[CT Birds] 177 species reported to date in CT

[Clay Taylor]

Hi all -

Dave's note on the upcoming Small Gull Fest on the coast reminds me of a
story.

In the late 70s or early 80s, a report came in to Bob Dewire (who was the
"voice" of the CT Rare Bird telephone recording) from a birder about a
Black-headed Gull and a Gull-billed Tern at Griswold Point, seen in with a
large flock of Bonies.    I remember Bob saying that he couldn't contact the
person for more details, it sounded weird, but in those days of no instant
internet condemnation, he figured that he might as well see if anybody could
re-find the thing.

I was puzzled about what the "Gull-billed Tern" could possibly be, since the
location and date were WAY out of whack, so George Zepko and I put in the
canoe and went out to the Point.   The Bonies were there, the Black-headed
Gull was there, but no GBT.

Years later, the lightbulb went off in my head - a medium-sized whitish tern
with a thick black bill that was totally out of range and season could
actually be a very small whitish gull with a stubby black bill - Ross' Gull!

There was a Ross' Gull reported at Niagara Falls recently - keep your eyes
open.

Clay Taylor
Moodus, CT
ctaylor at att.net






----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Provencher" <davidprovencher at sbcglobal.net>
To: "CTBirds" <ctbirds at lists.ctbirding.org>
Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2008 10:46 AM
Subject: [CT Birds] 177 species reported to date in CT


> Well we are truly in the dog days of February now. The only species added
> since last I posted was Steve Mayo's American Woodcock. We are just
> beginning to enter the period when Bonaparte's Gulls start to be found in
> the early stage of their migration buildup. These flocks can hold
> Black-headed Gull, Little Gull, or with a huge dollop of luck Ross's Gull.
> South Cove Old Saybrook and Oyster River in Milford are two traditional
> spots for these build-ups but these small gulls have been found everywhere
> along the CT shoreline in the past. With the exception of Ross's Gull of
> course! It is quite likely that one of these gulls will be the next
species
> added to the CT year list. After that it's either going to be Osprey,
Piping
> Plover, or Barn Swallow. Unless one of us get's really lucky and finds a
> goodie like a Hawk Owl!
>
>
>
> Some of the species currently possible in CT but not yet reported include:
> Tundra Swan, Blue-winged Teal, Little Gull, Black-headed Gull,
Black-legged
> Kittiwake, Thick-billed Murre, Snowy Owl. Any species in a sensitive
> location, such as the Rufous Hummingbird that is listed below, can be
> reported to me directly. By-the-way, the Rufous Hummingbird has apparently
> moved on consistent with previous over-winterers of this species.
>
>
>
> Good Birding!
>
>
>
> Dave
>
>
>
> The current list:
>
>
>
> Greater White-fronted Goose, Snow Goose, Brant, Canada Goose, Cackling
> Goose, Mute Swan, Wood Duck, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon,
> American Black Duck, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler,
> Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup,
> Lesser Scaup, King Eider, Common Eider, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter,
> Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's
> Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser,
Ruddy
> Duck
>
>
>
> Ring-necked Pheasant, Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey
>
>
>
> Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe,
Red-necked
> Grebe
>
>
>
> Northern Gannet, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Cormorant, American
> Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black-crowned Hight-Heron
>
>
>
> Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned
> Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged
> Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Golden Eagle, American Kestrel,
> Merlin, Peregrine Falcon
>
>
>
> Clapper Rail, Virginia Rail, American Coot, Sandhill Crane
>
>
>
> Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs,
Ruddy
> Turnstone, Dunlin, Purple Sandpiper, Sanderling, Western Sandpiper,
Wilson's
> Snipe, American Woodcock
>
>
>
> Bonaparte's Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Iceland Gull, Lesser
> Black-backed Gull, Glaucous Gull, Great Black-backed Gull
>
>
>
> Razorbill, Black Guillemot
>
>
>
> Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Monk Parakeet
>
>
>
> Barn Owl*, Eastern Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl, Long-eared
> Owl, Short-eared Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl
>
>
>
> Rufous Hummingbird *, Belted Kingfisher
>
>
>
> Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,
> Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker
>
>
>
> Eastern Phoebe
>
>
>
> Northern Shrike
>
>
>
> Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Common Raven
>
>
>
> Horned Lark
>
>
>
> Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Sheez!)
>
>
>
> Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Red-breasted Nuthatch,
> White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper
>
>
>
> Carolina Wren, House Wren, Winter Wren, Marsh Wren
>
>
>
> Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit
> Thrush, American Robin
>
>
>
> Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher
>
>
>
> European Starling, American Pipit
>
>
>
> Cedar Waxwing, Bohemian Waxwing
>
>
>
> Orange-crowned Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Pine
> Warbler, Palm Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat
>
>
>
> Western Tanager
>
>
>
> Eastern Towhee, American Tree Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow,
> Vesper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow (including "Ipswich Sparrow"), Fox
Sparrow,
> Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow,
>
> White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco (including
> Oregon Junco), Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting
>
>
>
> Northern Cardinal
>
>
>
> Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Rusty
> Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird,
> Baltimore Oriole
>
>
>
> Pine Grosbeak, Purple Finch, House Finch, Red Crossbill, White-winged
> Crossbill, Common Redpoll, Hoary Redpoll, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch,
> Evening Grosbeak
>
>
>
> House Sparrow
>
>
>
> * At undisclosed sensitive location
>
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