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This male mountain lion - a migrant from South Dakota - was infamously struck 41-miles east of Greenwich, CT. This was the first verifiable documentation of a cougar in Connecticut since the 1890s. The attributed location and time is from where it was struck by a car. There is no breeding population of cougars in New England, though they historically occupied every continental US state.

Photos supplied with permission from the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (CT DEEP), Wildlife Division, courtesy of Cyndy Chanaca.
Individual photo credentials: Paul J. Fusco/ CT DEEP-Wildlife

Further reading:

• Mountain Lions in Massachusetts: Distinguishing Fiction from the Facts by Tom French
• Confirmed Reports of Mountain Lions in Massachusetts by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife (archived from the original)
• Genetic Testing Reveals Mountain Lion Killed in Milford Originated in South Dakota by CT DEEP (archived from the original)

Tink .... tink ... tink
Very high and metallic, hard to record with all the other birds around. Hard to hear on the recording because I am expecting a chirp...not this. Maybe a house sparrow, probably a song sparrow, afterward it flew from my neighbor to my backyard, there were 2 birds in my back yard, and my friend the song sparrow flew from the backyard to my fence where I got a clear picture and it chirped.

The tink was not loud, It did not seem like an alarm call, it was just beyond the carport and I walked along the other side to get the picture through the carport without it flying away. Or maybe it was a parent song sparrow warning its offspring to get away from me and my backyard?

The song sparrow that perched on the fence(I think it must be the same one) has been gradually getting braver visiting me at the fence next to the crown vetch where I try to photograph bees. Earlier today I sat on my steps as it looked for insects at the edge of my walk. Very soft chirping.

Rabbit took a few steps and flopped on the ground. Then I walked closer and it perked up. Too hot? Too humid? To many big booms from the Pittsburgh fireworks? The chimney swifts were out full force when I got home around 8pm, but it seemed like the rest of the starlings, house sparrows, robins, song sparrows, house finchs and other birds had disappeared. I had noticed there were fewer birds around Saturday morning when I left, but this evening the silence was eerie. Saw a few very skittish robins in the park, but did not see birds near the fountain in Allegheny Park as they might be if thirst was a problem. I will check the park pond tomorrow.

Slow wheet wheet wheet wheet (chuckling wheet)
In the background, only first half of recording
(Sparrows and chimney swift were closer)

Can’t hear the chuckle clearly on the recording
Couldn’t see the singer
Recorded to see if I could find the singer on the Internet, sometimes heard it in the background of recordings of other birds!

And the next day I saw a cardinal on the same block
Only one terrible picture because it kept moving just out of sight on the roof tops, not good enough for id

So many varieties of bumble bees love the crown vetch, along with honey bees and small quick flying pollinators I usually can’t photograph. This is the second time this week I saw the distinctive brown belt