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 Grebe, Horned Grebe and the Red-necked Grebe (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.
What a great time we had visiting with family on the other side of the country! Along with that came some great Central Oregon birding! We had invigorating morning walks in the Dry Canyons near my parents house that produced some of the common species of the area (most new to me :)). Some that we saw were Mountain Chickadee and Mountain Bluebird, Canyon Wren and Rock Wren, Black-billed Magpie and Western Scrub Jay. Red Shafted Northern Flicker were everywhere and we saw two different Northern Shrike during our stay. We made it to majestic Smith Rock with its collection of serious looking rock face and climbing surfaces as well as a stream full of Barrow’s Goldeneye. A trip to John Day during the week produced beautiful looks at resting Bald Eagles and weary Rough legged Hawks. On our last day we stopped in the nearby town of Bend at local birder David Tracy’s house. There he had visiting Anna’s Hummingbirds as well as a less common female Costa’s Hummingbird. As a parting gift, we saw an awesome little Pygmy Nuthatch feeding nearby. Thanks to my family for accepting us and putting up with (and actually taking part in!) my “habit” and I can’t wait to get out there in some warm weather! Here are some of my favorites:
The first day of 2008 brought hope for a prosperous and successful new year. I decided to try my luck for a third time on getting a Greater White-fronted Goose. One was reported at the Reservoir a day earlier so hopes were high. As I arrived I saw loads of people lined up with scopes and bins watching the water (or more specifically the birds that were on the water). Turns out it was for the 5-10 thousand Snow Geese flocked in the middle of the Reservoir, and not my Greater White-fronted. So I didn’t get the one goose, but got a lot of a different sort. They were quite amazing when the moved all at once seeming like lit flares when the sun caught their wings. A single picture doesn’t truly do it justice but i thought the wall-to-wall geese in the picture above gets the point across. 🙂 Happy New Year!