CT Birders - Yesterday marked week four of our community garden harvest competition. The number of new birds found leveled off somewhat as the warmer than usual weather didn’t push many new birds into our area. Still, several spots enjoyed their first Hermit Thrushes, Brown Creepers and Purple Finches. Birders at two hotspots logged their first Fox Sparrows of the season as well, those birds being on the early side! Below are the new totals as of yesterday, sorted by the greatest numbers of species found so far: Wilton - Allen’s Meadows - 102 Madison - Bauer Farm - 97 Woodbridge Community Gardens - 67 Mansfield Community Gardens - 66 Wallingford - Veteran’s Park - 63 West Hartford - Westmoor Park - 60 Litchfield - Thompson Preserve - 57 Newington - Deming Young Farm - 56 New Haven - Farnham Memorial Gardens and Yale Farm - 56 Redding Community Gardens - 52 East Haddam - Harris Reserve and Municipal Area - 51 Vernon Community Gardens - 50 Stratford Community Garden - 49 Ansonia Nature Center - 43 Bloomfield - Reservoir 2, Seabury - 42 New Haven - Edgerton Park - 42 Simsbury Community Gardens - 37 Killingworth - Parmelee Farm - 35 Sherman - Colonial Park - 31 The hotspot list is below, sorted by town. To see what birds were found so far, click the link for each hotspot. Ansonia Nature Center https://ebird.org/hotspot/L3572819/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec Bloomfield - Reservoir 2, Seabury https://ebird.org/hotspot/L1564924/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec East Haddam - Harris Reserve and Municipal Area https://ebird.org/hotspot/L36996742/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec Killingworth - Parmelee Farm https://ebird.org/hotspot/L4399349/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec Litchfield - Thompson Preserve https://ebird.org/hotspot/L1341089/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec Madison - Bauer Farm https://ebird.org/hotspot/L1793844/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec Mansfield Community Gardens https://ebird.org/hotspot/L5039488/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec New Haven - Edgerton Park https://ebird.org/hotspot/L1458781/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec New Haven - Farnham Memorial Gardens and Yale Farm https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12546640/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec Newington - Deming Young Farm https://ebird.org/hotspot/L13602860/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec Redding Community Gardens and Municipal Area https://ebird.org/hotspot/L37061077/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec Sherman - Colonial Park https://ebird.org/hotspot/L37009619/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec Simsbury Community Gardens https://ebird.org/hotspot/L1297090/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec Stratford Community Garden https://ebird.org/hotspot/L999829/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec Vernon Community Gardens https://ebird.org/hotspot/L16550410/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec Wallingford - Veteran’s Park https://ebird.org/hotspot/L471935/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec West Hartford - Westmoor Park https://ebird.org/hotspot/L198655/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec Wilton - Allen’s Meadows https://ebird.org/hotspot/L464304/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec Woodbridge Community Gardens https://ebird.org/hotspot/L1290771/bird-list?yr=curM&rank=lrec *** There are only 4 days left to add some birds to your hotspot list for October! *** The weather is supposed to be mild so it will easy to bird over the next few days. Mansfield, Wallingford and West Hartford all have a shot at overtaking Woodbridge Community Gardens for third place, and anyone can add a significant number of birds to their hotspot list with a little effort! Get harvesting!!! Chuck Imbergamo CT Birds Moderator Madison