Blog & Trip Reports
Station 43 Bird Walk – January 5, 2019
On a cold, rainy, foggy morning seven of us took a stroll through Station 43 to see what we could find, which ended up being a total of 26 species. While no rarities were seen, highlights included a Belted Kingfisher, a Winter Wren, a Carolina Wren, and several American Tree Sparrows. As usual, at the…
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2018 Hartford Christmas Bird Count (CBC) Summary
2018 HARTFORD CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT SUMMARY It wasn’t as bad as the forecast predicted. We didn’t really have any sleet or freezing rain, high winds never materialized and it did not rain heavily much of the day. That is not to say it was nice. Temperatures were relatively steady in the high 30s during the…
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Hammonasset Bird Walk – December 9, 2018
12/9/18 The Hartford Audubon bird walk at Hammonasset State Park in Madison, CT began in the teens, sunny with seven birders, all HAS members. Beautiful looks to the Sound: many Ruddy Turnstones and Dunlin on the jetty; but mostly quiet inland. Highlights: Barred Owls on Willard Island; Northern Harrier at a distance; one Lapland Longspur in with…
Full DetailsStellwagen Bank trip report
This trip was originally scheduled for May 19, 2018 but forecasts of high winds, high seas and rain caused postponement until June 3rd. On that new June 3rd date we had no rain but the winds kicked up and the seas became rough, forcing us to abort the trip after just three hours. The Captain…
Full DetailsGreenstone Hollow Nature Preserve
The day was clear and sunny. We could not ask for a nicer day for our start of nesting season walk. The leaves were out, so we practiced birding by ear. Five of us gathered for the Greenstone trip, including two new members. Welcome to Hartford Audubon. The roadside started us off with a variety…
Full DetailsTanager Hill
Tanager Hill is, without a doubt, the most beautiful birding location in Simsbury. And it happens to lie directly under the main approach into Bradley Airport. For the sake of our May 9th fieldtrip we had to add seven species of “airline” birds in order to bring our total to forty. Take away the airlines,…
Full DetailsLower Greenwood – Barkhamsted walk
On the 5th of May 14 of us explored Lower Greenwoods in Barkhamsted. The property is owned by MDC and our birding was done by walking down the dirt road. We were rewarded with great views of 51 species. We had the pleasure of watching several Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Baltimore Orioles flying and landing in…
Full DetailsQuarry Park and Connecticut River Floodplain
A partly cloudy and warm day greeted us as we started out the walk. There had been a heat wave the previous three days, and the leaves were coming out. Eight of us turned out to see what was in the park. The upper level had a few birds new for the year, Baltimore Oriole,…
Full DetailsAudibles and Edibles walk
13 of us began to look Down at 17 species of healthful herbs and UP at 28 species of birds. The morning was cool but sunny. Highlights were: Double-crested Cormorants(FOx33) , Turkey and Black Vultures,Eastern Towhee and many Savannah Sparrows. The Longo Farm Preserve,off Hebron Rd. in Glastonbury is a beautiful open space. Respectfully submitted,…
Full DetailsGreenstone Hollow Trip Report
Six hardy souls met around 8AM. I had said that the walk would be cancelled in the event of rain, but had failed to mention what would happen if there was snow. As we walked through all the trails of the preserve, the temperature hovered around 37°F and occasional snowflakes drifted down. Despite that, we…
Full DetailsStratford, CT Trip
With the Hartford Audubon Society walk this morning we had some nice birds around Stratford. A drake Blue-winged Teal off Stratford Point was a real treat, as I had not had one there before. There was also a flock of about 400 Long-tailed Ducks, fairly close to shore. Tree Swallows, a singing Field Sparrow and…
Full DetailsSatchuest Point RI trip
Five birders met at Sachuest Point N W R in Rhode Island for my annual trip. We started out along the trail that overlooks the ocean finding a small amount of the usual duck species but the best bird was one or two Northern Gannets. However, once we rounded the curve in the trail things…
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