October 2 - Garret Mountain

A nice surprise was in order today at Garret Mountain as a Bicknell's Thrush was seen.   The bird was spotted in the Wet Area at the north end of Barbour Pond, and to confirm the ID my friend Bill tested it's response to the playback of calls. The bird did not respond to the Gray-Cheeked Thrush call however it did immediately come closer when hearing the Bicknell's Thrush call.

Here is a nice image of this species, and the link in the credit gives a concise synopsis of the history:

credit: http://www.conservationbigyear.com/june-17-bicknells-thrush/

September in Cape May

My wife and I spent a few days in Cape May this week and I was able to see some nice birds.  Fall in Cape May is easy birding because the natural funnel that is Cape May results in the south-bound migrants all getting concentrated in this southern tip of New Jersey.  Also the weather is still very nice & the room rates are much cheaper.

For the birds, the highlight was the Parasitic Jaegers.  These ocean wanderers are drawn close to shore by the large flocks of Terns and Gulls feeding on small fish.  As their name implies, the Jaegers then harass these smaller birds into giving up their catch.  In the first photo below note the bulge in the throat of the white gull that is being chased by the darker Parasitic Jaeger.

In the second photo you see the results, as the chased bird 'gives up' its meal to the Jaeger.

There were many other fine birds seen over the 4 days here.  Highlights were Brown Pelicans, and Yellow-Breasted Chat, and Philadelphia Vireo.

August 27 - Brigantine Shorebirds & Herons

This morning brings the annual ritual of birding at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, affectionately known by locals as Brigantine.  Late August produces the highest number of species at this location, as well as, some seasonal specialties.
The primary target is the lovely Buff-Breasted Sandpiper, and we saw many today from very close range.  Here is an image from the Audubon website:

 We saw the special herons of Little Blue & also Tri-Colored, and tern species of Least, Forster's, Gull-Billed, Caspian, and Black.

August 14 - Wilson's Phalarope

Today I convinced my wife Donna to take a short detour from our chores to stop at Richard W. DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst to see a Wilson's Phalarope that had bee seen yesterday.  As luck would have it the bird was visible when we first arrived and it also stayed within 20-30 feet of the boardwalk so we got some great views.

Here is a video by quoteny:

July 19 - Oregon Plains Road

Out for another morning with Andy and Jennifer, this time along Oregon Plains Road and it's intersection with Bigelow Road.
First up being seen was the regional specialty of Black-Backed Woodpecker.  We had a female that showed well, although from about 40-50 yards. Later along the southern path toward Bloomingdale Bog I had a male Black-Backed.  Here's an image of a male

Quite a while later we had a flock of Chickadees come through and Andy was able to hear a Boreal Chickadee's call within the flock.  We all then strained but were able to locate a handful of these cousins to the more common Black-Capped Chickadee.  Here is a Boreal Chickadee image:

Here's Andy feeding an adult Gray Jay form his hand !

And here is a juvenile Gray Jay awaiting it's turn:

July 18 - Went back for a Spuce, and got a Spruce !

My second day in the Adirondacks began with meeting my friends Andy and Jennifer at their hotel in Saranac Lake.  We then took the ride out toward Tupper Lake, and eventually back out to Kildare Road to begin the trek into Spring Pond Bog Preserve.
Along Kildare Road I spotted a Ruffed Grouse along the roadside about 50-60 yards ahead of my car on the right hand side.  We got to enjoy long looks at the crested grouse, certainly the best I have ever had, before her 3 chicks made a brief appearance.  The young were excitable and before long flew across the road and into the brush.  Soon after the mother did the same, revealing her grayish rump feathers, indicating this was a Grayish Phase Ruffed Grouse.

Credit: Wikipedia

Later my friend Andy needed to commune with nature, and that stop turned out to be the exact timing we needed.  For once we started up again it wasn't another hundred yards before I spotted another grouse,  this time on the left hand side of the road.  Immediately we saw the black barring and red eyebrow of the male Spruce Grouse, then Andy spied the chestnut colored ends of the tail which further confirmed the species.

Credit: Unknown

So the two days at Spring Pond Bog gave me two exciting sightings which I will always remember as the "Moose and the Spruce"  !

July 17 - Went for a Spruce, got a Moose !

My first day in the Adirondacks involved a trip to Spring Pond Bog, which is located north of Tupper Lake in Franklin County.  My goal was to see the ever-decreasing Spruce Grouse.  Recent estimates put the Spruce Grouse population at approximately 100 total birds....all of them located only within the 6.5 million acres of the Adirondack State Park.  One of the most reliable, and I used that term quite loosely, is the Spring Pond Bog.  This area is owned by the Nature Conservancy although within other lands that are the property of Hunting Clubs, specifically the Kildare Hunt Club.
Here's a shot of the habitat.

The day starts out along Kildare Road for about 7-8 miles before on even reaches the gate that provided access to the Bog itself.  The birding outside the gate is quite good, and I'll have more on that in my next posting.

Once inside the Kildare Gate, one has to go just over 6 miles to reach the trailhead of the Spring Pond Bog,  It was during this stretch of the trip where I was able to see a Moose !

 I have been eager for many, many years to see this animal so I was very happy that I got to watch it for almost 10 minutes, and from only about 20 yards away.  I did not see the Spruce Grouse today, but the Moose was quite the consolation.