Today I spent a lovely day with friend Rick Poulin, chasing a bird I’ve seen quite often in Central America but never in the ABA area. I have tried for this bird quite a few times on the east coast but was always unlucky. It either was not around when I got there and one time the bird was believed to have died.
I left to pick up Rick at 4am and we drove straight through arriving at 11am, in a blizzard. Undaunted we searched the area and were finally rewarded with great views of this bird, while it happily munched on berries.
What its doing on the banks of the Connecticut River in December is beyond me. It breeds from Central Mexico to Central Argentina and in some parts of its range moves northward in winter and they are known to wander widely occurring annually in the east.
Special thanks to The Rottino Family, whose great directions led us right to the bird.
Thanks Rick, great company and conversation
Ciao for now………
BIRDQUEST2004 
Awesome photo considering the blizzard conditions. Well done.
If this is my last great chase I can die happy! What a bird under extrodinary conditions. A truely great day. Thanks Paul!
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Awesome pictures! what a different scenery! than the one they experience here in CR
Hi Paul, I have a friend who lives in Texas and he is a great bird photographer. We were doing some chatting about photo equipment and what he does with his photos. I mentioned that a year ago, while loading my kayak, after a paddle on the Ct River, in Hadlyme, that I noticed, what I first thought was an Eastern Kingbird. I finished loading my kayak and noticed a couple of people looking in the direction where I saw the bird. I got out of my car and used my binoculars and noticed the bird ” had a long tail”. The only lens I had with me was a 24-70 and I walked out on the small kettle pond, got down on my knees to take several photos. At home, I searched several books and couldn’t find anything that matched my photos. Then I emailed the photos to a very good birder, who is also a member of the Hartford Audubon. Within minutes, she phoned me to tell me that I might have seen a VERY RARE BIRD. And so the the story goes. This past November, while doing my annual paddle on that section of the river, I spent several hours looking for the Flycatcher again. I consider myself so lucky to have been a part of this wonderful sighting. Your photos are great and I will book mark this page. So glad that you were able to get to see the Forked-tail Flycatcher too. Happy holiday, Jeff Feldmann, West Hartford, Ct.