Click on thumbnails for more photos
4/29/09 Tenafly Nature Center, Tenafly, NJ
The star of the day was a male SCARLET TANAGER who shone bright, bright red with a black wing. What a stunning bird. In terms of color, out of a 10, this bird goes to 11 (little Spinal Tap reference for you all). I lucked out with warblers too: 1 Black-throated Green was present in the cul-de-sac area before entering the park, 1 Northern Parula sung at eye level and another sung high in the trees, 2 Ovenbirds chased each other around the woods, 1 Palm Warbler bobbed his tail, at least 5 Black-and-White Warblers crawled up and down tree trunks (see photos), and MANY (30+) Yellow-rumped Warblers sung their buzzy song throughout the woods. I got great looks at many thrushes: 6 Wood Thrushes, 2 Hermit Thrushes, and 1 Veery. Three Tree Swallows and 3 Wood Ducks were in the water, and a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher buzzed above the water in a low-hanging tree. I heard and saw 2 Blue-headed Vireos, a Baltimore Oriole flashed his orange and black and sang his song, and a Red-tailed Hawk agitated everyone as it flew over the water. Lots of woodpeckers also: Red-bellies, Flickers, and Downys.
4/17/09 Central Park, NY
The Louisiana Waterthrush was the highlight of my day, since I hadn't seen one yet this spring! It was very cooperative as it searched for food near Azalea Pond. A Winter Wren was hopping around in the same area. The only other warblers I saw today were 2 Palm Warblers. A Brown Thrasher at Strawberry Fields was sunbathing high up in a tree. Many Hermit Thrushes were present, as were Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Flickers, White-throated Sparrows, Blue Jays, and Robins. One Swamp Sparrow was mixed in with some White-throats at Strawberry Fields. Double-crested Cormorants were hanging out in The Lake, and I saw one group of about 26 or 27 fly overhead. I spotted 5 vocal Fish Crows overhead too. A Great Egret was searching for food in The Lake as I left. Other nice highlights included a male Eastern Towhee in The Ramble and Pine Siskins at the feeders.
4/12/09 Flat Rock Brook Nature Center, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Another nice but very windy day! I saw a couple first-of-spring birds for myself: 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets and 2 Hermit Thrushes. There were at least 4 Pine Warblers and 2 or 3 Palm Warblers in beautiful, bright plumage at the front pond, along with a pair of Eastern Phoebes. As soon as I walked up the drive to enter the park, 2 vocal Northern Flickers appeared, and another one called deeper in the woods. I ended up totalling 6 Flickers today, plus 1 Hairy, 2 Red-bellied, and 1 Downy Woodpecker. A Brown Creeper was flying from tree to tree while 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets flitted above me. I was excited to see 4 Wild Turkeys, with one male fanning his huge tail to impress a female, who paid him no mind. Other nice birds: 1 Carolina Wren, 1 Turkey Vulture, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, over 100 Robins, lots of Juncos and White-throated Sparrows, 1 Song Sparrow, and plenty of Cardinals, Titmice, and a few Blue Jays.
4/5/09 Garret Mountain, Paterson, NJ
I finally got out birding on a nice, but windy, spring day. I had 3 first of spring warblers: Pine, Palm, and Yellow-rump. A very nice surprise was a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher that I got a few photos of just for ID purposes. Another really cool bird was a gorgeous male Purple Finch - he looked like he was dipped in raspberry juice. The Phoebes and Golden-crowned Kinglets were out in full force. Sparrows seen were 2 Foxes, White-throats, Songs, and 1 Swamp. Pine Siskins mixed in with Goldfinches around the treetops. Three Brown Creepers were creeping, and 1 very loud Kingfisher called while it flew all around the lake. Other highlights: 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 4 Turkey Vultures, 1 Tree Swallow, 1 Carolina Wren, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 2 WB Nuthatches, and 2 Northern Flickers. Click the thumbnail for all photos.
2/7/09 Barnegat Light, NJ
Rob and I went to Barnegat today to see the HARLEQUIN DUCKS. We were so lucky, because there were about 30 of them diving and preening near the jetty. One very sweet pair were especially good photo subjects, and I took a whole bunch of pictures (click thumbnail for all). Rob spotted a Red-necked Grebe, but it was too far out for photos. There were at least 100 Oldsquaw (Long-tailed Ducks) flying past us and landing nearby. A few Red-breasted Mergansers and Common Loons showed well, and many gulls, Brant, and a few Sanderlings fed and rested in the shallow surf. We also saw nice amounts of Surf and Black Scoters. In the parking lot area, I saw a very large flock (at least 200) of Yellow-rumped Warblers, and also spotted a Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, and Ipswich type (Savannah) Sparrow.
11/29/08 East Shore Park, CT, and Hammonasset State Park, CT
CAVE SWALLOWS were the highlight of our day, and it was life bird #293 for me. John W., Rob F., and I drove up to East Shore Park to view the adjacent sewage treatment plant where about 17 or 18 Cave Swallows have been hanging out. Apparently there are insects for them to feed on at the plant. It was so exciting to watch the birds foraging and swooping around in the air. They were simply gorgeous, and we were able to view them for over an hour. Other exciting birds at the park were a very, very late Black and White Warbler (found by Rob) and a late Tennessee Warbler (found by John and ID'd by Rob) - see photos. We also had a very cooperative Ruby-crowned Kinglet, a Fox Sparrow, Juncos, White-throated and Song Sparrows, and some flyover Pine Siskins, among other more common birds. Then we drove up to Hammonasset, where we lucked out with 2 LAPLAND LONGSPURS mixing in with about 70 or so Horned Larks and about 7 American Pipits. One Longspur was especially brightly marked. Other highlights there were Snow Buntings, a Red-shouldered Hawk, 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 1 Northern Flicker, 4 Hooded and 1 Common Mergansers, many Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstones, and Sanderlings, a Red-throated Loon, Juncos, and thousands of Starlings traveling together and gorging themselves in the trees. Overall it was a fantastic day!
10/17/08 Overpeck Preserve, Leonia, NJ
It was another banner day for sparrows at Overpeck today, and I finally lifed a VESPER SPARROW and got a few decent photos. Yeah! Other sparrows included Field, Savannah, Chipping, Swamp, Song, and White-throats. A flock of about 25 Juncos and 25 Chipping Sparrows were associating together on the ground near the jungle gym. A Brown Creeper made its way up a tree in the same area, while Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets fluttered overhead in a pine tree. Two Indigo Buntings were feeding together, while Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers chipped away in the reeds. Two VERY loud Monk Parakeets did some flybys and then posed on a phone wire for a while. Many, many Double-crested Cormorants must have been blown in by the winds last night, as at least 125 (probably a lot more) flew down onto the water in small groups. Two Red-tailed Hawks were stirring up the blackbirds while being mobbed by two Crows. Other highlights: 2 Purple Finches, an Eastern Phoebe, House Finches, a Towhee, Blue Jays, Mockingbirds, Flickers, Downys, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, and more.
10/13/08 Overpeck Preserve, Leonia, NJ
Overpeck Preserve was loaded with sparrows today. Highlights included 2 immature White-crowned, 1 Lincoln's, 4 Savannahs, 5 Swamps, about 30 Chipping, and many White-throated and Songs. Only a few warblers were present: Palms, Yellow-rumps, and Common Yellowthroats. There were about 7 Northern Flickers foraging around the area, and a couple gave me some nice photo ops (click on thumbnail). Ruby-crowned Kinglets outnumbered Golden-crowned Kinglets. Other highlights: a Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 Towhees, Double-crested Cormorant flyovers, a White-breasted Nuthatch, lots of Blue Jays, and a Red-bellied and Downy Woodpecker.