Date: Fri 06-Feb-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: DOTTIE

Quick Words:

birds-weather

Full Text:

Birds Of A Different Feather Enjoying Mild Winter

(with cuts)

BY DOROTHY EVANS

Bird watchers for all seasons know what DEP wildlife biologist Julie Victoria

means when she says, "This El Nino winter has been the best in years for

spotting birds."

And what do confirmed birders have to say about these mild temperatures in

combination with leafless trees, bare ground and open water? All the better to

see you, my dears.

Given these favorable conditions, winter birds are bound to be lingering in

local ponds and frequenting nearby trees and feeding stations, and bird

watchers need not go far afield to find them.

Red-tailed hawks have been abundant and are most easily seen perching in the

tall trees along a highway where there are open fields nearby, Ms Victoria

said.

"They are looking for mice, rodents or voles. Starting now, you might see them

in pairs, since breeding season begins in March," she added.

The smaller hawks, such as sharp-shinned or Cooper's hawks, hang around

feeding stations preying on the little birds.

"It's a fact of life. The amount that a hawk would take out is relatively low.

It's all part of the big picture," she reassured.

Ring-necked pheasants might also be spotted foraging underneath feeders for

scattered seeds. The mild winter has been kind to those pheasants that weren't

shot during hunting season last fall.

"It's possible that they could even breed and produce young this spring, but

they are not native to this country," Ms Victoria said, explaining that

pheasants originated in China and are only bred in captivity in the United

States for release in the wild.

"They're not going to reestablish themselves here," she said.

Seldom Seen

A call to the Rare Bird Alert on February 2 produced several interesting and

unusual Connecticut sightings, along with detailed information about where

those birds were last spotted.

There was, of course, no guarantee that they would stay put long enough to be

seen again in the same place.

Excerpts from Monday's sightings list included three tundra swans floating on

the Connecticut River in Essex; an immature greater white-fronted goose

hanging out with several Canada geese on a golf course driving range in

Hamden; and red and white-winged crossbills and a Lapland longspur seen at

Hammonassett State Park in Madison.

According to the report, the "hills of northwest Connecticut are a hot area"

right now.

An immature golden eagle was seen on Housatonic River Road in Salisbury; A

pair of common ravens were spied in Canaan; and 25 pine and evening grosbeaks

were seen feeding on fruit trees in Goshen.

Further south and closer to Newtown, there was an "amazing though not

unprecedented" concentration of 21 black vultures roosting alongside 25 turkey

vultures off Route 202 along Van Car Road in New Milford.

And last but not least, an adult lesser black-backed gull was seen on Hawley

Pond in Stamford. That sighting was recorded January 28. Perhaps by now, the

lesser black-backed has flown north to another Hawley Pond -- the one in

Newtown -- and we can all walk down Main Street to see him.

To find out more, call the Rare Bird Alert, which is jointly sponsored by the

Connecticut Audubon Council and the Connecticut Ornithological Association, at

203/254-3665.