Litchfield Country: home of rolling hills and farmlands, expansive freshwater marshes and unique waterways, pastures, and old growth forests. A place to take in the beauty of the outdoors while experiencing an amazing variety of birds. Growing up in this beautiful area has been a truly rewarding experience, an experience that has shaped me into who I am as a birder. As my last year of Highschool approached and it was time to start thinking about college, I knew that my last year here had to be amazing. So, as a last hurrah I decided at the end of 2019 to give it my all and compete against myself in a Litchfield County Big Year.
I didn’t realize till now that it wasn’t all about the number or total of species I saw. The most fulfilling thing about it was the experiences I had along the way. Birding through a global pandemic, a tropical storm that knocked out power for a week, endless rainstorms and massive snowfall, I saw birds that I never expected I would see. I gained lots of valuable information and now have plenty of amazing stories to tell.
I’ve only been a serious birdwatcher for the past three to four years, so my knowledge of the identifications of certain species was limited. I also needed to improve on learning what habitats birds frequent, along with visiting obscure spots in my county. Therefore I made sure to focus on these topics going into the challenge.
I started off the year spending my time in search for the tough overwintering species. One of the first “good finds” was a Field Sparrow buried deep in a cluster of bushes on the edge of a farm. Once I learned what specific habitat this bird frequented in the winter, I was able to find more individuals at other locations later in the month. Another tough January find was a small group of Savannah Sparrows feeding on seeds at Swendsen Farm. Common at coastal locations during winter, it’s actually quite the tough bird inland. I also managed an American Kestrel and a Gray Catbird along another farm’s edge. At the end of the first month of the year I had tallied a total of 68 species, which I was very proud of.
February started off great with a loud Northern Saw-whet Owl crashing into a roost on a cold early morning, foreshadowing a great irruption for this species towards the end of the year. Despite the great start, February proved to be a slow month regarding new additions. Adding only eight species, I was optimistic for some good birding in March. Little Pond Boardwalk Trail was my best friend during the start of spring. If you’re the first on the trail for the day, you will definitely be greeted with an amazing show from Wilson’s Snipe. On a foggy morning the trail can feel like some distant and foreign planet, making for an immaculate vibe.
Little Pond also held two early arrivals: both Virginia Rail and Marsh Wren hunkered down in the reeds. While easy to get during the breeding season, seeing these species was a nice taste of the upcoming spring. Tree Swallows, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, and Pine Warblers also joined in on the party. Closing out the month, Aton Forest yielded two Sandhill Cranes, which was a long sought after lifer.
The big year continued to be quite successful with plenty of goodies during the end of April. Bantam Lake being one of the largest inland bodies of water in the state it often holds quite the variety of birds, especially during migration. Rainstorms will often force many species out of the sky to get shelter and rest on the lake, which results in somewhat of a fallout. With a good storm on its way on April 27th, I decided to head to the lake. I was greeted with a flock of 15 Boneparte’s Gulls sitting on the water just off the tip of Point Folly. I’ve always been told that when you run into a flock of BOGU on an inland lake, start searching for terns. I knew I was up for a challenge as Terns can have a very similar flight style to BOGU. So everytime the flock picked up off the water, I made sure to thoroughly check every bird. With myself and my optics now drenched, I was elated to find a rare Common Tern! It is never expected in Litchfield County to find terns, so this was quite the treat. Little did I know that as the year progressed I’d come across two more species of tern. Another great surprise from the lake was yet another difficult species for Litchfield County. A Snowy Egret accompanied a Great Blue Heron for a brief moment before taking off and disappearing. The following day more rainy conditions yielded White-winged Scoter and Red-necked Grebe on Tyler and Bantam Lakes, respectively. A Eurasian Wigeon was also located at Jones Pond during April, which was a second county record! Aside from the rairites, certain migrants and breeders started to arrive. Bank Swallow, along with Cliff Swallow, passed over the lake. Warblers such as Louisiana Waterthrush, Yellow Warbler, American Redstart and Black-and-white Warbler were in the area as well. By the end of the month my total for the big year now reached 122 species.
One similarity between the coast and inland Connecicut is the overwhelming amount of species diversity that May brings. Between the drive to get every migratory and breeding bird possible and endless scouting for my second annual Litchfield big day, May was a sleepless month. Deciding what day to execute my town big day is always challenging. Weather plays a huge part and with the help of Dave Tripp, May 15th was the day to pull the trigger. The night started off with heavy rains, making it difficult to look for rails, but I managed to stir up a Sora at Little Pond. Other than that, the night was drowned out with rain. But as dawn approached I heard a bird that was a sure sign the day was going to be a good one. As the chorus of Marsh Wrens, Gray Catbirds, American Robins started to pick up, a Long-eared Owl asserted its presence, giving 3 deeply chilling and separate calls off in the distance. After hours of time and energy put into finding this species, I was overcome with an amazing sense of both relief and accomplishment. This rewarding feeling, in part, is the reason I became a birder.
At daybreak I was meant with perfect fallout conditions. With rain starting at around 1 am and ending right at sunrise, I knew that whatever had been knocked down by the weather was still yet to take off. I figured it would be best to check Bantam Lake. I was greeted there by a flock of 15 White-winged Scoters, 7 Long-tailed Duck, and 4 lingering Buffleheads all emerging from the edge of Point Folly. Being as uncommon as they are in the county it was a great relief to be able to add these few additional species to my day list. Throughout the rest of the day I managed 19 warbler species including Cape May Warbler, 6 shorebird species including Lesser Yellowlegs, White-crowned Sparrow, as well as breeding Bobolinks and Field Sparrows. Passing my previous record of 103 species, I was ecstatic with my final total of 113.
Ending off a beautiful month, I found yet another new county bird. Birding during a rainstorm on inland lakes can be hit or miss. But on May 29th, I lucked out yet again. After checking the weather and seeing the distant thunderstorm coming in with the combination of southerly winds, I figured it would be good to check Tyler Lake. When I arrived at the boat launch I did a quick scan of the water with my scope. About 40 seconds into the scan, I had two small terns flying about 10 feet above the water. Watching them for about as long as it took to spot them, I eventually lost sight. Although the sun had set there was still good enough lighting to make the ID; Two Black Terns!! In total I was able to tally 58 new year birds during May, and observe over 146 species!
There were lots of other species from the month worth noting. One being Eastern Meadowlarks singing and giving unique call notes. Following the exciting year bird, Sharon Audubon held my first ever Common Gallinule, which was presenting itself quite nicely among the reeds. Greater Yellowlegs, American Bittern, Orchard Oriole, and Eastern Whip-poor-will were spread out through the county as well. The Russell Street Common Raven nest in Litchfield also returned this year; a pair with 5 offspring. They always put on a show!

June was the time to find whatever remaining breeders I needed. Although River Road in Kent was productive for many birders, I kept striking out on Cerulean Warbler. I decided that it was best to start looking in other areas. While scouting eBird, I saw a report of Ceruleans from a random dirt road in Cornwall. Deciding to check it out, I was discouraged by the lack of activity in the area. But, once the sun warmed up the trees and the insects started getting active, so did a bright blue male. Litchfield County is often known and birded for its Cerulean Warblers and with their striking appearance, I can understand the drive to see them! On the same day I also managed a Least Bittern singing deep in the reeds along an uncharted backroad. Giving a unique fast song it was a treat to hear, along with the fact that it was a potential breeder! Summer Counts were also another exciting part about the month. One count resulted in my lifer White-eyed Vireo, which did not want to pop up from the dense shrubbery. Eastern Screech Owls, Willow and Alder Flycatchers were singing in the dead of night, along with both Yellow-billed and Black billed Cuckoos giving unheard of songs at 3 am. One other notable was a Black-crowned Night-Heron along Isaiah Smith Rd in Morris. Although somewhat expected this time of year in the county, it’s still very uncommon; only showing up about once every other year. A bird that I was expecting for sure to get during migration, and more specifically breeding was Magnolia Warbler. Although, to my surprise, this species gave me a hard time. All the spots I’ve had them on territory in the past were vacant. Evidently, though, I lucked out on a trip to Great Mountain Forest in North Canaan, and to my surprise, one popped out in some low shrubs on the side of the road. Shortly thereafter me and fellow young birders located another warbler. A male Nashville Warbler singing on great habitat! This was yet another migrant I had missed. By this point in 2020 I had seen/heard 189 species!

Again, being a relatively new birder, I have not gotten the chance to birdwatch in a storm any larger than a thunderstorm. I’ve heard the stories of Bantam Lake during Hurricane Irene plenty of times. Fran Zygmont finding a Leach’s Storm-Petrel along with other obscene rarities was mind-boggling to me. An area that I bird so often holding species that frequent the deep ocean. It sounds horrible to wish for a storm of this caliber to hit the Northeast, but from my birder perspective, it’s all I wanted. Then, to my excitement, I heard of Tropical Storm Isaias. Although I describe myself as a serious birder ready to take on any conditions, I bit off way more than I could chew with this storm.
Once the storm hit, Fran and I headed to the lake. After a brief phone call, Fran informed me that he was birding from the camp store near Point Folly and was considering hitting South Bay on the other side of the lake. I started at Litchfield Town Beach where Fran had his storm petrel back in 2011. Annoyed with my car fogging up and not being able to see through my wipers, I decided to quickly jump out of my car and scan. That decision was possibly one of the stupidest I’ve made. After scanning the water for about a minute I turned back to my car to dry off. But my car decided to lock itself while still running. With my phone in my car I was trapped in the horrible tropical storm conditions. Large branches and trees began to fall around me and, scared for my life, I made the tough decision to run half a mile to Fran. Fearful that he would head to the other side of the lake I had to move quickly. Covering my head as I ran, I eventually made it to Fran whose expression was priceless.
Now in the comfort of Fran’s truck, we headed back to Town Beach where he dropped me off and went to the nearest hardware store. Returning with a wire and a hammer I began to try to unlock my car. After several frustrating attempts to break in and almost managing to pull the latch up, I quickly dropped everything when Fran yelled “BIRDS!”. A total of FIVE SOOTY TERNS fell from the sky. This was a moment that I’d never forget: wind gusts up to 50 mph, heavy rain and the forest falling around us, my 300th lifer on Bantam Lake.
August and September continued to result in some exciting rarities. Lacking on the shorebird front at this point in the year, this was my time to get some more obscure species. The first and one the best was a Baird’s Sandpiper along Colebrook River Lake. This spot was very productive this year and with such little rainfall, there were plenty of mudflats. This made for a great feeding opportunity for birds on the move. I also managed to locate Semipalmated Sandpipers and Plovers at this location in the same week. A Eared Grebe also made an appearance on Bantam Lake at the end of August. A species that hasn’t been seen in the county since 2010! Furthermore in September, I found a Red-necked Phalarope which was avidly feeding in Cemetery Pond. It’s not often you find your own lifers, and this time was especially exciting as it has become way more difficult for me to get lifers in Litchfield. This time of year was also a chance to some additional species that I missed during May. The last warbler of the year ended up being a Tennessee Warbler. Which Fran and I located at at Lower Greenwoods Recreation Area in Barkhamsted towards the end of September. I also found the one remaining thrush I missed in May, Gray-cheeked Thrush in White Memorial.
Approaching the final few months of the year I frankly had no idea what other new additions to expect. 2020 had been such an amazing year for birding already, and it was going to be topped off with an irruption year of winter finches! Finch researchers were calling this winter a “superflight”. And they were right – many species irrupted, including both species of crossbill, siskins, purple finches, both species of redpolls and both species of grosbeaks. Due to a lack of food in the Boreal Forest all these species approached the Northeast in droves. The first finches species for me was a flyover flock of 20 Pine Siskins in my own backyard! But this flock was just the start of this species. For many birders in the middle to late parts of October, siskins became more common than American Goldfinches. Over the course of October and November I saw two different massive flocks. The first being at White Memorial Conservation Area, where a flock of 125 individuals were avidly feeding and covered practically the entire dirt road. The second flock being 110 at Mt. Riga in Salisbury. Over the course of these two months I saw a total of 557 individual siskins! The second irruptive finch I got was a lone male Evening Grosbeak calling atop a tree one morning on my way to school. I later had some flyover flocks and totaled 14 individuals for the year.
During the summer a few reports came in of Red Crossbills in more northern spots of the county. Unfortunately I struck out on finding these potentially breeding birds, however I was happy to see over 30 individuals later in the year. 10 of which were feeding around my yard! Common Redpolls also came in swinging. The largest flock being 25 at Mt. Riga where Caleb May and I got to watch them for about 5 minutes. Will Schenck, Preston Lust and I had some amazing finch extravaganza to Mt. Riga as well, which you can read about on CT Audubon’s website here: https://www.ctaudubon.org/2020/11/a-young-birders-exhortation-fellow-connecticut-birders-go-north-there-are-birds/
The most incredible finch experience the “finch crew” had was at Great Mountain Forest. While exploring a spruce stand in hopes for Boreal Chickadee, a flock of 5 White-winged Crossbills came crashing in above us. We all stood in awe while observing this flock, which took off after about 1 minute. With the irruption in full swing at this point we knew it was only a matter of time before they showed up in the state. All the time and effort we put into finding this species finally paid off, which warranted a celebratory dance, hugs, and high fives. Being the first flock in the state this year, it made for a very rewarding experience!
The species that was the most difficult to locate was Pine Grosbeak. With a few reports starting to trickle in we were hopeful that we would get lucky like we did with the WW Crossbills. Unfortunately Will, Preston, and I were unsuccessful in our attempts. Personally, I put in over 20 hours in the field searching for this species, and with the year quickly coming to a close I began to worry that I might miss the last possible finch. Thankfully though other birders managed to locate a flock of about 5 individuals at Great Mountain Forest in the last week of December. The following day, about 7 other birders and I put in over 3 hours of effort into finding this flock. At around 10am we heard one individual Pine Grosbeak respond to playback. Racing to where we heard the call, we found a male and female feeding in a spruce tree. While they were difficult to see at times, I was still happy with the experience and extremely thankful to finish off the year with an amazing lifer.
Outside of the winter finch explosion there were a few other species remaining to be added to my final total. A noteworthy species was a group of 5 adult Tundra Swan on Bantam Lake. In poor conditions this ID was definitely a tough one, but it ended up being a great learning experience. It was apparent that these swans had a longer more sloped head/bill compared to nearby Mute Swans, in which the head and bill dropped much more. I was also able to pick out a uniform black bill, along with a Canvasback-like head and bill shape. Adding to the rare waterfowl, I was able to pin down Surf Scoter and Red-throated Loon. During winter, Barkhamsted Reservoir tends to hold some unique and difficult birds for Litchfield County. Again many of the species that are frequent the coast are, in turn, a challenge in inland CT. While somewhat expected on inland bodies of water during migration, neither of these species are a guarantee.
Considering the small size of Connecticut, it’s surprising how some species are polar opposite on the coast and inland. For instance Common Merganser on the coast is very uncommon and Red-breasted Merganser is extremely common, and vice versa inland . Red-breasted Merganser gave me an extremely difficult time this year. On multiple occasions I got tripped up on the ID. But thankfully on the Lake Waramaug CBC birders found 3 female Red-breasted Mergansers. Successful in my chase, I finally realized the major pointers in the ID. A thin bill, dark throat and breast, and a dark eye stripe extending far past the eye to the back of the head. Aside from the waterfowl, a very exciting species showed up around this time , which many birders across the state got the chance to see. A juvenile Northern Shrike made an appearance on Anderson Road in Morris. A state bird for me!
All in all 2020, ended up being a stunning year for birding. In writing this summary of my Litchfield County Big Year, I hope to inspire and or challenge future young birders of Connecticut to get out and push themselves to become a better birder. Granted, while this year was full of ups and downs on the birding front and in my personal life, it was well worth the blood, sweat, and tears that I put into birding. While this competition was very list oriented, I really want to stress the importance of birding in the moment. I had so many fulfilling experiences: moments of pure joy when finding that one species I was looking for, and moments that were so fulfilling and rewarding that they drive me every day to get out and go birding.
The new standard for Big Years in Litchfield County is 215 species!
Written by: Nicolas Main
Edited by: James Leone
- Canada Goose
- Mute Swan
- Mallard
- American Black Duck
- Ring-necked Duck
- Lesser Scaup
- Hooded Merganser
- Ring-billed Gull
- Herring Gull
- Bald Eagle
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Blue Jay
- American Crow
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Tufted Titmouse
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Carolina Wren
- American Goldfinch
- American Tree Sparrow
- Dark-eyed Junco
- White-throated Sparrow
- Northern Cardinal
- Mourning Dove
- Downy Woodpecker
- Pileated Woodpecker
- European Starling
- American Robin
- House Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- Common Raven
- Horned Lark
- Savannah Sparrow
- Eastern Bluebird (1/1/20)
- Red-shouldered Hawk
- Common Merganser
- House Finch
- Field Sparrow
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Rock Pigeon (1/5/20)
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1/6/20)
- Harry Woodpecker
- Brown Creeper
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Swamp Sparrow
- Northern Harrier
- Cooper’s Hawk (1/8/20)
- Ringed-necked Pheasant
- Hermit Thrush
- Brown-headed Cowbird (1/11/20)
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Common Grackle
- Wild Turkey
- Cedar Waxwing
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Gray Catbird
- Peregrine Falcon
- Winter Wren (1/12/20)
- Common Goldeneye (1/14/20)
- Wood Duck (1/21/20)
- Great Horned Owl
- Barred Owl
- Rusty Blackbird
- Northern Flicker
- American Kestrel
- Northern Mockingbird (1/26/20)
- Black Vulture (1/27/20)
- Snow Goose (2/9/20)
- Turkey Vulture
- Northern Pintail (2/17/20)
- Bufflehead (2/18/20)
- Northern Saw-whet Owl (2/21/20)
- American Woodcock (2/23/20)
- Greater White-fronted Goose (2/24/20)
- Killdeer
- Green-winged Teal (3/3/20)
- Fish Crow (3/5/20)
- Belted Kingfisher (3/7/20)
- American Wigeon
- American Pipit (3/8/20)
- Ruddy Duck (3/11/20)
- Greater Scaup
- Purple Finch
- Fox Sparrow
- Northern Shoveler
- Wilson’s Snipe
- Marsh Wren (3/13/20)
- Pied-billed Grebe (3/14/20)
- Sandhill Crane
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Eastern Towhee (3/15/20)
- Virginia Rail (3/17/20)
- Great Blue Heron (3/19/20)
- Horned Grebe (3/21/20)
- Eastern Phoebe
- Osprey
- Tree Swallow (3/24/20)
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow
- Pine Warbler (3/31/20)
- Common Loon (4/1/20)
- White-crowned Sparrow
- Double-crested Cormorant (4/5/20)
- Chipping Sparrow (4/7/20)
- Palm Warbler
- Red-necked Grebe (4/8/20)
- Eurasian Wigeon (4/10/20)
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (4/12/20)
- Barn Swallow
- Merlin (4/18/20)
- Broad-winged Hawk (4/19/20)
- Louisiana Waterthrush
- Yellow-rumped Warbler (4/20/20)
- Bonaparte’s Gull
- Common Tern
- Blue-headed Vireo
- Cliff Swallow (4/27/20)
- Purple Martin (4/28/20)
- Ruffed Grouse
- Black-and-White Warbler (4/29/20)
- Snowy Egret
- Yellow Warbler (4/30/20)
- House Wren
- Northern Waterthrush
- White-winged Scoter
- Bank Swallow
- American Redstart
- Eastern Meadowlark (5/1/20)
- Sora
- Greater Yellowlegs
- American Bittern
- Wood Thrush
- Ovenbird
- Black-throated Green Warbler
- Warbling Vireo
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- Veery (5/2/20)
- Chimney Swift
- Least Flycatcher
- Brown Thrasher
- Baltimore Oriole
- Northern Parula
- Bobolink
- Common Gallinule
- Orchard Oriole
- Prairie Warbler
- Yellow-throated Vireo
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Eastern Kingbird (5/3/20)
- Black-throated Blue Warbler
- Least Sandpiper
- Common Yellowthroat (5/4/20)
- Eastern Whip-poor-will (5/5/20)
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Solitary Sandpiper (5/6/20)
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Blackburnian Warbler (5/7/20)
- Green Heron (5/8/20)
- Red-eyed Vireo
- Scarlet Tanager
- Swainson’s Thrush (5/11/20)
- Worm-eating Warbler
- Hooded Warbler (5/12/20)
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird (5/13/20)
- Cape May Warbler
- Canada Warbler (5/14/20)
- Long-tailed Duck
- Lesser Yellowlegs
- Long-eared Owl
- Blue-winged Warbler
- Blackpoll Warbler
- Wilson’s Warbler
- Indigo Bunting (5/15/20)
- Bay-breasted Warbler
- Eastern Wood-Pewee
- Alder Flycatcher
- Willow Flycatcher (5/19/20)
- Common Nighthawk (5/20/20)
- Black-billed Cuckoo
- Black tern (5/29/20)
- Nashville Warbler
- Magnolia Warbler (6/1/20)
- Mourning Warbler (6/2/20)
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo (6/4/20)
- Acadian Flycatcher
- White-eyed Vireo (6/6/20)
- Least Bittern
- Cerulean Warbler (6/17/20)
- Black-crowned Night-Heron (6/27/20)
- Sooty Tern (8/4/20)
- Great Egret (8/11/20)
- Blue-winged Teal (8/18/20)
- Baird’s Sandpiper (8/22/20)
- Eared Grebe (8/30/20)
- Semipalmated Plover (9/1/20)
- Semipalmated Sandpiper (9/2/20)
- Red-necked Phalarope (9/12/20)
- Tennessee Warbler (9/13/20)
- Gray-cheeked Thrush (9/18/20)
- American Coot (10/1/20)
- Lincoln’s Sparrow (10/4/20)
- Pine Siskin
- Redhead (10/12/20)
- Evening Grosbeak (10/22/20)
- Gadwall (10/27/20)
- Tundra Swan (10/29/20)
- Red Crossbill (11/8/20)
- Common Redpoll
- Surf Scoter
- White-Winged Crossbill (11/14/20)
- Iceland Gull (11/26/20)
- Red-breasted Merganser (12/21/20)
- Northern Shrike
- Pine Grosbeak (12/24/20)
- Red-throated Loon (12/26/20)