Summer Bird Counts 2022

State-wide SBC compiler Tom Robben has announced the calendar of 2022 Summer Bird Counts.  “There are no other breeding bird counts both on such a large geographic scale (eight 15-mile circles) and on such a very large time scale (done annually, every year, over multiple decades, some going back to the 1970s), ” Tom says. “As … Read more

Bird of the Month: April 2022

Mandts Black Guillemot. Photo by Joe McNally

Black Guillemot (Cepphus grylle) The photo above by Joe McNally is from the COA 2022 Annual Meeting keynote talk by George Divoky about a study of the subspecies Mandt’s Black Guillemot in Alaska. No photo of the Connecticut bird is available. STATE YEAR LIST, for Connecticut, for 2022: During January birders reported 175 bird species, … Read more

Lights Out Connecticut to Help Protect Millions of Migratory Birds

Businesses and Residents Encouraged to Turn Off Lights Each Evening (Milford, CT) April 20, 2022—Last night, the Connecticut Ornithological Association launched its new Lights Out Connecticut initiative to help save migratory birds in the state of Connecticut. Connecticut is now the fourth state in the nation, after Colorado, Georgia, and Texas, to have a dedicated statewide “Lights … Read more

COA Offers Warbler Workshop with Zoom and Field Trips

Friday, May 6 at 6:30 pm. Online via Zoom (Register in advance) Zoom Presenter: Chris Wood In-person Field Trips dates in May at various locations and times  Hello Fellow Warbler Lovers!  Once again Connecticut Ornithological Association offers its Spring Workshop on Wood Warblers, this year with guided field trips. (Yay!) Wood Warblers (family Parulidae) are … Read more

Bird of the Month: March 2022

Photo above: Short-billed Gull, March 20,2022. Long Beach, Stratford, CT. Photo for eBird by Frank Mantlik Short-billed Gull (Larus brachyrhynchus) During January 175 bird species were added to initialize this year’s eBird CT “state year list”.  Four species were added in February, and in March EIGHTEEN additional new species were added to our state year … Read more

Bird of the Month: February 2022

Common (Kamchatka) Gull During January 175 bird species were added to this year’s eBird CT “state year list”, and in February only four new species were added to our state year list (bringing the state year list up to 179 species). Here are those four species, in the proposed rank order of noteworthiness (regardless of how … Read more

COA Leaders Discuss Birding for Bruce Museum Panel

The Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT invited four birding experts who are current or former COA leaders to discuss birding’s popularity and role in science. What is the impact of birding on a local, national, and international scale, and what can birds teach us about ourselves? The program titled “Bruce Presents: Birding, from Back Yard … Read more

Bird of the Month: January 2022

Thick-billed Murre.01.17.2022 Patrick Dugan

Thick-billed Murre The top Bird of the Month (BOTM) bird for January 2022 was Thick-billed Murre (two different individual birds –and now a third one at Harkness on February 2). One was spotted and photographed on Jan.17 by Patrick Dugan (at Cove Island Park) and the second was spotted and photographed at the other end … Read more

COA’s 2022 Workshops and Events Schedule (Preliminary)

American Redstart, Photo Steve Morytko

Here is Connecticut Ornithological Association’s preliminary 2022 Workshop and Events Schedule. All dates, leaders, presenters, and topics are subject to change. Watch the COA website (https://www.ctbirding.org) for updates. Currently, all workshop presentations and meetings are expected to be by Zoom, with guided field trips for seasonal birding workshops. Participants in public gatherings are encouraged to … Read more

Bird of the Month – December 2021

Bird Of The Month (BOTM) BOTM for Connecticut for the month of December 2021 This brief project analyzed the most uncommon birds reported in Connecticut during the month of December 2021, and the results of that are summarized below.  COA is running its new bird-of-the-month (BOTM) project for both December 2021 and January 2022 as … Read more