Author: Webmaster (Page 1 of 12)
Hi Everyone – Just a quick reminder about the free Birdsong concert and talk beginning at 6:45pm today, Sunday, April 21. This is a casual, fun and family friendly concert exploring how composers and poets from the 13th century, through Handel, through our own time have been influenced by listening to the sound of birds. I will talk briefly about several interesting aspects of bird song starting at 6:45pm and Michelle will then talk briefly about how composers have adapted their musical ideas relating to birds. Michelle will do a little of her own improvisation on bird songs while folks wander around looking at pictures of birds and then the concert, featuring the Choir School of Hartford and the Trinity Church choir and Michelle doing instrumental pieces on the organ and piano. It should be quite a “Bird Happening” and I hope you’ll consider attending.
There’s plenty of free parking around the church as shown on the map below. Come join in the fun.
Chris Fisher (HAS Member)
Michelle Horsley (HAS Member)
Monthly Meeting – 6/11/2024 – Annual Picnic and Bird walk
Starting at 6 pm
Join us for a bird walk and the company of our members to kick off the summer! A bird walk will be held at 5:00 when we hope to see Orchard Orioles, Indigo Buntings, and Eastern Bluebirds. The picnic dinner will begin at 6:00. BYO dinner, utensils, your place setting, and HAS will provide refreshments and dessert. The picnic will conclude with a brief meeting.
Please reach out to Sydnee Foster with any questions at fostersydnee@gmail.com or 203-913-8380.
Monthly Meeting – 5/14/2024- Annual Banquet / Meeting
Starting at 5:30 pm
Please join us for the Annual Banquet at the Pond House in Elizabeth Park, followed by the Annual Meeting. We’ll review the year, receive the annual Treasurer’s Report, present awards, and elect our Officers and Board Directors. Then, the evening program will feature a speaker TBD! This evening is the highlight of the year – please plan on attending. We will also continue the recent tradition of a bird walk in Elizabeth Park prior to dinner. Details will be sent out via All HAS.
Please note that the ticket price will increase from $25 to $35 this year – as decided by the Board of Directors.
Also, there will be a limit of 85 attendees due to logistics, so if you plan to attend, buy your ticket early.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Sydnee Foster at fostersydnee@gmail.com or 203-913-8380.
We had a great time at our Greenstone Hollow Bird Walk this morning. The temperature was about what was predicted – 50ºF, but unlike the prediction it was mostly sunny and not much wind. This made for a really nice morning of birding. There were 11 hardy souls who showed up and walked the two trails along the road. Six of us ventured into the wetter part of the sanctuary but were rewarded with very close looks at a Barred Owl who was on the ground as we came around the corner and flew up into a nearby tree and stared at us!
All together we saw or heard 23 species – not bad for this early in the spring.
The water level in the pond is holding up very well thanks to good work on the dam by Cathy Delasco and Jennifer Frank. The trails are mostly cleared of downed trees except for one back on the White Pine Loop near where we saw the Barred Owl.
Submitted by Chris Fisher – Trip Leader
Thank you for joining the Silver Sands bird walk this morning. Six people joined me on this cold and windy day but sunny. 40 species of birds. We walked 3 miles in 4.5 hours. You braved the wind and cold very well.
Below is the eBird list of 39 birds seen on the Silver Sands State Park Walk
Mar 24, 2024
8:00 AM
Traveling
3.00 miles
270 Minutes
All birds reported? Yes
Comments: Very windy by the shoreline. Cold but sunny.
HAS annual trip
Submitted from eBird for iOS, version 2.20.4 Build 2.20.28
30 Brant
12 Canada Goose
6 Mallard
12 American Black Duck
8 Long-tailed Duck — Very distance
2 Bufflehead
3 Hooded Merganser — Females
2 Red-breasted Merganser
6 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
4 Mourning Dove
1 Clapper Rail — Heard
3 American Oystercatcher
14 Killdeer
6 Ring-billed Gull
30 Herring Gull
1 Great Black-backed Gull
3 Common Loon
1 Great Egret
1 Great Blue Heron
1 Osprey
1 Bald Eagle
2 Belted Kingfisher — Pair
2 Downy Woodpecker
1 Blue Jay
12 American Crow
2 Fish Crow
1 Carolina Wren
20 European Starling
1 Northern Mockingbird
30 American Robin
4 House Sparrow
8 House Finch
1 American Goldfinch
6 Song Sparrow
24 Red-winged Blackbird
1 Brown-headed Cowbird
4 Common Grackle
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
6 Northern Cardinal
Number of Taxa: 39
Maggie Peretto
Manchester, CT
On Sunday March 24 my annual trip to Rhode Island enticed only 6 birders to attend.
We started out at Sachuest Point N W R located in Middletown just beyond Newport. It was a rough start as we had to contend with high winds, but we made the best of it and soon saw several waterfowl species including Buffleheads, Common Goldeneyes distant surf Scoters etc. We also noted three Horned Grebes including two that were transitioning into alternate plumage.
As we walked further and rounded the bend, we encountered the usual Harlequin Ducks that were accompanied by many Black Scoters. Here we also saw a Long-Tailed Duck which for some reason despite the good habitat we usually miss.
Further down the trail we encountered a large flock of Purple Sandpipers. Again, a species we usually miss. Soon someone spotted a Mink which came as a complete surprise! Unfortunately not everyone saw it including the leader.
Our next and final stop was Trustom Pond N W R where we always add more waterfowl species. Here we added Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Greater Scaup, Hooded Merganser and Ruddy Duck. Passerines were few and far between one reason being the feeders were empty!
Despite this we added Eastern Phoebe, Downy Woodpecker, Cardinal and White Throated Sparrow to the list. All in all it was an uneventful day with no surprises bird wise with only 40 species recorded.
Paul Desjardins, guide
Cape Ann/Newburyport Trip Report
January 13 and 14, 2024
Trip Leader: Frances D’Amico
Participants: Al Gatti, Sharon Pope, Greta Gribkoff, Polly Parker, Roy Parsons, & Wendy Parsons
*Sharon joined the birders for meals and spent time exploring the area.
It was raining on Saturday morning and forecasted to last until noon. After breakfast, Al gave an impromptu tutorial in eBird which lasted till 10 am the rain had stopped. The six birders piled into 2 cars and headed out for the day’s adventure. It was a good day of birding in spite of the wind. There was one more short downpour in the late afternoon. Wind was the only remnant of the storm.
The first stop at Folly Cove where our bounty included Canada Goose, Mallard, Harlequin, and Long-tailed Ducks, Surf & White-Scoters, Bufflehead, Great Cormorant, American Crow, & Common Goldeneye.
Then on to Halibut Point State Park, where we walked out to the Point which juts out into the ocean. Birds had to be identified as they bobbed between the huge waves. Common Eider, Herring Gull, and a small flock of Northern Gannet flew by us. As the gannets got further out in the water, we observed how they dive head first into the water to feed. There were some songbirds (Tufted Titmouse and Carolina Wren as we emerged from the trail and back to our cars. After lunch back at the Rockport Inn, our last stops in Rockport were at the Granite Pier and Emerson Rocks which added Black Scoter, Common Loon and Common Merganser to our bird list before heading to Gloucester to finish the afternoon of birding.
Heading down the coast in Gloucester, we parked in the Elks lot and crossed the street. This has always been a reliable spot to see Purple Sandpiper, and they didn’t disappoint. It was impossible to get an exact count because the birds’ feather coloration blended well with the rocks and could only be seen when they moved. The waves were pretty ferocious, bringing the cold air off the ocean. Satisfied, we headed down to Jodrey Fishing Pier, where the boats bring in their catch to be processed. Lots of gulls were seen but none were white-winged. However, the bird of the day and maybe even the trip was a Dovekie – a small black and white bird in the Auk family which every one of our group was able to see.
Sunday we packed cars and had an early start to Newburyport environs. It was disappointing that the Mass Audubon building at Joppa Flats is no longer open on Sunday.
We crossed over the bridge to Plum Island and headed south onto the Parker River National Refuge stopping at Parking Lot 1, where we saw a pair of Northern Harriers. Next stop was the Salt Pannes, great for waterfowl this time of year and for shore birds in summer and fall. There was a Bald Eagle seen proudly sitting on a hillock taking advantage of this raised vantage point to survey the marsh. Our final stop was at Hellcat where we attempted to walk the boardwalk in search of land birds, but it was icy, and we retreated. Shortly thereafter our group began to retreat towards home. Maybe more of you will be tempted to join us next year and the lemmings will be gone forcing the snowy Owls to come further south in search of food.
Hartford Audubon bird walk – 5/17/2023
Twelve hardy birders ignored the cold winds this morning and enjoyed the beautiful spring birds.
The highlights were the Magnolia warblers and Canada warbler.
Total species 37.
Thank you for joining, I enjoyed your company!
Maggie Peretto, Trip Leader
We concluded our Fisher Meadows walk just before the rain started, but not before getting swarmed by mosquitoes. It felt like a relatively quiet morning (with a general dearth of warblers) but we manage to see Magnolia and Blackpoll Warblers and log 53 species, including a half dozen Orchard Orioles. Cedar Waxwings have finally returned in decent numbers, and we enjoyed seeing a mother Wood Duck with 12 newly hatched ducklings in tow in the Farmington River.
Thanks to all who participated!
Bird early and bird often.
David Lawton
Machimoodus State Park Birding Trip
Submitted by: Rob Mirer, Field trip leader
Ten birders met at Machimoodus State Park in East Haddam on the mostly sunny morning of May 13.
In 4 hours of birding, we accumulated a list of 53 species. Some of the highlights were 2 Hummers, 3 Bald Eagles, Brown Thrasher, lots of Orchard Orioles, Prairie Warblers and a Wilson’ Warbler.
If you want to do a deeper dive, our list can be found in Ebird (go to hot spots, zoom in on CT, find Machimoodus in East Haddam, and open Steven Saunders checklist dated May 13.
Elizabeth Park Trails Day Birdwalk
On Saturday, June 3rd HAS sponsored a beginner’s birdwalk in Elizabeth Park, West Hartford as part of CT Trails Day.
Leader Sarah Faulkner was joined by 22 beginning birders of all ages. While it was a quiet morning, cloudy, damp and cool, the group did see or hear 24 species including a green heron, flicker, red-bellied woodpecker, wild turkey, Carolina wren, a pair of red-tailed hawks, and a Blackpoll warbler.
Sarah taught everyone how to use binoculars and the Merlin app.
