The babes of spring, above and on the ground

Written by Jack Sanders
Thursday, 21 April 2011 10:16

Dr. Morris Finkelstein of Greenwich loves photographing birds.

Last year, among his contributions was a wonderful picture of a pair of Great Horned Owls on a branch at Tod’s Point — also called Greenwich Point — the town park that juts out into Long Island Sound.

“This winter, my wife Debbie and I spotted probably the same pair in the Holly Grove area on Jan. 4,” Dr. Finkelstein writes. “We looked for them while walking at the park, and were able to find them most of the time. A fellow photographer at the park pointed out to us the female in a nest on Feb. 27. The female was always on the nest whenever we visited, during daylight hours, for many weeks.

“On April 10th, the female owl finally left the nest, and a newborn owl was visible. I heard from this other photographer that the female was seen feeding the newborn a week earlier, approximately April 2; the time between spotting the owl in the nest and the first observation of the female feeding the newborn was 35 days.

“We observed the female and male owls flying past the nest every 10 or 20 minutes, and never separating from the nest by more than several hundred yards. The female appears to return to the nest, and the newborn owl, in the late afternoon.

“According to Smithsonian Handbooks: Birds of North America, the incubation duration for a Great Horned Owl is 28-35 days, an the young owl stays in the nest for 35-45 days.”

Turkey time

Cheryl Thompson of Weston has “frequently wondered about the secret life of Wild Turkeys” and has done a little research to answer questions such as:

“Where do turkeys go in the winter (nowhere, it turns out). Now that turkey romance is in the air, I questioned: Where do the hens nest? Not surprisingly, on the ground.

“We have a young hen who is the process of making her nest right now just a few feet from our home in a bed of pachysandra. It’s near a stream and right on top of the trail the turkeys have created.

“Over the last three days, she has laid one egg per day. After the egg is deposited, she covers it up with leaves then hits the trail only to return about the same time the next day to lay one more.

“I’ve read that she’ll lay up to about 12 eggs. When she’s done laying, she’ll incubate the eggs by sitting on her nest. We’re hopeful for a successful hatch and plenty of poults!

“I’m amazed that the eggs don’t need to be kept warm. How is it that the eggs can remain viable without a heat source?”

Coming up

Listening to the Landscape: Using Nature’s Clues to Design a Garden That Works, how to attract more birds, bees, butterflies, etc., with Scott LaFleur, the Horticulture Director for the New England Wild Flower Society, Saturday, April 23, 3 to 4:30 p.m., $5, Greenwich Audubon, 613 Riversville Road, RSVP 203-869-5272 x239, greenwich.audubon.org

Garret Mountain Birding, field trip in Passaic County, N.J., for spring migrants, Sunday, April 23, depart 6 a.m. from Millwood A&P, $5, Saw Mill River Audubon, register 914-666-6503, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , sawmillriveraudubon.org.

Birding By Ear, indoor and outdoor workshop on bird sounds, Saturday, May 7, 9:30 to noon, $12 adults, children free, Greenwich Audubon, 613 Riversville Road, RSVP 203-869-5272 x230, greenwich.audubon.org

Bird Tours, with Connecticut Audubon, Mount Auburn, Cambridge, Mass. May 13-15; Martha’s Vineyard, May 26-29; Connecticut Lakes, N.H., June 2 to 5; Iceland, June; Nova Scotia, July; California, September; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 860-767-0660.

“First Sundays,” bird walks open to all ages and skills, at Greenwich Point, with Meredith Sampson, first Sunday of the month, through May, 9 a.m. sponsored by Wild Wings, Inc., Bruce Museum and Audubon Greenwich, 203-637-9822.

Copyright 2011 by Jack Sanders. Send sightings or comments to: jackfsanders [at sign] yahoo.com, or to Bird Notes, Box 1019, Ridgefield, CT 06877; or call 203-438-1183, extension BIRD (2473), and leave a message with your report, spelling your first and last names and telling us your town. If you need help identifying a bird, try your local nature center. If you find an injured bird, call wildlife rehabilitator Darlene Wimbrow of Redding, 203-438-0618, Wildlife in Crisis of Weston, 203-544-9913, or Wild Wings of Greenwich, 203-637-9822. The columnist’s website is www. sandersbooks. com.