Norwalk Islands, 3/09

-Longitail ducks starting to change into summer plumage-

Yesterday (03/09/10), Larry Flynn invited Dennis Varza and myself on his boat to both check out the feeding habits (what they are eating, where they were eating, and finding what they are eating) and numbers of gulls, and to survey the wildlife around the Norwalk Islands. The Norwalk Islands are made up of something like 25 small bodies of land in a several mile stretch from the far eastern end of Westport into Norwalk. The islands range from big enough to have a quite decent sized summer home with several trees and some docks on it.... to some that seem like just rocks or small beaches. It is an amazing stretch of landscape, especially on a gorgeous day like we had.

Temps when we docked back in were in the mid 50's, somewhere in the low 40's when we left. The sun was glaring (Larry and I got a slight facial sun burn... you're right! It does feel good!) We got out going around 10:30am, and docked right around 1:45pm. The wind was very calm, though picked up a bit by the time we were done. The Sound was nice and calm and visibility was also good.

All added together = A great day to be out!

I'm not familiar with the name of the Islands themselves, but I do know we covered 22.1 (right, Larry?) nautical miles, and saw a lot of water and island shoreline. We also cruised past the Maritime Aquarium up the river to the sewage treatment plant, where were found out ONLY SHOREBIRD of the entire 3 hour trip in the form of a Killdeer call. I only heard it, I'm not sure if the guys saw him.

Notable birds seen include a fly-by Red-necked Grebe Larry snared as it moved through, A tight ball of (6) Northern Pintails in a super busy waterfowl area (I had them in the binocs too, and over-looked them!!) and Dennis was able to recognize the body shape and flying patterns, a 1st winter Iceland Gull Dennis found mid-air among a bunch of Herrings, a single Peregrine Falcon, and a single American Kestrel. At least I found the Falcons!!

We were out during low tide, and this isn't my specialty at all, but the recent plankton feeding gulls were not plankton feeding as intensely, or really at all, as they do during the high tides at a full moon. There were a big number of gulls, but the vast majority were along the shores of the islands, or (thanks to Dennis for this info) scraping the low-tide submerged rocks for food. Dennis and Larry mentioned something about the large number of gulls could possibly be them waiting out until the next high-tide with a full moon. Gull Numbers, as compiled by Dennis, are as follows:

Ring-billed Gull: 38

Herring Gull: 1600

Greater Black-backed Gull: 22

Iceland Gull: 1 (1st winter)

I was the trips compiler for the trip, and here are my numbers for our whole trip. Dennis' thing is the gulls, and I have really just started my gulls this winter, (I'm a songbird and Raptor guy) so we established in the beginning that he'd keep the gull count.

Brant: 135

Canada Goose: 37

Mute Swan: 4

Gadwall: 1

American Wigeon: 13

American Black Duck: 62

Mallard: 44

Northern Pintail: 6

Greater Scaup: 3

White-winged Scoter: 5 (instead of 5,000...)

Long-tailed Duck: 152 (some really changing into summer plumage)

Bufflehead: 98

Common Goldeneye: 110

Red-breasted Merganser: 237

Red-throated Loon: 5

Common Loon: 5 (one showing a bit or breeding plumage)

Red-Necked Grebe: 1

Great Cormorant: 17

Turkey Vulture: 1

American Kestrel: 1

Peregrine Falcon: 1

American Coot: 1*

Killdeer: 1

Iceland Gull: 1 (1st winter)

American Crow: 2

Fish Crow: 25

* The Coot is a resident at the marina there, and Larry tells me he is unable to leave for whatever reason.*

In addition to the birds, we had at least (10) Harbor seals, and at least (2) Gray seals. I say at least, because sometimes the scuttle off before you get close enough to count the whole group, or a head will pop up randomly without giving time to give an ID. We did have two or three unidentified seal species as well.

Below are some photos I took on that nice day. Some better than others, like always, but there are a few that give good comparisons at the differences between seal species. Some are cropped, and I had the ISO on my camera on auto (AAARRRGGG!!), but I hope you enjoy:

-BIG male Gray seal (left) barking at two Harbors (right, and head poking out of water on the far right) who got juust a bit too close.-

-Two Great Cormorants taking off of one of the many boulders in the Norwalk Islands area. Long Island is visible in the background-

-The mid-day sun shining on the wake of Larry's boat-

-The same big poppa Gray seal. Notice the longer face, big eyes, and somewhat ugly face of the Gray-

-Two Harbor seals enjoying the sun. Notice the shorter face, with smaller eyes and a puppy dog/'cute' face.-

-A club/pod (is that what a group of seals are called?) of eight Harbor seals.-

I'd like the thank Larry, again, for inviting me out on his boat on such a nice WINTER day. Spring hasn't started yet! =)

-Brian-

Penfield Reef, 03/05/10-

I managed to wade through the water to get to the end of Penfield Reef to watch the Harbor seals out there.... and maybe a Gray (not yet...).

Waterfowl numbers were great, with 900+ Goldeneye (including a single female BARROW'S), about 600+ Greater Scaup (pulled 2 Lesser... probably more), 500+ Brant, 90+ Long-tailed Ducks, and 13 Horned Grebes. Other birds were a 1st winter Lesser Black-backed Gull, an adult Iceland Gull (I think Alex Burdo had one here very recently), 3 Great Cormorants, 3 Common Loons and a single Red-throated Loon.

At the end of the reef were 6 Harbor seals, 3 of which didn't haul up until I was back on the beach. I did manage some photos. The ducks were too far for my 300mm lens, and I don't have a point and shoot yet for my scope, so you guys will just have to settle for a couple seals and some other Brian-likey photos.

There is one neat series of a Great Black-backed gull trying to (and eventually succeeding) in gulping down a nice flounder:

-Brian-

A quick round-about this morning....

I was without a car all day Sunday, and Monday, due to a blowout that happened on Saturday night. This was after my windshield began growing a root from the lower-left corner after being hit by a rock kicker up by an SUV. Soooo... today, I put some time aside this morning to check a few spots and watch some really neat birds. It was a great day outside, but I only had time for stop and jump out, and 'car-birding'.

It also wasn't overwhelmingly birdy out there, so I added a couple random nature shots I took this morning. The one below, being one of them. It is the stand alone Birch on the north side of the marsh behind the warehouses in the Great Meadows Marsh in Stratford.

('Stand-Alone'-Birch Tree)

My first stop was to look for the 'western' subspecies of the Willet that has been hanging out on the Stratford/Bridgeport, border at a body of water called Johnson's Creek. Johnson's Creek is a river/brook/creek that eventually runs into Lewis's Gut, then eventually into Long Island Sound (right??). The tide was rising, which eliminated most of my chances at seeing him closer up on the mudflats, but I did manage to find him tuckered down at the very end of a pier down the creek at a marina. The bird is often on top of the piers and ramps.

Unfortunately, my camera lens is only so big... and my photography skills are only so good... that I missed out on a photo. I did manage to snag a few shots of a pair of adult Red-tailed Hawks interacting and.. maybe courting?? It was clear that it was a pair because one was certainly larger, and they were both adults. I was under the impression that adult Red-tail (and other raptors or birds.. and whatever, really) females were bigger than the males. I know this to be true in accipiters.

Other birds seen at Johnson's Creek was the same chatty female Belted Kingfisher that was present during my last visit, 11 Hooded Mergansers, and a single male Boat-tailed Grackle calling in a tree on the est side of the creek. Moved from tree to tree a bit, probably because of the crows and gulls everywhere.

(Pair of adult Red-tailed Hawks)

My next stop, which is on the loop (hence the 'round-about'), was the marshes and trees behind the warehouses at the end of Long Beach Blvd in Stratford, which is a part of the Great Meadow Marsh. It was very dead there... including whatever a female Harrier was eating on the ground when I arrived. She flew away, prey in talons, and flew in a bit of a circle... towards Long Beach in Stratford, then back around across the water (the end of where Johnson's Creek is) towards Bridgeport and out of sight. VERY shortly after she vanished into industry, a pumpkin-orange breasted juvenile Harrier appeared out of the sunbeams in the trees across the marsh, and flew towards Long Beach and the extensive marshes across from Sikorsky Airport in Stratford.

I got awful photos of both, and on the juvenile I was able to see the pale bar across the 'back shoulders' of the bird. They were almost as orange as the front of the bird. Perhaps the 9:00m sunlight enhanced the colors, but it looked so cool either way.

Other than nothing, the pool there behind the warehouses had 3 male Boat-tailed Grackles int the reeds in the back of it.

Next on the route is sometimes the pools on either side of the intersection of Access Rd. and Lordship Blvd in Stratford. One of which is usually referred to as the Access Pool. In the pool on the south side there were 4 Hooded Mergansers and a small flock of Black Ducks. This doesn't sound like a big deal, but as I drove along the Blvd, EVERY little pool had Hoodies and Blacks in it. I found myself creating a long line of cars behind me as I was hoping for something else too!!

On deck was Long Beach in Stratford, where a 2nd cycle Glaucous Gull has been found (for the 2nd winter in a row). As soon as I pulled in I noticed the amount of gulls, and amount of heavy machinery. The job has begun to demo the cottages at the end of Long Beach West in Stratford. Nonetheless, I had a nice conversation with one of the workers, and they allowed me to scoot on past a bit to scope out the gulls on the other side of the jetty where the Glaucous usually is seen. Sure enough, about 1/4 of the way down, there he was!! A big boy too! A Bobcat-type machine spooked him and he flew to 'his' Jetty, and was near a Brant. I never new Brant were that small!!

Again, my photos of this big flash of white were quite sub par (I don't get that term... in golf, sub par is good. Over par is bad. Hmmm....) so not much to go by. I will add a couple photos of last years 1st cycle... taken in the same spot where I stood and watched him today. Maybe some of those who got usable photos of the current bird could compare these, and the giant amount of others from last year's. I also got a photo of a Ring-billed Gull in breeding plumage, mouth open, showing a stunning red gape.*

(1st cycle Glaucous, Long Beach in Stratford '09)

(1st cycle Glaucous Gull, Long Beach-Stratford, 2009)

(breeding-plumage Ring-billed Gull)

*Not trying to top yours, Larry!!*

After scanning and (finally, thanks Jim and Carol!!) scoping the Sound very briefly, I came up with these birds:

• (+/-50) Common Goldeneye
• (2) Horned Grebe
• (2) Great Cormorants
• (2) Red-throated Loons
• (1) 2nd cycle GLAUCOUS GULL
• (1) young LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL**

**I couldn't tell age other than not adult with the sun and the streaking and my lack of larid skills... so I wasn't comfortable with calling it. Thankfully Frank Mantlik showed up as I was on my way out and found it later. He knows the age/cycle).

And while we were talking, the Glauco flew right over us, giving great looks at everything. Very cool bird, indeed.

Other than that listed above were the usual Brant and Black Ducks. I wasn't able to get a chance to see the jetty or further down, so no shorebirds... =)

Kinda back-tracking, but next up usually is Frash Pond if I skip Stratford Point, which I did, because this day's birding was 98% in-car. This pond has what Canvasback want. I do not know what it is, but my small depth of knowledge doesn't know of too many other places as reliable for the big duck. Due to recent warm weather, and a lot of snow melt, the whole pond was open, and the birds were in their normal spot in the back by the cement spout (forgot the word). There were also Lesser Scaup reported there recently so I was hoping for them... which I did see.

I also had a female Scaup species that seemed kinda Greater than Lesser. But again, my skills aren't up there yet to be totally sure. It's white spot behind it's bill and on the front of it's cheeks was much larger and more prominent than the female Lessers that were there. Also, when the small group of Lessers moved along and started diving elsewhere, the unidentified stayed in with the Canvasbacks. Who knows... not me, obviously.

Below are some numbers from Frash Pond in Stratford:

• (26) Canvasbacks
• (5) Lesser Scaup (3 male, 2 female)
• (1) Scaup sp. (grrrr...)
• (1) Pied-billed Grebe
• (8) Bufflehead
• (1) awesome fly-over of sub-adult Bald Eagle heading S/SE

By now, The Fat Robin Wild Bird Shop run by Jim and Carol Zipp was open, and I drove up there to Hamden to get my new tripod head, and return Jim's. (A long story in itself!!) On My ride home (going Southbound), I had a Black Vulture flying along the rock ledges just before the tunnel on RT-15 at 12:15pm. Then just down the road at 12:19pm, I had a Raven flying low over RT-15.... I forget the exit, but it was directly over the Mile 46 marker.

I then came home and looked for Tucker the male Towhee who has spent the winter (sometimes with friends) at my house/feeders, with no luck. And that was the day.... birding, that is. Stuff around the house is still being pursued.....

-Brian

Hybrid Ducks are cool...

Back in the end of November, early December, fellow Stratford birder Frank Mantlik located a drake Mallard x Pintail hybrid. I think it is actually a Pintail x Mallard, based on field marks and features. The inset photo below, and photo further below were taken during it's first appearance on December 1st, '09.

The bird eventually vanished, only to reappear this week.... found again by Frank. The bird is at Wooster Pond in Stratford, CT... part of a park and Middle School.

Wooster Pond is also known for producing good waterfowl, in a less than clean and less than 'wild' area. This winter season, the pond has produced numerous Green-winged Teal (often over 20 at times), Northern shoveler, Northern Pintail, Pintail x Mallard, Black Duck x Mallard, American Wigeon, Wood Duck, Gadwall, Snow Goose, and Cackling goose.

It is an easy place to access, park, and bird. And during migrations, the wood edges and thickets/trees around the streams,and woodland trails in the back, produce nice songbirds.... especially warblers. Definitely worth a trip there when doing the Stratford rounds in winter or during migrations. Often a reliable spot for waterthrush, as I ahd both species there this past summer.

-Brian-

Penfield Reef- Fairfield, CT

-Yesterday (2/22) in the late morning, Charlie Barnard and I took a walk out onto Penfield Reef in Fairfield in hopes of some shorebirds, ducks, and seals. All were present in OK numbers except the former. Only a few Sanderlings.

-The water level was higher than normal, and the whole reef didn't become exposed, so we scoped from the 'half-way point'. I suspect that it was this mess of winter weather moving from the west that altered the tides. What was interesting, the west side of the reef was much choppier than the east.... and it was getting windier by the minute. We both had a feeling there were more shorebirds further out, but scopes only go so far!

-Another interesting aspect was the Horned Grebes. We counted (probably tentative) 42 Horned Grebes to the west of the reef. Zero on the east. And a grand total of zero Common and zero RT Loons. A fellow birder from Stratford, Frank Mantlik counted 20+ during his scouting of the Stratford shores. Good day for the Horned Grebes!! Thanks to my more experienced birder buddy, Charlie, I just learned that in February the Horned Grebes grow in numbers and stage here in L.I.S. before moving along to continue their legacy and create new generations of this really neat bird.

Below is our tally for the hour or so we spent out there:

(15) Brant (I expected to see more)

(350) Greater Scaup... very well could have been Lesser mixed in, but conditions and distance made it hard to ID

(36) Long-tailed Duck

(400) Goldeneye (a huge flock came up and there were at least 200 in just that one)

(6) Red-breasted Mergansers

(42) Horned Grebes (again... ALL west of the reef)

(3) Great Cormorants

(4) Sanderling

-We also saw about 6 Harbor seals looking quite content and lazy off the reef. A few were just floating on the water. One of which was clearly an adult bull Harbor. Another male, floating on the water, was laying on his side with a fin in the air... reminded me of Humpback Whale behavior. Perhaps courting??

-After Penfield Reef we scanned a few other local Spots like St. Mary's by the Sea and Captains Cove. Other than 2 Ring-necked Ducks at Captains Cove, and a single Great Cormorant near St.Mary's (out on the lighthouse/rock island thingy), there was nothing of note out of the norm.

Below are a few of the few photos I shot while on the reef.

(Sanderling pair)

(Common Goldeneye flock in flight)

(Sanderlings)

(Two Harbor seals being lazy out past the gull flock. Both are Harbor seals, you can see the one big'un on the right and another on the left)

-Brian-

Prairie Hawk ID and a Little of Leg #1

I am going stir crazy!!!!! I can not wait to ramble on..............

So far, planned stops on my first leg will be Bald Eagle State Park and spots along the Delaware Water Gap in PA, Indiana Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore in Indiana, Wrigley Field in Chicago (only drove past it last time... even that was a mistake... Chicago highways are TOUGH to know where the hell you are, or going), Buffalo Gap Nat'l Grassland in North Dakota (on SD/ND border), Black Hills Nat'l Forest, Wind Cave Nat'l Park, Deadwood (town of, in SD), Mt. Rushmore, and a day or two in Rapid City, SD.

This first leg will be quicker than the others, mostly because I want to get to SoCal and AZ while the bird migration is still moving. And secondly because my drive to Alaska had the SAME route until I reach the Dakotas. I will certainly stop at the places I know of from last time on that leg (there was an awesome little inland wetlands spot at the Wisconsin Welcome Center on I-90), but I am a rambler and I love driving past something and thinking...

"Man that looks like a neat spot to hike"..... or 'Wow. I just saw a Swainson's Hawk!! Gotta stop here!"

I found a few cool spots like that. One of which led me to a hawk that I have still yet to have 100% confirmation of whether it is a juvenile Krider's Red-tail, light-morph Ferrigenous, or something else.

See for yourself, and you decide.... the white on the head leads me to think a young Krider's. Which is prairie subspecies of the Red-tailed Hawk. The bird was seen just south of Des Lacs NWR in (pretty far up) NW North Dakota.

I'd love to hear some thoughts on the raptor from some of my fellow birders.... as I still call it a 'possible Krider's'.

-Brian-