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Now on |
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| Current Count : 641 |
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| Latest Addition : |
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| Black Catbird |
| Date : |
| March 5, 2011 |
| Location : |
| Mexico |
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Click here for more on |
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| May 2011 |
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5/1 Bellplain : Was able to photograph a nice male Cape May Warbler while performing my scouting duties for the World Series of Birding. |
| April 2011 |
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4/30 Eagle vs Osprey : There can only be one winner in this areal dual... |
| March 2011 |
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3/1-3/6 Mexico : Family vacation to Riviera Maya resulted in 37 new species (120+ total). Full report to follow shortly. |
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Website Update : Updated Reports for my Las Vegas outings. |
| January 2011 |
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Count Update : After a couple of splits and some cleaning up, my count now stands at 600+. I am hoping to add another 40-50 species this year. |
| December 2010 |
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12/31 Back Yard : A big snow storm dumped over a foot of snow a couple of days ago. As a result, a Brown Creeper was a welcome addition to the more common visitors to my back yard feeders. Surprisingly, this is a new species in my photo library although I have seen a number of them in the past. |
| November 2010 |
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11/21 Stamford, CT : Finaly I chase a bird and it is there for the taking. A Fork-tailed Flycatcher that was seen for the past few days in Stamford, CT was still there this morning. I had to get up at 3:30am (after 1 hr of sleep) and drive for 3 hrs but it all paid off in the end. |
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11/8 Barnegat Bay, NJ : Well it happened to me again: Back in 2/1/09, I chased an Ivory Gull only for another one to pay me a visit a few months later and a few miles south of where I live. Then on 10/10/10, I chased a White-tailed Kite and missed it by a day, only for it to show up a few miles north of where I live. I made sure I got bird #592 this time around although it stayed off in the distance. |
| October 2010 |
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10/31 Cape May NJ : Massive migration through Cape May this weekend. Hermit Thrushes and Purple Finches among the 100,000+ birds that came through. |
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10/10 Stratford/Milford CT : After a long birding hiatus due to crazy hours at work I had time to chase a White-tailed Kite which had been seen up in Stratford, CT area for 67+ days. No luck there but I managed to get a new species in the Monk Parakeets that have been established in the wild there since the early 1970's. |
| May 2010 |
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5/15 Cape May County, NJ : The 1000birds.com team had a very succesful World Series of Birding covering Cape May county and recording 151 birds (3rd in our category). |
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5/14 Brigantine NWR : One day before the big race I was able to get a quick look at a Bar-tailed Godwit at the Brig. |
| April 2010 |
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4/9-4/12 SE Texas : A long weekend trip to SE Texas produced 28 new species. |
| March 2010 |
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3/21 Barnegat Light, NJ : Another visit to Barnegat gave me the chance to photograph Long-tailed Ducks, Black Scoter, Common Eider and Red-breasted Merganser. |
| January 2010 |
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1/30 Backyard (EHT, NJ) : We've had record setting snow this year so my backyard feeders have become very popular with the locals including Dark-eyed Juncos and Tufter Titmice. |
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1/23 Barnegat Light, NJ : My customary visit to Barnegat in the winter time produced some close up photos of Black-bellied Plovers inluding one missing a foot! |
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1/16 Brigantine NWR, NJ : I was hoping for one new species but ended up with two at the Brig out of all places (first new species there since June 1 2008!!). I first checked for a Bald Eagle but found a Northern Goshawk instead! After waiting for it to fly away for a couple of hours (it did but in the opposite direction), I looked for the reported Purple Finches and was lucky enough to find them fairly easily. A very nice visit to my local refuge indeed |
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1/4 Cape May, NJ : There were several reports of a Cackling Goose seen in Cape May for the past couple of days. I was able to locate it among a flock of 200+ Canada Geese minutes before they all took off. My first new bird of the new decade! |
| November 2009 |
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11/29 Cape May, NJ : An Ivory Gull made it down to Cape May just 10 months after I unsuccesfully chased another one up in Plymouth, Massachusetts. I had much better luck this time around and I was also able to track down a Swainson's Hawk which has been in the area for a couple of weeks now. |
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11/16 Las Vegas, NV : Five new species from my latest trip to Las Vegas inluding Chukar and Pygmy Nuthatch at Mt. Charleston and Townsend's Solitaire, Juniper Titmouse and Lewis's Woodpecker at Lovell Canyon. |
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11/8 Cape May, NJ : Went on a Pelagic trip some 15 miles off of Cape May with limited success. Only saw and photographed one new species a Parasitic Jaeger. |
| October 2009 |
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10/11 Cape May, NJ : Some nice birds in Cape May today as a result of NW winds and a good migration push overnight. I finally took a photo of a Broad-winged Hawk in soaring flight as well as Blackpoll and Tennessee Warblers feeding before they moved on. |
| September 2009 |
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9/23-24 London, UK : My daughter's orientation at UCL required my presence in London for a couple of days. I did manage to spend a few hours birding in the capital of England. In fact I was able to tally 12 new species without using a car!! |
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9/5 Delta, LA : A quick trip to Mississippi gave me hope for Mississippi Kite, Wood Stork and maybe even a Painted Bunting but I had to settle for Cattle Egrets found in big numbers (100s) across the river in neighboring Louisiana. |
| August 2009 |
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Grand Canyon National Park, AZ: A resent trip to Las Vegas allowed me to visit the Grand Canyon and get 4 new species: California Condor, Black-throat Gray Warbler, Mountain-Chickadee and Rock Wren. |
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8/10 Bavington, PA: I finally got to #14 for the year at a recent business trip in Pittsburgh PA. Thanks to the help of some local birders, I was able to locate and photograph a Henslow’s Sparrow. It was an overcast day and I couldn’t get close but I got close enough... |
| July 2009 |
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7/19 Somers Point,NJ: I spent some time this weekend at a local Least Tern colony. |
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Las Vegas, NV: I am posting images of Virginia Rail, Redhead, Cinnamon Teal & Yellow-headed blackbird that I took during my visit to the Henderson Bird Viewing Reserve in Las Vegas back in May. |
| May 2009 |
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World Series of Birding 2009: 1000birds.com participated in this year's World Series of Birding with mixed results. This was the 4th straight year we've entered into this great competition. |
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Las Vegas, NV: Witnessed an epic territorial battle between American Coots in my resent trip to Las Vegas |
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5/25 Dividing Creek, NJ: Went back to clean up Grasshopper Sparrows. Also got Wood Thrush and Acadia Flycatcher as new species but images are not anything to shout about. |
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5/17 Dividing Creek, NJ: Grasshopper Sparrows were reported in an area fairly close to home during WSB and I was lucky enough to find one singing early in the morning. Also got to see a pair of Ring-necked Pheasants before heavy rains forced me to head back home. |
| April 2009 |
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4/4 Bellplain, NJ: Succesfully went after Yellow-throated Warblersone of the warbler species I was missing to date. |
| March 2009 |
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3/29 Brigantine NWR, NJ: It's Owl month for me as I got good looks at two Short-eared Owls hunting at the refuge one. |
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3/8 Northern, NJ: Two new species from a trip to a well known area in North Jersey. Two Long-eared Owls have been roosting on a tree right next to the road. In addition, I took some distant photos of a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers. |
| February 2009 |
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2/22 Cape May, NJ: 0 for 2 on the Gull front as the Little Gull seen in Cape May on Friday, did not make an appearance on Sunday. |
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2/8 Trenton, NJ: White-winged Crossbills have been reported throughout the state for a few weeks now but they have been showing up regurarly in the Trenton Area. Much shorter trip (see bellow) and better results this time around. |
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2/1 Plymouth, MA: Unsuccessful attempt at finding and photographing the Plymouth Ivory Gull. Took the 13 hr round trip by car only to come back empty handed (bird was last seen on Friday afternoon - I got there Saturday evening and returned Sunday afternoon). |
| January 2009 |
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1/25 Collingswood, NJ: Finally made the trek down to a Philadelphia suburb to take photos of the Green-tailed Towhee that's been there for close to 3 weeks now. |
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1/4 Reports: Uploaded report from 2008 trip to Costa Rica. |
| November 2008 |
| 11/17 Ash Meadows NWR, Nevada: A one day visit to Ash Meadows produced a total 8 new species. |
11/2 Brigantine NWR, NJ:
Took another unsuccesful shot at taking duck photos but on the way out I found a cooperative Bonaparte's Gull .
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| October 2008 |
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10/15 - 10/28 Vicksburg, Mississippi:
A 3 week business trip in Mississippi allowed me to make a quick visit to Yazoo NWR and the Tensas River NWR in Louisiana.
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10/12 Brigantine NWR, NJ:
Peregrine Falcon in flight.
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10/5 Brigantine NWR, NJ:
Great Egrets in flight.
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| September 2008 |
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9/14 Cape May, NJ:
First visit of Higbee Beach for this year's fall migration was disappointing until a Dickcissel flew in at around 9:00am. This has been a bird that has eluded me to this day so I was very happy. Later on I took a few shots of an Osprey with a BIG catch.
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| August 2008 |
| 8/31 Cape May, NJ: Reports of a Red-necked Stint (3rd record in NJ) seen most of the day on 8/30 made me choose Cape May over Brigantine NWR. I spent about 5 hours waiting for the Stint to show up at the same area he was seen the day before but the great anticipation of close to 40 birders turned into a big disappointment as the little guy must have headed back to Asia? |
| July 2008 |
| 07/21-31 Vicksburg, MS: Did not plan on doing any birding during this business trip but I was able to capture a new species using my phone camera - one of many Mississippi Kites flying aroung (still counts in my book :)). |
| 07/17-18 Las Vegas, NV: A quick visit to Henderson Bird Viewing Reserve and Mt. Charleston resulted in 12 new species. |
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07/3 Allentown, PA:
Despite my great fear of heights, I joined our WSB team head scout Bob at his place of employment (a 23 story building) to check up on a pair of Peregrine Falcons that have succesfuly raised 4 chicks.
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| June 2008 |
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06/1 Brigantine NWR, NJ:
Went to the refuge looking for and finding the 2nd year Glaucous Gull
that has been around for a couple of weeks now.
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| May 2008 |
| 05/10 World Series of Birding, NJ: Our team was able to tally 176 birds and raise close to $2000 for the NJAS Conservation Fund. Click here for a detailed report. |
| April 2008 |
| World Series of Birding, NJ: Once again I will be participating in the World Series of Birding with the 1000birds.com team. I tend to sacrifice photo opportunities for a month leading to this event (held on May 10th) since I have to do a considerable amount of scouting, but I enjoy this event a great deal. In addition to some great birding our team gets to raise money for conservation. Here is a link to a page with news for this year's team. |
| March 2008 |
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3/16 Backyard Birding - Egg Harbor Township, NJ:
I had a nice variety of migrants, wintering birds and year round residents visiting my bird feeders in the past couple of weeks: Pine Warbler male (heard his singing for the first time on March 6th), Chipping Sparrows (first seen on March 15th), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (brief appearance on 3/16), Brown Creeper (brief appearance on 3/16), nesting pair of Bluebirds (part of wintering flock), lingering Dark-eyed Juncos, ever present Mourning Doves, Downy Woodpeckers , Hairy Woodpeckers , White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch , Red-bellied Woodpecker , American Crows, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse , House Finch and American Goldfinch. 60-80 Turkey and Black Vultures (they roost a few hundred feet away) put on a show every morning and evening as they fly from and to their roosting place.
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| February 2008 |
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2/3 - 2/8 Costa Rica Revisited:
I was lucky enough to go backto Costa Rica for 6 days with my family. I had a lot of fun and took many pics. A full report to follow soon but in the mean time I will post some of my favorite shots here: Reddish Egret , Tricolored Heron , Yellow-eared Toucanet.
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| December 2007 |
| 12/23 Cape May, NJ: I started the year with a new Goose species in Cape May (Great White-fronted) and it looks like I'm going to end it with a Barnacle Goose. |
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12/1 Egg Harbor Twp:
A little backyard birding yielded photos of a Sharp-shinned Hawk and a White-breasted Nuthatch .
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| November 2007 |
| 11/12 Las Vegas, Nevada: I was able to spend a day looking for photo ops in Las Vegas in a recent business trip. A visit at Sunset Park, Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, Corn Creek and the loop at Mt. Charlston yiended a number of new species (Abert's Towhee, Burrowing Owl, Cinnamon Teal, Crissal Thrasher, Gambel's Quail, Greater Roadrunner, Red Crossbill, Ross's Goose, Say's Phoebe, Verdin, Western Scrub-Jay) as well as photos of some old friends (American Pipit, Common Moorhen, Eared Grebe, Western Bluebird, White-crowned Sparrow). |
| October 2007 |
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10/14 Brigantine NWR:
Big migration this weekend but I only recorded good photos of the more common Lesser Yellowlegs and Double-crested Cormorant .
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| 10/7 Brigantine NWR: Managed a few good flight photos of Northern Harrier and Caspian Tern. |
| September 2007 |
| 9/16 Cape May, NJ: Had a WSB reunion of sorts as I got to bird with Jonathan and his friend Mick. Reports of a cold front and NW winds resulted in high expectations for Sunday morning. However, winds shifted to NE during the night and most birds migrated through the mainland. Started off in Cape May where we had some close looks at a Cape May Warbler. |
| 9/16 Brigantine NWR, NJ: We spent the afternoon birding Brigantine where we had Hudsonian Godwit and Yellow-headed Blackbird which are two new species for me. |
| 9/9 Cape May, NJ: Hopes of finding the reported Say's Phoebe, Lesser black-backed Gull and Western Sandipers (all new species for me) gave me enough of an insentive to head down to the Meadoes in Caope May instead of Brigantine NWR. Not much luck with any of the target birds although I got some looks and photos of up to 8 Buff-breasted Sandpipers. |
| 9/1 Cape May, NJ: Although there were not many birds around, I was lucky enough to see and photograph a Golden-winged Warbler (poor photo) as well as a Blue-winged Warbler, Least Flycatcher, Yellow-breasted Chat and a Red-breasted Nuthatch. |
| August 2007 |
| 8/19 Palmyra, NJ: Hoping for some close encounters with the resident Warbling Vireos but I could only manage this distant photo. |
| July 2007 |
| 7/29 Brigantine NWR : Another great find at Brigantine NWR; The second state record of a Roseate Spoonbill. The bird stayed in the area long enough for me to be able to get a few shots. |
| 7/22 Brooklyn NYC : After hearing reports of Western-Reef Heron sitings in NYC, I decided to make the 2 1/2 hour trip in hopes of landing this rare bird (1st in NY state, 2nd or 3rd in the Eastern US). I arrived at the reported site at around 2:00pm (not easy to find) and was able to spot the bird in the distance thanks to some help from a few fellow birders that were already there (folks from PA, upstate NY and NJ). The bird was hiding behind some rusted metal structure from 2:00pm through 6:00pm and it only made itself visible for a couple of minutes. As I was getting ready to head back home it flew right to where I was at, allowing me to take a couple of fairly close flight shots. It kept on going but I was happy as had added a nice bird to my photo list. |
| May 2007 |
| May 12 WSB : Here is a report on the World Series of Birding. The 1000birds.com team recorded 156 birds and raise over $2,000 for the New Jersey Audubon Society Conservation Fund and over $500 for the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. |
| April 2007 |
| 4/29 Millville WMA : Stumbled upon my first Black-billed Cuckoo as I was scouting for the WSB. |
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4/22 Moores Beach :
Osprey flying away with a BIG catch and enjoying some Sashimi...
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| 4/14 Brigantine NWR : Three dozen Double-crested Cormorants going fishing at close quarters. |
| March 2007 |
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3/31 Brigantine NWR :
Changing of the guard at the refuge as wintering birds are moving out and breeding birds are moving in...
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| February 2007 |
| 2/25 Dividing Creek : I picked the wrong day to hunt down Wild Turkeys in Southern New Jersey. Although I was able to find a group of 30 or so, the cloudy and windy day did not help with the quality of the pictures I took.. |
| 2/18 Cape May : Reports of a Barnacle Goose brought me down to Cape May once again. No luck with the goose but I was able to take some good pics of Redheads (mating and portraits). I left at around noon to go home to watch my favorite soccer team loose at home 4-1 and found out later that the goose showed up a little after noon!! Hope it is still there this coming weekend... |
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2/10 Cape May :
This was one of a few outings this year that worked as planned. I went down to Cape May in search of American Woodcock knowing that there is a limited
amount of real estate they can work with due to the frozen grounds. The first couple of hours were not successful but as it got warmer (30F), I was able to find 4 of them in
a small area having good success finding worms. Here are some portrait photos and some photos of them feeding .
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2/2-2/5 Brigantine NWR :
I was able to get close to a pair of Common Mergansers (uncommon at the refuge). The female was looking for love, but the
male did not seem to be inerested (photo #43369). Also took photos of Hooded Mergansers (female shad two huge ticks on its neck)
and Rick-necked Ducks .
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| January 2007 |
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1/27 Brigantine NWR :
Much milder weather today with temps getting up to the 50s. A quick trip to the refuge gave me a chance to get up close to a Ruddy Duck .
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| 1/26 : A cold front that produced temps in the single digits last night killed off my chances of taking any pics of the Western Tanager (the bird was found dead by a fellow birder). |
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1/25 Cape May :
Sometimes I wonder what am I thinking; Reports of a Western Tanager a few miles north prompted me to head south to Cape May instead!!
Took some photos of Killdeer (there were at least 16-24 of them feeding in a big field) and I hope the Tanager sticks around for a couple more days
so that I do not regret my trip selection yet again.
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| 1/21 Sandy Hook : More bird chasing today; Reports of a Long-billed Murrelet sighting - a first for the state of NJ and a bird that is seen in Eastern US every few years or so, prompted me to make the 1.5 hour trip to Sandy Hook. I joined some 40 other birders searching for this little guy to no avail. I took photos of these Scaup so that I would not feel that I came back empty handed! |
| 1/18 Barnegat Light : Reports of a Band-tailed Pigeon in Cape May (someone's backyard) were tempting but I decided to delay my trip to Cape May by a couple of days and head to Bargegat for Eiders. Needless to say, I found no Eiders and only managed a few good pics of a Dunlin. BTW the BT Pigeon was in Cape May in the morning of the the 18th but has not been seen since!! |
| 1/14 Cape May : Started off the year with a new species, a Greater White-fronted Goose. Also took photos of a Red-breasted Merganser and a Bald Eagle who flew by looking for breakfast. |
| 1/7-1/11 Cancun, Mexico : No pictures from this family vacation as I did not bring my heavy duty photo equipment with me (I wish I kept the 80-400 lens!!). The few minutes I spent looking at birds around the resort we stayed, I saw many Great-tailed Grackles, a Palm Warbler, Brown Pelicans, Magnificent Frigatbirds, Laughing Gulls, Caspian or Royal Terns, a Rudy Turnstone, a couple of Ospreys and a dark Buteo (Zone-tailed Hawk?). |
| December 2006 |
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12/24 Barnegat Light :
Harlequins put on a display as usual. Purple Sandpipers were very cooperative as well.
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| 12/17 Cape May : I was able to take photos of an American Pipit , a new species for me. |
| 12/17 Cape May : DON'T SHOOT. Turkey Vultures asking for mercy!! |
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12/10 Wildwood Crest :
Here is a Great Blue Heron with a BIG catch and the same bird in flight.
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| 12/10 Wildwood Crest : Went in search of Sparrows but found this American Bittern instead. |
| 12/09 Pleasentville : I've seen the Eared Grebe(s) up close for the past couple of days and this morning I was able to take a few shots of this rare visitor to the Eastern US. |
| 12/03 Brigantine NWR : Although I spend a lot of time at the Brigantine NWR, I have only seen American Tree Sparrows a couple of times. This little guy was hanging out with the more common Savannah Sparrows this morning. |
| November 2006 |
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11/19 Wildwood Crest :
In search of Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow I was only able to get a few shots of a
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow and a
Seaside Sparrow.
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| 11/04 Brigantine NWR : There were many Eastern Phoebes at he refuge today along with other migrants. |
| October 2006 |
| 10/14 Higbee Beach Cape May : Yellow-rumped Warblers were out in force today. Took some close ups of a Brown Thrasher. |
| 10/8 State Park Cape May : Another good day at Higbee Beach. Got close to Rudy-crowned Kinglet and Northern Parula. |
| September 2006 |
| 9/30 Higbee Beach Cape May : Saturday morning was a good flight day. Many birds decided to spend a few minutes at Higbee's before they continued with their migration. Northern Parulas and Yellow-rumped Warblers were plentiful. Blackpoll and Black-throated Green Warblers were also fairly common. I also managed to get a couple of pictures of a Nashville Warbler. |
| 9/3 Cape May Point NJ : I was a day late for all the seabirds that Ernesto brought to Cape May Point. Nevertheless, I did take photos of some uncommon visitors (White-rumped Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Black Tern) as well as some of the more common ones (Willet, Solitary Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Prairie Warbler, Yellow Warbler) |
| August 2006 |
| 8/10 Stone Harbor NJ : This is only the third time I have been able to photograph a Yellow-crowned night-heron. In the 3-5 seconds I got to see this bird, I was only able to take one shot, and it seems to be a keeper. |
| 8/10 Brigantine NWR : Another late afternoon visit at the refuge and another suprise: a Wilson's Phalarope, a new species for me and a bird that is a bit off course. |
| 8/6 Brigantine NWR, NJ : A pair of Peregrine Falcons performing an air show. |
| 8/6 Bargaintown, NJ : More backyard action; A Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker. |
| 8/5 Bargaintown, NJ : I was watering some plans in my back yard this morning. Suddenly I heard a bird call and as I looked up, a Cooper's Hawk came in and snatched a Robin from a branch of a Spruce tree. This was about 25 feet off the ground and 40 feet away from me. As both birds started coming down, the Cooper's Hawk just held on to its prey. After the impact of the fall, the hawk started looking around and within a second he was staring at me. I did not move waiting to see what would happen next. The Robin was not moving either, although his head was raised a little as he was looking at the Hawk trying to figure out what happened. The hawk waited about 20 seconds and then flew off with its prey. No pictures, just a flimsy drawing :) |
| July 2006 |
| 7/30 Cape May Point, NJ : Read reports of a Curlew Sandpiper for the past two days, so I headed down to Cape May on Saturday morning in hopes of finding it. I spent 4+ hours there in 90+ degree weather to no avail. I somehow got enough of a drive to head out again on Sunday morning despite the severe sunburn I received the day before. No Curlew again but I was able to track down a Baird's Sandpiper, a new species for me. I also took a picture of a Greater and a Lesser Yellowlegs side by side and one of a Green Heron looking for a meal. |
| 7/24 Brigantine NWR : A late afternoon visit at the refuge resulted in a suprise: a Bonaparte's Gull, a bird that is not seen during the summer time in our area. American Goldfinches are a lot more common, but I enjoy their presence all the same. |
| 7/15 Brigantine NWR : Searching through the archives, I found this interesting picture of a Great Egret with a Song Sparrow. I remember this well, although I took the picture back in 2003. It took the GE more than 5 minutes to swallow its prey. |
| 7/8 Brigantine NWR : Little Blue Heron with a nice catch (surrounded by Boat-tailed Grackles) and the elusive Northern Bobwhite. Still having problems with my lens but I wanted to take some pictures anyway. |
| June 2006 |
| 6/30 WSB Report : World Series of Briding 2006 - A complete report on our team's entry in the 2006 World Series of Birding. |
| April 2006 |
| 4/30 Brigantine NWR : Flock of Wimbrels - First images taken with a D200. I seem to be having a problem with my 80-400 lens!). |
| 4/15 Interesting Gull behavior images. |
| 4/15 Bargaintown NJ : Northern Cardinals in my back yard. |
| 4/10 2006 World Series of Birding It looks like 1000birds.com will be fielding a team for this year's WSB. T-shirts are in the works and I am hoping that some of you folks can sponsor our team by pledging tax-deductible contributions to the New Jersey Audubon Society. Please e-mail me for more details. |
| 4/8 Cape May Visited the Meadows and was able to photograph Common Snipes from a distance. New species for me but photo quality was poor :( |
| March 2006 |
| 3/26 2005 Photos: Created a page with some of my favority 2005 photos. |
| 3/19 Barnegat Light: Back to my favorite spot for the winter for ducks. Got close to Surf and Black Scoters but the wind made it difficult to take clear images. |
| February 2006 |
| 2/4 - 2/9 NW Washington State: Had a great 6 day birding trip to Washington State (see trip report prepared by Bob H). I will be posting photos of new species and more in the next few days. |
| January 2006 |
| 1/15 Barnegat Light, NJ: Another unsuccessful trip for Common Eiders but Brant gave me some good opportunities... |
| 1/8 Barnegat Light, NJ: In search of male Common Eider, I was only able to take photos of what seems to be a Red Knot? |
| December 2005 |
| 12/16 Pleasantville & Nortfield, NJ: Christmas Bird Count in a heavily developed area resulted in 45 species including very close looks at Brown Creepers (too bad I did not have my camera with me!!) |
| 12/9 Pleasantville, NJ: Images of Horned Grebes. |
| More photos from Greek trip : Icterine Warbler, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Cory's Shearwater, Common Tern. |
| November 2005 |
| 11/25 - 11/27 Clearfield, PA : Unable to locate Winter Wren, Wild Turkey and Evening Grosbeaks among others. |
| 11/13/05 Cape May : Two more species; some long range shots of a Redhead duck (hope to get closer next weekend) and an Ash-throated Flycatcher (based on some heavy duty birders I was with) which is very rare in NJ. |
| 11/6/05 Brigantine Island : I visited Brigantine Island because of reports of Marbled Godwits. After waiting for about an hour, 50+ Marbled Godwits landed close enough to where I was for me to capture another new species. |
| October 2005 |
| More photos from Greek trip : Black headed Gull, Little Stint and Marsh Tit. |
| 10/23 Brigantine NWR : I was only able to spend a couple of hours at the refuge in the morning. I managed to take some good photos of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and a Golden-crowned Kinglet. There were many sparrows around such as this Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow. |
| 10/16 Higbee beach Cape May : Best day ever!! Started off at 6:30am with 3 dozen American Woodcocks flying over with the first rays of daylight were just creeping over the horizon. Then Morning Doves followed. Birds kept on coming for hours and hours. I saw hundreds of Palm Warblers, many Black-throated Blue Warblers, Northern Parulas, Eastern Phoebes and many more. Raptors were also numerous and always going after anything that moved...What a day. |
| More photos from Greek trip : Cirl Bunting, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Common Buzzard, Eastern Bonelli's Warbler and Eurasian Curlew. |
| 10/2 Cape May Meadows : First but distant images of Stilt and White-rumpet Sandpipers. |
| September 2005 |
| 9/25 Higbee beach Cape May : Some good photos of Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, Common Yellowthroat, Osprey and Merlin. First image of a Olive-sided Flycatcher. |
| 9/18 Higbee beach Cape May : Slow day today. Took photos of a male Black-throated Blue Warbler and a Yellow-breasted Chat but not much movement overall. |
| 9/11 Pelagic Trip - Wilmington Canyon : I got a chance top get out some 70 miles off the coast of Cape May/Delaware and got my first picks of Audubon's Shearwater and Wilson's Storm-Petrel. Also took photos of a few Cory's Shearwaters. Will post images soon.. |
| 9/3 & 9/4 Cape May Point : I was able to pick up two new species this weekend. First a Sandwich Tern (2 adults, 2 imm.) at the beach in front of the Meadows and then the King Eider that has been lingering around near the Concrete Ship. |
| August 2005 |
| 8/1 - 8/15 Greece : Back from a two week vacation trip to Greece (Agia Sotira and Lesbos). Here are some photos (more to come daily) Sombre Tit , European Bee-eater, European Roller ,Red-backed Shrike, Red-rumped-Swallow ,Pallid Swift, Common Swift . |
| July 2005 |
| 7/30 Trivia : I am off to Greece for the next couple of weeks. Here is a photo you can have some fun with: How many shorebirds can you count in this photo? Here is what I came up with. Let me know what you came up with. |
| 7/21 Stone Harbor NJ : More Black Skimmer images. |
| 7/25 : Here are some more images of the Red-tailed Hawk feeding on the rabbit. Part II (less graphic) and Part III (much more graphic). |
| 7/17 Brigantine NWR : Woke up at 5:00am to be in Absecon, NJ early in search of the breeding Sandhill Cranes. That was unproductive as was a quick stop at the refuge which only resulted in a photo of a Blue Grosbeak. |
| 7/16 Stone Harbor NJ : Late afternoon visit, my first this summer. Saw 6-8 Piping Plovers feeding within a few feet from me. Also saw many Black Skimmers and a few Least and Forester's Terns. |
| 7/16 Brigantine NWR : Overcast and very humid. Took photos of a new species for me : Stilt Sandpiper. |
| 7/10 Bargaintown NJ : When I got home Sunday afternoon, I heard alarm calls from Robins and Catbirds. Went out in my back yard to look for a hawk and as soon as I stepped out I saw a dead rabbit just 20 feet from my window. Went back in, set my camera up and waited until an immature Red-tailed Hawk came back to claim its dinner. |
| 7/10 Atlantic Ocean : 10 miles off Atlantic City I saw a 2nd year Northern Gannet and a Greater Shearwater. |
| 7/9 Brigantine NWR : Took pictures of American Goldfinches late afternoon as they were feeding. |
| 7/4 Moore's Beach NJ : Saw a number of Clapper Rails and Seaside Sparrows. |
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7/3 Higbee Beach NJ : Started early looking for some good photos of Yellow-breasted Chat which I was unable to get. I took some pictures of Indigo Bunting which seemed to be fairly common.
7/3 Cape May Meadows NJ : Got there close to noon and I spent 3 hours in the sun getting a sunburn and pictures of Least Terns and an American Oystercatcher tending their nests. |
| June 2005 |
| 6/26 Sandy Hook NJ : I paid a visit to Sandy Hook towards the end of the day. Here are some Common Tern images at day light and at sunset. |
| Birds of Greece : In the process of posting images of 111 out of 407 species of birds that can be found in Greece. |
| 6/8 Bargaintown NJ : Another first as I took a picture of a Chimney Swift flying around while I was waiting for my daughter's school bus to arrive. |
| 6/5 Jakes Landing NJ : My first outing for shore bird spring migration. Was hoping to shoot some Red Knots but the tides were too high. Shot my first wild Turkey on the way over. Also took photos of a second year Bald Eagle flying by. |
| May 2005 |
| 5/22 Higbee Beach NJ : Numerous Blackpoll Warblers (new species for me) as well as Magnolia Warblers coming through. Prothonotary Warblers were very active as well. |
| 5/21 Brigantine NWR : Witnessed a Brown-headed Cowbird checking out a Yellow Warbler's nest for a future deposit :( |
| 5/09 Higbee Beach NJ : The birders have migrated to Higbee beach while a few Warblers did the same as well this week. Got my first picture of a Blue-winged Warbler and a couple of good shots of Black-and-white Warblers. |
| 5/02 Higbee Beach NJ : Back to Higbee with a little more success this time. Saw more migrants and was able to take some good photos of a Prairie Warbler, White-eyed Vireo and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Also took some photos of Yellow-rumped Warblers in breeding plumage. |
| April 2005 |
| 4/24 Higbee Beach NJ : Too windy for birds to come down as they are migrating through. Took some photos of a Field Sparrow defending its territory. Had good looks at White-eyed Vireos, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Prairie and Yellow-rumped Warbler but that was about it. |
| 4/22 : Images of Gray Catbirds. |
| 4/20 : Images of American Robins. |
| 4/16 Brigantine NWR : Images of Snowy Egrets which are back in force at the refuge. |
| 4/14 : Images of Carolina Wrens. |
| 4/10 Cape May Point : Spring migration is well on its way. Took photos of Red-throated Loons as they went fishing very close to shore. |
| 4/6 : Images of Mourning Doves and Northern Cardinals. |
| 4/5 : Visited Absecon for a chance to photograph the Western Tanager but once again I was not succesful. |
| 4/3 : Visited Cape May Meadows in yet another bad weather weekend. Unable to take any photos, although I did scare off 3 Wilson's Snipes. |
| March 2005 |
| 3/30 : Started working on a section on backyard birds of New Jersey US. Here are some images of a Northern Mockingbird. |
| 3/26 : Went looking for the Western Tanager that was reported in the area. I was told that it has been seen regurarly since the beginning of January at someone's backyard, but it did not show up while I was there. Went to the refuge and took pictures of a Hooded Merganser and some images of a Muskrat. |
| 3/24 : Posted images of American Bittern. |
| 3/19 Brigantine NWR : An afternoon visit to the refuge resulted in some images of Short-eared Owls and Ring-necked Ducks. |
| 3/19 Pleasantville NJ : Spent the first few hours of the day taking pictures of Horned Grebe, Bufflehead and Lesser Scaup. |
| 3/14 Cape May Point NJ : A very cold and windy day in Cape May resulted in just some images of Bonaparte's Gulls. |
| 3/14 : Posted images of Dunlin taken at Barnegat Light. |
| 3/5 Pleasantville NJ: Images of Greater Yellowlegs foraging in Pleasantville, NJ. |
| February 2005 |
| 2/27 Barnegat Light : Images of Surf and Black Scoters. |
| Yellow-rumped Warblers : Uploaded some images of Yellow-rumped Warblers in the Gallery section. |
| 2/19 Brigantine NWR : Back to the home front with some additional images of Marsh Hawks. there were some signs of spring at the refuge as I saw and heard numerous Red-winged Blackbirds so I am looking forward to next weekend. |
| 2/5 - 2/8 Duluth MN : Just returned from a trip to Duluth, Minnesota this past weekend. Here is a complete report on this trip. |
| January 2005 |
| 1/22 Brigantine NWR : Here are some images of Savannah Sparrows and other refuge residents during this weekend's snow storm. |
| 1/4 - 1/11 Dominical Republic : I am back home after spending a week at Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Although I spent much more time learning how to dance the Merengue than birding, I did manage to add some new bird species to my photo collection. Here is a complete report on my trip. |
| 1/2 Northfield : Looked for Eared grebe in the morning but was not succesful. Went to the local park and this Great Blue Heron posed for me as he had just caught breakfast. |
| December 2004 |
| 12/31 Barnegat Light : Last day of the year and I took a trip up to Barnegat Light. The Harlequins were very cooperative as usual. Also took some photos of Rudy Turnstones and Purple Sandpipers. |
| 12/26 Brigantine NWR - Holgate Unit : What better way to get ready for a trip to the Dominican Republic than to spend hours in freezing temperatures, looking for a reported Snowy Owl. I got to Holgate kind of late (7:00am) and things did not look promising for the first couple of hours. Luckly another birder spotted the Snowy Owl, and I got my Snowy Owl images. What a treat! Getting back to my car took another couple of hours but, it was all worth it. |
| 12/24 : Posted a number of Piping Plover images under the Galary section. |
| 12/15 : Posted a number of Sparrow images under the report section. |
| 12/5 Brigantine NWR : Birding from dawn to dusk was lots of fun. Here are some Sunrise images and some Sunset images of Snow Geese and Brant I took on Sunday. Here are flight photos of Tundra Swan, Dunlin and Snow Geese. |
| November 2004 |
| 11/27 Brigantine NWR : Went back for more photos of the Bluebirds but could not find them. The refuge had thousands of Northern Pintails. There were also plenty of sparrows around (I saw my first Fox Sparrow of the winter). |
| 11/25 Brigantine NWR : A quick trip to the refuge resulted in some shots of Eastern Bluebirds feeding. |
| 11/21 Cape May/Stone Harbor: Reports of Cave Swallows and Marbled Godwit gave me high hopes, but I was unable to photo either one of them. Took photos of Snow Bunting, American Wigeon, and Hermit Thrush. Also took pictures of a flock of House Finches (prepared Quiz for you). |
| 11/20 Brigantine NWR : Took photos of a Red-tailed Hawk at the refuge today : Red-tailed Hawk. |
| 11/14 Brigantine NWR : Added another species to my list! : Tundra Swan. There were over 60 of them at the refuge, but none of them were close enough for me to take a good shot. |
| 11/13 Brigantine NWR : Added another species to my list : Common Goldeney (female). Also took a few pictures of the ever present Marsh Hawk. |
| 11/6 Brigantine NWR : Northern Pintails abound. Also took pictures of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and a Cooper's Hawk? among others. |
| October 2004 |
| Royal Tern images : Royal Terns from 9/26/04 |
| 10/18 Brigantine NWR : Went back to the refuge an hour before sunset and took a few photos of Savannah Sparrows. |
| 10/16 Brigantine NWR : A quick visit to the refuge resulted in some Swamp Sparrow close-ups. |
| 10/7 Cape May : Once again, a very slow day at Higbee. An adult Bald Eagle flying over was the highlight. |
| September 2004 |
| 9/26 Cape May : Very slow day at Higbee. Was able to salvage it by spending time at the Beanery (Bobolink) and the Meadows (Palm Warbler,Great Black-backed Gull and Herring Gull feasting on crabs). Also took many pictures of Royal Terns. |
| 9/19 Cape May : First Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow. |
| 9/12 Stone Harbor : Quick visit to Stone Harbor resulted in Savannah Ipswich? Sparrow, Dunlin? missing part of its foot, Brown Pelicans, Little Blue Heron & Laughing Gull feeding its chick. |
| 9/12 Cape May : Visited Higbee Beach for first time this fall migration. I took pictures of some UFOs (please help!), Veery, Red-eyed Vireos (most common),Yellow-billed Cuckoo & Black Skimmers. |
| 9/11 Brigantine NWR: Many shorebirds and a Bald Eagle who went after a Great Egret but somehow did not get it!? . |
| August 2004 |
| 8/2-8/7 Skiathos, Greece & 8/8-8/14 Agia Sotira, Greece : I have prepared a page titled Birds of Greece 2004 that contains photos from my latest visit of Greece. Hope you can help with the UFOs |
| July 2004 |
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7/17 Bombay Hook NWR, DE : Visited Bombay Hook on Saturday. Got to the refuge at 7:30am primarily looking for the Black-necked Stilts
that are breeders there. Although the tides were not favorable, I was lucky enough to see a pair with its young soon after I arrived. The adults
were not thrilled with the caravan of 6-8 cars that had just arrived and after they circled us 2-3 times we got the hint and left. I was not able
to locate any more for the rest of the day.
Also took some pictures of Blue Grosbeaks, a Great Blue Heron with a big catch, and many more (pictures to follow soon). All was not fun and games though as a Deer tick decided to drop in...time to see the doctor yet again... |
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