July 20 - Brigantine

After a late start this morning I finally decided to go birding. I considered going to Delaware for a moment, but went south to Brigantine instead.

I started with a juvenile Little Blue Heron on the Gull Pond. Soon after I had the White Pelican and also the local specialty Gull-Billed Tern.

Later on I enjoyed the majestic Caspian Tern, both perched and in flight. Also a pair of Seaside Sparrow, several Whimbrel, some bright Western Sandpipers, and a pair of adult Little Blue Heron.
In the last bit of marsh near the end of the loop, I had the Glaucous Gull. Quite nice to see one without typical winter weather I normally see them in.
credit: Howard Eskin

Nearby I also had a close pair of Tri-colored Heron. Later a pair of Bobwhite crossed in front of my car just as I entered the Upland habitat at the end of the auto-tour.
credit: Ashok_Khosla


For some more images of Brigantine Birds visit:

http://www.howardsview.com/Brig2/Brig2.html

July 19 - Sussex County spots

With just a few hours free today I visited some relatively local spots. I started with a nice walk at Paulinskill WMA (aka Hyper-Humus). I heard Virginia Rail calling, and saw a few species of Sandpiper, namely Killdeer, Least, Semi-Palmated and Spotted.

Aftewards I stopped at the Appalachain Tral crossing on Route 95 in Vernon. Here I was able to get beautiful scope views of the Grasshopper Sparrow.
credit: Paula Sullivan @ http://www.pbase.com/paulasullivan/image/63009096

Others seen here today were Indigo Bunting, Field Sparrow, and Cedar Waxwing, plus Kestrel and a pair of Common Ravens.

July 13 - Cupsogue County Park

In search of pelagic birds today, my friends and I went to eastern Long Island's Cupsogue County Park. This located at the western end of Dune Road, near the Hamptons.
While we did not have any luck on the sea-watching front we did get to see several types of Terns, namely the species of Common, Least, Roseate, Sandwich, and Black:

reidt: http://thebirdguide.com/digiscoping/photos/black_tern.htm


Later I was able to get nice views of the Roseate Tern:credit: Mike Fahay

Also seen here today were wonderful views of Salt-Marsh Sharp-Tailed Sparrow:
credit: Glen Tepke


Other species seen today were Seaside Sparrow, Boat-Tailed Grackle, Oystercatcher, Short-Billed Dowitcher, Least and Semi-Palmated Sandpipers, some non-breeding Red-Throated Loons, Willet, Black Skimmer, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Piping Plover and Black-Bellied Plover.

July 1- Colorado Trip List

Here is a list of the species I saw on my recent trip out west, between June 21 and June 30:

* = Lifer

Canada Goose
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Common Merganser
* White-tailed Ptarmigan
* Blue (Dusky) Grouse
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Northern Goshawk
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
* Ferruginous Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Prairie Falcon
American Coot
Killdeer
* Mountain Plover
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Spotted Sandpiper
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson's Phalarope
California Gull
Rock Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
* Northern Pygmy-Owl (heard only)
Burrowing Owl
Common Nighthawk
Common Poorwill (heard only)
* Black Swift
White-throated Swift
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
* Williamson's Sapsucker
* Red-naped Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
* American Three-toed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Western Wood-Pewee
Hammond's Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
Cordilleran Flycatcher
Say's Phoebe
Western Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Warbling Vireo
Gray Jay
Steller's Jay
Blue Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Clark's Nutcracker
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Canyon Wren (heard only)
Bewick's Wren
House Wren
* American Dipper
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
Townsend's Solitaire
Hermit Thrush (heard only)
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Virginia's Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Ovenbird (heard only)
* MacGillivray's Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Western Tanager
Green-tailed Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Cassin's Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
* Lark Bunting
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
* McCown's Longspur
* Chestnut-collared Longspur
Black-headed Grosbeak
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Common Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole
* Brown-capped Rosy-Finch
Pine Grosbeak
* Cassin's Finch
House Finch
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

16 Life birds
148 total species for the trip, which includes the "heard-only".

ABA Lifelist total is now 574 species.