Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary, 2/18/16

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~I love Brant, and I was finally able to get some decent photos. Brant foraging on the shore at Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary, 2/18/16.~

I made a site visit to examine the stained glass windows in a church in New Haven, Connecticut this morning. Once I had completed my work, I headed over to Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary, located in West Haven, right on the Long Island Sound. I had checked on eBird and found several hotspots not too far from the church, with Sandy Point having some good recent reports. I took a nice long walk along the beach; it was a gorgeous day but with a very strong wind that made it a little bit on the cold side and also made keeping my spotting scope and even my binoculars steady. I had only a modest 16 species, but there were a couple of favorites in there – I had a single Common Loon and many Brant. The most numerous bird, by far, were scaup – I had about 75 birds in close enough to identify as Greater Scaup and then an additional 300 or so that were quite distant (I was thinking they were likely Greater, but it was too far for me to be sure). It was a really nice way to spend a Thursday afternoon and a welcome break from the routine.

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~I had both Fish Crows and American Crows at the sanctuary. I never heard this bird call, so I’m not sure which this is. Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary, West Haven CT 2/18/16.~
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~Greater? Scaup take off in numbers, only to relocate very nearby. Sandy Point Bird Sancturary, 2/18/16.~
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~Brant at Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary, 2/18/16.~
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~Brant in flight in front of the rocks, Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary, 2/18/16.~ 
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~iPhone shot of the beach at Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary, 2/18/16.~

2 thoughts on “Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary, 2/18/16”

  1. Matt. You catch attitude as well as birds’ “personalities” in their usual habitats. Your clarity of focus is amazing given that birds are always twitching, moving in a flash. Wonderful color on a drab day for me. Wayne.

    1. Sorry to hear you had a drab day, but happy add a little color to it. Good to hear from you Wayne. Matt

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