species so far but it's difficult to tell since I'm not counting them. 

Celebrating the variety of birds that you can see in the cold month of January is a great way to kick off the new year. I will give a summary of my sightings at the end of the month.