February 23 - Boreal Chickadee in New Jersey !

This morning began at Long Island New York's Jones Beach.  We took the long walk from the West End 2 lot toward the jetty at Jones Inlet.  Our walk was worth it as we enjoyed the three Harlequin Ducks from very close range.  A surprise seen upon the jetty amongst the many Dunlin was a Red Knot, and it was in very nice plumage for a winter bird.
A stop at the Coast Guard Station yielded news of a nearby Northern Saw-Whet Owl that we viewed while eating a vole.  We weren't eating the vole the Owl was !

On the way home we stopped at Orchard Beach. Here we saw lots of evidence of other owls but we could not locate any here today.  Noteworthy here was a confiding male Pileated Woodpecker that gave very long looks as he searched for insects in a tree along the path by the beach.

Once home there was a report of a Boreal Chickadee being seen in New Jersey, something that hasn't occurred in about 35 years !  My wife was generous and took the ride out west one hour to the Merrill Creek Reservoir's Visitor Center. Alas, the bird had last been seen about 20 minutes before I arrived.
While others stood around looking at the feeders where it was most frequently being seen, I decided to watch the pines and brush about 150 feet away. After about 45 minutes I was able to get a couple of brief looks at the Boreal Chickadee ! 

click to enlarge

credit: Chuck H.

 

February 17 - Coastal Connecticut

With not many rare birds being present in New Jersey this weekend we decided to head 2.5 hours north along the coast of Connecticut. Our first destination was in New London's Ocean Beach Park.
Here a long-staying King Eider has been present since December.  The bird was seen eating lots of mussels and was incredibly close and on very calm water.

click to enlarge.  Credit: Unknown

We then headed back towards home, with the first stop being at Madison's Hammonasset State Park.
Here we had great looks at a nicely plumaged Lapland Longspur. In most years this species can be seen in good numbers out at New York's Jones Beach and other coastal beaches.  However this year has been bitterly cold but without much snow cover making this Lapland the only one I have seen at all.

Our final stop was at Greenwich Point Park, a return trip for me as I has been out here just 2 weeks ago.  We easily found the Black-Headed Gull, and also the pair of Great_Horned Owls in the Holly Grove.  Nearby we check some other  pines and  Andy was able to spot a Northern Saw-Whet Owl !

February 10 - Townsend's Warbler

Today we went out southwest to Trenton to visit it's Sewage Treatment Plant.  I'm not kidding !
Attracted to the continually flowing water and the insects that thrive here all winter long was a western vagrant in the form of Townsend's Warbler.
This is my first east coast sighting of this species, and it is quite the beauty:

Afterward we went to Assunpink Wildlife Management Area to see the pair of Trumpeter Swans.
On our way back home we spotted a large flock of over 5,000 Snow Geese.  We scanned the flock for a bit and Andy was able to locate a Ross' Goose within the flock.

January 13 - Shinnecock Inlet seabirds

Today was an exciting morning.  It's rare in this area to be able to enjoy so many seabirds from land. The inlet is hosting a Thick-Billed Murre for more than a week, and was recently joined by Common Murre.  These birds were seen along with the more-likely alcid species of Razorbill.
We also saw Black-Legged Kittiwake, and some Red-Necked Grebes.



Thick-Billed Murre

My friend John's blog has more info on the day and some photos


Later we went east to Watermill, NY and saw the American White Pelican that was found recently.

January 12 - Mega rarity in Upstate New York

Today I finally had a chance to try for the Golden-Crowned Sparrow that has been seen since the last few days of 2018.

Here is the Range Map for this species:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Golden-crowned_Sparrow/maps-range






On the drive back southeast, we stopped in Parksville and saw a few dozen Evening Grosbeaks at the Woodard Road feeders.  We also had Pine Siskins at the Grants Road feeders.

January 5 - Black Phoebe

I awoke to see the New Jersey Rare Bird Alert message that a Black Phoebe had been found !
This is remarkable as this species has not been known to be found outside it's normal range.  Oh well, I guess this guy is just confused and kept flying East.

The viewing conditions were very tough as it had been raining quite hard for over an hour while we waited to see this bird.  As soon as the rain lightened up, the bird was out catching insects along the pond that is in the Hainesville Wildlife Management Area.

Here is the known Range Map:

January 1 - Slow start to the New Year

The winter thus far has been very mild, so the birding got off to a slow start this year.

We then stopped at Stone Tavern Lake in the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area to get a peek at the pair of Trumpeter Swans here.   The Trumpeters are hanging around with the more common Mute Swan.