[CT Daily] 03/18/2008 LITTLE GULL

[Roy Harvey]

----->  Important Reminder!
----->     COA Annual Meeting!
----->        Saturday, March 29!
----->           8:00 AM to 4:00 PM!

The COA annual meeting is being held again at Middlesex Community
College in Middletown, Connecticut.

Do you find identifying shorebirds a challenge?  Kevin Karlson,
co-author of The Shorebird Guide has a different approach that may
make the difference for you!

Do you care about bird conservation?  Two presentations deal with it.
Jack Wells is the author of the recently published Birder's
Conservation Handbook, while Robert Askins relates our local
challenges to those seen in Japan.

Does the idea of travelling to the far reaches of the earth to see a
Black-and-white Warbler seem a bit odd?  Julian Hough will talk on one
of the United Kingdon's most serious birding destinations.

There is more than just preseentations of course.  There are faces to
put to names, frienships to make and renew, raffles, vendors selling
all sorts of birding items, and more.  And it is a chance to support
the COA, sponsor of this daily report.

There is still time to pre-register if you act in the next couple of
days.  (If you want the catered lunch you HAVE to pre-register!)  The
form, and all the details of the meeting, are on the COA web site at:
http://www.ctbirding.org/08meeting.htm
http://www.ctbirding.org/08docs/08COAmeeting.pdf

Hope to see you there!

Roy Harvey

(Now we return to our regularly scheduled bird report.)


 From Meredith Sampson w/ Penny Solum:
3/18 - West Haven, Woodmont Beach -- LITTLE GULL with at least 200
BONAPARTE'S GULLS feeding on plankton at about 1:00.

 From John & Linda Clancy:
3/18 - Suffield -- 2 TUNDRA SWANS in same location as yesterday, off
rte 159 at 10:30 AM

 From Tim Antanaitis:
3/18 - South Windsor, Newberry Road, Station 43 -- 6:15-7:25pm, 2
NORTHERN SHOVELER (m+f), 3 AMERICAN WOODCOCK

 From Lorraine Gundersen:
3/18 -- Guilford, West Woods, near Peddler Lane entrance -- 2 American
Woodcock.

 From Robert Batterson:
3/18 - Kent, Geer Mountain Rd -- pair COMMON RAVENS calling to each
other, flying south towards New Milford.

 From Paul Cianfaglione:
3/18 - Hartford, Hartford Landfill -- 2 PEREGRINE FALCONS grappling
and screaming over the landfill. One bird went north and the other
headed back towards the Travelers tower. 
3/18 - Wethersfield, Wethersfield Cove -- 1 first winter ICELAND GULL.
 From Don Lukaszek:
3/17 - Middletown, near Arragone Bridge -- around noon, Peregrine
Falcon seen flying west toward Middletown

 From Carolyn Cimino:
3/18 - Old Saybrook, North Cove -- 15 LESSER SCAUP.
CT River just north of Dock and Dine -- 19 LESSER SCAUP.

 From Tim Antanaitis:
3/17 - Mansfield, intersection of Mansfield City Rd & Stearns Rd -- 1
CACKLING GOOSE (body mass half that of surrounding Canadas, neck very
short and thick when extended, bill tiny and stubby, breast not as
pale as most Canadas) 6:30 - 7:00 pm

 From Dave Rosgen:
3/17 - Litchfield, S. Lake St. (White Memorial's Little Pond
Boardwalk) -- 1 NORTHERN PINTAIL, 14 American Woodcocks displaying, 13
Rusty Blackbirds.
White's Woods Rd. (White Memorial's Hamill Marsh) -- 3 additional
American Woodcocks displaying
15 White Hall Rd. (White Memorial) -- 1 Brown Creeper
80 White Hall Rd. (White Memorial's Museum Feeders) - 4 Fox Sparrows

 From Dave Rosgen, w/ John Eykelhoff:
3/17 - Litchfield, Litchfield Town Beach -- 4 Common Redpolls
Pt. Folly Marsh -- 4 Rusty Blackbirds, 2 Common Redpolls

 From Gerri Griswold, w/ James Fischer:
3/17 - Torrington, Rt. 272 & Marshall Lake Rd. -- 1 Common Raven


 From Frank Mantlik, wth Mike Moccio
3/16 - Stratford, Long Beach -- 4:30pm, TUNDRA SWAN continues in salt
marsh, viewed with scopes from dune near end of parking lot.  Also
present in marsh were a foraging flock of 22 BOAT-TAILED GRACKLES. 
And on the water (Sound) feeding on plankton were 2500 gulls (75%
Ring-billed, 25% Herring, only 6 Bonaparte's).

 From Mike Doyle:
3/16 - Litchfield, Webster Rd. (White Memorial's Cranberry Pond Trail)
-- 1 NORTHERN SHRIKE, 1 Common Raven
N. Shore Rd. (Bantam Lake's Pt. Folly) -- 1 SNOW GOOSE.