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Winter block-busting

Atlas volunteer coordinator Craig Repasz writes about the New Haven Bird Club’s recent block-busting efforts:

I took a slow hike in the snow to the summit of Mt Tom on one of the coldest mornings this winter. I was covering one mile an hour on a trail that was crisscrossed with deer, possum, and mouse tracks. I did not have the time to investigate them. I passed by a wet area that will probably become a vernal pool in a few months, but I did not stop to think about singing wood frogs, I had no time. Continue reading “Winter block-busting”

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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”

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How rare are inland long-tailed ducks?

Earlier this week, Steve Broker posed this question about long-tailed ducks on the CTbirds listserve.  Both he, and Tom Robben, provided partial answers based on data from Christmas Bird Counts and eBird, which is to say, quite rare, but certainly not unheard of. Available data, however, are quite limited. Christmas Bird Counts are restricted to a 3-week window of time, and eBird records are highly dependent on how much birding attention inland sites get. Continue reading “How rare are inland long-tailed ducks?”