Author Archive

Passenger Pigeon
Ectopistes migratorius

Where to find it: Passenger Pigeons have been extinct for exactly 100 years but on March 12 Connecticut Audubon Society and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies are presenting a talk by Joel Greenberg, author of the new book A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight to Extinction, at Kroon Hall. The talk is free and open to the public. One or two preserved Passenger Pigeon specimens from the collection of the Yale Peabody Museum will be on display, to give you a chance to see what they looked like.

Northern Harrier
Circus cyaneus

The Northern Harrier is a hawk of grasslands and open country. It is one of about 15 or so species in its genus, Circus, of the taxonomic family Accipitridae, which includes the various eagles, hawks, and kites.

Snow Goose
Chen caerulescens

Where to find it: Snow Goose occurs each winter in Connecticut but only in limited numbers, unlike the massive flocks found on the Delmarva Peninsula and the rice fields of Arkansas. Locally, you can expect to typically find one or two birds mixed in with large flocks of Canada Geese. Most records are from inland sites – from farm fields or of birds resting on lakes. Agricultural fields are your best bet in winter when this Arctic nesting species moves to the south.

Brown Creeper
Certhia americana

Where to find it: Brown Creepers are found throughout Connecticut in mature woodlands. In the winter, they frequent deciduous forests, often in with mixed flocks of chickadees and titmice. Their main diet consists of insects and larvae that they probe out of deep grooved bark. The deeper grooves hold more insects and eggs. Brown Creepers typically feed by “creeping” up and around the trunks of large trees and then dropping to the base of a nearby tree and starting over.