The lucky recipient in the classic Christmas carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas” got 23 birds over the course of the holiday season. Hopefully they didn’t live in a studio apartment. In the yuletide spirit, we’re taking a closer look at the birds immortalized in the English folk song, first published around 1780. Seven Swans […]
Tag: Canada Goose
A Productive Frozen Boat Launch
Rare eBird lists for Connecticut remain a little shorter than those for Florida in my experience. Nonetheless I was intrigued by reports of rare species of goose being reported at Donald W. Barnes Boat Launch in Hartford County Connecticut in mid-winter. A species commonly seen here in New England in the winter months was remarkably […]
Glossy Ibis at Ely
First stop this morning was Kiln Lane Ely where we parked up and walked down the lane a few hundred yards to view the flooded fields. The first walk along the footpath failed to locate the Ibis that’s chosen to over winter in Cambridgeshire. As I walked back the Jims called to say the target […]
Alaska – 13th June (Day 17)
It was our final mornings birding in Barrow and indeed in Alaska as this was the final day of the trip. We decided to head out to the point to get some final views of Polar Bear. As we drove along the coast road the male Snowy Owl from yesterday was perched close to the […]
Alaska – 8th June (Day 12)
Today was a key day in the Nome section of the trip with one of the star birds to see. We were up early and headed up the Kougarok Road to Mile Post 72 we arrived at around 06:00. This site is known as the Coffee Dome, the summit of this relatively small hill is […]
Goose Reflections
I was watching a Canada goose family (Branta canadensis) and was impressed by how often they did exactly the same things at the same time and struck identical poses, especially the goslings. Congruent like the two above.
Cleaning up in the valley
With all the travelling of the last week I fancied a local jaunt this morning. I popped down to Cornmill Meadow and with a big tip off from Jim I quickly found his Grasshopper Warbler and whilst here a Cuckoo was heard too. I moved on to Fishers Green and walked the […]
Flight School
The 2015 class of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) naval aviators started flight school this week! I’ve been watching these youngsters on daily dog-walks in the park since early May. When they first showed up I noticed the their resemblance, in size and coloration, to the yellow puffball flowers of the American sycamores (Platanus occidentalis) towering […]