2/22/15, Tufted Duck at Captain's Cove, Bpt; Mondo Redhead

A few record photos of a Tufted Duck at Captain's Cove in Bridgeport this afternoon (2/22/15).  It was found by Tia Green this morning.  Also, on this very warm day (up to 38 in Milford), the Redhead has returned to Mondo Ponds.

Long-eared Owl, 2/21/15, Milford private residence

A Long-eared Owl is sitting in a rhododendron of a Milford private residence.  Photos below:

Great Cormorants, Turkey Vulture

More winter birds in cold, snowy Milford CT in February 2015.  Great Cormorants, 2/18/15 in breeding plumage on the Housatonic near Caswell Cove; TV on Mondo Pond.

Great Cormorants, Old Oronoque Rd, alternate plumage, white hip patch & throat

Turkey Vulture on frozen Mondo Pond; 2 adult Bald Eagles took the carcass

Valentine's Eurasian Wigeon, Iceland Gull

In frigid weather, with some blowing snow, this Valentine's afternoon in Stratford yielded what appears to be a second winter Iceland Gull at Long Beach, and an adult Eurasian Wigeon drake at Birdseye.  A few record shots:

2/11/15, Horned Grebe Birdseye, Stratford; cf Eared Gebe, 1/15/15 Demuth

Grebe comparison: a Horned Grebe at Birdseye, Stratford, on 2/11/15 and an Eared Grebe at Demuth Park in Palm Springs on 1/15/15: the head/neck profiles contrast greatly, with the Eared Grebe displaying a peaked head on a relatively long, slender neck and small, thin, pointed bill; the Horned Grebe a relatively shot neck and a short, relatively thicker bill.  Head plumage difference obvious but not as definitive as overall shape at a distance.

Horned Grebe, Birdseye, Stratford, 2/11/15

Eared Grebe, Demuth Park, Palm Springs, 1/15/15.  The common grebe in S. California, with thousands of Eared Grebes on the Salton Sea--a saline sea like Mono Lake near Yosemite where thousands of Eared Grebes concentrate.