Saturday, January 13, 2007

Summary for Saturday 1/13-Sunday 1/14/07.

The entire weekend weather can be summed up as damp, drizzly and in the 40's. Saturday I headed out to the eastern shoreline area between Old Lyme and Stonington. With the help of six veteran birders, I was able to add three birds to my January list.: RED-THROATED LOON(lifer), COMMON GOLDENEYE (The James Bond Duck), and GREEN-WINGED TEAL.
Sunday I headed out on my own to Vibert Road in South Windsor and met a few friendly birders along the way. I along , within three others, tried to locate a Northern Shrike with no luck. I learned that it was later located by others. While at Vibert Road I was able to add COOPER'S HAWK, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD and SWAMP SPARROW to the January total while I was there. I then took a ride to ST. Patrick's Cemetery to search for a LARK SPARROW reported on the rare bird report. With a little patience we were able to locate the bird toward the back of the cemetery. Five of us were able to get excellent close-up views using a scope. The last stop was at a private residence in Somers Connecticut to see a RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD. I ran in to Judy who led the Salmon River Christmas Count in my area this year. We both had a brief view of the Hummingbird. We were not able to see much detail or color. It was amazing to think that a Hummingbird is still around in the middle of January. I am still about twenty species short of ninety birds but have two weeks to go.

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