September 3, 2020 — American Golden-Plovers get their name from the golden hue of their speckled back feathers. Right now, the birds are molting into their non-breeding (alternate) plumage, so their bold, black throat and belly feathers are interspersed with more brown feathers, making for a more barred appearance.
Author Archive
Daily Bird: American Golden Plover
Thursday, September 3rd, 2020Daily Bird: Broad-winged Hawk
Tuesday, September 1st, 2020September 1, 2020 — Starting in late August, hundreds of thousands of Broad-winged Hawks leave northern forests to head for their wintering grounds in Central and South America. Look for them on almost all ridge lines where the birds can find thermal winds to give them the necessary lift to form large kettles and soar.
Daily Bird: Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Saturday, August 29th, 2020August 29, 2020 — This is the time of year to look for Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Five were reported from Hammonasst Beach State Park yesterday, Friday, August 28.
One Bird, One Place #7
Friday, August 28th, 2020August 27, 2020 — A common bird declining rapidly but still almost everywhere, and two rarities, one of which is unusually abundant for this time of year — those are our birds. Check out where to look for them.
Semipalmated Sandpiper: From tundra to Suriname and back via Milford Point.
Thursday, August 27th, 2020August 27, 2020 — No matter how much you know or learn about bird migration, it is still a marvel that a shorebird resting on the sandbar at the Milford Point Coastal Center had once been on the flats of Suriname, on the northeast coast of South America.
Birding by Ear, on Zoom
Monday, August 24th, 2020August 24, 2020 — Learning how to bird by ear is an important tool and useful field skill for birders though it can be difficult to pick out which bird is calling and from where. This program, set for Tuesday, August 25, is for everyone but has been formatted to meet the needs of people with visual impairments.
Shorebirds of Connecticut: Watch the presentation by Brad Winn
Friday, August 21st, 2020August 21, 2020 — If you missed Brad Winn’s shorebird presentation on Thursday, August 20, we posted it on our website. Highly recommended and well worth an hour of your time.
Daily Bird: Baird’s Sandpiper
Saturday, August 22nd, 2020August 22, 2020 — Baird’s Sandpipers are long-distance Central Flyway migrants a few of which stray east to Connecticut mainly in autumn and are generally found on mudflats and grassy estuary, pond, and marsh edges, often in drier areas than those preferred by similar species.
One Bird, One Place #6
Friday, August 21st, 2020August 21, 2020 — You won’t have to go far to fund one of this week’s birds (Ruby-throated Hummingbird), but for another, a trip to the shore would be worth it.
Daily Bird: White-rumped Sandpiper
Wednesday, August 19th, 2020August 19, 2020 — White-rumped Sandpiper is an uncommon species in Connecticut, but one that can be found with some reliability. It favors coastal shorelines and mudflats at the state’s top shorebird stopovers such as Milford Point, Sandy Point in West Haven and Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison.
Monday Bird Report
Monday, August 17th, 2020August 17, 2020 — A federal judge ruled in favor of birds, a bird name has been changed, and it sort of makes sense that the B-52s (at least one of them) are into birds, doesn’t it?
Daily Bird: Pectoral Sandpiper
Saturday, August 15th, 2020August 15, 2020 We have 300 places left for Thursday’s Shorebirds of Connecticut Zoom presentation by Manomet’s Brad Winn. Reserve a spot here. Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos Edited from a version published in April 2017 by Greg Hanisek, editor of The Connecticut Warbler, the journal of the Connecticut Ornithological Association Where To Find It: This […]
One Bird, One Place #5
Friday, August 14th, 2020August 14, 2020 — To find this week’s bird, visit the Milford Point Coastal Center (just a heads-up: you’ll see at lot more than the two featured here), and check out phone wires and utility poles anywhere.
The Shorebirds of Connecticut, a Zoom presentation with Manomet’s Brad Winn, Thursday, August 20
Wednesday, August 12th, 2020August 12, 2020 — If you’ve ever been awestruck by silvery clouds of sandpipers flying in unison above New England’s shoreline, this is the presentation for you:
Thursday, August 20, at 7 p.m., Brad Winn, director of shorebird habitat management for Manomet in Massachusetts, will discuss New England’s sandpipers and plovers, and efforts to protect them — including how you can help.
Daily Bird: Forster’s Tern
Tuesday, August 11th, 2020August 11, 2020 — Of the four mid-sized species, we’re preparing for our two breeders — Common and Roseate Tern — to clear out. But at this stage of the year we’re just entering prime time for Forster’s Terns.
Oystercatcher rescue
Thursday, August 6th, 2020August 6, 2020 — Through their own wiles, the birds nesting at Milford Point survived the July high tides — when the waters rose, the Piping Plovers moved their eggs and an American Oystercatcher sat on hers until the danger passed. But when one of the surviving oystercatcher chicks got itself tangled up in something a couple of weeks ago, there was no chance it would free itself.
Storm birds
Wednesday, August 5th, 2020August 5, 2020 — Storms often carry rare birds into the area and, even more frequently, they push birders out of doors to try their luck at finding the rarities. Yesterday two Connecticut Audubon birders lucked out.
Monday Bird Report
Monday, August 3rd, 2020August 3, 2020 — Each week, Frank Mantlik, a member of the Coastal Center’s regional board, leads a team that checks each of the gourds at the Coastal Center’s Purple Martin colony. Here’s his latest report.
The public is invited to participate in an online meeting to discuss the National Estuarine Research Reserve
Monday, August 3rd, 2020August 3, 2020 — Connecticut Audubon members and the public in general are invited to participate in an online meeting that will help plan the environmental review of the proposed Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve. The meeting is online and starts at 7 p.m., Tuesday, August 4.
Daily Bird: Stilt Sandpiper
Saturday, August 1st, 2020August 1, 2020 — One of these uncommon birds recently appeared at Milford Point. In general it can be found in coastal wetlands, usually on mud flats with other shorebirds.
