First Post-Birding Over the Weekend

Part 1-Saturday

At around 2 I decided to head out and scour the reservoirs for sea ducks that may have gotten blown in. However as I was just about to leave I heard about a possible Western Kingbird that was just found at Hammo. I joined up with James Orrico and we raced up the coast. When we arrived the wind was blowing off the water rather strongly so I imagined the bird may be hunkered down. A search of Meig’s Point yielded nothing. However, we did have luck with the Hudsonian Godwit that had been hanging around. We were able to get within 5-6 feet!

 

Hammo Hudwit

Part 2-Sunday, Hammo Kingbird

After our failed attempt yesterday James and I decided to give the kingbird another go. We were on our way to a Saw-Whet Owl banding at the Pomfret Audubon and were on limited time. A search around Meig’s Point didn’t yield anything once again. On our way out I checked the recent sightings box and found that the kingbird changed location. It was now near the East Beach Parking Lot! We shot there and got it! It was flying between a few bare trees, flycatching. I was unable to capture any great images. After 5 minutes with the kingbird we were on our way to the banding.

 

Probably the best shot I got.

The drive up to Pomfret was pretty and scenic and we arrived 40 minutes early. We shared two Cliff Bars for dinner and then sat in the parking lot and waited. Andy (the guy running it) arrived at 6:40 and opened the door. Andy does Owl Walks as well as bird walks. I have been on one of his owl walks and afterwards decided that he did the best owl walks in the state. Other groups arrived. We left at 7:20 (waiting around for two people that got lost) and got to the station, just down the road from the Sanctuary Building. Our first foray up to the nets was unsuccessful and soon strange fireworks and gunshots began to go off. I was scared we wouldn’t get any owls. On our next trip up we got one, a female, older than 2 years, but because we didn’t have a blacklight, we were unable to age it exactly. We got a photo op after that. Then another trip back into the forest. A second Saw-Whet was found, another female. It was either a 2nd year or hatching year bird. After that it was time to go. I want to thank Andy and all the other banders for giving us a great experience. James and I had a great time!

Bird in the hand beats a bird in the bush

 

Closeup on a Saw-Whet

That’s a wrap for the first post. I’ll be posting more and making the blog larger as the days go on plus I have a new photo gallery coming out soon! Check Back Often! Thanks for reading and happy birding!

-AB