So here it is. My life list of birds spotted.
First, the rules:
I am only counting birds I have seen as an adult. As a child, I'm sure I made-up some birds out of boredom or even convinced myself that I saw something I didn't.
When possible, I will list the date and location of first sighting and subsequent sightings for more rare species.
I will endevour to provide a link to a nice photograph of the bird, please let me know of dead links.
Unconfirmed sightings will be noted.
Without further ado:
5/8/07 Common sighting in CT, although not often a backyard bird. They arrived in early May this year. (that is when I saw my first anyway) Male is very striking. Song sounds like a person whistling in the trees.
6/15/07 Quinnipiac River, North Haven, CT. Seen roosting in sand piles at Tilcon depot. Observed for several minutes at close range.
4/30/07 Hamden, CT. Lake Whitney. First sighting of the season, they were hunting over the water at the bridge where they nest. Fun birds to watch as always and a common swallow. Look where insects are, and where there are man-made or natural rocks for them to nest in.
Summer, 2005. New Haven, CT. Observed hunting for several minutes.
5/4/07 New Haven, CT. East Rock. Observed along river among several other migrating warblers.
5/28/07 New Haven, CT. East Rock, Mill River. Observed fishing for several minutes. Perched on a log. Very prominent display.
5/8/07 Burlington, VT. Watched a mated pair build a nest out of spider webs for several minutes. My only successful spot on this trip!
6/20/07 Brooksvale Park, Hamden, CT. Unconfirmed. Observed very briefly, other birders identified this warbler before we reached the field. Probable ID from song. could have been Hybrid version.
6/18/07 Hammonasset State Park, CT. Watched this guy close up hopping along the road without a care in the world.
4/23/07 New Haven, CT Song and visual, watched for several minutes, bathing and singing. Brave bird.
6/10/07 New Haven, CT. Eli Whitney waterfall. Flock of these very social birds eating berries in the parking lot. Have observed for several days now.
6/23/07 Brooksvale Park, Hamden, CT. 2 birds, singing pearched high in a tree as well as scratching on the ground. Smaller than I originally thought.
5/16/07. New Haven, CT East Rock. Finally saw this pretty common bird! 6/25/07 Lake Wintergreen, Hamden, CT. Spotted the female and discovered that it was the "mystery" warbler I found dead outside my old job 3 years ago.
6/20/07 Brooksvale Park, Hamden, CT. One of the birds missing from my life list for a long time. Observed several families near their nest boxes in the back of Brooksvale. Male is very striking. Female. Immature.
9/7/07 Mill River, Waterfall, Hamden, CT. Observed for 15 minutes at close range. Did not get to hear him sing. Not uncommon flycatcher.
Summer, 2005. Hamden, CT Lake Wintergreen. My only sighting of this bird, although heard many times. Really a stunning bird. Observed up close for a good twenty minutes.
6/14/07 New Haven, Eli Whitney. Listened to song for 15 minutes, very brief spot.
6/18/07 Hammonasset State Park, CT. Watched several of them in the saltmarsh. Very striking birds.
One of the more fun spring and summer common birds, the Catbird literally sounds like a cat, possibly one in slight pain. It eats in underbrush and tends to be pretty brave.
6/18/07 Hammonasset State Park, CT. Very brief look and heard song. Poor lightning as well.
5/26/07 New Haven, CT. East Rock Park. Perched high in a pine tree overlooking the lake.
Winter, 2007 Hamden, CT. Spotted on Lake Whitney several times. Solitary male.
Common sighting. Backyard bird feeder. Easily confused with the slightly more rare Purple Finch. The female House Finch looks like a house sparrow and is hard to spot.
6/23/07 Brooksvale Park, Hamden, CT. After a second vist, we confirmed this bird. Our first site was too far away and the breast appeared gray. Observed on a high perch for 20 minutes. Final ID by song.
6/15/07 Quinnipiac River, North Haven, CT. Pair of nesting birds. Observed the famous "broken wing" display when we got to close to the nest.
6/18/07 Hammonasset State Park, CT. Watched on two occassions at close range.
Louisiana or Northern Waterthrush
5/4/07 New Haven, CT. East Rock. Hard to classify as there is a Northern "whitish" variety. Interesting spot. Observed for several minutes rooting around in standing water.
6/14/07 New Haven, Eli Whitney. Common bird but it has eluded me for some time. Finally had a good spot.
5/7/07 Northern VT, I89. Flew accross highway directly over my car. Noticed prominent under-wing markings.
5/27/07 New Haven, CT. East Shore Park. Unconfirmed, initially assumed this was a Baltimore but it was very dark. Could not get a look at tale to confirm.
Common fish-eating bird of prey. A very distinctive bird. Can find them nesting in preprepared boxes all around CT marshlands.
5/2/07 Hamden, CT. Johnson's Pond Observed feeding. Oberved for several minutes in the brush
5/4/07. New Haven, CT. East Rock. Observed among several other migrating warblers on the river.
Summer, 2006 Hamden, CT. This rare bird spent a few days lost on Lake Whitney. Confirmed sighting, several witnesses. What a find! This is an accidental sighting.
Common Sighting. Look for this bird along CT highways perched on lightposts or swooping over open fields. Our most common raptor.
Common Sighting. One of my personal favorite common birds. This is a beautiful bird with a beautiful song. The female is often mistaken for something more interesting. On 4/30/07 I saw a male variation that was mostly black but looked mottled, it is a first-year male.
Summer, 2005. A somewhat common visitor to backyard feeders. Striking bird. The female is nondescript but will often visit as well.
April, 2007. Branford, CT. Pair of males spotted on Branford Supply Pond.
6/25/07. Lake Wintergreen, Hamden, CT. First recent sighting, observed on a high perch in early morning several times. Each perch was in a dead tree very high up.
Summer, 2006. Hamden, CT. Solitary Male, Lake Wintergreen Park. This is the one I always wanted to see as a child. It came out that day just for me and perched for 10 minutes.
Winter, 2006. Burlington, VT. Large Flock. A more rare sight in CT, these artic birds spend winter down in the states. They are very distinctive in flight due to the white patch on wings. Quite a sight to see in a flock.
6/18/07 Hammonasset State Park, CT. Note the strange feet. Much smaller than the Great Egret.
4/30/07. Hamden, CT. Lake Whitney. This is a bird more often heard than seen. I watched one singing on a wire over the lake. Song here.
"Traill's Flycatcher" (Alder or Willow)
6/18/07 Hammonasset State Park, CT. Observed and heard this flycatcher at two different locations. Exact ID impossible so I am using the old name of Traill's-which was used when it was believed these were one species-to denote that I cannot be sure which this was.
6/23/07 Brooksvale Park, Hamden, CT. A common summer swallow. Male is brilliant, female could be confused with other birds.
Common sighting. When you see this bird above you, you probably think it is a hawk. If you can't really make out the head, it is the common Turkey Vulture. An important part of our ecosystem!
5/29/07 New Haven, CT. East Rock. Spotted right out in the open on the path. Not an uncommon thrush, but often hard to spot in the undergrowth.
5/4/07 Unconfirmed. New Haven, CT. East Rock. I have never seen a bird like this before. There is a listing for a drab adult, and the photo does what I saw justice but I would not give this a positive ID without consulting with a birder. Watched him for 10 minutes at close range.
5/03/07 Johnson's Pond. Not uncommon but hard to spot in the brush. He was in front of me for 15 minutes before I spotted him.
April, 2007. Glastonbury, CT. Common ground sparrow, last sighted while tutoring a student. Seen doing his "little-chicken" dance under a bird feeder.
4/23/04 New Haven, CT. Eli Whitney. White Striped Adult in the brush. Let us get very close.
6/18/07 Hammonasset State Park, CT. Observed several pairs in the saltmarsh. Wing design unmistakeable.
Winter, 2006. Hamden, CT. Solitary Male spotted on Lake Whitney
5/4/07 New Haven, CT. East Rock. Observed feeding over river with other migrating warblers. Also observed an odd 1st winter plumage on one specimen. Mistaken for seperate species.
Very common this year, heard regularly in any non-suburban area. Song here Yellow Warbler, Female
