Save That Ravine For Windy Days

Temperatures are starting to improve but winds ruin that. Birds are more difficult to find on windy days and birding is certainly a less pleasant experience. Rather than skipping out on birding altogether, I try to find a sheltered area. 

There is a small ravine park right down the road from me. The protection from high banks on both sides of the path makes it a great place to visit on windy days. The wind is practically non-existent here!
Instead of running for cover, birds like this beautiful male cardinal were out singing their spring songs.Blue Jays aren't the most popular birds because they come across as brash and rude to some but if you had never seen one before you might be impressed by their tailored suits.I took a closer look at a Dark-eyed Junco which will soon be on their way until next winter. I was able to hear a few new spring arrivals including Pine Warbler, Palm Warblers, and Eastern Towhees but these new arrivals were still a bit shy.

If you want to get out in nature on a windy day, just look for some well protected woods!

American Robins Weren't Always This plentiful

The American Robin is the state bird of Connecticut. Early settlers named it a robin because it had a similar red breast to the robins in Europe but the American Robin is actually a thrush, while the European robins are actually related to flycatchers. It used to be said  they were a sign of spring but they have become increasingly plentiful in the winter over the last 50 years -(They tend to eat berries more during the winter while the ground is  frozen).  

During winter bird counts in the 70's they might have tallied up 1000 total robins in Connecticut but now they are recorded by the tens of thousands. Their numbers were also affected in the past by the use of the insecticide DDT but since it was banned, the population of robins has greatly increased. There are tons of robins now but I'm not complaining (except when they declare war on your car). They are a sharp looking bird!
 

Perch Power & Snowy Egrets Don't Like Snow

I took a short ride along the shore last weekend and spied a white bird perched on top of a post that didn't look like one of the gulls. When you're looking for birds, finding a good perching area is always a good thing. Dead branches, chain-link fences and piers along the water are all spots where you may have luck seeing a nice bird out in the open.

There's a little bit of irony when it comes to naming this bird a Snowy Egret (black bill/yellow feet). You're not likely to see Snowy Egrets around where there's snow unless they get caught unexpectedly in a storm. More mild weather conditions suit them better. Then again there's always the possibility of a rebel in the bunch. The Beautiful Snowy Egrets were nearly extinct because in the 1800's women used the egret's plumes to decorate their hats. Teddy Roosevelt opened the first federal bird reservation at Pelican Island, Florida in 1903 which helped protect them from extinction. Now their populations are doing just fine.

First Ten Pre-dawn Bird Walk

I was feeling a little restless pre-dawn energy at 5:30 this morning. I was anxious to do some birding today but seeing that it was still dark and in the 20's temperature-wise, so I decided to take a brisk walk around the block to start the day.

Just as I was getting started, I heard turkeys gobbling off in the distance so I decided to keep track of the birds I heard along the way. The turkey was the first bird of the day, along with a rooster but I'm only counting the wild ones. The next birds that I heard were robins, and they were singing all over the place. 

(photos are older ones as it was too dark to take them, except for the first one which came at 6:30am).

Number 3 was the cardinal. You can hear their whistle from a mile away.

In 4th position was the more subtle whistle of the Tufted Titmouse.

Here is the complete list of pre-dawn birds in order:

1) Wild Turkey

2)Northern Cardinal

3)Tufted Titmouse

4)Song Sparrow

5)Mouring Dove

6)American Crow

7)Carolina Wren

8)Blue Jay

9) Red-winged Blackbird

10)American Goldfinch