Early Arrivals - April 11

New arrivals keep coming in, too many to list them all. However last night I saw a half-dozen Pectoral Sandpipers at Walker Ave in Wayne, along with the continuing Snipe and blue-Winged Teal. To my surprise a Peregrine Falcon (first I've seen here) was hunting the various ducks and shorebirds here.

Today, April 11, I had a very early migrant warbler in the Black-Throated Green Warbler being seen at the Tenafly Nature Center.

With the nice weather this week, more new arrivals are certain...

Spring in N.J.

Back in NJ for some returning birds.
Pine Warbler was seen on March 31 in Tenafly, and that same day I saw an adult-plumaged Little Blue Heron along with numerous Wilson's Snipe. At one point I saw 52 Snipe in one view at the Walker Avenue wetlands in Wayne.
The next day at the same spot I had a Great Egret and a few Blue-winged Teal. Other recent birds are Song, Swamp, Field & Chipping Sparrows, along with both Tree and Rough-Winged Swallows. Lots of Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers are being seen now too.

Cancun, Yucatan Peninsula - late March

A few day visit to the Yucatan Peninsula gave me a chance to see some new birds. A highlight was the Collared-Forest Falcon. Other new birds were Lesser Yellow-Headed Vulture, Brown Jay, Yucatan Jay, Yucatan Vireo, several Orioles (Orange, Hooded, & black-Cowled), Ivory-Billed Woodcreeper, Melodious Blackbird, Spot-Breasted Wren and a few others. Also saw alot of birds from the Lower 48 region too, including many Protonotary Warblers, Yellow-Throated Warbler and Black-Whiskered Vireo to list a few.

Overall I saw over 65 species, not bad for a trip where birds were not the focus.

Long-Eared Owl - March 19

This weekend I visited the Hatfield Swamp, found near the Caldwell area. I was lucky to find a few Long-Eared Owls. This area is a great spot for them, as well as, Great Horned Owls & Northern saw-Whet Owls in winter. A non-avian bonus was seeing a Coyote !
Also this week I saw my first Eastern Phoebe of the spring, and the continuing Red-Headed Woodpecker at Garret Mountain in the Paterson area.
Next week, I'm off to Mexico - but not for a bird-watching trip, although I'm sure to see some birds I've not seen before.