[CT Birds] Tues. 3/25 birds Old Saybrook, DEP headquarters, Rocky Neck

[Sailcarm at aol.com]

Yesterday, 3/25, after dropping my husband off at the train station in Old 
Saybrook I spent what was left of a gorgeous afternoon in Old Saybrook, Old Lyme 
and at Rocky Neck SP.

Old Saybrook:

North Cove - 2 ruddy ducks, 40+ buffleheads, 11 lesser scaup, 20 canvasbacks 
and 1 incessantly singing, loud no. mockingbird who almost drowned out the 
monk parakeets in the background

South Cove -- not a gull in sight!  4 bufflehead  

Dock and Dine -- almost no gulls in the water, many in the parking lot but 
all were ring-billed, GBBC, or herring.  I know I am preaching to the choir, but 
if you visit Dock and Dine to observe birds, park your car as far away from 
the gulls as possible and don't throw them an apple core near your car.  Sigh!  
Shouldn't I have known better?   

1 c. goldeneye,  a small group of lesser scaup, several groups of buffleheads 
flying in from the Sound

 From Dock and Dine I also enjoyed watching all the osprey on the Old Lyme 
side of the river on Great Island.  There were at least 8 that I counted at one 
time sitting on their nests while others were flying with nesting material.  
It did my heart good to watch all that activity! 

DEP headquarters, O. Lyme (marsh/pond in back) -- I thought I heard a LEAST 
BITTERN (???) and I am going back there today to investigate further.   I will 
certainly update this post later today as to whether this was what I heard or 
a figment of my imagination.  Almost a year spent listening to Birding by Ear 
and More Birding by Ear is starting to get to me.  I can't wait for warbler 
season to really start to put myself to the test.

Rocky  Neck SP (East Lyme) -- Of the three osprey platforms only one is being 
used.  I observed 1 osprey flying and 1 sitting on a post next to the nest 
and eating a fish until it was rudely harassed by 2 crows and took off with his 
fish.  It came back about about 10 minutes later  with the fish still in his 
talons and resumed eating.  

also: lots of great blue heron activity -- conservatively at least 6 (there 
may  have been more but I'm not sure if I were counting the same ones again)

1 great egret, 30+ green winged teal, 2 Am. wigeons, 2 hooded mergansers, 1 
belted kingfisher, 1 northern harrier, 40+ black ducks and mallards

Carolyn Cimino 
Waterford



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