May 2 - Garret Mountain

Have you readers noticed a trend of where I have been birding lately....when you live in North Jersey the best place to bird in May during spring Migration is Garret Mountain, so why go anywhere else ?

Saturday May 2 proved to be one of the banner days that this park is regionally (perhaps even nationally?) known for. A south/southwest front passed through last night, with the rain ending around 5 am, and the birds following this front end up landing at Garret Mountain once the sun comes up.

Besides the fantastic diversity, there were incredible numbers of birds here today. The unquestionably predominant species was Rose-Breasted Grosbeak.
All photos credit: Kevin Watson

Estimates ranged from 500 up 2,500 of these birds being in the park today. All I know is that I easily saw over 100, and wasn't taking the time to focus on this species nor count them all.
At any point you could scan the top of any Oak and see 10-12-15 of these beauties feasting up there. Other park regulars commented on how this was the greatest concentration of this species ever in their memories.

However, this was just the prelude to a great day of birding. I started at 6 am and birded until just before 3 during which time I tallied over 85 species. While I've had higher species counts on past trips, this day was one of the top 3 that I can recall as far as numbers of birds being in the park. This was evidenced by the, at least, 4 worm-Eating Warblers that I saw today and another one was heard only !
credit: Speiser

I also enjoyed 3 of the Black-Billed Cuckoos, and 4-5 of the Yellow-Bellied species.

click on images to enlarge

On the warbler front I had 19 species seen, and missed another 4-5 species that were reported by others.

I'll try to add more details of this fantastic day shortly...

April 25 / 26 - Garret Mountain

Another set of "short" birding days for me this weekend, but still plenty of time to soak up the returning migrants.

Highlights from the 25th included Green Herons flying into the park, Chimney swifts overhead, and Blue-Headed Vireos making appearances. House Wrens have joined their cousins of Carolina and Winter wren, and the always pleasant to see Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers put in a show too.

Thrushes were highlighted by Veery and Hermit, along with Robins, Catbird and Mockingbird. My first Brown Thrasher of the year was performing it's song.

Warblers included Yellow-Rumped in fine plumages, Pine, Prairie, Palm, Black & White, Parula, Yellow, Chestnut-Sided, BT Green, BT Blue, Northern Waterthrush, and Ovenbird.

Sparrows seen were Towhee, Song, Swamp, Chipping, Field, & White-Throated.

Finches seen were Purple, House, Goldfinch, and Pine Siskin. A Rose-Breasted Grosbeak rounded out the list of beauties.


Great-crested Flycatcher was seen, as were Phoebes and a stunning male Scarlet Tanager joined the equally delightful Baltimore Oriole, and lovely Orchard Oriole.

April 18 / 19 - Garret Mountain

A few hours of birding each morning this weekend were highlighted by more new arrivals, and nice views of other early returnees. Raptors included Osprey, Sharp-Shinned and Broad-Winged Hawks along with the falcons of Kestrel, Merlin & Peregrine.

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker led the charge of woodpeckers, and was followed by Red-Bellied, Downy, Hairy, and numerous Northern Flickers.

Eastern Phoebe and Blue-Headed Vireos were singing. Many Winter Wrens were seen and several Brown Creepers delighted the eyes.

April 12 - Garret Mountain

A quick visit here today resulted in some returning Spring migrants. Notables included Osprey, Ruby-Crowned and Golden Crowned Kinglets, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Pine Warbler, Palm Warbler, Yellow-Rumped and a Louisiana Waterthrush. Sparrows were represented by Towhee, Song, Swamp, fox, and the Chipping species. A Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher was very nice to see today as well. The Pine Siskins continue here too.

A brief stop at Walker Avenue produced a pair of Blue-Winged Teal, and a Field Sparrow.

March 22 - Return to Garret & Visit to Walker Ave

After a few weeks of minimal birding and zero posting, I made a return trip to Garret Mountain. As expected we saw several Eastern Phoebes, the vanguard of Spring Migration.


In addition a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker was a nice find. The other birds seen were the expected wintering species like Pine Siskin, Junco, White-Throated Sparrow etc.


Afterward a quick visit to Walker Avenue Wetlands in Wayne turned up more Siskins, and an unexpected Field Sparrow.
Credit: http://naturetales.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html

Overhead there were numerous Tree Swallows, and lastly my friend got on a pair of Blue-Winged Teal, but I was onyl able to see them in silhouette as they flew away.


Overall it was nice to see the Phoebes & Swallows as they represent the impending Spring, which is just around the corner despite the now chilly weather of the next day or two. Hopefully there will be a longer day of birding & more new arrivals next weekend...

February 15 - Blitzkrieg Birding

Today my friends and I did some hit & run birding. We started out in the eastern Long Island town of Yaphank. Here at Camman's Pond we saw the pair of Trumpeter Swans that had been found earlier this week. While this species is not yet on the official New York State list I have to believe that these birds will be countable.

Click on images to enlarge
Credit: Byron Y

credit: Utah's Hogle Zoo

Next we made a brief stop in Babylon at Capri Lake. This place never disappoints in mid-winter and today we saw numberous species of duck. Redhead, Canvasback, Ruddy, Shoveler, Black & Mallard, Green-Winged Teal, both Lesser and Greate Scaup and Pied-Billed Grebe.

After that we headed to Jamaica Bay Refuge near Kennedy Airport. Here we were able to locate the male Barrow's Goldeneye at a distance out in the bay. This is the first male for me since December 2002 at Sandy Hook.
Credit: Shane Blodgett

A closeup image of the species:
Credit: Brian Currie

Lastly we visited Orchard Beach and finally were able to see the Saw-Whet Owl:

And later we saw a Great Horned Owl. An excellent day of birding today !

February 8 - The Good, The Bad, and The Gully

The morning started out great as when I was driving to my friend's house just after 6 am I had an Owl fly down the road and land in a tree right next to the road. It was a Barred Owl, and I got very nice views of it because it was lit up by my headlights.
Credit: Steve Sleep

Later we went Media, Pennsylvania for the Le Conte's Sparrow that has bee reported for two weeks. Unfortunately for 2 of the 3 of us that needed this species as a life bird, the bird was not seen. We spent 3 hours in the field trying for it, and only one person had a quick glimpse at it. Oh well, that's the way to cookie crumbles.

On the drive back we stopped at Round Valley Reservoir for another look at the Eared Grebe, and today we also saw 3 Iceland Gulls, and up to 8 of the Lesser Black-Backed Gulls. Iceland Gull credit: Jerry Smith

I hope the Le Conte's is seen again in 2009 so I can give it another go !