January 20, 2021 — Winter is the prime time for seeing Golden-crowned Kinglets in Connecticut. They’re very hardy and overwinter in decent numbers. Ruby-crowned Kinglets can be harder to find in this season but they’re here too.
Blog – 2018
Daily Bird: Ruby-crowned Kinglet & Golden-crowned Kinglet
Wednesday, January 20th, 2021E.O. Wilson’s Half-Earth Project on Zoom, January 28
Tuesday, January 19th, 2021January 19, 2021 — Young, Gifted, and Wild About Birds returns on Thursday, January 28, with a great program about an effort to save half the earth for biodiversity.
Daily Bird: Snow Goose
Tuesday, January 19th, 2021January 19, 2021 — Snow Goose occurs each winter in Connecticut but only in limited numbers, unlike the massive flocks found on the Delmarva Peninsula, the Nebraska wetlands, and the rice fields of Arkansas. You can expect to typically find one or two birds mixed in with large flocks of Canada Geese. Most records are from inland sites.
Daily Bird: Lapland Longspur
Friday, January 15th, 2021January 15, 2021 — Lapland Longspurs are not always here but, when they are you’ll find then at coastal locations with open expanses of grassland, dunes, sand barrens or open weedy places.. They’re often with Horned Larks or Snow Buntings, foraging for wind-blown weed seeds.
Video Interview: A Winter Wonderland of Warblers in an Unlikely Place in Norwalk
Friday, January 15th, 2021January 15, 2021 — There’s a newly-discovered winter hotspot in Connecticut for birds. If you visit now, there’s a good chance you’ll see Prairie Warbler, Cape May Warbler, and Tennessee Warbler — yes, now, in January.
Advocacy: Connecticut Audubon calls on the General Assembly to pass the Blue Plan
Friday, January 22nd, 2021January 22, 2021 — The Connecticut Audubon Society submitted testimony today to the General Assembly’s Environment Committee urging the passage of the Long Island Sound Blue Plan.
Daily Bird: Red-throated Loon
Tuesday, January 12th, 2021January 11, 2021 — Winter is the season for loons in Connecticut and the Red-throated, the smallest of its family, is a favorite. The best place to find this high latitude nester in Connecticut is on Long Island Sound. Through March, this should be a relatively easy bird to find.
Video preview: The Song of the Ovenbird, with Eliza Grames
Monday, January 4th, 2021January 4, 2020 — Communications Director Tom Andersen does a quick check-in with UConn Ph.D. candidate Eliza Grames as she prepares for her “Young, Gifted, And Wild About Birds” presentation on Thursday evening, January 7.
Daily Bird: Merlin
Wednesday, January 13th, 2021January 13, 2021 — The Merlin frequents open areas such as marshes, beaches, and large fields. Most migrate through Connecticut to winter further south, but some spend the winter in southern Connecticut, mainly along the coast. You usually see one when you least expect it and it is often a quick look since they are usually flying fast in pursuit of prey.
Protecting the Beach Birds: An Interview with Katerina Gillis, Coastal Ranger at Milford Point
Friday, December 18th, 2020December 18, 2020 — High tides threatened them. Foxes preyed on them. People and their dogs disturbed them. And because of COVID-19, few conservation workers could put in the time protecting them. 2020 was a tough year for the birds nesting at Milford Point. The IBA Coastal Ranger talks about the details, including the emotional toll it took on her.
Daily Bird: Sharp-shinned Hawk
Thursday, December 17th, 2020December 20, 2020 — From fall til early spring Sharp-shinned Hawks are often found patrolling bird feeding stations and field edges. The Sharp-shinned Hawk is a small hawk, around 11 inches in size. Adults have blue-grey above and reddish-brown barring below.
Daily Bird: Red-breasted Merganser
Wednesday, December 16th, 2020December 16, 2020 — The Red-breasted Merganser’s distinguishing characteristics are a long neck, a scarlet bill, and a double crest at the back of the heads of both males and females. Typically staying within 20 miles of the coast, the Red-breasted Merganser has a notable preference for salt water, compared to the other two species of merganser.
Daily Birds: Redhead, Canvasback
Tuesday, December 15th, 2020December 15, 2020 — Two red-headed ducks occur in Connecticut in winter, one somewhat regularly, the other not so much. Both are diving or bay ducks – or pochards – of the genus Aythya.
Daily Bird: Black Scoter
Friday, December 11th, 2020December 11, 2020 — There are numerous places to see Black Scoters along the shore but they are rare visitors to Connecticut’s fresh water. The adult males are all black with a yellow knob at the base of the upper bill. Juveniles and females are grey-brown with a dark cap and lighter cheeks.
State of the Birds 2020 Highlight: To Protect Birds, Prepare to Advocate for Land Protection
Friday, December 11th, 2020December 11, 2020 — The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown meant that elected officials paid less attention than usual to land conservation issues in 2020. So in 2021, conservation advocates will have to double down. Amy Paterson, executive director of the Connecticut Land Conservation Council, covered the issue in her Connecticut State of the Birds 2020 article, called “The Impacts of COVID-19 on Conservation Funding.”
The Birds of Happiness
Wednesday, December 9th, 2020December 9, 2020 — You know that feeling you get when birds come to your feeder or when you pass through a mixed flock of songbirds in the woods? That’s happiness and, it turns out, those birds are bringing it to you.
Daily Bird: Mew Gull 2
Wednesday, December 9th, 2020December 9, 2020 — Mew Gulls are similar to Ring-billed Gulls. The western European and northwestern North American subspecies are both smaller than Ring-billeds. These Mews have thin greenish yellow bills with either a thin ring or no ring at all, depending on season. Their mantles are slightly darker, and they have darker eyes than the Ring-billed’s.
Daily Bird: Mew Gull 1
Wednesday, December 9th, 2020December 9, 2020 — Notice of a Mew Gull in New London went out this morning on our Rare Bird Alert. We are lucky enough to have posted about Mew Gull twice before, and even luckier that the authors were Patrick Comins, who is Connecticut Audubon’s executive director, and Greg Hanisek, editor of the Connecticut Ornithological Association’s quarterly journal, The Connecticut Warbler.
4 Stars: You can be confident that your donations are being used wisely and well
Wednesday, December 9th, 2020December 9, 2020 — 2020 marks the third year in a row that Charity Navigator has designated Connecticut Audubon a four-star organization. Out of approximately 1,000 non-profits in Connecticut, only 48 received four stars in 2020. “This is our highest possible rating and indicates that your organization adheres to sector best practices and executes its mission in a financially efficient way.”
State of the Birds 2020 Highlight: Piping Plovers and the Audubon Alliance.
Tuesday, December 8th, 2020December 8, 2020 — Connecticut’s Piping Plovers fared poorly during the 2020 breeding season. Because of the COVID-19 lockdown, the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds was forced to cut back on its protection work. Only when restrictions were eased during summer and the work-pace picked up did Piping Plovers do better. It’s an important enough issue that we wrote about it in this year’s State of the Birds report and are highlighting it here.
