Big January

Canada Geese resting on the snow - Cedar Hill Cemetary, Hartford, CT

My goal for January was to see at least 90 species in CT. I didn't reach my goal, but I saw lots of good birds and managed to get outside quite a bit. I also really started using eBird, both to enter my observations and to scout out new locations where others were seeing birds in the state. The deep snow definitely hampered my efforts a bit. Many trails and nature areas didn't have their parking areas plowed and still don't.

In the course of the month I discovered a few new areas for me that I will be going back to later in the season.

One of these new areas for me was Farmington Meadows, Riverside Cemetary in Farmington. Even though I have been birding the Farmington Valley for years, I never made it over to this area before. I saw that people using eBird had been reporting various ducks there, so I went and checked it out. Even with the cold weather the Farmington River is has ice free areas, especially at the bend of the river near Riverside Cemetary. This has proven to be a reliable place to find wintering ducks. Wood Ducks especially seem to like to tuck themselves into little holes and tangles in the riverbank. The last time I visited also saw a female hooded merganser sitting on the edge of the ice preening herself. She started making low grunting noises, I think calling for the spectacular male that was downriver. He responded and flew over, landed in the water next to her then climbed up next to her like a dutiful husband.

The meadows area also has some riparian woodlands that have trails originating from Tunxis Meade Park and very large open fields on both sides of Meadow Road. Before the snow there was a group of 3 snow geese hanging out with the hundreds of Canada Geese. My last foray in the deep snow I watched 4 Wild Turkeys feeding in the fields.