Birding in Connecticut

One morning of birding in Connecticut is certainly not enough.  But, since what matters most is what we do with the time that is given us... I still managed to see nearly 60 species of birds, several of which were new to me, in the brief time that we had as we passed through the state on our way to Massachusetts!  


Follow along with us as we bird our way through New England!


Birding at Connecticut's lovely White Memorial Conservation Center gave us the opportunity to explore several miles of beautiful trails through woods and wetlands, all of which proved to be very birdy habitat!

Along a riparian corridor, we admired an Eastern Phoebe, while listening to and looking [unsuccessfully] for a singing Alder Flycatcher.  Since the song of the Alder Flycatcher is the clincher to its identification anyway, I was okay with that.

Eastern Phoebe


Along a shady woodland path we finally saw our first Veery, a species of thrush, after hearing a few singing tantalizingly from deeper in the woods.  

Veery


In an open meadow adjacent to a dense forest, a pair of Eastern Bluebirds had staked out a nest box, which they were defending from a pair of Tree Swallows, which also nest in cavities.

Eastern Bluebird


Venturing into the aforementioned forest, I had another one of those delightful moments a birder experiences in a new place: TWO lifers singing simultaneously!  Which one to look for first?!  Happily, I was able to spot the burning ember-colored throat of a male Blackburnian Warbler, high above, AND this curious Blue-headed Vireo... all while a hidden Ovenbird sang and sang and sang in the background.

Blue-headed Vireo


Along the boardwalk trail around Little Pond, I spotted (and heard) this Willow Flycatcher, the nearly identical counterpart to the Alder Flycatcher.  (We have these guys at home too, by the way.)

Willow Flycatcher


Another familiar face in the wetlands, Common Yellowthroats back east seem to be less shy and skulking than those at home in California.  I asked a birding friend from Massachusetts about this, and he thought for a minute before concluding that he had never actually seen one in California - so maybe that is true!  They certainly are more common out there than they are here, in the much more arid West.

Common Yellowthroat


Swamp Sparrows, which only very rarely turn up in the winter in California, were singing their hearts out all across this Connecticut wetland!

Swamp Sparrow


And speaking of birds that "sing their hearts out"... the award for the most enthusiastic and incessant singer must go the Red-eyed Vireo.  Everywhere we went in the leafy forests of New England, the disembodied song of Red-eyed Vireos drifted down from high in the treetops, almost as if the trees themselves were singing!  

Red-eyed Vireo


The choppy song of the Red-eyed Vireo can be interpreted as, "Here I am.  Way up here.  High in the trees.  Do you see me?  Way up high.  High in the trees.  Here I am.  Do you see me?" repeated over and over as the bird sings on and on.  Sometimes, I wished I could pause these guys so I could listen to other birds singing!  But now that I'm back in California, I miss this song!

Singing Red-eyed Vireo

Next stop: Massachusetts! 

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