Birds
Juvenile Bald Eagle in Golden Spur (Pic by Jackie Sullivan)
PROTECT BIRD LIFE
According to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Long Island Sound birds include both summer and winter residents and spring and autumn coastal migrant (transient) varieties. Like all other creatures, pollution impacts birds. Preservation of the Oswegatchie Hills and keeping the Niantic River clean helps to ensure they enjoy safe habitat. We invite you to participate in this important work of protecting them.
We strongly discourage feeding of waterfowl because it hurts both birds and water quality. Feeding can encourage the birds to abandon their natural migration patterns and cause year-round problems. And please remember that swans and geese are very strong birds that can present considerable danger, especially to young children.
Click here for a link to CT DEEP's Do Not Feed Waterfowl brochure for the facts and for download, print and sharing.
Summer resident birds include: Osprey, King Fisher, Seaside Sparrow, Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Nelson's Sparrow, Clapper Rail, Mallard and Black Duck, Herons and Egrets, including the Black-crowned Night Heron and Snowy Egret as well as the Least Tern and Piping Plover. Upland species include the Hooded Warbler, White-eyed Vireo and Carolina Wren.
Coastal migrants (also called "transients") include shorebirds such as Plovers, Turnstones, Sandpipers, and Yellowlegs. Winter residents include abundant flocks of wintering birds like Greater Scaup, Black Ducks, Mallards, and Canada Geese.
The area also enjoys significant populations of Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, Scoters, American Wigeons (also sometimes called Baldpate), Canvasbacks, Oldsquaws and Mute Swans. Others (less abundant) include Gadwalls, Northern Pintails, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers (also sometimes called Broadbill), Ruddy Ducks, Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, Snow Geese, and Brant.
By far one of the most magnificent among the Niantic River and Oswegatchie Hills watershed large water birds is the Great Blue Heron. Although frequently spotted by bird enthusiasts, these Heron are wary of humans and difficult to approach.
While some of the critters (like the Great Blue Heron) in the Niantic River/Oswegatchie Hills watershed behave slowly, stealthily, and methodically, Greater Yellow Legs are non-stop energy - always bobbing and moving as they search for their next tidbit in the shallows.
The Niantic River and Oswegatchie Hills are also home to a number of Great Egrets. While slightly smaller than the Great Blue Heron, they are still magnificent birds who are a bit less skittish. These large white birds are also great hunters.
Our favorite in the winter is the families of Bald Eagles who have now started nesting off of Oswegatchie Road in Waterford!!
According to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Long Island Sound birds include both summer and winter residents and spring and autumn coastal migrant (transient) varieties. Like all other creatures, pollution impacts birds. Preservation of the Oswegatchie Hills and keeping the Niantic River clean helps to ensure they enjoy safe habitat. We invite you to participate in this important work of protecting them.
We strongly discourage feeding of waterfowl because it hurts both birds and water quality. Feeding can encourage the birds to abandon their natural migration patterns and cause year-round problems. And please remember that swans and geese are very strong birds that can present considerable danger, especially to young children.
Click here for a link to CT DEEP's Do Not Feed Waterfowl brochure for the facts and for download, print and sharing.
Summer resident birds include: Osprey, King Fisher, Seaside Sparrow, Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Nelson's Sparrow, Clapper Rail, Mallard and Black Duck, Herons and Egrets, including the Black-crowned Night Heron and Snowy Egret as well as the Least Tern and Piping Plover. Upland species include the Hooded Warbler, White-eyed Vireo and Carolina Wren.
Coastal migrants (also called "transients") include shorebirds such as Plovers, Turnstones, Sandpipers, and Yellowlegs. Winter residents include abundant flocks of wintering birds like Greater Scaup, Black Ducks, Mallards, and Canada Geese.
The area also enjoys significant populations of Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, Scoters, American Wigeons (also sometimes called Baldpate), Canvasbacks, Oldsquaws and Mute Swans. Others (less abundant) include Gadwalls, Northern Pintails, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers (also sometimes called Broadbill), Ruddy Ducks, Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, Snow Geese, and Brant.
By far one of the most magnificent among the Niantic River and Oswegatchie Hills watershed large water birds is the Great Blue Heron. Although frequently spotted by bird enthusiasts, these Heron are wary of humans and difficult to approach.
While some of the critters (like the Great Blue Heron) in the Niantic River/Oswegatchie Hills watershed behave slowly, stealthily, and methodically, Greater Yellow Legs are non-stop energy - always bobbing and moving as they search for their next tidbit in the shallows.
The Niantic River and Oswegatchie Hills are also home to a number of Great Egrets. While slightly smaller than the Great Blue Heron, they are still magnificent birds who are a bit less skittish. These large white birds are also great hunters.
Our favorite in the winter is the families of Bald Eagles who have now started nesting off of Oswegatchie Road in Waterford!!
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