Notes and Musings

Great Horned Owl

One of my first impressions of Tod's Point were the vast array of birds. Although there are many shore birds typically found in other regions of the Long Island Sound such as Seagulls, Terns, Plovers and Sandpipers, I noticed Loons, Great Cormorants, Herons, and Egrets. Due to the unique blend of shore and parkland, Tod's point is also home to woodland birds, such as Bluejays, Chickadees, Cardinals, as well as birds of prey: Owls, Hawks, and Osprey. For a birder, this is a bird paradise, as there are not many places to observe these two types of birds in one location.

The Greenwich Audubon Society conducts guided bird walks on first Sundays at 9AM. The leaders congregate at the second concession stand and conduct a tour of frequented bird paths. On January 2, 2011,my family and I partook in one of these tours. The second day of the year was foggy and misty, which did not provide good viewing of water fowl, even with binoculars or a scope. The Buffleheads were barely visible as they bobbed offshore. Equally dim were the wooded areas, where the snow and warm air provided a misty, hanging shroud on the limbs. Every so often a bird would flit out and identify itself: a Mourning Dove, Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker; each captured our attention on a day not promising for bird watching.

Deep into the pine and holly area, our guides showed us where the Saw-whet Owls nested and where there had recently been a Great Horned Owl sighting. The only evidence of the owls were the pellets left behind under the trees. I was sorely disappointed to miss seeing an owl. With one last upward glance straight up the tree in front of me, I beheld the majestic silhouette of the Great Horned Owl. Pointing up I attracted the group's attention, and we all gazed appreciatively at the owl until it suddently lifted off in broad-winged flight.

The birding atmosphere at Tod's Point is very congenial. There is a bird observation book at a station near the entrance to the Holly Grove, where people share their bird sightings in a notebook. There are also many bird images online that were taken at Tod's Point.

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