[CT Birds] Woodock - heads up

[Greg Hanisek]

Yesterday I saw one of the Peregrines that Patrick Comins has reported occasionally soaring over Rt 8 just north of the I-84 Mixmaster in Waterbury. Today I settled in at my desk at the Waterbury Republican-American and got a message from a co-worker that I've received a number of times in recent years - "bird head in parking lot."

The big brick tower you see off the north side of I-84 when you pass through Waterbury is part of the newspaper's building. Peregrine have used it sporadically as a roosting and feeding perch for several years, and as Patrick noted they also use billboards and possibly the superstructure beneath the highway for the same purpose. No nesting has been confirmed, but it wouldn't be surprising.

I went out to check the head, and as has been the case on at least 4 different occasions, it was the head of a Woodcock. These Peregrines seem to have made them something of a spring dietary specialty, which means the falcons must be pretty good at hunting in the low light of dawn and dusk.

Greg Hanisek
Waterbury