The Weather Shifts and Bird Migration Takes Off

The endless wind and rain of last week kept southbound birds from migrating, but the shift in the weather on Saturday set them free. At Bluff Point, in Groton, yesterday birders counted 1,600 warblers of 10 species. At Silver Sands State Park, in Milford, the Connecticut Ornithological Association chose yesterday to hold a sparrow identification workshop. For anyone who previously had trouble distinguishing a savannah sparrow from a song sparrow, it was the place to be: birders counted 800 savannah and 200 song sparrows (not to mention Lincoln's sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, and salt-marsh sharp-tailed sparrow).