Species 49-55: Up and Down the Connecticut River

We took our "annual" trip to Essex, Connecticut this weekend so that we could stay at the Griswold Inn, eat good food, drink good wine, and see Bald Eagles. Last year, we took the boat tour up the Connecticut River offered by the Connecticut River Museum and saw a whole mess of Bald Eagles and other raptors. This time around, we decided to stick to land and see what we could see from shore. I did a lot of exploring around Essex on my own in between the bookends of Kim and I going to the Salt Meadow Unit south of I-95 in Westbrook, and then up and down the river by Gillette Castle. The Connecticut River at dawn - beautiful

I got a couple of tough species for my area, Great Cormorant and Bald Eagle. With those 2 out of the way for the year, any others I see will just be icing on the cake. The Common Goldeneyes were another treat, not entirely unexpected, that I was able to see from the River Museum Dock early one morning. All in all, a beautiful couple of days of birding followed by a snow-filled one upon our departure this afternoon. Maybe we'll be back next year, but I'm hoping to save the trip for a warmer month when we can take advantage of longer days, sun, and some summer migrants.

The immature Bald Eagle through the scope... ...then he's chased off by an adult.

Row #	Species	Count	Location	S/P	Date
49	Northern Harrier	1	Salt Meadow Unit of Stewart B. McKinney NWR	US-CT	14-Feb-10
50	Tufted Titmouse	12	Salt Meadow Unit of Stewart B. McKinney NWR	US-CT	14-Feb-10
51	Common Goldeneye	8	CT River Museum, Essex	US-CT	15-Feb-10
52	Common Merganser	3	CT River Museum, Essex	US-CT	15-Feb-10
53	Turkey Vulture	1	Gillette Castle SP	US-CT	15-Feb-10
54	Great Cormorant	1	CT Route 148 Ferry	US-CT	15-Feb-10
55	Bald Eagle	2	CT Route 148 Ferry	US-CT	15-Feb-10