Although the day was overcast and slightly cool the birding sure wasn’t! Warblers were everywhere as there had obviously been a good flight the night before (possible aided by that mentioned bad weather). We walked into Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Green and Northern Parula, and glided right through Common Yellow-throat, Northern Waterthrush, Black and White and Prairie Warblers. A single Nashville and 2 male Blackburnians stole the show as it was Jeanette and my first good “Spring” look at the orange-throated beauties. Some other birds seen were Black-throated Blue and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Blue-winged and Magnolia Warblers and American Redstart. Ovenbird, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, and Scarlet Tanagers rounded up what was an amazing morning of Spring birding at Garrett Mt.
I never grow tired of seeing the hunting Short-eared Owls at the Pole Farm near Princeton New Jersey. These two were hunting and must have come too close to one another’s territory! If you live in NJ and have not been here you need to. Seriously.
The Pole Farm is a great New Jersey spot for Eastern Meadowlark and Short-eared Owls. The Meadowlarks were calling their hearts out and chasing each other around. This was my first decent shot of an Eastern Meadowlark so I was a happy camper.
The Evening Grosbeaks of Assunpink WMA fame didn’t disappoint. The male sat out for 5 minutes basking in the sun. The females were close by and afforded nice views as well. The males call was an interesting one as it sounded like someone swallowing water while trying to whistle. Great Birds and a New Jersey first for me!
Had a fun day in Somerset county seeing not one but two different Saw-whet Owls! These two were much smaller than the previous bird I had seen as it had been all relaxed and puffed up. They just sat and let us watch them for a short amount of time (as to not disturb them).
Went to Spruce Run hoping to find the reported Franklin’s Gull. While I didn’t see the Gull I did get to see three different species of Grebe. Pied-Billed, Horned and the Red-necked (shown above).
One of our favorite local spots, the Plainsboro Preserve has been hosting at least four Common Redpolls recently. This was my second time going to see them here and third time overall seeing the bird. This was Jeanette’s first look at Redpoll which made it all the more satisfying. Today the Sharpy I saw hunting the area last time was absent. This in turn meant long, good looks at the birds and even some nice pictures. A fun day of Winter birding. *Side note: We did however strike out again (our 6th excursion to see them) on two Greater White-fronted Geese in Cranford NJ.
Slightly out of New Jersey a Scott’s Oriole was reported in Union Square Park in NYC. I arrived and after paying 20 dollars for parking was greeted quickly by the bird sitting comfortably in a tall tree right above a subway platform exit. Oblivious to all the action below, he sat an preened for some time before dropping down into a bush line for better viewing. People were gathered around to see what the 20 or so people with bins and camera’s were watching. I wonder how many future birders were hatched today as kids and their parents learned of this rare bird from the Midwest visiting their most unlikely location. It was great to “see” the bird but the highlight was definitely “sharing” it with others.
