A Charlie Brown Birding Moment-January Species Total- 56

I started birding this weekend on Saturday by participating in the Hartford Audubon Christmas Count on Saturday. It was originally scheduled for December but postponed due to snow. I was assigned a list of some new areas to try that were all new to me. Birding new areas always intrigues me but the combination of low temperatures and high wind made the birding conditions unpleasant. The highlights on this particular day included 2 Bald Eagles, Rough-legged Hawk, Brown Creeper, and Hairy Woodpecker. I saw all of these species near the ferry park area in Glastonbury. As I scanned my binoculars across the icy river, I spotted what appeared to be two chunky white geese in the water. I was excited because I thought they might possibly be a species that was new to me but they were quite distant. I hurried to my truck to get my scope and tripod. When I came back, the geese were just barely in view further down the river. I pointed the scope towards them and saw.....nothing. One of the lenses inside my eyepiece had come loose and I couldn't see a thing. That was the end of that. That's what I call a Charlie Brown moment.

I visited another cool spot called Addison Bog Preserve which was also in Glastonbury. It's strange that a black spruce bog would be hidden behind a condo complex. I counted 14 Golden-crowned Kinglets in the cedars along the trail. It also leads up to some power lines that offer some more birding opportunities. I didn't get a chance to check out the bog itself but plan to make another visit there in the spring.

I read about a few White-winged Crossbills showing up in places like Barkhamstead area and Hammonasset lately. Although I had my fingers crossed while visiting both those places, I didn't find any crossbills. The only things that were crossed were my eyes after staring at all those pine cones. I read an interesting article about where to look for White winged-Crossbills . It tells you which types of coniferous trees these birds prefer. It would be a lot of fun to find a White-winged Crossbill in an area where one has not yet been reported. No luck so far but if they stick around long enough I hope to find some eventually.

I took a trip to Hammonasset on Sunday which turned out to be another cold and windy day. At least the sun was out this time. There were quite a few gulls around...

.... including this Iceland Gull which had the attention of several birders. I saw 55 species my first weekend which doesn't seem to bad but I received a report that 69 species were seen on Hartford Audubon's New Year's Day trip. That's okay because I like to see how many I can find on my own before getting any help. Here's my list so far: Canada Goose, Mute Swan, American Black Duck, Mallard, Surf Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Ring-necked Pheasant, Red-throated Loon, Turkey vulture, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Dunlin, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Iceland Gull, Greater Black-backed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Great Horned Owl, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Common Raven, Horned Lark, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Carolina Wren, Golden-crowned kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Tree Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, House Finch, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, and House Sparrow.

I came across species number 56 today at a surprising location, the mall. As I was walking out of the mall, I heard what sounded like Cedar Waxwings. I figured that it was probably starlings which are much more likely to be seen at a mall and do make a sound that reminds me a bit of waxwings. I looked up in the top of a seven foot tree surrounded by a block of cement and there were six Cedar Waxwings. They were close enough that I could have touched them with my hand. Hopefully I can resolve my eyepiece problem quickly so I can get on with my list.

Here is a video of the Connecticut River as seen from Glastonbury on Saturday. Turn your volume down if you don't like the sound of wind blowing into a microphone.