December 5 - Spotted Towhee

This morning my friend Rob took me to Palmyra Cove Park, which is along the Delaware River near the town of Cinnaminson.
Upon arriving we ran into another friend Rick who was already spying the bird. We got quick looks at it and then it disappeared. It would reappear every 20-30 minutes, so we got to see it several times over the next 2 hours or so.

The rain then changed to snowflakes, so we headed home with another New Jersey rarity (I believe this is just the 5th record ever) on our life lists.
Here is the Range Map:

November 28 - Ivory Gull

Early this morning I met up with friends Bill E, Rob F, and Jennifer C for the trip down to Cape May for the recently found Ivory Gull. We had the bird as soon as we arrived & then got to enjoy it flying around and coming directly over us as it patrolled the Breezy-Lee Marina where it has been most frequently seen.
credit: Don Haas



These images and more can be seen here: http://www.birdcapemay.org/blog/

Later we had a few Eurasian Wigeons near the State Park, but never got to see the long-staying Swainson's Hawk.

November 13 - Western Grebe in Piermont

Ultimately this day turned out to be lucky for me, however at first it did not appear so good. I arrived in Piermont just after sunrise and found the entire area being flooded due to the exceptionally high tide due to the strong northeast winds. In fact I could not even walk down the Pier as Ferry Road was almost a foot deep underwater.


I decided to try again at low tide about 6 hours later. So I returned during lunchtime and was abel to drive down the now-dry pier and see the Western Grebe. I believe this bird is a first-ever record for Rockland County, and it was my first ever in New York State.

More images can be seen here at the Rockland County Audubon website

November 1 - Overpeck Park

credit: John C Avise

My friend Bill and I did some local birding this morning and were surprised to see a Greater White-Fronted Goose in the playground area of the park. Many other species were seen over the course of our nealry 4 hour walk. Notables included Orange-Crowned Warbler, Monk Parakeets, Purple Finch,
Sparrows seen were House, Song, Swamp, Savannah, Chipping, Field, White-Throated, Fox and others of Dark-Eyed Junco and Eastern Towhee. One surprise was a Common/Wilson's Snipe and yet another surprise was a pair of flyover Ravens !

So a very good day of birding was had in a local spot.

October 27 - Le Conte's Sparrow

This morning in the rain with friends Rob F. and Steph S., we were able to see the rare Le Conte's Sparrow. The typical range for this bird is shown here.

This bird was found yesterday by my friends Andy E. and Jennifer C. at the Overpeck Park in Leonia, NJ.

credit: Jed Hertz @http://www.fnal.gov/ecology/wildlife/pics/Le_Contes_Sparrow.jpg

October 20 - Sage Thrasher at Sandy Hook

Today was the perfect recipe for allowing me to chase a rarity. I had been at work for a half-day, so any big issues were taken care of, and I was able to get the Rare Bird Alert just minutes before my normal lunch hour, plus I knew exactly the location of the bird, and lastly the weather was a typical beautiful autumn day.

In just over an hour after getting the alert, I was at Sandy Hook's Plum Island and viewing the western vagrant Sage Thrasher.

credit: Tommy Boyle




final 3 images credit: Trina Anderson

This is ABA area bird # 595 for my list.

October 11 - Warren Geeen Acres/Glenhurst Meadows

No rarities were found today but some good sparrows were seen, along with some other nice species. This spot is a former golf-course which has laid fallow for several decades now, save for the trails that are maintained by the Green Acres folks.

Some "late in the season" birds were Green Heron and Solitary Sandpipers, and Red-Eyed Vireo. While woodpeckers seen included Red-Headed, Red-Bellied, Downy, Northen Flicker, and Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker.
Raptors included Red-Shouldered, Red-Tailed, and Harrier plus American Kestrel.

A Tennessee Warbler was a nice find, but the predominant species seen were sparrows. today's list included Chipping, Field, Savannah, Song, Lincoln's, Swamp, White0-Throated, White-Crowned, Dark-Eyed Junco and Eastern Towhee.

Red-Headed Woodpecker credit