New Haven Bird Club Trip Report – Milford Hotspots – January 14, 2023
On January 14, 2023, I led the annual “Milford Hotspots” field trip to several local birding sites. It was seasonably cold, overcast, with a chilly brisk north wind. A large group of 27 birders joined me at the meeting site for carpooling. While we gathered there, a Common Raven flew over. Our first stop was Mondo Ponds, where we walked around the two ice-free ponds. Highlights were a large flock of Ring-necked Ducks, 2 Northern Shovelers, a Green-winged Teal, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, a flock of Robins feeding on Bittersweet fruit, and 4 adult Bald Eagles soaring together over the main pond! They seemed to be pairing up at the start of their nesting season.
Our next stop was Milford Point Coastal Center. The sanctuary held a variety of expected landbirds plus a “tame” perched Cooper’s Hawk. Then a walk to the beach yielded a nice variety of seaducks (Long-tailed Duck, Common Goldeneye, Surf Scoter), 3 Common Loons, and a hunting Northern Harrier. Quite spectacular was a flock of 21 Snow Buntings alternately landing on the beach and flying low over our heads. We tallied 30 species here. Thankfully the Center was open for a bathroom break and to warm up a bit.
Next, a brief stop was made at The Dock shopping center in Stratford. The hoped for Lesser Black-backed Gull and Peregrine Falcon did not cooperate. So we continued on to the pond at Jonathan Law High School, a good place for wintering “puddle” ducks. We enjoyed scope views of 15 handsome male and female Green-winged Teal.
Our final stop was Silver Sands State Park. We walked the boardwalk over the salt marsh to the beach. We couldn’t call out a Clapper Rail, but we watched a female Northern Harrier hunting the marsh, scoped an adult Red-shouldered Hawk atop a utility pole, and added a Red-throated Loon and some Buffleheads. The walk back yielded 5 soaring Bald Eagles up high; no doubt the 4 adults we had seen earlier, plus one immature! We were sufficiently cold due to the north wind, so conducted our tally (50 species for the morning), and called it a day. Time to return home to sit by the fire and sip some hot soup. All appreciated the outing very much.
Frank Mantlik