A wonderful ‘Woody’ wanders the Weston woods

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 25 March 2010 12:19

Over the years, we’ve had a few reports from people who said they saw a “Red-headed Woodpecker.” Often, this turned out to be someone who’d spotted a Red-bellied Woodpecker and thought anything with a head that red should be called “Red-headed.” This was particularly true 15 or 20 years ago when Red-bellies were not as common as they are now, and seeing one of them then was a fairly big deal.

Red-headed Woodpeckers are rare birds in Connecticut. So when someone tells me one was spotted nearby, I hesitate.

A new threat to already-stressed migratory birds

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 18 March 2010 10:47

As the migration season begins, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has released a new report saying climate change threatens hundreds of species of migratory birds, already under stress from habitat loss, invasive species, and other environmental threats.

The State of the Birds: 2010 Report on Climate Change says nearly a third of the nation’s 800 bird species are endangered, threatened or in significant decline.

A crow crash in Norwalk and an eagle over Wilton

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 11 March 2010 11:50

Readers who get the Norwalk newspaper may be heard of the “mysterious death” of some 30 crows, found along the shoulder of the Route 7 connector to I-95 last week in Norwalk.  “People were wondering if they were poisoned,” says correspondent Diana Gray of Wilton.

But a day after a news story appeared, a witness told The Hour what had happened.

Distinguishing our two common ‘bird hawks’ can be confusing

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 04 March 2010 14:11

Two of the half dozen or so hawks often seen in our area are “accipiters,” so-called “bird hawks” or, as they are often known elsewhere in the world, sparrowhawks. Rather than capturing slower-moving mammals that the larger hawks favor, they pursue their own. They can catch birds on the wing, no easy feat.

The robins of winter: Sight not necessarily a sign

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 25 February 2010 11:57

Last week, Sally and I were walking home during the snow late Tuesday afternoon in Ridgefield. It’s a one-and-a-quarter-mile trip that takes us along Main Street and West Lane, both state highways. As we were nearing Ridgefield’s famous fountain, a big state highway plow truck stopped, waiting its turn in traffic.

As we approached the intersection, the plow driver rolled down his window, leaned out and yelled, “I just saw a robin!”

The wren and its risky den: Trouble in blizzards

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 18 February 2010 13:40

Some comments from a reader and the recent snows got me thinking about the Carolina Wren, that high-energy songster that seems so at home in our neck of the woods each winter.

It’s time to count your backyard birds

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 11 February 2010 11:32

Tens of thousands of people — many of them casual birdwatchers — will be  counting birds in their own backyards, local parks or wildlife refuges  throughout North America in the 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, Friday, Feb. 12, through Monday, Feb.15.

Why are there so many ‘white hawks’?

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 04 February 2010 12:00

In recent months, the column has had reports of white or partially white birds, most of them hawks from South Salem, but including an early January sighting in Ridgefield by Bob Padlowski.

Dunkin’ crows, hungry bluebirds offer backyard entertainment

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 28 January 2010 14:51

Linda Maggs of Ridgefield saw an odd sight recently.

“Included in our winter bird feeding program are containers of suet,” she writes. “Two things have happened. Yesterday I noticed a crow walking about with one of these containers in his beak.

Later, we found two of the containers in the heated bird bath. Again, this morning, another suet container was in the bird bath. Are crows reasoning that the suet will soften in the heated bird bath?”

Some interesting birds in the trees, at home and office

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 21 January 2010 14:47

Some interesting birds have been showing up in trees, both at home and at our office in the center of Ridgefield — including some you might not expect at this time of year or in this kind of place.