February 2 - Super Day of Birding

Well, Super Bowl Sunday is here !  Today we started down in Toms River in the cranberry bogs off of Dover Avenue because a Northern Shrike has been reported from here.  We arrived just about 08:00 am & after a 30-minute wait the Shrike was flushed up from it's low position by a photographer walking the dikes of the bogs.
The bird spent some time perched atop a pine tree offering fine looks before heading to a deciduous tree that gave even better looks.

click to enlarge

Our next stop was another spot in Ocean County at Manasquan Inlet.  Here we had nice close views of a Razorbill, perhaps two individuals.  In this very mild winter it was a treat to get an alcid.

We then hit the traditional spots along the long-birded 'North Shore Trip' from Manasquan to points north.  Along the way we picked up the Eurasian Wigeon at it's annual spot within the Shark River Inlet near the 7-11.

We saw lots of other good birds today at the various ponds like Gadwall, Greater Scaup with some Lesser Scaup mixed in.

One last stop at Sandy Hook produced the over-wintering Ash-Throated Flycatcher as a great way to end the day before going home to enjoy the game (but not so much for the 49er's !!)

January 18 - Ridgewood Duck Pond

A very brief stop today, with my wife waiting in the car, gave me good looks at the Red-Headed Woodpecker adult that is spending the winter at this local pond.

Other woodpeckers seen today were Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, ad Red-Bellied Woodpecker. 

January 11 - Guillemot at Barnegat

Today involved a longer trip down to the Barnegat Lighthouse to chase a rare NJ species of Black Guillemot.
The last time the bird was at Barnegat was about 10 years ago and I never had the time to go for it, so it was fantastic to finally add this species to my NJ Life List.
The looks were distant across the inlet but we waited long enough for the tide to go slack & for the sun to come out and give us very nice looks.
Across the inlet I could see friend Larry S in his blue hat getting very close photos of the birds from the Island Beach State Park side of the inlet.  Hmm, I bet he even got a ride down the beach in his friend 4WD vehicle !

We had wonderfully close view of the Harlequin Ducks along the seawall here, as well as the 'Queen' Eider (female King Eider), Common Eider is various plumages, along with Northern Gannets, and all three Scoter species, Long-Tailed Ducks, Razorbills, Boat-Tailed Grackles, Great Cormorants, Red-Breasted Mergansers, Purple Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstone, Dunlin, and both Loons.

Here's two of Larry's fine images.  the rest can be seen on his Flick site

On the way home we stopped in Franklin Township for the dozen or so Sandhill Cranes that are still enjoying the corn stubble fields despite the construction of the warehouse !

January 1 - New Year begins

We started out at Jones Beach this morning in hopes of the Snowy Owl, unfortunately we did not see it because it was further to the west at Nickerson Beach.
We did get to see the Painted Bunting again, after seeing it last weekend as well.  Razorbills were seen too.  I was able to get a very distant view of the Black-Headed Gull seen from the Coast Guard Station.
Overall lots of good species were seen even though  we missed out on the Snowy Owl.

December 21 - New York Golden Eagle

Today started with an attempt for Golden Eagle.  This species has been over-wintering annually along the Hudson River and surrounding area for many years now.  One of the most reliable spots for viewing the Golden Eagle is the Storm King State Park parking area on Route 9W North in the town of Cornwall-on-the-Hudson (41.423057, -74.000846).

Fortunately for us we waited just over 30 minutes for the Eagle to make its appearance, which happened shortly after 08:15 am.
I first spotted the bird over a distant saddle and the bird continued coming closer, finally perching on the rock face to the north of the parking area.  This spot offered spectacular views of the Golden Hackles.
We then watched the bord for several minutes as it flew around gaining altitide before flying overhead westerly to the Storm Kink area.

 

December 15 - Bergen County Round-Up

Today's birding was brief but successful. We got the three county targets we were after.  First up was the Greater White-Fronted Goose at Overpeck.

next we stopped in Ridgewood at the Duck Pond for the adult Red-Headed Woodpecker.


Finally we stopped at the Celery Farm to get a look at the Rufous Hummingbird coming to a private feeder.

December 8 - State Rarities Chase Day

Today we went all the way south to chase the rarities in Cape May.  Our first target was the Mountain Bluebird, however we did not see it. Later we found the reason..evidently the Bluebird was predated last evening and all that was left was a file of feathers !

We also made a stop in the Villas to have a look at Harvey's special guest...a Black-Chinned Hummingbird !

Fortune gave us another chance as a male Painted Bunting was reported at a nearby home.  While the bird was not there when we arrived, after a short wait I spotted the bird coming into the feeder:

On our way back north we cut across the state westward and made a stop at Burlington County's Croft Farm.  Here we joined outher birders and quickly relocated the cooperative Le Conte's Sparrow which had been found here last weekend.
This is just the second time I've seen this species, with my last view back in 2009 !