September Skies!

There have already been some outstanding evening skies this month. I was out last night and it was on fire! You really need some decent clouds to make for a good sunset, as cloudless evenings are really quite bland. Looks for those nights where change is happening with air masses and weather approaching from the west. Find that open view to the west and enjoy!

And this lovely sunset over Middletown a few nights ago!

Come By For a Visit!

My dear friend, traveler, and EcoTravel supporter Diana Atwood Johnson has been impressing the public for years with her bird and wildlife photography. In addition to being a talent behind the lens, she is also the author of a fabulous book titled “Swallow Tales” all about the avian phenomenon that appears nearly in her backyard every fall. Diana is a talented photographer and writer and we know you will fall in love with her work. There is no pressure to purchase a piece so please just stop by for some food, drink, and comaraderie while you enjoy the exhibit.

Diana has been kind enough to dedicate one night’s proceeds of her exhibit sales to benefit Connecticut Audubon Society EcoTravel when she and I will be co-hosting this wonderful event on Thursday, August 28^th 5:30-7:30pm. There will be both framed photographs and works on canvas ranging in size from 9” x 6” to 40” x 36”. The prices of these photographs are very reasonable and will make a fabulous accent to any home or office or make a great gift for your favorite nature enthusiast. As well as a variety of bird-themed pieces, Diana is also exhibiting her large mammal photographs taken while visiting Etosha National Park in Namibia.

We hope you will join us for this special event and if you cannot make it that evening, please take the time to stop by the exhibit at the Sill Gallery of Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Old Lyme (84 Lyme Street – Exit 70 off of Route 95). The Bird’s Eye View exhibit ends August 30^th.

Armchair Birding

I went out last night to listen for any in-flight migrants heading north over my yard with intentions of bolstering my yard list with a Solitary Sandpiper or something equally as fun. The skies were quiet, overcast, and looking a bit unfriendly. So, I went back in and turned on the TV to watch the final round of the NCAA National Golf Championship being held in Kansas. I like the golf but the big bonus is the birdsong in the background and it was the best I have ever heard! I called my buddy Jay Hand in Arizona, got him on the TV and we set out birding from our armchairs, in KANSAS. We tallied about 20 species including Summer Tanager and a Bell's Vireo. Not too bad! The question arose as to if hearing a bird through a live broadcast was legit birding, with the thought that it was just an electronic device like a super hearing aid. And, should we be posting our list on eBird? Makes sense to me! Oh, I am sure there could be some thoughts on this from the birding community! It was loads of fun birding with my buddy in Kansas (while he was in Arizona and I in Connecticut)! Give it a try and let me know how you do! If we could just get the commentators to stop talking, we could do so much better!  AG

Final Preparations for the "Chicken Run!"
I've started to think about packing as my co-leader and I prepare to head with a group to Colorado, visiting "chicken" leks including Lesser and Greater Prairie-Chicken, Greater Sage-Grouse, Gunnison Sage-Grouse, and Sharp-tailed Grouse. Dusky Grouse and White-tailed Ptarmigan are possibilities, too, the later found at elevation when driving from Denver to Vail via Loveland Pass at over 12,000 feet. It really is a grand adventure, touting spectacular mountain scenery flanked by inspirational prairie lands. We live in a great country that offers many off-the-beaten-path gems to explore. AG

Retailing
We have been expanding our services here at the EcoTravel office by ramping-up our optics sales and now carrying the NEW Second Edition of The Sibley Guide to the Birds. Give us a call if you need a binocular upgrade or would like more info an selecting the best binocular for your budget.

Our eagle boats are running, finally, after all the ice in the river has cleared. We will be extending the season to the end of April with numerous Eagle/Osprey cruises offered.

This weekend will be a busy one, attending a Sibley book signing in Mystic tonight, a Tanzania reunion party tomorrow, and giving a presentation on Cuba up in Pomfret, Sunday afternoon. Spring is coming!

In The Office

(Bald Eagle and Bullhead - Mark Jankura)

 
A crew from NBC Connecticut dropped by yesterday afternoon, with reporter Doug Greene, a kind and interested fellow. They were asking about the recent "fish kill" that occurred on the lower Connecticut River, creating a larger concentration of Bald Eagle in an area that historically has few. A couple of thousand 18 to 20 inch Striped Bass got caught up a shallow creek by a cold snap and an unusually low tide. The fish just could not survive the extremely low water temperatures which led to a buffet of fish for eagles and gulls. HERE IS THE LINK to the snippet that appeared on the news last night. Enjoy!   AG

Binoculars
I was just sent a great article on binoculars; how to choose the right one, suggested models, etc. I would like to share that article with you. LINK. When looking to purchase a binocular, I always say to establish your budget at its highest level and go from there, keeping in mind the old adage of "you get what you pay for" will ring-true true for binoculars. CAS EcoTravel is a dealer for binoculars and we can get you the best binocular, at the lowest price, that fits your budget. Call us at 860-767-0660, M-F, 830AM-430PM. We are happy to drop-ship to anywhere in the US so you can have your binocular in-hand in a matter of a few days.

Keeping Track

I was recently asked what I do for keeping records of all the birds I have seen over the years and through the many countries I've had the fortune to visit. Here are my thoughts on my record keeping.

After I am gone, there will likely be no one who will be interested in looking through an electronic record of what I saw. That is what eBird is for. So…I keep all my sightings in the field guide for that country or region. This way, when people look at what I saw, they can view the bird, too. For the countries where I have significant sightings, I have hard bound those field guides and created a uniform look to the collection. All volumes are green. Cost of binding the books is about $35 each. My North American life list is in the original Cornell, spiral bound life list book that came out sometime in the 80’s, now bound, without the spiral, like the others in the collection. This is also where I keep track of my Connecticut list and my yard list. My next book to be bound will be the one for the Pantanal as I have just completed my third trip there.

The only lists I have counted (so far) are the North American (focused on the continental 48 states), Connecticut list, and the most important…my yard list! The rest of the lists, I really don't care about. When I travel outside of the US, for some reason I have never thought about how many birds I can see. I have always, before the trip, found two or three birds I think would be cool to see, and I focus on them. I still really want to see an Ornate Hawk Eagle! Heard one once. And there is a really cool bird in the South Pacific called the Feline Owlet Nightjar! Awesome! I got to see that! If you don’t know this bird, Google it, and you will be hooked! Let me know if you want to join me!

So, that’s the listing world according to Andy! Lots of ways to fry these potatoes!

Vireos, Vireos, Vireos!
Connecticut has recently been experiencing an influx of vireos as the fall migration for song birds reaches flood stage. With approaching cold fronts, one is never sure of what will show. Below is a nice study in one of the not-so-easy identification puzzles one may run into in the field. The first three images below are by my friend John Schwarz at www.birdspix.com who enjoyed this PHILADELPHIA VIREO at Bluff Point in Groton. The same day, I captured some images of the similar bird at my patch in Ivoryton, in different light that might lead one to believe this to be a WARBLING VIREO. Consensus is that it is a Philadelphia. Lighting in the field as well as in camera images can be a real issue. Just because you got a good image doesn't mean the challenge ends! There is an excellent discussion of fall Warbling Vireo vs. Philadelphia Vireo at this LINK. Scroll down to photo #8. Think image #8 is a Warbling? Enjoy the challenge!  AG  

Nova Scotia: An Outstanding Fall Destination
I recently returned from what I think was my sixth trip up to Nova Scotia! This time the theme seemed to be "Eagles Everywhere!" We took advantage of great photo ops of adult eagles at close range as they retrieved fish from the back of a boat. The same day, travelers enjoyed views of over a 1,000 Atlantic Puffin and outstanding landscapes of sea and cliff. Clouds of shorebirds, extreme tides, pristine bog habitats, and grand hotels were the standard! We plan to repeat the trip next year. Each group is limited to five participants, so call soon.    AG

Black-billed Cuckoo Image by Wolfgang Wander

Listening to the Night
Just the other night, at about 1045PM, I heard one of the great sounds of summer, a night calling Black-billed Cuckoo! It is not too often that I have heard them at night, but it is always a fun event. It's always one of those "What the..." moments. The bird, in my yard, called for a solid hour. Got to love it!  AG

Getting Ready!!!
The shorebirding season is just starting and so it's time to get ready to head for one of the Meccas of the discipline, the Bay of Fundy. The extensive mud and sand flats that make-up the Bay at low tide (50 foot tides in some places), are an indispensable fueling ground for hundreds of thousands of sandpipers, turnstones, dowitchers, and other shorebirds, so much so, that one can sometimes literally see "carpets" of birds standing shoulder-to-shoulder.

This year I have a wonderful group of faithful Connecticut Audubon Society EcoTravel patrons joining the adventure. We will be flying into and meeting in Halifax, make our way to the Bay of Fundy, travel out on the Bay and to the northern end of Minas Bay, and then explore the northern tip of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, a unique and wild place on its own, with lots of Moose, grouse, whales, and grand hotels!

If I have the chance, I will post entries while on the trip. Let me know if you are watching!

AG

Eagles !
It's been a while since posting! Just been too busy to think of doing it when I have so many people depending on our getting reservations right for the multitude of Eagle Boats and destinations further afield in places like Arkansas, Jamaica, Galapagos, Cuba, and the Platte River of Nebraska. It has been a very busy travel season for EcoTravel which included moving our office across town. Moving has got to be one of the dullest exercises on the planet but it does afford you the chance to toss all that stuff you have not laid hands on for over a year.

We recently ended our Eagle Boat Season and started our Osprey Cruises but not before we enjoyed the highlight of the year with two days of great Golden Eagle viewing. On the second day, the young bird was perched for over and hour alongside an unusually plumaged sub-adult Bald Eagle (since nicknamed "Weird Whitey"). Enjoy the image by Gary Spinner and give us a call to join a trip; lots of birds and fun people! We are already taking reservations for our next Cuba Bird Study and Tanzania Safari. AG

Happy Holidays and Time to Schedule a Trip!

I hope you all have a happy holiday and will take some time to consider taking a trip with me or one of our talented leaders; either a day trip somewhere not too far or perhaps something a bit more adventurous. Having a trip on the calendar will help you to get through the winter.

I will be leaving in a couple of weeks to enjoy the bottom land cypress and tupelo forests of the White River in Arkansas. I still have a couple of spots left!

Recently, I enjoyed a visit with an American Bittern. Enjoy the image!

Happy Holidays! AG

Snowy Owl Image by Gary Melnysyn

Trips in the Works
With the holiday season fast approaching, it also brings the arrival of our very busy travel schedule with trips departing in the next few months for alluring places like the bottomlands of Arkansas, the jungles of Jamaica, home of the Bee Hummingbird on the island of Cuba, and "The Number One Natural History Destination," the Galapagos Islands. We have enjoyed such great response for both Cuba and Galapagos, that we have added second departures! There still is space on both so give us a call. Hope you will be able to join us. I will be leading the Arkansas trip in January and the first of the two Cuba departures in March.

The Christmas Bird Count season is here, too! Connecticut in just the last week has been host to some great birds including Northern Shrike and Snowy Owl, so hopefully this is an indication of an interesting season ahead.

I have been working all day on the information packages that will go out to the Jamaica travelers, pouring over great info on birds, island history, rastafarians, and the local language of "patua." I had the fortune to travel to Jamaica a number of times back in the '80s and '90s and see most of its 28 endemic bird species including their national bird, the Red-billed Streamertail. Back then, an ex-pat British woman named Lisa Salmon ("The Bird Lady of Anchovy") lived up above Montego Bay and hosted tourists at her sanctuary to see the birds.

Lisa had trained the local hummingbirds to land on visitors' fingers while being fed sugar water from a bottle. It was really quite exciting with not just the streamertails but also the very large, all purple, Jamaican Mango; another spectacular hummingbird!

AG

Anhinga (Florida) - Andrew Griswold

Interesting Time of Year
With the migration all but over and summer on the doorstep, this can sometimes be a quiet time for New England birders, but in the last week there have been some truly "fun" sightings in our areas. The Anhinga that made a showing in Hamden over the weekend was nice to finally record for the state as the first that was not one flying-by far overhead. My 13 year old son seemed to enjoy the chase! And the Magnificent Frigatebird seen out at Block Island must have energized a few observers!
Get-out and find those rarities!

Magnificent Frigatebird - Laura Taylor

Prothonotary Warbler explodes from the creekside pines

Getting Out
Been out a good amount lately and seeing some fine birds during this migration season. I recently returned from an all-men birding weekend on the Delmarva Peninsula. Birds were outstanding with over 20 Blue Grosbeak, four YB Chat, 15 Prothonotary Warbler, and an outstanding view of Kentucky Warbler. Just six hours to our south, this area is a treasure chest, year round, with places like Bombay Hook, Chincoteague, and Milburn Landing. We wiggled our way back home along Maryland's Eastern Shore, through the lovely towns of Oxford and Saint Michael's. I think, the only meal I did not eat crab was at breakfast.

There is still time to get out to enjoy the morning chorus of bird song and the beautiful gems of the migration. Give me a call if you would like to join me! AG

Blue Grosbeak gives a "High Four"

A Kentucky Warbler creeps through the understory
Image by Jim Sherwonit

As past travelers to Block Island, some of you may have had the pleasure of meeting Elise Lapham, the "Bird Lady of Block Island." We will miss her. CLICK HERE: Elise Smith Lapham passes at 99 - - Block Island Times - News, Classifieds, Events and Business in Block Island, RI

Fork-tailed Flycatcher - Dario Sanchez
Northern Lapwing - Noorden Bos
Wow! It's About Time! I know that I keep promising to do better on the blog. I just cannot do it with regularity. Maybe if I don't try to have prophetic submissions then I could write more often. We will see. November was an outstanding month in Connecticut for unusual birds; Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Rufous Hummingbird, Calliope Hummingbird, and Northern Lapwing. Outstanding! I had the chance and luck to see all five and laughed with Noble Proctor at the Old Lyme/Old Saybrook Christmas Count about what a month it had been and how we could not remember another November, or any month, quiet as special! I hope you were able to get out and see at least some of these not-so-common birds for Connecticut. Since November, I have been working hard on a number of custom tours including one for Maureen C. and her husband to Galapagos and Machu Picchu. They had a great time and returned with many outstanding photos and memories. We have added a number of new tours to the CAS EcoTravel list and this has been taking much time to workout the logistics. I recently returned from another sucessfull trip to Arkansas and will tell you more in my next post. Let me know if you are reading my blog. I suspect any followers may have given-up. Cheers, AG

Image of Great Shearwater by Patrick Coin

Block Island - Always Something New!
Each year, as I gear-up getting ready for the annual Block Island weekend, I wonder what will make it stand-out from the 20 other times I have been out there in early October in search of birds. Well, this year did not disappoint with the passing of a tropical low just off shore producing our first-ever sightings of Cory's and Great Shearwater and a few ocean swells over ten feet. It was a rough ride for travellers but for some worth the pain. A few shearwaters came in close to the boat, as the spray raced down the sides at over 40mph, drenching those who were not protected behind the cabin.

You know what the difference is between a Sailor and an Old Salt?

The Old Salt puts his rain gear on before he gets wet!

Cheers, AG

Image of Cory's Shearwater by Tom Allmendinger