World Trip Reports

Trip to North America



Hi i have just returned home from my first visit to the USA and what an experience,first stop New York, Central Park was soon checked out and it didnt dissapoint,first hour;common yellowthroat,carolina wren,wood thrush,gray catbird,downy woodpecker,hairy woodpecker,common grackle,great blue heron,plus a few more ''wonder whats''.The whole experience was really good and really wet my appetite for more!!

Next stop was New Haven Connecticut,we were close to East Rock park which is a cracking area with a good variety of habitats,river marshland woodland etc,first bird was a Turkey Vulture (x7) a majestic bird followed by a brilliant view of a Red Tailed Hawk soaring over the East Rock cliffs,moving onto a stretch of river Belted Kingfisher flashed by calling out loudly as it did so,then perched up close by, yet another lifer,Yellow Shafted Flickers(x8) fed on a nearby sports field,by now the pages on my newly aquired Sibley guide were beginning to get well thumbed.!!
American Robin was next not really robin sized might i add,Black capped Chickadee busied themseves in a nearby tree,Ladderbacked Woodpecker,Mourning Dove,Brambling (lovely bird)next was a Myrtle Warbler identified and pointed out by a local birder,which got my heart pumping.

Blue Jays were calling out loudly in the woodlands, back to base for lunch what a morning......

A trip to New Haven Harbor brought my first Great White Egret(x5) lesser yellow legs(x4) grey plover(black bellied to our American friends)white throated sparrow,flock of Brant Geese,Black duck ,Ring billed Gull very common here,

A visit to Audubon in Madison was next and onto Hamannasset State Park where there was a report of an Hudsonian Godwit which we didnt manage to see,Little Egret,Greater Yellowlegs showed really well, a few more ''not quite sure warblers'' finished off another cracking day..

All in all brilliant holiday was had maybe not the rarest of sightings to our American birding friends but to myself thoroughly enjoyed time was had,and the memories will linger on.

It would be really interesting to hear of any other similar trips in this brilliant location..

cheers....Paul


Hi Dave,

Glad to read that you had a good time over "this side", and appreciated some of the birds we take for granted (but shouldn't). Especially Turkey Vultures - they're rather poorly thought of by many over here (including some bird aficionados), quite unjustifiably.

quote:
American Robin was next not really robin sized might i add,

Of course, you must realize, the American Robin is exactly "robin-sized"; it's those funny little fluff-balls you have over there that are all wrong.

By the way, I don't know if you list or not, but if you do, I have a few bones to pick with your sightings:

quote:
Ladderbacked Woodpecker,Mourning Dove, Brambling (lovely bird), next was a Myrtle Warbler identified and pointed out by a local birder,which got my heart pumping.


Unless you did a big jump to Arizona while you were in Connecticut, Ladderback is not your baby (consulting the range maps in your guide should sort that one out in a hurry). And Brambling would be a mega-rare bird in Eastern N.A. (does irrupt here, but very seldom).

Little Egret is a super rarity too, but there are a number of small herons that it could have been - did you see the feet well? Again, range is a helpful guide - but not an absolute one, as young birds from heronries are dispersing all over the place at this time of year.

Hope you can come back in spring, someday. You'll find that the warblers are much less "not quite sure" at that time of year, believe me!

Peter C.



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