Date: 4/23/26 4:32 pm From: Jeri D. via CTBirds <ctbirds...> Subject: [CT Birds] Re: CTBirds Digest, Vol 6827, Issue 1
I have a Yellow Crowned Night Heron in the yard. I watched it for a while
making sure it did not go near the parking lot. It finally flew out back,
hopefully to the marshes. I was worried about it.
Jeri Duefrene
Niantic
On Wed, Apr 22, 2026 at 9:40 PM <ctbirds-request...> wrote:
>
>
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> *** TRIM OFF THE UNRELATED PORTIONS OF THE MESSAGE ***
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> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Northern Parula (Paul Desjardins)
> 2. eBird feature (C Wood)
> 3. Breeding Codes and Safe Dates for our Connecticut Birds - Part One
> (Stephen Broker)
> 4. Breeding Codes and Safe Dates for our Connecticut Birds - Part Two
> (Stephen Broker)
> 5. Re: eBird feature (George Wallace)
> 6. Breeding Codes and Safe Dates for our Connecticut Birds - Part Three
> (Stephen Broker)
> 7. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Christopher Grice)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:41:27 -0400
> From: Paul Desjardins <paul.desjardins2...>
> Subject: [CT Birds] Northern Parula
> To: COA - Connecticut Ornithological Association
> <ctbirds...>
> Message-ID: <4DC55E3A-07C8-4AF2-B684-74F275FB7FB0...>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
>
>
> Paul Desjardins
> <paul.desjardins2...>
> Phone: (860) 623-3696
>
> Seen this morning at Spring Park in Windsor Locks. Also audio Common Loon
> and Wood Thrush.
>
> Paul Desjardins
> Windsor Locks
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:44:42 -0400
> From: C Wood <cwood022...>
> Subject: [CT Birds] eBird feature
> To: CT Bird Report <ctbirds...>
> Message-ID: <981E2078-D6DD-4F8F-A085-5BDBA424A30B...>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
>
> Here’s a new eBird feature birders may find helpful. I’m sure I will.
> https://ebird.org/news/new-hotspot-about-pages-and-groups >
> Chris
>
> Chris S. Wood
> Woodbury, CT
> 203 558-0654
>
> Follow me on:
>
> Flickr -https://www.flickr.com/photos/cswood-photos/ > Instagram - cswood_nature_photography <
> https://www.instagram.com/cswood_nature_photography/#> >
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:00:08 -0400
> From: Stephen Broker <stephenpaulbroker...>
> Subject: [CT Birds] Breeding Codes and Safe Dates for our Connecticut
> Birds - Part One
> To: ct birds <ctbirds...>
> Message-ID: <99A8DF86-5B72-435F-A608-EC46A4FF90FD...>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
>
> One of the most enjoyable aspects of the recently completed Connecticut
> Bird Atlas (2018-2021) has been the field work devoted to gathering
> evidence of breeding. The preliminary results of the Atlas are on-line at
> this address:
>
> https://draft.ctbirdatlas.research.uconn.edu/ >
> Atlas species descriptions continue to be written for those bird species
> for which we have breeding evidence (possible, probable, confirmed). In
> fact, all 453 or so species on the official state list are listed and will
> have summary information of their occurrences. For now, many but not all
> species accounts for our breeding birds include combination maps (block
> results for Atlas 1982-1986 vs. block results for Atlas 2018-2021), text on
> distributions of breeders, phenological information, and photographs of
> breeding evidence. There also are maps of early winter and late winter
> occurrences for many species.
>
> Two essential tables of information that the Atlas volunteers used during
> field work were the Breeding Codes and the Safe Dates. Here are two
> passages of text provided by the Atlas Team that served as guidelines for
> collecting breeding evidence:
>
> “One of the difficulties with assigning breeding codes is that the
> behaviors the codes describe are sometimes used by birds away from their
> nesting sites. Migrating birds are particularly problematic because they
> often engage in breeding behaviors long before they get to their breeding
> grounds. When a species is known to not nest in a region, it is easy to
> recognize that they are not local breeders. But, when some individuals of a
> species breed in an area, while others migrate through en route to sites
> farther north, it becomes harder to know how some records should be treated.
>
> “Like many breeding bird atlases, we attempted to address this problem by
> identifying “safe dates” at the beginning of the project for each species
> known to breed in Connecticut. Safe dates give the period during which the
> occurrence of a bird means that there is a high likelihood that it is
> breeding near to where it was seen, and that it is unlikely to be a migrant
> or a wandering non-breeder. Safe dates do not identify the entire period in
> which breeding may occur, and records of birds engaged in breeding
> behaviors that confirm breeding were accepted even when outside this
> period. Breeding codes in the possible and probable categories, however,
> were generally not accepted unless they lay within these dates. For
> example, if a Wood Thrush was seen building a nest in the second week of
> May, the record would be accepted because there is no doubt it was nesting.
> But, if one was just heard singing, even if in the same place that one was
> heard a week earlier, it would not be accepted because it could have been a
> migrant.”
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:01:18 -0400
> From: Stephen Broker <stephenpaulbroker...>
> Subject: [CT Birds] Breeding Codes and Safe Dates for our Connecticut
> Birds - Part Two
> To: ct birds <ctbirds...>
> Message-ID: <7F28A49D-8288-4A75-86C8-538F64B782C1...>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> The 2026 spring migration now is underway, and it is appropriate to begin
> thinking about evidence of breeding birds. The breeding codes should be
> applied in the context of published safe dates. As of this writing (April
> 22), a number of our bird species do fall within their safe dates,
> including Rock Pigeon and Mourning Dove, Common Raven and American Crow,
> Pileated and Red-bellied woodpeckers, Wild Turkey, Canada Goose and Mute
> Swan, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered and Red-tailed hawks, chickadees, titmice,
> cardinals, and a few others. The codes for possible, probable, and
> confirmed breeding can properly be applied now for these species. The
> majority of bird species, including vireos, catbirds, thrashers, veery,
> warblers, and grosbeaks, have not yet entered their safe dates, and they
> are best considered now as arriving migrants - not yet ready for breeding
> codes.
>
> The important exception to the Safe Dates rule is confirmation of breeding
> outside the published safe date, by any of the appropriate codes, which
> include nest building, occupied nest, nest with eggs, nest with young,
> recently fledged young, and feeding young. Two examples of birds for which
> there is confirmed breeding before their safe dates are Peregrine Falcon
> and Common Raven. My long-term studies of cliff nesting peregrines show
> that they can begin laying eggs as early as the last week in March, and
> invariably by the first ten days of April, even though their safe dates are
> from May 15 to August 1. My long-term studies of ravens include
> confirmation of egg-laying as early as February 23, even though their safe
> dates start up much later in March. When there is no evidence confirming
> breeding, these and other species observed before the start of safe dates
> should not be listed as possible or probable breeders.
>
>
>
> Steve Broker
>
> Cheshire
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:29:22 -0400
> From: George Wallace <gwallace7490...>
> Subject: [CT Birds] Re: eBird feature
> To: ctbirds <ctbirds...>
> Message-ID:
> <
> CAPJbebKm0RUAkrbnHay7qy2hBtZ+<203ygL2G852yarD4TTeuqw...>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> Some folks may already know of its precursor: https://birdinghotspots.org/ > .
> All of the information from this site has been integrated with the new
> eBird site. With the weight of eBird behind it, this should really take off
> and will be invaluable.
>
> George Wallace
> Salisbury, CT
> 540-212-1519
>
> On Wed, Apr 22, 2026 at 2:45 PM C Wood via CTBirds <
> <ctbirds...> wrote:
>
> > Here’s a new eBird feature birders may find helpful. I’m sure I will.
> > https://ebird.org/news/new-hotspot-about-pages-and-groups > >
> > Chris
> >
> > Chris S. Wood
> > Woodbury, CT
> > 203 558-0654
> >
> > Follow me on:
> >
> > Flickr -https://www.flickr.com/photos/cswood-photos/ > > Instagram - cswood_nature_photography <
> > https://www.instagram.com/cswood_nature_photography/#> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send an email with just "join" or
> > "leave" in the subject or body to: <ctbirds-request...>
> >
> > CTBirds, a service of Connecticut Ornithological Association - Bringing
> > birders together statewide. Please support COA:
> > https://www.ctbirding.org/join-us/ > >
> > CTBirds is for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut. For
> > list rules and subscription information visit:
> > https://www.ctbirding.org/birds-birding/ct-birds-email-list/ >
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:53:26 -0400
> From: Stephen Broker <stephenpaulbroker...>
> Subject: [CT Birds] Breeding Codes and Safe Dates for our Connecticut
> Birds - Part Three
> To: ct birds <ctbirds...>
> Message-ID: <3E5C2658-30A1-41A8-A26A-3F4EA729B9FA...>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
>
> To clarify my two previous posts today about the Connecticut Bird Atlas,
> Breeding Codes, and Safe Dates, use the University of Connecticut link
> below to see detailed explanations of the Atlas Breeding Codes and Safe
> Dates. The website includes species accounts, the block map, and Methods.
> Click on Methods, then Breeding Atlas to find the Breeding Codes and Safe
> Dates.
>
> This version of the codes is particularly nice, as it contains photos of
> evidence of possible, probable, and confirmed breeding for selected bird
> species, as well as more detailed discussion of how each code is applied.
>
> As noted earlier, the Connecticut Bird Atlas website, while still being
> built, already is a rich source of information on the birds of Connecticut.
>
>
> https://draft.ctbirdatlas.research.uconn.edu/ >
>
> Steve Broker
> Cheshire
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2026 21:38:48 -0400
> From: Christopher Grice <cgrice4n6...>
> Subject: [CT Birds] Rose-breasted Grosbeak
> To: CT Bird Report <ctbirds...>
> Message-ID:
> <
> CAP49YQ+<wDneWCBQDH70uAao14tbSK-AF7SsGJ7dEgf7ZKVFvBQ...>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>
> 04/22/26 1pm FOY at my backyard feeder. Seemed to be posing for my
> pictures.
> Chris Grice
> Rockfall
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Subject: Digest Footer
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> End of CTBirds Digest, Vol 6827, Issue 1
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