Downy 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
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.
July 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
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
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.
June 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
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
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.
Cerulean 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.
Prothonotary Warblers are relatively rare in Connecticut but there have been at least two this spring: one at our Larsen Sanctuary, in Fairfield, in late April, and another today (Monday) in Cheshire.
