Jan 25, 2008
Bird Notes 1/24/08
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Kristen Riolo of Darien took the accompanying photo of a pair of Hooded Mergansers at Pear Tree Point Beach in Darien recently. “My son’s bird book states that these are rare in all seasons,” she said. “They are very shy....I tried to get close to them once before weeks ago and they flew away.”
The cold months are the best time to see these unusually handsome ducks in our area. They winter along our unfrozen coast, favoring brackish water, and spend the summers to the north and west of us, on wooded lakes, ponds and rivers.
They are famous for the big, white and black head crest that males display when trying to attract females. In his
Essential Field Guide Companion, Pete Dunne says it “opens and closes like a Chinese fan.” It’s probably not quite the season for courting, and the male at the left in Kristen’s photo has his crest down. The female also has a collapsible crest, which is reddish and not nearly as showy.
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These birds are excellent at diving and can chase and catch fish with ease. They also eat just about anything else in the water, from crabs and insects to plants.
They are, indeed, shy, and usually won’t even associate with other ducks.
Hooded Mergansers used to be rare, but their numbers have been improving and they are not hard to find from late fall through March. One reason for their resurgence is the large number of nesting boxes that have been set up, mostly to attract Wood Ducks. Hooded Mergansers, also cavity nesters, have been using the Wood Duck boxes.
Of course, they will also use sizable holes in trees, and the reforestation of our once agricultural region may also be contributing to the population increases in the Northeast. Not surprisingly, the nesting trees must be near water.
In the spring, a few days after the eight or so offspring hatch, the babies must begin finding their own food. But first they have to get to water. If the nest hole is high in a tree, the parents will probably carry them one at a time down to the ground and nearby water. If the nest is low enough, the ducklings may be encouraged to jump — or tumble — down. The babies can swim, dive and feed themselves long before they are large enough to fly.
In a book called
Our Amazing Birds, Robert S. Lemmon wrote in 1951 that “in all the bird world, there is no more charming sight than a pair of hoodeds convoying their brood of eight or ten wee ducklings on the clear water of a forest lake, often with several of the little ones riding with evident enjoyment on their mother’s back.”
Eagle festival
Connecticut Audubon Society will host the Ninth Annual Eagle Festival Feb. 16 and 17 in downtown Essex where thousands have gathered on past Presidents’ Weekends to see Bald Eagles in their native habitat along the lower Connecticut River. The event is being called the “largest birding festival in North America.”
Connecticut has the largest concentration of eagles in the Northeast, says Connecticut Audubon’s Mara Neville. Starting in November, as northern lakes and rivers start to freeze over, up to 100 Bald and Golden Eagles arrive along the lower banks of the Connecticut River to feed on the catfish, white perch and herring found in the still-unfrozen waters.
Environmental educators will lead free land-based viewings. Ninety-minute tours aboard Mystique, a dinner/cruise vessel depart at 8 a.m. ($35 for adults, $20 for children), 10 a.m. and noon ($40 for all), and 2 p.m. ($35/$20). Children four and younger are free.
Many free programs include lectures, live birds of prey shows, bird-carving demonstrations, nature exhibits, children’s programming, storytelling, and music. You can have your picture taken with a live bird of prey, with the $10 cost supporting conservation, education and advocacy programs.
A forum, “Connecticut’s Conservation Agenda: Where Do We Go from Here?” led by TV host Phil Donahue, will take place Saturday at 2.
For more information, visit ctaudubon.org/about/eaglefestival.htm.
Coming Up
Harlequins and the Rhode Island Coast, all day trip, Thursday, Jan. 31, $35/$40, Connecticut Audubon,
pwood@ctaudubon.org
, 860-767-0660.
Great Hudson River Excursion, waterfowl, birds of prey, etc., all day, with John Askildsen, Saturday, Feb. 9, 9 a.m., bring lunch, Croton River Landing (beyond Croton station), or carpool from Katonah, register with jebecker@bedfordaudubon.org, 914-232-4806.
Eagle Viewing Boats Tours, Feb. 9 to March 16, Tuesdays/Thursdays, 10 a.m., Saturdays and Sundays, 9 and 11, Connecticut Audubon Society, 860-767-0660,
pwood@ctaudubon.org
Eagle Festival, Feb 16 and 17, Connecticut Audubon, Essex, 860-767-0660, ctaudubon.org
Hammonasett Hike, looking for spring birds, Saturday, March 8, 8 to 11, free, Connecticut Audubon, pwood@ctaudubon.org, 860-767-0660.
Bird walks with Luke Tiller, Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. $5 each; to register, www.sunrisebirding.com/walks.htm; 203-981-9924, luke.tiller@gmail.com.
First Sundays, birding at Greenwich Point with Meredith Sampson of Wild Wings, and other guides, Feb. 3, March 2, April 6, May 4, 9 a.m., meet at the second concession stand, 203-637-9822.
Bird walks, first and third Saturday at 7:45 a.m., free, meet at Wild Bird Center of Norwalk, 335 Westport Avenue (Route 1), www.wildbird.com/Norwalk, 203-846-BIRD.
Copyright (c) 2007 by Jack Sanders. Send sightings or comments via e-mail to: jackfsanders@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 with identifying a bird, try
your local nature center. If you find an injured bird, call wildlife
rehabilitator Darlene Wimbrow, 203-438-0618 or Wildlife in C
risis, 203-544-9913. The columnist’s website is www.sandersbooks.com
.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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