For the Birds: Another successful Christmas Bird count

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Female harlequin duck, Christmas Bird Count 2025, Stamford, Connecticut.

I’ve participated in the Christmas Bird Count in all types of weather.

I can recall bitter cold days, unusually warm days, pouring rain, sleet, light snow and blustery snow squalls. Once a date is set far in advance, it is usually held on that day regardless of the weather. 

This year, the count I did with my friend Frank in southern New England took place in a wet snow that accumulated before our eyes. It made for beautiful scenery but also frozen fingers and toes, damp clothing, steamed optics and fewer birds than usual. 

It was still a great day, don’t get me wrong, but there were challenges. Birders are a determined, resourceful, and hardy bunch, though, and we made it work.

The day got off to a good start. The first spot we looked was a small, half-frozen river that feeds into Long Island Sound. Hooded mergansers and buffleheads, mostly females, swam in the water. Then Frank, who is a far superior birdwatcher than I am, noticed something different about one of the female “buffleheads.”

“Is that a harlequin duck?” he asked. “I think that’s a harlequin duck.”

Of course, as soon as he said it, the duck in question dove under the water. When it reappeared with the two female buffleheads it was swimming with, I did notice the subtle differences between the species. We studied it a bit longer and determined that it was, in fact, a harlequin duck. 

Female buffleheads, a common occurrence in southern New England during the winter, are dark overall with a single white spot on their cheeks. The other bird was a bit larger, and the main white spot on the cheek was set back a bit farther, and there were other white patches closer to the bill above and below the eye. Indeed a female harlequin duck. 

If you do an internet search for harlequin duck, the majority of the images that appear will be of the male harlequin duck. They are one of the most strikingly colored and decorated ducks around. Like most duck species, however, females are much more plain in appearance.

Christmas Bird Count participants are tasked with counting every bird they see so the database gives an accurate representation of bird populations over time. But, whether they admit it or not, the birders are hoping to find unusual or even rare birds. We hit on one of them five minutes into our count.

I did manage to get a photo to verify the sighting, but the heavily falling snow and gray day made for tough conditions. A very average (or below) photo may be found on my website, www.birdsofnewengland.com. 

After a beautiful but rather unproductive walk through a field and nearby woods, we checked out a nearby beach. Visibility was poor, so we didn’t see many ducks on the water, but a lone snow bunting flew overhead, giving us another somewhat unusual bird.

We then followed reports of a greater white-fronted goose and indeed found three of them in one of the spots it had been previously reported. 

For me, I appreciate the common birds as much, if not more than, the unusual or rare birds. With that in mind, other highlights included a huge flock of robins in a stand of cedar trees, a snow-covered great blue heron on the shoreline and watching the snow gather on the backs of the hooded mergansers we saw on the river.

The Christmas Bird Count is always a highlight of the year. This year was no exception. 

For the Birds: Winter finches starting to come around

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Photo by Chris Bosak – Red-breasted nuthatch in New England, December 2025.

I wrote about the winter finch forecast a few weeks ago. The annual forecast predicts which and how many finches will irrupt into New England from the north each winter. An irruption occurs when birds that are not typically seen in an area appear, sometimes in great numbers, during the winter.

Food, of course, is the main driver of these irruptions. If the seeds of a bird species’ diet are scarce up north, the birds will come south to find a food source.

Just like hawk watches are not restricted to hawks but include eagles, falcons and vultures, the winter finch forecast is not restricted to finches. In addition to purple finches, siskins and redpolls, the forecast includes birds such as evening grosbeaks, red-breasted nuthatches and even blue jays.

So far, I’ve seen two of the birds highlighted by the winter finch forecast. A lone red-breasted nuthatch has visited my feeder for several days now. I’ve also seen a few purple finches “in the wild” on my walks. I’ve seen blue jays too, of course, but they are probably the same ones that visited my feeders year-round.

The red-breasted nuthatch is the first one to visit my feeders in about five years. Some parts of New England are flush with red-breasted nuthatches, and in some parts the white-breasted nuthatch is the dominant nuthatch. I live where white-breasted nuthatches are commonplace and red-breasted nuthatches are cause for great excitement.

There is really no confusing the two nuthatches. Even though the white-breasted nuthatch is a relatively small songbird, it is still noticeably larger than the diminutive red-breasted nuthatch. Both birds have blue-gray backs with their undersides matching their names. The white-breasted nuthatch has a white face and black head that looks to me like a mullet. The red-breasted nuthatch has a black eye stripe. If anything, the red-breasted nuthatch is more likely to be confused with a black-capped chickadee.

As you might imagine, the “yank, yank, yank” call and song of the white-breasted nuthatch is lower in pitch than the red-breasted’s. To me anyway, the red-breasted nuthatch sometimes sounds like the Roadrunner of cartoon fame. The sounds of the red-breasted nuthatch are often ubiquitous in the New England woods, although they can be difficult to find because of the leaf cover and their small size.

Last year I saw three purple finches, two females and one male, in the same park all throughout winter. This year I’ve seen three purple finches, perhaps the same three, in that same park. My first sighting was late November. Hopefully, they will remain there all winter again. It’s a sight to behold to see a male purple finch perched on a branch as a steady snow falls around him.

As for the other finches, it’s been a while since I’ve seen any of them. Siskins invaded my feeders about eight years ago, but nothing since then. Redpolls have been even longer. Evening grosbeaks? The next time one visits my feeders will be the first. I’ve seen them in the wild on occasion, but even that has been a long while.

I have received a few emails, mostly from the Lakes Region, from people who have seen evening grosbeaks this fall, so maybe this will be my year.

Enough about me, though. Drop me a line and let me know what you’ve been seeing at your feeders or in the woods.

Northern flicker at birdbath

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Photo by Chris Bosak
A northern flicker sips from a birdbath in New England, fall 2025.

I looked out and saw that the water in the birdbath was a solid block of ice. I poured in enough warm water that the ice broke free, so I tossed the frozen block onto the ground and filled the bath with warm water. Within 10 minutes, a northern flicker arrived and took a few sips. What a design on this bird.

Snowy Christmas Bird Count

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Great blue heron in snow, Christmas Bird Count 2025, Stamford, CT.

It was that type of day for the Christmas Bird Count today (Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025). Frank and I did the Cove area of Stamford (Connecticut) and nearby Darien.

The heavy snow in the morning kept many of the land birds hidden, but many of the water birds were still around, braving the elements. A few highlight species were: harlequin duck (one female), greater white-fronted goose, killdeer, yellow-bellied sapsucker, and snow bunting.

Photo by Chris Bosak
Hooded mergansers in the snow, Christmas Bird Count 2025, Stamford, Connecticut.
Female harlequin duck, Christmas Bird Count 2025, Stamford, Connecticut.
Three greater white-fronted geese with one Canada goose, Christmas Bird Count 2025, Darien, Connecticut.

For the Birds: Nonprofits to consider for year-end gifts (donations)

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Photo by Chris Bosak
A common loon swims at Grout Pond in Vermont, spring 2023.

It’s never too late to celebrate Giving Tuesday.

Giving Tuesday, which occurred this year on December 2, is a day that supports acts of giving, most notably donating money to charities of one’s interest. It follows Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Unlike those other days, Giving Tuesday encourages people to think outwardly in their giving.

While that specific date is when many nonprofit organizations make a push to raise funds for their cause (you probably received many emails that day), the spirit of Giving Tuesday is a year-round concept.

For those who love birds and nature (presumably everyone who reads this column), there are numerous options for your philanthropic dollars. These include international, national, regional, state and local organizations that support conservation, wildlife, birds and other similar causes.

I will focus most of this column on regional, state and local organizations, but I’ll spend a minute or two on the national groups. Some of the more well-known national bird organizations include Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, American Bird Conservancy, American Birding Association, and Ducks Unlimited. My personal favorite is Cornell.

If conservation is more your thing, groups such as the Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) or Wildlife Conservation Society may be more appropriate.

When giving to large international or national organizations, I strongly encourage you to research the groups before offering your philanthropic support. Like almost everything these days, politics has become a major focus for many organizations and many of their projects may or may not align with your convictions.

Research is a good idea when considering state and local organizations as well, but these smaller groups are more likely to have a focused mission, offering a better idea of what your money is supporting.

The mission of local and regional land trusts is to preserve land and the natural character of their specific areas. As a former trustee of a local land trust, I know gifts made to these organizations go directly to preserving land.

There are far too many bird and nature organizations in the state for me to offer a summary of each one, but I’ll list a few of my favorites that come to mind. Feel free to do an internet search on any of these organizations or discover some for yourself.

Here are a few organizations to consider: Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock, Loon Preservation Committee in Moultonborough, Hawk Migration Association, New Hampshire Audubon, Vermont Institute of Natural Science and Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. 

Also, many national organizations have state or local chapters that are worth checking out too. Trout Unlimited and National Wild Turkey Federation come to mind. Also, local bird clubs and wildlife rehabilitators are worth supporting as well.

I’m sure I’ve left out tons of great organizations. Send me an email with your favorite local nonprofits and perhaps I can include them in a future column before the year is out.

If your holiday season includes giving to worthy nonprofits, consider a gift to a conservation organization. Birds and wildlife are precious resources and, as the saying goes (sort of anyway), “preserve land because they aren’t making any more.”

For the Birds runs on Mondays in The Sentinel. Chris Bosak may be reached at chrisbosak26@gmail.com or through his website http://www.birdsofnewengland.com

For the Birds: Winter birding surprises

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Photo by Chris Bosak
An eastern bluebird braves a New England winter and visit a backyard for mealworms, winter 2020.

The calendar may not show it yet, but in the New England bird world, we’ve officially entered what could be called winter birding season. The vast majority of southbound migrants have left, and the birds we get to enjoy for the next couple of months are either trusty year-round residents or northern visitors who have traveled as far south as they intend to go.

Winter is, of course, the prime time when juncos and white-throated sparrows are found in high numbers. My personal favorite part of winter birdwatching is tracking down different species of ducks. That is, if you can find some open water.

Beyond the usual suspects, like chickadees, cardinals, titmice and nuthatches, there are some other fascinating aspects of winter birdwatching. One is the possibility of a finch irruption. I wrote in a previous column about the winter finch forecast and how it could be a strong year for birds like pine siskins and redpolls to be on the move.

An irruption is when species that aren’t typically seen here, or only a few of them, suddenly appear in certain areas in higher-than-usual numbers. Lately, I’ve been seeing social media posts and hearing other reports about evening grosbeak sightings, so be sure to keep an eye out for those striking yellow birds.

Winter birding also means seeing birds that may be unexpected in the cold months. American robins are known as harbingers of spring, but many stay with us all winter in New England. They may not be the same robins that nested with us in spring and summer, but rather ones that nested farther north and have come here for a “warm” winter. Robins tend to be seen in large flocks during the winter, particularly when there are berries to be had.

Cedar waxwings are another bird species not always thought of when it comes to winter birding in New England, but it’s always a treat when you stumble across a flock. Keep an eye on any berry sources, as they give you your best shot at finding waxwings.

Similarly, eastern bluebirds are often found in winter, though many people don’t think of them as cold-weather birds. While some do migrate, others will remain with us all the way through spring.

For species like the bluebird, robin, and even some great blue herons and hawks, it comes down to the lesser of two risky choices. Stick out a New England winter, enduring tough conditions with the possibility of freezing or starving, or fly south and risk the innumerable dangers involved with migration.

I’m thankful for the ones that choose to stick around and keep us company throughout the long months here in New England. Maintaining feeders is one way to help birds make it through the winter. Cleaning out and leaving up birdhouses is another way to help out, as some birds, like chickadees, will huddle inside the shelter away from the wind and other elements. Keeping a heated birdbath is also an excellent way to help out and see birds during the winter.

Birding is rarely cut and dry. Do bluebirds migrate? Yes. Do they all migrate? No. There are many exceptions to a lot of long-held beliefs about birds. The hobby is full of surprises, even when the winter landscape looks so bleak and lifeless.

For the Birds: Inside the hawkwatch

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Photo by Chris Bosak
Young Cooper’s hawk in New England.

Last week’s For the Birds column highlighted the results of this year’s fall hawkwatches with a particular focus on Pack Monadnock in Peterborough. The column was heavily focused on data and the number of birds counted.

A number of questions came up in my head as I looked at the results and compiled the data. Not one to let questions go unanswered in my head, I turned to the experts for some explanations.

Specifically, I had an enjoyable chat with Phil and Julie Brown of Hancock, N.H. Phil is the Bird Conservation Director and Land Specialist at the Harris Center for Conservation Education. His wife, Julie, is the Raptor Migration and Program Director of the Hawk Migration Association.

The sheer number of broad-winged hawks was the main thing that jumped out at me as I looked at the data last week. Nearly 6,000 of the 8,500 hawks counted during the 2025 fall migration at Pack Monadnock were broad-winged hawks. To me, it was a bit surprising, as I see red-tailed hawks and red-shouldered hawks all the time, but I rarely see broad-winged hawks.

As a quick reminder, “hawkwatch” in this sense includes eagles, ospreys, falcons and vultures as well.

Julie and Phil explained that broad-winged hawks tend to be more elusive during the breeding season and that they more readily form flocks for migration than other raptors. While most hawks pass over the mountain as one or two birds at a time, broad-winged hawks pass over in huge numbers on certain days.

“They are responsible for a lot of the magic of hawkwatches,” Julie said. “Many people say broad-winged hawks are what got them hooked on hawkwatches.”

While the broad-winged hawk migration is truly a spectacle, with as many as 3,000 or more seen on a single day, it is very time specific. September 14-20 is the sweet spot when nearly all of the broad-wingeds pass through. Phil said many people take the entire week off from work to not miss the right day.

Mark your calendars for the middle of next September and keep your eyes out for a forecast that calls for light or variable winds from the north (or northeast or northwest), particularly following a cold front.

As remarkable as 3,000 birds in a single day is, Julie pointed out that critical hawkwatching sites such as Veracruz, Mexico, can get hundreds of thousands of broad-winged hawks in a single day.

I had a similar question about sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks, smallish but fierce hawks that often terrorize birdfeeders. While we tend to see more Cooper’s hawks in our daily lives, sharp-shinned hawks far outnumber Cooper’s hawks on counts. Cooper’s hawks have adapted much better to suburban and urban areas, and many overwinter in New England.

Differentiating between these accipiters often leads to debate, as the species are very similar in appearance. Cooper’s hawks are generally larger, but size is not a reliable determining factor. Even experts debate which bird they are looking at.

Seeing one of these hawks from a distance during a hawkwatch makes for an easier identification, Phil said, as their wing-flapping cadence and other behaviors are reliable differentiators.

Despite the seemingly high numbers of sharp-shinned hawks that are counted on hawkwatches, the Browns said the species is in decline. Phil said sharp-shinned hawks, goshawks, American kestrels and northern harriers do not get the attention they deserve for their decline.

Julie said rodenticides are a major factor in the decline of many hawks, and wildlife rehabilitators are often overwhelmed by the number of poisoned hawks that are brought in. Many people who use rodenticides do not realize the consequences, she said, and education is important in reversing the trend.

“It’s so preventable,” she said.

To end on a positive note (it is the holiday season, after all), the Browns actually met during a hawkwatch on Pack Monadnock in 2006. Julie was a seasonal hawk counter for New Hampshire Audubon, and Phil worked for New Hampshire Audubon at the time. They met on the mountain and got to talking about their love of nature and the boreal forest. Their main goal that day was to see a golden eagle, and sure enough, one of the magnificent birds flew over.

Their wedding bands are adorned with etchings of a golden eagle and the profile of Pack Monadnock.

For the Birds: Breaking down hawkwatch season

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Photo by Chris Bosak A broad-winged hawk perches in a tree in northern New Hampshire, July 2020.

The fall hawkwatching season is winding down. Raptor sightings at the various dedicated locations are slowing down, with only a handful of birds counted each day as November progresses.

It’s a good time, therefore, to check in to see how the various hawkwatching sites fared this year. New England has several popular sites, but Pack Monadnock at Miller State Park in Peterborough is New Hampshire’s most active and popular site. The hawk count is a project of the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock.

As of November 11, and according to hawkcount.org, overall numbers look good in 2025 at Pack Monadnock and outpace the number of hawks counted in 2024. It may be noted, however, that 2025 numbers are below the several years prior to 2024. With the official count season ending there on November 20, Pack Monadnock will end up with about 8,500 hawks counted for the fall.

The term hawk is used somewhat loosely here as the count includes hawks, eagles, ospreys, vultures and falcons. The hawks are counted by experts and volunteers who sit at the peak of Pack Monadnock and watch the birds soar in from the north. I’ve been to several hawkwatch sites and am always amazed at the skills of the official counters. They see and identify most of the birds long before the bird is even in view of most other people. 

Before reading on, can you guess what hawks are counted the most? Hint: One bird stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of sheer numbers. Another hint: It’s not the red-tailed hawk, which I assume would be many people’s first guess. 

That bird is the broad-winged hawk. Of the roughly 8,500 birds counted at Pack Monadnock this fall, nearly 6,000 (5,821 to be precise) were broad-winged hawks. A distant second is the sharp-shinned hawk with 1,133. 

Simple math (even though I used a calculator) shows that broad-winged and sharp-shinned hawks account for more than 80 percent of the total birds counted. The number drops sharply again for the third-most-counted “hawk,” the turkey vulture, with 222 individuals counted. 

For all you stat geeks out there (like me), the next birds in line are American kestrel (196), Cooper’s hawk (190), osprey (167), bald eagle (159), red-tailed hawk (154) and northern harrier (121). Remember, these are not final numbers, but they will be pretty close.

Although “only” five golden eagles were counted, I’m sure each one elicited some oohs and aahs from the crowd. 

According to hawkcount.org, a page that aggregates hawkwatch sites across the country, a few New Hampshire schools performed mini-hawkwatches this September. Concord School District did a week-long program and counted, you guessed it, mostly broad-winged hawks. Turkey vultures were also counted in fairly high numbers.

Interlakes Elementary School in Meredith did a two-day count and found an impressive 1,350 broad-winged hawks, including 1,257 in a single day. Sharp-shinned hawks and turkey vultures were the next highest counts. 

The aptly named Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Kempton, Pennsylvania, is perhaps the most well-known hawkwatch site in the East. Similar to Pack Monadnock, broad-winged hawks were the most numerous, accounting for 9,015 of the 13,436 overall birds counted. Sharp-shinned hawks were next with 1,530. 

If you missed this year’s hawk counts, mark your calendars for next year. You don’t want to miss mid-September, which is when the number of broad-winged hawks peaks. More than 3,000 broad-wingeds were counted on September 14 at Pack Monadnock. The conditions must have been right just on that day. October is a good month to see a variety of species, while things start to slow down by November.

The end of hawkwatching season means that winter is right around the corner. Winter may bring out a bah humbug from many, but it is also a great time for birdwatching, just in a different way.

More junco on goldenrod photos

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Photo by Chris Bosak – A dark-eyed junco eats goldenrod seeds at Huntington State Park in Redding, Connecticut, November 2025.

Here are a few more photos of my experience with juncos in the goldenrod field recently. See the last “For the Birds” column for the whole story. On a side note, now you know what goldenrod looks like after the yellow flowers die off.

Thanks for your support of Birds of New England.com.

Photo by Chris Bosak – A dark-eyed junco eats goldenrod seeds at Huntington State Park in Redding, Connecticut, November 2025.
Photo by Chris Bosak – A dark-eyed junco eats goldenrod seeds at Huntington State Park in Redding, Connecticut, November 2025.
Photo by Chris Bosak – A dark-eyed junco eats goldenrod seeds at Huntington State Park in Redding, Connecticut, November 2025.

For the Birds: Surrounded by juncos

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Photo by Chris Bosak – A dark-eyed junco eats goldenrod seeds at Huntington State Park in Redding, Connecticut, November 2025.

Have you seen any videos of kayakers being surrounded by whales? 

I’ve seen a few such videos. I’m not sure where they were filmed, but I’m reasonably sure they are real and not AI-generated. Of course, it’s getting harder to tell these days.

While being surrounded by whales would be a moment you’d never forget, I’m not sure I’d want to experience it. I didn’t get into bird- and wildlife-watching for extreme, brush-with-destiny experiences. 

I did, however, have a similar experience last week. Granted, this was far less risky and would never go viral on social media, but for me, it was a moment I won’t soon forget.

I came to the part of the trail where it exits the woods and cuts through the middle of a smallish meadow, about the size of a football field. Like most meadows, it looks vastly different depending on the season. In the spring, it is lush green and the flowers, weeds and grasses seem to grow by the hour. In the summer and early fall, colorful blooms take over the scene, and the growth is so thick that the trail becomes impassable. I tried plowing through the trail once in the summer and was covered with ticks by the time I reached the other side. I’m not doing that again.

In the fall, after the goldenrod has faded but before winter applies its death grip, the field is a pleasing palette of subtle brown and yellow notes. Fall foliage from the woods and brushy areas around the perimeter of the meadow paints the background with vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow.

Such was the scene the other day when I entered the meadow. I immediately noticed a ton of bird activity among the browned grasses and weeds. A lone palm warbler flew off into the brush, and a small group of white-throated sparrows followed suit. But the juncos remained.

I got about 15 steps into the meadow and stopped. I looked around and realized I was surrounded by juncos. The little black or dark gray and white birds went about their business of eating goldenrod seeds while I took in the scenery. It was difficult to get an accurate count because many of the birds preferred to do their seed hunting toward the middle of the plant instead of the top. I would guess there were at least 30 juncos total in all directions from where I stood, some as close as 10 feet away.

Again, not quite like being surrounded in a kayak by whales, but I’ll take it any day. 

On top of everything else, it was a perfect late fall morning. It was about 50 degrees, enough to need a sweatshirt but nothing more, and light cloud cover kept the harsh sun at bay. As I get older, I am much more appreciative of moments like this. I was outdoors, the temperature was ideal (for me anyway), and dozens of birds surrounded me. 

In this day of virulent political division, social media dumpster fires, and animosity toward fellow man by so many, it’s nice to get lost in moments like these. Leave it to New England nature to provide the perfect escape.