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Photography and Commentary on Birds, Nature, and Environment by C.S. Wood

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Hermit Thrushes and the Breeding Bird Atlas in Connecticut

Posted by Christopher S. Wood on July 09, 2020

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A Wave of Warblers in Connecticut

Every year brings new challenges and opportunities for birders. Lifers, lists, photos, adventures, and even competition are what changed birdwatching to Birding! and what re-invigorates us for the New Year. In 2020 we really needed it and there was a bright spot for Connecticut birders: it was a good warbler year. 36 of the 39 parulid species ever recorded for our state (54 warbler species are currently on the US list) were found here in 2020, including one new species for the state. We missed only Hermit Warbler (two records, one hypothetical), MacGillivray’s Warbler (two records), and Black-throated Gray Warbler (eight records, one hypothetical). And several of the rare visitors were quite cooperative, entertaining many birders. I was able to photograph 32 of these species in-state this year, missing only Connecticut Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Prothonotory Warbler, and Golden-winged Warbler. Among the first of 2020’s wood warblers was a real surprise: the first ever Con

Bird Trekking Into the Chiriqui Cloud Forest of Western Panama

We are back in Panama, a year after exploring the Darien and Canal Zone and this time in the country's west regions of the Caribbean coast and the Chiriqui highlands on the Pacific slopes. Most of the same folks from last year: Dan, Mark and Linda, Ed, and me plus new friends from Canada Margaret and Harvey. Fresh off of three days of rain and wind in the Bocas del Toro archipelago, a storm of apparently historic proportions, we headed over the continental divide toward the Chiriqui highlands of western Panama. We stopped in the fog and mist a few times and managed to find some pretty good flocks of songbirds. Near the Continental Divide Including a variety of colorful tanagers. Bay-headed Tanager Emerald Tanager The trip over the mountains was nothing compared to what awaited us: a 10 kilometer, one hour ride up to the Mount Totumas Cloud Forest EcoLodge on what is apparently intended to be a road,

A Spate of Rare Birds in Connecticut

Connecticut birders have been treated to a spate of cool rarities over the past 6 months or so. The rarest were first state records of Brewer’s Sparrow in November last year at Hammonasset and Townsend’s Warbler in Hartford in April. Brewer's Sparrows are birds of Western shrublands, rather nondescript but cute in their own way. Brewer's Sparrow (Spizella breweri) - Hammonasset Beach SP The Townsend's Warbler is the Western counterpart to the Black-throated Green Warbler of the Eastern coniferous forest. (Compare here: https://flic.kr/p/H7ZM2c ) Townsend's Warbler (Setophaga townsendi) - Cedar Hill Cemetery Hartford A Western Meadowlark was a second state record* at Sherwood Island in October of 2019. Very similar and difficult to distinguish from the Eastern Meadowlark except by vocalizations, which this bird did not provide. But several experts analyzed the bird and photos to determine its true identity. Western Meadowlark (St

Christopher S. Wood: I've been an active birder and naturalist for over 45 years and with the advent of digital camera equipment, I've returned to nature and bird photography both to learn and to share more about birds and their world. I studied biology for a Master's Degree at Southern Connecticut State University and was inspired by famed field ornithologist Noble Proctor. Since then, despite a career in land use management, conservation, and regulation, I've managed to stay active with field birding and studies, as well as serving on the Boards of the Connecticut Ornithological Association and the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition. My photography may be viewed on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/cswood-photos/

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