Bantam Lake Finally Freezes Over!

Bantam Lake's Outlet as viewed from the

Pt. Folly observation platform in a photo

taken by Ashley Hayes 5 weeks before the rest

of the Lake iced-over on 1/16/2012

Bald Eagles, photo by Paul Fusco from

www.paulfuscowildlifephotography.com

Canada Geese photo by Bob Stanowski

Mallard photo from www.wikimedia.org

Northern Pintail photo by Tom Munson

from www.fishandgameidaho.gov

As of yesterday, 1/16/2012, most of Bantam Lake had frozen over. This is amazingly late! As usual, the Outlet and the Bantam River downstream all the way to Rt. 209 has remained ice-free. This is typical except in the most severely cold winters. Though much of the waterfowl that had been seen daily at the Lake so far this winter left in the past 3 days, huge numbers of Canada Geese and Mallards, along with fair numbers of American Black Ducks and Ring-necked Ducks, 3 Lesser Scaup, a Northern Pintail, 3 Hooded Mergansers, and at least 101 American Coots have remained in the open water of the Outlet. The geese and Mallards have fallen into a winter activity mode of foraging in cornfields in Litchfield, Morris, Bethlehem, Warren, and Goshen by day, and roosting at the Outlet from sunset until sunrise. Thus, it is best to look for these birds either from the N. Shore Rd. bridge over the Bantam River or the Pt. Folly observation platform between 7 and 8 a.m. or 4 and 5:30 p.m. Any other time of day will produce a lot less. This has been highlighted by our counts Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The morning observations, made by Mike Doyle, produced counts of 725, 500, 800, and 800 Canada Geese and 3, 52, 5, and 13 Mallards for these 4 days, respectively. John Eykelhoff didn't find more than 65 Canada Geese and 10 Mallards on his noon-time visits here these days. However, Jim Kandefer and I counted 1,075 Canada Geese and 500 Mallards coming in to roost here between 4:30 p.m. and dark on Monday, and Jim Dugan and I counted 675 Canada Geese and 175 Mallards doing the same thing during the same time frame on Wednesday. No evening counts were conducted on Tuesday or Thursday. During both evening counts, more geese and Mallards flew in from the north than from the south. We didn't see any fly in from the east or west. It doesn't appear as though many of the 65 American Black Ducks that we saw come in Wednesday evening stayed, as only 9 were counted at the Outlet the next morning. We haven't been able to relocate the hen Northern Pintail that we saw Monday evening. The numbers of American Coots and Lesser Scaup have been dropping steadily all week as these birds exit the area. Greg Hanisek saw a Greater Scaup there Wednesday mid-morning, but we haven't been able to find that bird again. Some birds do only drop in to rest here for a few hours before moving on. As many as 4 Bald Eagles hanging around the Outlet at various times has also been a disincentive for some birds to stay here. It will be interesting to see what the rest of the winter brings.

Summary of Bird Activity at White Memorial and Bantam Lake in December, 2011

Bantam Lake's North Bay, 12/10/2011, showing

ice-free conditions in a photo by Ashley Hayes

Red-necked Grebe photo from www.utahbirds.org

Red-breasted Merganser photo by Dick Daniels

from www.carolinabirds.org

Great Cormorant photo by Paul Fusco from

www.paulfuscowildlifephotography.com

Great Blue Heron photo by Bob Stanowski

Belted Kingfisher photo by Darlene Knox

Bald Eagle 2nd-year immature photo by Paul Fusco

from www.paulfuscowildlifephotography.com

December, 2011 will be remembered by us birders as an incredibly good month for the bird numbers and variety that it produced at White Memorial and Bantam Lake. We can thank unusually mild weather for much of the month for this. Though there were a few cold nights, and fewer cold days, Bantam Lake never froze-over more than 50% of its surface area. Little Pond was at least 50% open for the first 3 weeks of the month, and Cemetery Pond had open water at various times this month. Even our marshes and swamps remained at least partially ice-free for much of the month. Amazingly, there was no snow cover at any time this month. The 20" of snow which fell last October 29 and 30 had long-since melted. These favorable conditions, coupled with an abundance of wild food of all types, made life relatively easy for birds around here. It also allowed many birds to linger and not migrate farther south. Waterbirds, especially, benefited from the mild conditions and resultant open water. An abundance of fish in Bantam Lake also helped attract and keep a good variety and number of these birds. Imagine how many fish must have been consumed there on 12/31 when the Lake hosted 1,000 Common Mergansers, 87 Hooded Mergansers, a Red-breasted Merganser, a Pied-billed Grebe, a Great Cormorant, 7 Bald Eagles, and 2 Belted Kingfishers. The Great Cormorant is a rare species in this part of CT., having been found on Bantam Lake only 4 times in the past. It stayed around for almost 2 weeks, so it must have found the fishing to be good. That was probably also true for the Pied-billed Grebe, which was found here all month. They are common in October and November, but seldom stay beyond that time. Its much rarer cousin, the Red-necked Grebe, has occasionally lingered into the first week of December at the Lake, but never as late as 12/20, as it did this year. Consequently, it was a first for the Christmas Bird Count. Other "goodies" found on the Lake this month included as many as 10 Gadwalls, American Wigeons on a few occasions, Northern Shovelers all month, 2 Northern Pintails almost all month, a Green-winged Teal 1 day, as many as 9 Lesser Scaup during the second half of the month, 2 White-winged Scoters and a Long-tailed Duck 1 day, single Red-throated and Common Loons each 1 day, and a Horned Grebe during the first week of the month. The Gadwalls and N. Pintails were also seen at Little and Cemetery Ponds when they were ice-free. Landbirds of note seen this month included a Red-shouldered Hawk at the Morris Town Beach, an Eastern Screech-Owl at Little Pond, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker around the Museum Area, Common Ravens, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creepers, a Carolina Wren at the Campground Store, a Winter Wren at Pike Marsh, a Hermit Thrush and Yellow-rumped Warbler at Little Pond , a Fox Sparrow at Van Winkle Rd., Swamp Sparrows, 86 Rusty Blackbirds at Little Pond on the 1st, and 13 Purple Finches at the Museum Feeders on the 18th. While most of the birds not noted at an exact locality in the last run-on sentence were seen around the Museum Area, some were also regularly seen at Pine Island. In general, spots around Bantam Lake, the Museum Area, and Little Pond were the most productive for birds at White Memorial in December.

Litchfield Hills Christmas Bird Count Results from White Memorial - 12/18/2011

December 18, 2011

Red-necked Grebe photo from www.nepabirdproject.org

Pied-billed Grebe photo by Bob Stanowski

Northern Shoveler photo by Paul Fusco from

www.paulfuscowildlifephotography.com

Northern Pintail photo from www.werc.usgs.gov

Winter Wren photo from www.birds.cornell.edu

Species Total

Canada Goose 336

Mute Swan 19

Gadwall 10

American Wigeon 2

American Black Duck 93

Mallard 506

Northern Shoveler 1

Northern Pintail 1

Ring-necked Duck 47

Lesser Scaup 7

Bufflehead 29

Common Goldeneye 20

Hooded Merganser 72

Common Merganser 100

Ruddy Duck 6

Bald Eagle 2

Cooper’s Hawk 1

Red-tailed Hawk 6

Wild Turkey 15

Pied-billed Grebe 1

Red-necked Grebe 1

Great Blue Heron 1

American Coot 87

Ring-billed Gull 223

Herring Gull 2

Mourning Dove 93

Great Horned Owl 2

Barred Owl 1

Belted Kingfisher 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker 17

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1

Downy Woodpecker 32

Hairy Woodpecker 11

Northern Flicker 1

Pileated Woodpecker 1

Blue Jay 74

American Crow 325

Common Raven 1

Black-capped Chickadee 210

Tufted Titmouse 94

Red-breasted Nuthatch 6

White-breasted Nuthatch 70

Brown Creeper 7

Carolina Wren 1

Winter Wren 1

Golden-crowned Kinglet 10

Eastern Bluebird 8

Hermit Thrush 1

American Robin 56

Gray Catbird 1

Northern Mockingbird 1

European Starling 92

Cedar Waxwing 9

Yellow-rumped Warbler 1

American Tree Sparrow 19

Fox Sparrow 1

Song Sparrow 17

Swamp Sparrow 5

White-throated Sparrow 97

Dark-eyed Junco 314

Northern Cardinal 53

Red-winged Blackbird 4

Common Grackle 1

Purple Finch 18

House Finch 31

American Goldfinch 91

House Sparrow 15

Totals:

Species: 67

Individuals: 3,382

Weather: Sunny. Temperature 15 - 32° F. No snow cover. Water 95% Open; Wild food crop excellent.

Participants: Beverly Baldwin, Mike Doyle, John Eykelhoff, John Grabowski, Jim Kandefer, Marie Kennedy, John Marshall, Russ Naylor, Art Potwin, Donna Potwin, Dave Rosgen, Heather Shirlock, George Stephens.

Bantam Lake Waterbird Update, 12/15/2011

Bantam Lake's Pt. Folly Marina photographed

by Ashley Hayes on 12/10/2011, showing

that it is still completely ice-free

Lesser Scaup photo from www.utdallas.edu

Hooded Merganser photo by Bob Stanowski

Common Goldeneye photo by

Micahel Woodruff from www.fishandgameidaho.gov

Bufflehead photo from www.flyways.us

A significant increase in waterfowl migration activity has occurred at Bantam Lake in the past week. This coincides with more and more reports of ponds and portions of lakes in Vermont, upstate New York, Quebec, and Ontario icing over. Unlike last year, and many other past years, Bantam Lake was still ice-free as of this morning, 12/15/2011. Relatively mild conditions since early November are the reason for this. While several nights have seen temperatures dip into the 20's, and a couple of recent nights saw temperatures go down into the teens, this has not been enough for ice to form on the Lake. Cemetery Pond and our marshes have iced-over a few times, but they usually opened-up again when daytime temperatures climbed into the 40's. This has been great for waterfowl, as it has provided them with plenty of foraging area. Species which have increased the most in the past week have included Ring-necked Duck (43 on the 13th), Bufflehead (31 on the 13th), Common Goldeneye (35 on the 13th), Hooded Merganser (53 on the 13th), and Common Merganser (55 on the 13th). Also of note were 6 Gadwall on the 13th, 2 Northern Shovelers almost every day, 2 Northern Pintails on the 14th, 4 Lesser Scaup on the 13th, 2 White-winged Scoters on the 8th, a Long-tailed Duck on the 9th, a Ruddy Duck on the 11th, a Red-throated Loon on the 7th, Pied-billed Grebes on several days, and a Red-necked Grebe on the 11th and 12th. In addition, as many as 87 American Coots have been seen daily at the Lake's North Bay. At this point it should be noted that the vast majority of these sightings have come from N. Bay and Pt. Folly. South Bay has produced virtually nothing, and the central section has mainly yielded fish-eating divers. It should also be noted that this number and diversity of waterbirds is above average for so late in the migration season here, even in other years when the Lake has remained ice-free. This could be a product of generally mild conditions all over the northeast, more birds because of their highly successful breeding activity last summer, or an abundance of food at Bantam Lake. Most likely, it is a combination of these things. Whatever it is, we are hopeful that these birds will stay around for the Christmas Bird Count on the 18th, and that a few more will join them. As it is, all of the sightings from today are in the official count period. If you go out to look for these birds, please report your observations to ebird, and share them with the White Memorial Archives.

Summary of Bird Activity at White Memorial and Bantam Lake, November 2011

Purple Finch photo by Bob Stanowski

Bonaparte's Gull photo from

www.pugetsound.edu

Long-tailed Duck photo by Paul Fusco from

www.paulfuscowildlifephotography.com

Black Scoter photo by Paul Lewis from

www.carolinabirdclub.orgLesser Scaup photo from www.utdallas.edu

Greater Scaup photo from www.flyways.us

Northern Pintail photo from www.fws.org

Snow Goose photo from www.nv.wikipedia.org

November, 2011 produced quite an abundance of birds on White Memorial property and at Bantam Lake. A total of 89 species were seen or heard, which is at least 10 more than average for this month. The new ebird gadget on the right side of this blog has been great in keeping readers abreast of what's around the area. The photos above depict a representative sampling of some of the uncommon species detected. Waterbirds by far and away dominated the scene, which is typical for November. The "most bang for the buck" for birders has been to visit Pt. Folly and the Litchfield Town Beach for excellent views of Bantam Lake. Land habitats around these places have also produced plenty of birds. Among the more notable finds at Bantam Lake were a flock of 105 Snow Geese that dropped in for an hour on the 22nd, as many as 7 Northern Shovelers which stayed for the whole month, as many as 3 Northern Pintails present during the second half of the month, 3 Greater and 6 Lesser Scaup present on the 1st, Surf, White-winged, and Black Scoters that dropped in periodically, Long-tailed Ducks that visited during the first half of the month, a Red-throated Loon seen on the 22nd, and Horned and Red-necked Grebes present all month, and 3 Bonaparte's Gulls on the 1st. Little and Cemetery Ponds also produced their fair share of waterfall and other birds. The most notable were Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintails, and Gadwalls. Landbirds of interest included a Northern Goshawk at Marsh Pt. on the 19th, a Northern Shrike at the Morris Town Beach on the 22nd, Winter Wrens a few times, an American Pipit on the 1st in the Museum Area, a Field Sparrow at Apple Hill on the 8th, and Rusty Blackbirds and Purple Finches on several days in various places. As for numbers, our summary from ebird showed a range from 1,805 individuals during the last week of the month to 11,436 individuals during the middle of the month. Species with the highest number of individuals counted were Canada Goose (240), Ring-billed Gull (330), American Robin (7,500), and Common Grackle (200). So, what caused the bird list for November to be so good? It was undoubtedly the combination of nice, mild weather all month (despite the October snowstorm), an abundant supply of all types of food, and a large number of birders visiting the area.

The Migration Continues!

Sharp-shinned Hawk photo

by Darlene Knox

Red-shouldered Hawk photo

by Darlene Knox

Adult Bald Eagle photo by Paul Fusco

My posting yesterday promised an update of the bird migration activity that I expected to encounter in the afternoon after I sent out the post. At the time I figured that we would mainly find more migrant waterfowl. While we did find birds in this group, it was the raptors that proved more interesting. They were obviously staging a migration yesterday. The first one that I encountered was a Sharp-shinned Hawk that came in from the south, buzzed all of the birds at the Museum's Bird Observatory Feeders, and then spiraled upward after failing to catch anything. It continued northeastward out of sight. Within minutes of this sighting, I heard a Red-shouldered Hawk calling. I saw it come in from the southwest, soar and circle overhead, and headed due north. About 5 minutes after this bird disappeared, a second Red-shoulder appeared on the southwest horizon, soared overhead while calling constantly, and headed off to the northeast. After another 5 minutes had elapsed, a third Red-shoulder appeared appeared in the southern sky. It was also calling, and followed the same flight path as the second one. Two hours later, while working along N. Shore Rd., Jim Kandefer, John Eykelhoff, and I saw a total of 5 Red-tailed Hawks. Four of them (2 pairs) were likely residents by their locations and behavior. The fifth was an immature bird that flew and soared over us from southwest to northeast without stopping. It was likely a migrant. A little while later, we saw an adult male Cooper's Hawk fly past us, hit the ground, and come up with a small mammal that looked like a vole. It carried the critter deeper into the woods of Wheeler Hill, where we lost sight of it. On our way back to Pt. Folly we saw the Canada Geese and Ring-necked Ducks rise up in a panic. Swooping over them was an adult male Bald Eagle. It failed to catch anything, and landed in a tree on the Point. It perched there for several minutes before taking off and disappearing around the Point. We re-located it about 20 minutes later sitting on the ice off Deer Island. It was still there as of the time we left. As for the waterfowl, the Northern Pintails and most of the other birds mentioned in the previous post were still off Pt. Folly, but Canada Goose numbers had dropped sharply to 260. Since we stayed along the road watching for them until dark, and they failed to materialize, it is highly likely that they have migrated farther north. By contrast, Wood Duck numbers had increased to 29. Most of them were found feeding under the shrubs in the Bantam Lake Outlet area. We also saw a Great Blue Heron opposite the Pt. Folly observation platform, and heard and saw 4 American Woodcock displaying in the Bantam R. Field. In the non-bird category, we heard our first Northern Spring Peepers of the year calling from 3 spots along N. Shore Rd., and we saw a total of 5 Muskrats in various spots.

Results from Saturday's Bird Walk along N. Shore Rd.

Drake Northern Pintail from werc.usgs.gov

Continuing the theme of my recent blog postings about waterfowl surveying at Bantam Lake, this one gives the highlights of our public field trip along N. Shore Rd. this past Saturday, 3/12. The focus was on waterfowl at Bantam Lake and along the Bantam River from the Outlet downstream to the Oxbows. Fortunately for us, N. Shore Rd. affords ample views of these places. Otherwise, we would have had great difficulty accessing Pt. Folly and the Litchfield Town Beach due to serious flooding of those spots. On a positive note, this flooding brought many of the ducks and geese up close to the road as they foraged in the flooded bottomland. Whenever woodlands and shrublands become flooded, waterfowl are quick to exploit the new-found feeding opportunities. Our group of 30 people, including 15 Boy Scouts, were treated to excellent views of a Cackling Goose, 350 Canada Geese, 10 Northern Pintails, 2 Green-winged Teal, 27 American Black Ducks, 70 Mallards, a hybrid American Black Duck x Mallard, 45 Ring-necked Ducks, 2 Buffleheads, 4 Common Goldeneye, 40 Common Mergansers, and 5 Hooded Mergansers. Though 8 Wood Ducks were present, only 6 members of our group got to see them because these birds hid so well among the shrubs. Waterfowl weren't the only birds spotted on this trip. Everyone got to see a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker as it foraged among the trees by the Butternut Brook bridge, a male Eastern Bluebird as it sang from the tops of the trees at the Bantam R. Oxbows, a Red-bellied Woodpecker at Gail Scoville's feeders, and numerous Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches, and other common birds. In all, we saw 38 species of birds in 2.5 hours along 1.25 miles of road. We also saw a Muskrat, 2 Red Squirrels, and lots of Gray Squirrels. That's pretty good!