Bird Photography - Lenny Gorski's Portfolio

Red-winged blackbird female.

She was hopping around the cattail for a good part of the morning with the dragonfly in her mouth.

A year round resident of almost the entire US. Insect eaters, they are polygamous with males having multiple female mates.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Breeding male

Spends its spring and summers with residents of the Northern United States and Canada. Winters in Central America in second growth forest and shade-coffee plantations.
A 1953 Audubon copy of Birds Of Eastern And Central North America states the Chestnut was so rare 100 years ago that Audubon saw it but once!

Now abundant in its range, it is not a warbler of the deep forest like many others but prefers recently disturbed ground and young forests and thickets.

Hooded Warbler - Male

Appalachian Trail, Kent CT.

Insect eaters, They like to hunt and nest low in the forest unlike some other warblers like the Cerulean which tend to favor the tops of trees. Population numbers are actually slightly increasing. :) Habitat destruction remains their number one threat. Length 5" Weight 0.3-0.4 oz.

Eastern Wood-Pewee

A type of flycatcher, Pewees hunt from dead branch's waiting for insects to fly by that they catch.

A familiar song of three notes (pee-a-weeee) ! over the entire Eastern US with and near Identical Western species that has a different song. The sounds of summer.

Black-throated Blue Warbler.

A species that Migrates through CT and also nests here. Diet of insects as seen in photo here with an inchworm. Nests in Shrubs and active near ground level compared to other "tree top" warblers. Needs large areas of mature forest to breed. In the winter they inhabit tropical forests and shade-coffee plantations. Recent long term trends show population increases in the BTB with a rating of "low conservation concern" :)

Length 4.3-5.1 in Weight 0.3-0.4 oz.

Audubon Bird Craft Fairfield CT

Wilsons Warbler

Why we love May! Not nesting in CT., the Wilsons migrates through in the spring and fall. They breed in the far north including Canada, northern Maine and the upper Northwest.

Always a joy to see. An insect eater that nests on the ground. Sadly, the species is in decline. Loss of habitat in migratory, summer and winter grounds as well as egg loss from Brown-headed Cowbirds are the threats to this species.

Prairie warbler - Adult male

May in CT.

Breeds in eastern North America, including Connecticut. Winters in the Caribbean and year round in Florida.

Length 4.3 in

Weight 0.2-0.3 oz

Prairie warbler singing.

The oldest Prairie was 8 years when captured and released at a banding station in Connecticut.

Great Crested Flycatcher

May in CT.

I just love when these guys come back in the spring and their calls fill the woods including our neighborhood. Nesting in tree cavity's, their population is currently stable. Winters in Southern Florida, Mexico, Central America NW south America.

Female Robin gathering decomposed leaves and mud to build her nest

Male Robin watching the female gather mud. Hes supervising.

Still Supervising...

Red-wing blackbird - Breath in April, first light at pond edge

It is a cold afternoon on a farm in CT for this White-throated sparrow

Pine Warbler

Chatfield Hollow Killingworth CT

Yellow Warbler and Maple seed. One of my favorite Warblers. Not only a migrator but yellows also nest in CT. Letting us enjoy them all spring and summer.

Painted Bunting

Breeding adult male.

South Carolina

Hermit Thrush

This guy has been hanging out around my deck almost all winter. Often fly's underneath when someone gets too close.

Prothonotary Warbler on Cypress knee

Francis Beidler Audubon boardwalk

May in South Carolina

Indigo Bunting

Breeding adult Male - June

Lake Hammonasset CT

Robin

April in Connecticut

Painted Bunting Adult

Blue Wing Warbler at first light - May in CT

Painted Bunting

South Carolina

A Southern Bird.

The French named this bird nonpareil, meaning “without equal,”

We agree!

Yellow Throated Vireo

Chatfield Hollow Park, CT.

American Redstart Warbler

Hartman Park, Lyme CT

Indigo Bunting

Breeding adult male

June, Connecticut

Cerulean Warbler-prefers large older hardwood forests where it feeds and spends most of its time high in the canopy - It winters in South America and in the Spring migrates to the Eastern United States. It breeds here and on the southern edge of Canada.Uncommon and their populations have been declining for years due to habitat destruction in their winter range in the northern Andes and in their breeding range here in the US.

Lyme CT in May

Red Eye Vireo. Slipping along a woods trail, I spotted four or five Vireos quickly flying about, interacting. It was early spring and the fanned tail is a threat display, indicating pairing up, choosing a mate or a territorial dispute was likely occurring.

May in CT

Eye on the prize

Worm-eating Warblers are a long distance migrant spending winter in the Caribbean and Central America. It summers and breeds in the southern and eastern United States.

Worm-eating Warbler with flying Termite

May in CT

Worm-eating Warbler

This bird builds its nest on the ground and returns every year to the same area of woods. Territorial. 4.5"-5.2" and weighs 0.4-0.5 Oz.

Blue Wing Warbler

May in Connecticut is a special month. Over 30 different Warblers either stop here on migration or stop and stay to breed for the summer. This fine bird was at Lake Saltonstall Branford CT

Efficient Hunter

Robin with worms

Spring in Connecticut

Tufted Titmouse

Winter in Connecticut

Common Yellowthroat Warbler - Adult Male

Black and White Warbler

Funny how they resemble a Woodpecker in appearance and

mannerism, able to walk up and down the sides of trees.

May / CT

Female Bluebird

Winter colors

PINE WARBLER

Chatfield Hollow State Park

June - Connecticut

Usually near pine trees. Unique in that it eats a regular diet of seeds as well as insects whereas most other warblers diets are strictly insect. One of the first Warblers to return in the spring, often March in CT. About 5"- 5.5" and .03 - .05 oz.

~ Pause ~

Black Cap Chickadee

Fall - Connecticut

Likes to hang upside down on branch's a lot as it picks berries and seeds

Canada Jay in Flight

Western Maine

Quite the personality, These birds will often find you, in the middle of nowhere.

Winter Wren

One of 5 Wrens known in Connecticut

Fall

Cedar Waxwing

June - Connecticut

Often found near water. The Waxwings call is such a high frequency I cannot hear it most of the time.

Blue Jay in flight.

Smart, vocal and beautiful.

Bluejay

Fall in Connecticut

Swamp Sparrow

September - Maine

Who needs all those different colors? Proving even brown can be beautiful.

~ Puffball ~

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

September - Maine

What a cutie!

Rufus sided Towhee

Female or immature

October - Connecticut

If your in the woods and hear leaves being flipped over and rustled, there is a good chance this Bird is whats doing it. Often located right next to trails, flipping leaves. An omnivore, they eat seeds, fruits, insects and pretty much anything else they find. Often hard to photograph in the wild, I have many pictures of the Male whose black feathers give a striking appearance but they are usually obscured by the twigs and brambles of the forest floor. When they hear you walking in the leaves, often they will call "Chewink" "Chewink" to see if you call back and identify as a Towhee yourself!

Goldfinch Male

Wild Black Eye Susan

August - Connecticut

Song Sparrow

September - Maine

Purple Martin

July - Connecticut

Hermit Thrush

September 28th in Maine

Of the five Thrush species in North America, Hermits are the last to migrate South in the fall.

~ Friends ~

Eastern Phoebes

Fall, Connecticut

~ Watching ~

Savannah Sparrow

Fall Connecticut

Swamp Sparrow

October in Connecticut

Always nests in wetlands like swamps, marshes and bogs. Eating a majority of plant matter in the winter, they switch to a diet of mostly insect or animal matter in the warm months.