It’s hard to believe but there are only six weeks of winter atlas field work left, so it’s a good time to get out survey blocks. This week, we updated the block map data on the atlas web site, so species lists should be relatively complete (with the caveat that not all data submitted by mail has been entered yet). Continue reading “Winter atlas update”
Report those owls!
A hooting great horned owl in my yard last night, prompts me to remind everyone that, although we are still in the depths of the winter atlas, we are also a month into the reporting safe dates for Connecticut’s largest nesting owl. Any great horneds heard or seen between now and June should be considered potential breeders. If they are in breeding habitat, then they will count for both the breeding and winter atlases. Continue reading “Report those owls!”
Atlas update handout
Recently, 50-60 atlas volunteers gathered at Hammonasset State Park for our second annual volunteer appreciation event. At the gathering, we discussed data collection so far, as well as plans for the upcoming winter atlas field season. Beforehand, Min Huang compiled a handout that summarizes much of the data collected so far. For those who were unable to attend, that handout can be seen here. Continue reading “Atlas update handout”
Block busting independently
Several bird groups have now run block busting trips to help fill gaps in atlas coverage. Block busting does not have to be done in organized groups though. This weekend, for example, Margaret Rubega and I had some time to kill in western Connecticut, so we spent a few hours searching under-surveyed blocks in the Danbury area. We focused on block 76D, but also spent some time in adjacent blocks, adding species in half a dozen blocks. Continue reading “Block busting independently”
Nest boxes
Many recent messages on the CTbirds listserv have mentioned the use of nest boxes, and just this week the chickadees nesting by my backdoor hatched their young. It’s a good time, then, to remember that nest boxes can make it easy to confirm breeding for a variety of species. And, that incidental records of birds in boxes can really help fill gaps for a number of species. Continue reading “Nest boxes”
Atlasing at the brewery?
Determining which breeding codes apply to which birds seen while atlasing is generally not too hard. There are exceptions, though, and one of the trickiest species is chimney swift. Continue reading “Atlasing at the brewery?”
Confirming common sparrows
Previously, we’ve identified species that it should be possible to confirm as breeders in most blocks. Two of those species are New World sparrows (a third, house sparrow, is an Old World sparrow – a completely separate family). And both begin nesting early enough in the year that confirming them should already be possible in many places. Continue reading “Confirming common sparrows”
Night birds (part 2)
Yesterday I wrote about night birds, but didn’t mention owls. On my return from whip-poor-will listening last week, though, I also heard a pair of great horned owls calling from my yard. Last summer, I confirmed breeding for this species when I heard both the parents and young owls calling. Continue reading “Night birds (part 2)”
Night birds (part 1)
Night birds are often among the most under-reported species in bird atlases. Precisely because they are hard to detect, however, they are also among those species we most need to learn about, because there are few other good sources of information about most of them. Continue reading “Night birds (part 1)”
Expanding woodpeckers
Last spring, Greg Hanisek wrote a blog post about the growing range of yellow-bellied sapsuckers in Connecticut. During the last breeding atlas, in the 1980s, the species was largely confined to the northwest corner of the state, with only scattered records of possible breeding elsewhere. Since then, the species is known to have spread south and east, but exactly how much was unclear. Continue reading “Expanding woodpeckers”