Roseate Tern: An endangered species nationwide and in Connecticut, Roseate Terns can now be found with other terns as they begin to stage along our coast through August and September — and then be off, leaving the roosting sandbars suddenly empty.
Bird Finder Articles
Roseate Tern: Bird Finder for August 13
Thursday, August 13th, 2015Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher: Bird Finder for August 7
Friday, August 7th, 2015Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
The long-popular reference to a “miniature Mockingbird” holds up pretty well. Shape and tone are reminiscent of the big mimid, although the gnatcatcher lacks the white wing markings. But keep miniature in mind. This is a small, slender bird in the warbler size category.
Downy Woodpecker: Bird Finder for July 31
Friday, July 31st, 2015Downy Woodpecker
Anyone with a bird feeder already knows this diminutive woodpecker. At about six inches in length, this black and white clinging bird has a coast to coast distribution and is the smallest of our woodpecker family. It is here in Connecticut year round and does not migrate.
Wood Thrush: Bird Finder for July 22
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2015Wood Thrush
It’s not too late in the season to hear the beautiful, flute-like call of the Wood Thrush throughout – as its name would indicate – the woods of rural Connecticut.
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Thursday, July 9th, 2015July 9, 2015 – Buff-breasted Sandpiper has occurred annually at Hammonasset Beach State Park and at our Milford Point Coastal Center, where one or two are reported each year.
Black Skimmer: Bird Finder for July 2
Thursday, July 2nd, 2015Black Skimmer
The sandbars at our Coastal Center at Milford Point in summer are probably the most reliable place in the state to see Black Skimmers, especially in June and in late August and early September.
Pileated Woodpecker: Bird Finder for June 26
Thursday, June 25th, 2015Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
The Pileated Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker found in Connecticut. Crow-sized, it is an inhabitant of the mixed deciduous and coniferous forests of North America.
Bird Finder for June 10: Glossy Ibis
Tuesday, June 9th, 2015June 10, 2015 – Ibises are a group of nearly 30 species of distinctive wading birds that occur worldwide. Here in Connecticut we commonly see one species of ibis, the Glossy Ibis, which occurs locally along the coast during the summer season.
Eastern Meadowlark — A Sweet Singer: Bird Finder for June 5.
Friday, June 5th, 2015Eastern Meadowlark
One of our most threatened species, the Eastern Meadowlark has slowly disappeared in Connecticut along with the large and rambling agricultural meadows that once dominated our landscape.
Orchard Oriole — A Song Like the Top 40: Bird Finder for May 28
Thursday, May 28th, 2015Orchard Oriole
This is a handsome and distinctive species. The males lack the bright orange flash of the more common and widespread Baltimore Oriole but sport a bright chestnut and black plumage unique among North American birds.
Bird Finder for May 21: Cerulean Warbler
Thursday, May 21st, 2015Cerulean Warbler
In May we birders celebrate the return of the warblers, “the butterflies of the bird world.” Connecticut is in the nesting range of the rare and beautiful Cerulean Warbler and May is the best time to see it as it often stays high in the canopy, difficult to see once the trees leaf out.
American Oystercatcher: Bird Finder for May 7
Thursday, May 7th, 2015American Oystercatcher
Haematopus palliatus
What it looks like: American Oystercatchers are large shorebirds with a long, narrow, orange bill which beautifully contrasts against their black head, brown back and tail and bright white underparts. You can see their white wing patches when they are in flight.
Swainson’s Warbler: A Bird You’ve Never Seen Here
Thursday, April 30th, 2015April 30, 2015 – Swainson’s Warbler, one of those “little brown jobs,” has been seen in the states around Connecticut but never here. As with the Prothonotary Warbler that has been visiting our Larsen Sanctuary in Fairfield, there is the possibility of an overshoot when birds move back to their breeding grounds, which reach as far north as Virginia.
Purple Martin: Bird Finder for April 24
Thursday, April 23rd, 2015Purple Martin
Progne subis
Purple Martins are the largest member of the swallow family nesting in the U.S. They are nearly European Starling-sized, but thinner, with long tapered wings and a forked tail. The males are completely iridescent blackish-purple, and the females are blackish-purple above, with a dark head, neck, and chest, and pale grayish-white bellies.
Ruffed Grouse: Bird Finder for April 16
Thursday, April 16th, 2015Ruffed Grouse
Bonasa umbellus
Ruffed Grouse are chicken like, medium-sized game birds of mixed coniferous and deciduous forests. Although their numbers in Connecticut are greatly diminished, listen this month for the distinctive and unmistakable drumming sound the males make to attract a mate and ward off rivals.
Bonaparte’s Gull
Thursday, April 2nd, 2015April 2, 2015 – Gulls are far less likely to spark a birder’s excitement than the ever-popular warblers or raptors, but Bonaparte’s Gulls are very different than their familiar beach-loafing, French fry-loving relatives. Bonaparte’s Gulls are small, spunky, sharply-plumaged gulls that may remind you more of terns than the typical “seagulls” you’re used to seeing.
Canvasback — King of the Waterfowl
Saturday, March 28th, 2015March 28, 2015 – Of all the waterfowl found in North America, perhaps none are more deserving of the title King than the dramatic Canvasback.
American Black Duck
Thursday, March 5th, 2015American Black Duck
Anas rubripes
American Black Ducks are a large-bodied dabbling duck about the size of a mallard. They have a yellowish bill with a gray head and dark body. When in flight they appear to be black in color, which helps distinguish them when mixed with Mallards.
Evening Grosbeak
Saturday, February 7th, 2015February 7, 2015 – Evening Grosbeaks love sunflower seeds, and may most likely be found at stocked feeders in the northern corners of Connecticut.
Common Redpoll
Thursday, January 29th, 2015January 29, 2015 – Common Redpolls are “irruptive” winter visitors to Connecticut. That is, they occur only in winters during which their food supply to the north is depleted. This species breeds in the Arctic tundra and northern boreal forests. Redpolls are absent from Connecticut during most winters, but over the past few weeks they have appeared in small numbers throughout the state.
