Rosyfinch Ramblings

Thursday, October 6, 2022

Awaiting fall migrants #1,030

Since moving to Connecticut from Florida early this year, my birding style has become much more passive. There, I commonly spent two or more hours seeking out varied habitats along the route we followed nearly every morning before sunrise. It was not unusual to encounter ten nocturnal and crepuscular species within the first 20 minutes. My expected total species count almost always included over 20 species, exceeding BirdChaser's recommended Minimun Daily Requirement.

Here in Connecticut, weather permitting. we enjoy a mid-morning walk of a little over mile. We follow a loop that includes several steep inclines, first from our home at 800 feet down to 700 feet elevation at the end of our street. We then climb to 760 feet to a bluff which overlooks Diamond Lake, and down to a nice level quarter of a mile along the edge of the lake at 690 feet, before the final arduous trek back up to "The Castle on the Hill," as neighbors like to call it.

On our walks I carry my iPhone but neither binoculars nor DSLR camera. Rather, we wait at home tor the birds to come to us. Fall migrants have buttressed the yard list by seven species since early September, to a total of 70. They have included---

Purple Finches, another female...

...and a colorful male:

A Common Raven is here seen flying with an American Crow, which has a squared-off tail, Note the the larger size and wedge-shaped tail of the raven:

Red-breasted Nuthatch:

Nashville Warbler:

Tennessee Warbler:

Interestingly, despite their names, neither the Nashville nor the Tennessee Warblers have ever been known to breed in Nashville or anywhere in the State of Tennessee. They both derive their names from specimens which were shot by Alexander Wilson during migration in 1811 along the Cumberland River in Tennessee.

A Palm Warbler put in a brief appearance, but I could not obtain a photo.

Also seen this week, the First of Season (FOS) Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Juncos. These little "Snow Birds" will become common during the next few weeks and stay here for the winter:

View down the peaceful lane along the lake shore:

The foliage is beginning to turn into autumn colors, hints of which were visible from our side yard on October 3rd:.

Sunrise reflects against the clouds on the opposite horizon to the west:

Day by day, more and more rich yellow, orange and red colors adorn the lakeside woodlands:

A neighbor is raising his dock above the anticipated ice and snow level before taking his little boat into shelter for the winter:

A glorious sunset on September 30:

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Linking to:

Garden Affair

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

All Seasons

Image-in-ing

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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Thursday, September 29, 2022

Adjusting to Autumn

Autumn has settled in quickly here in central Connecticut, with temperatures dropping even into the low 40s° F ( ~ 6° C) some nights. Before disappearing just a week ago, the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds became scarce. No more than one visited the feeders until the last one stopped by on September 21. This was my final encounter with one in a natural setting:

A cold front moved in from the northwest on September 22. The trees over the Loveland Preserve are showing a blush of yellow:

Yesterday morning the view of downtown Hartford, eleven miles distant, was particularly crisp. I enhanced my image by layering three exposures to create an HDR effect in COREL PaintShop Pro:

Small flocks of Eastern Bluebirds have been foraging for berries and insects. This male posed nicely on the fence rail:

Another bluebird was suddenly visited by two other common species, a House Finch and an Eastern Phoebe:

The phoebes are finding fewer flying insects. They and the bluebirds are eating berries. Here, a phoebe has plucked the blueberry-like fruit of the Virginia Creeper:

The Chipping Sparrows have molted out of their distinctive breeding plumage into a more subdued pattern.

Back on April 17:

Now, on September 25:

There was much action at the seed feeder, which will soon increase with the arrival of winter residents. So as not to attract bears, we bring in the feeders each night. Here, a male House Finch, a White-breasted Nuthatch and a Black-capped Chickadee gather to feast:

A highlight was the appearance of a wandering winter visitor which breeds in northern Connecticut and over northern New England and Canada, but rarely strays into our area before October or November. It was a female Purple Finch. So far this month I have seen and photographed, possibly this same one, on three separate days:

While it is similar to the House Finch, the Purple Finch is bulkier and has a proportionally larger head and a distinctive face pattern. The upper portion of the beak (culmen) of this House Finch is noticeably more curved.:

We have had golden or amber sunsets this past week. We were accustomed to seeing bright red ones all summer. There is maybe a scientific reason for this, as the sun's rays must pierce more of the earth's atmosphere in the colder months-- are the warmer colors filtered out, or are these just random events?

September 25:

September 27:

I try to find reflections, especially along Diamond Lake, but the best I could do this week was this incidental capture of my distorted face and iPhone as I photographed mugs which celebrate the Irish surnames of my and MaryLou's grandmothers: