DECEMBER 1999

NEXT MEETING: PLEASE NOTE DIFFERENT DATE

December 17, 1999 at 7 pm

This month the meeting will be held at the Dodd Center at the University of Connecticut. The Dodd Center is next to the UConn Library on Whitney Road. We are hoping that the John McDonald Reading Room will be open as well that evening. Parking may be an issue at this location, so if possible it would be a good idea to car pool or to park at the lot at South Campus and walk. George Clark will introduce the Third Edition of the Birds of Storrs. He will also present a slide talk on "Birds of Storrs and Vicinity." As George says, '"almost the same title as the book." If you would be able to bring a refreshment, please contact either Bruce Carver(456-1662) or Sam Higgins (455-0063) before December 12. Some suggestions would be wine, cheese, crackers, cookies, etc. Thank you in advance….

NOS WEB SITE: https://members.tripod.com/~NOS98/nos.html It is possible to join a new NOS listserve and post messages about the birds you have seen or trips you are planning to take or just hear from your fellow birders. This is a fantastic way to communicate quickly about what you have seen or some question you might want to pose to others or whatever….the more members who join the more wide-ranging the information will be.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:

To subscribe to NOS listserver send e-mail (from the account you wish to be subscribed) to:

maiser@lib.uconn.edu

In the message body area, on a separate line, type:

and send the message. The e-mail account from which you sent the message will be subscribed to the list.

FIELD TRIPS: There are no field trips planned this month because of the two Christmas Bird Counts. In January there is a trip planned to the Connecticut River to look for wintering eagles. Further details about this trip will be in next month's newsletter.

CHRISTMAS COUNTS: As you can see, there are still several areas that do not have captains or teams assigned to them. If you are interested in being a captain, call either Steve or me; if you would like to join another team, call the captain of the area in which you are interested.

NOS Count Date: Saturday December 18. Steve Rogers, Compiler

Area Captains

Ashford ????

Chaplin Phil Rusch, 455-1246

Horsebarn Hill Steve Rogers, 429-1259

North Coventry ????

North Willington Bill Parizek, 429-2280

South Coventry Dave Corsini, 486-4725

SW Mansfield ????

Spring Hill/Agronomy Farm Bob Pirrie, 429-8784

Storrs/UConn Dolores Hilding, 429-2235

Tolland Bob Sutton, 875-1968

W.Willington ????

Willington Steve Morytko, 429-9600

Trailwood Count Date: Sunday January 2, 2000.

Area Captains

Trailwood Steve Rogers, 429-1259

Mashamoquet Steve Morytko, 429-9600

Danielson "Sam" Higgins, 455-0063

Fish Hatchery Bruce Carver, 456-1662

Hampton ????

Moosup ????

Killingly ????

Goodwin Conservation Center: Winter Solstice Hike, Wednesday December 22, 4-7 pm. Celebrate the winter solstice full moon with a hike around the edge of Pine Acres Pond along the Natchaug Trail to the Airline Trail. End with pizza and inspirational readings by firelight. Please call 455-9534 to register in case the hike must be canceled due to inclement weather. There is a $5 charge.

Holiday Craft and Gift Shop: Saturday December 11, 9 am to 3 pm. At the Goodwin Center to benefit the center and Connecticut Audubon's Northeast Corner Programs. You will be able to purchase a locally produced item with a nature theme or build a birdhouse or a pair of earrings.

Bafflin Sanctuary of Connecticut Audubon in Pomfret. Call 860/928-4041 to register and for more information

Two full moon owl walks: December 29, 7 pm and January 21 at 7 pm. Meet at 220 Day Road in Pomfret. Cost is $3 for CAS members, $5 for non-members.

Winter Bird Walks Tuesday December 28, 8 am and Saturday February 12, 8 am.

Willimantic River Alliance

The NPS, DEP, DOT, WINCOG and Town of Windham will be hosting a Trail Day Charette on Thursday December 16, 1999 at the Windham Town Hall from 9am to 7pm. The whole focus of the day is to develop solutions to connecting the Hop River State Park Trail and the Kendall Spur Trail in Windham. This section is a major link in the Charter Oak Greeenway and East Coast Greenway. There is approximately 1.8 miles which needs to be connected. There will be aerial maps, topographic maps, road maps etc available at the town hall. Call Eric Thomas )742-9908) if you would like more information.

REPORT OF THE BIRDS SEEN ON THE TRIP TO PLUM ISLAND, NEWBURYPORT, MASSACHUSETTS, NOVEMBER 13, 1999

Red-throated Loon

Common Loon

Horned Grebe

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Canada Goose

Green-winged Teal

American Black Duck

Mallard

Northern Pintail

Northern Shoveler

Ring-necked Duck

Common Eider

King Eider

Oldsquaw

White-winged Scoter

Black Scoter

Surf Scoter

Bufflehead

Red-breasted Merganser

Ruddy Duck

Northern Harrier

Red-tailed Hawk

Merlin

Black-bellied Plover

Grater Yellowlegs

Sanderling

Dunlin

Common Black-headed Gull

Bonaparte's Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Herring Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Rock Dove

Mourning Dove

Hairy Woodpecker

Horned Lark

Blue Jay

American Crow

Black-capped Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

American Robin

Northern Mockingbird

European Starling

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Northern Cardinal

American Tree Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Snow Bunting

White-winged Crossbill

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow

A very interesting bird was seen at the New Pines area at Parker River NWR. It is a small white goose that 50% of the people who see it say it is a Snow Goose, 25% say it's a Ross' Goose and 25% say it's a hybrid between the two. There has been a great deal of discussion on MASSBIRD about this bird, but to the best of my knowledge, it hasn't been definitely determined which it is.

REPORT OF THE BIRDS SEEN ON THE "MANSFIELD HOLLOW STOMP", NOVEMBER 14, 19990

Pied-billed Grebe

Great Blue Heron

Mute Swan

Snow Goose

Canada Goose

American Black Duck

Mallard

American Wigeon

Ring-necked Duck

Common Merganser

Ruddy Duck

Turkey Vulture

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Ring-necked Pheasant

Wild Turkey

American Coot

Common Snipe

Ring-billed Gull

Herring Gull

Rock Dove

Mourning Dove

Belted Kingfisher

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Horned Lark

Blue Jay

American Crow

Black-capped Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper

Carolina Wren

Eastern Bluebird

American Robin

Northern Mockingbird

European Starling

Palm Warbler

Northern Cardinal

American Tree Sparrow

Song Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Snow Bunting

House Finch

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow