I opted to wait until today (Sunday) to check lakes for scoters and struck out.  Friday would have been ideal, but I wanted to get some photos from canoe so I waited for the wind to die down. Inland flights are really a one-day wonder at this time of year.  Nevertheless, a few interesting species […]

I was standing on the Hinsdale railtrail scanning the river, kinda hoping for redhead or some other treat when I caught this guy in my scope.  It was 620 yards away (I will explain how I know further down), and I thought, hmmmm.  Shorebird for sure, calidris likely, dunlin perhaps.  But at 5 football fields […]

Chickering Farm, Westmoreland A large farm located on Route 63 in Westmoreland, just south of the intersection with Route 12, like most other farms along the Connecticut River, Chickering Farm is planted with corn during summer. Because of its size its a good birding location most of the year, the exception being summer when its […]

I hit a few more local spots this weekend – CT River on Sat, and Concord area fields on Sunday. CT river has a good variety of waterfowl for autumn (usually lousy at this time of year, birds mostly flyover), due mainly to the excellent habitat at Hinsdale (low water). Ring-necked duck with good numbers […]

Witness the curves for rough-legged hawk and golden eagle migration from Hawk Mtn, PA (golden colored graph for the eagle). Golden eagles are also observed from hawkwatch sites across New England each fall.  Although single day counts from Hawk Mountain can reach double digits (31 birds, November 20, 2003), New Hampshire has only once reached […]