February 29 - Great Cormorant

I checked out Harrier Meadow in NJ Meadowlands today with Mike. Nothing really new around, but more Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds around. 5 Ring-necked Ducks, a pretty good duck for The Meadowlands were seen as well. Carolina Wren and Golden-crowned Kinglet were new NJ Meadowlands birds for me today bring my total to 76 for The Meadowlands Big Year. Late afternoon I went to Snake Hill, now known as Laurel Hill Park in Secaucus to see the Great Cormorants roosting on the old railroad swing bridge over the Hackensack River. 4 birds were seen, 2 with breeding patches.

February 28 - Belted Kingfisher

I spent part of the morning birding Northern Bergen County with Mike W. today. We saw good numbers of Northern Pintails and Ring-neck Ducks at Mary Patrick Park in Mahwah. Lots more Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles were seen today as these birds seem to be on the move. Belted Kingfisher was spotted at multiple locations. Kingfisher photo was taken last week in Florida.

February 27 - White-crowned Sparrow

I did a bit of walking around the Valley Brook Ave. area of The Meadowlands this afternoon. I was hoping to catch a Pheasant in flight or flush a Snipe. No luck with either. I did find a nice group of sparrows off the beaten track. 40+ Tree Sparrows, 20+ Song Sparrow, 6-8 White-crowned Sparrows and 1 Swamp Sparrow. More and more Red-winged Blackbirds are arriving, many settling in the phrags around sunset. 4 Red-tailed Hawks, 1 Cooper's Hawk and 1 Northern Harrier were seen in the vicinity as well.

February 26 - Bald Eagle

I made 2 trips to NJ Meadowlands today. I walked Harrier Meadow in the morning. It seemed to hold the same birds as last week. The only differences were more Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles. Grackles have been scarce this winter, but are now being seen in small groups, 5-10 birds. After dinner I walked DeKorte Park without seeing anything unusual. After sundown, my last few birds were raptors Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk and a young Bald Eagle carrying an eel in its talons.

February 25 - Northern Shoveler

I made a trip this afternoon to DeKorte Park, NJ Meadowlands. It was very windy, cold and just a nasty day. Water levels at low tide, were amongst the lowest I've aeen in years, probably a combination of the strong west winds and very low moon tide. I was looking for Northern Shoveler and had little problem finding one. There was a group of 30 in the West Pool. Photo is from earlier in the season.

February 24 - Dark-eyed Junco

We're back from the trip to Florida. I needed to get caught up on some internet work. I had no chance to get out of the house to bird. Fortunately 4 Dark-eyed Juncos were on the ground in the yard today.

February 23 - Snail Kite

We started out our last full day in Florida at Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge at day break. We helped out with a morning flight count, mostly waders and blackbirds. They all roost in the Everglades across the canal from the Lox impoundments. Thousands of Ibis and Egrets fly out every morning. We were hoping to find Snail Kites flying out of a roost there, but they moved the roost due to lack of food from the late summer and autumn drought. We've counted as many as 52 birds using the roost in past years. We added a few new birds to our trip list, Rough-winged Swallow, Marsh Wren and Blue-headed Vireo. No Snail Kites. We visited Wellington Environmental Preserve after lunch and found 1 Snail Kite there. We found at least 15 Limpkins and new birds, Scaup, Caspian Tern and Savannah Sparrow. We finished off the day at Green Cay where some regulars found momma Bobcat with 1 young. My last photo of the trip was of the young Bobcat shot through the blowing grasses, seen below. A nice trip with 110 species seen without chasing anything.

February 22 - Neotropic Cormorant

Today we drove north to visit with Dad and go to some places in Palm Beach County. We made Wakodahatchee Wetlands the first stop. Along the half-mile boardwalk we found the nesting Cormorants and Anhingas and looked for the Neotropic Coromorant that has been seen here. In a few minutes we find the smaller bird. Most people there didn't seem to care. I think we were 2 of 3 birders in the place. Lots of nature paparazzi and board stompers as well as a few families looking for gators. Purple Martins are starting to gather. Great Egrets and Green Herons were building nests. Great Blue Herons were feeding young. A Sora gave us great views. Just before meeting with Dad for breakfast at 10:30, we stopped at Green Cay Wetlands. Painted Bunting was seen on the walk in. Great looks at Pied-billed Grebes, Blue-winged Teal and most of the waders were the highlights in this brief stop. After breakfast we visited Okeheelee Nature Center where see see 6 more Painted Buntings.

February 21 - Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Today is full day number 2 in Everglades National Park. We'll make a trip down to Flamingo today. We started out at sunrise at Chekika Campground in ENP. We were hoping for a sighting of White-tailed Kite. No luck. We did find momma Barred Owl on a nest. That's her below. We were off to the main park again. On the way in we spotted 3 Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, 2 Vermillions and 1 Western Kingbird just west of yesterday's Vermillion location. On the trip to Flamingo Linda spotted 2 Swallow-tailed Kites, amongst the first reported in Florida this season, we stopped and watched them fly off to the west. In Flamingo hundreds of American White Pelicans were spotted with hundreds of Black Skimmers on the mudflats near the marina. In the campground we found 150+ Willets and 40+ Marbled Godwits, but again no luck with the rarity, Bar-tailed Godwit. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher will have to suffice.

February 20 - Vermillion Flycatcher

Today is the first full day we'll spend in Florida. We plan on 2 days in Everglades National Park. Our first stop is C-111 Canal area to look for 3 Flycatchers, Vermillion, Scissor-tailed and Western Kingbird. We had our life Vermillion here a few years ago. After a few minutes here we saw the bright red male flying on and off the barbed wire fence surrounding a water control structure. We spotted a few nice birds along the route in to the park. Anhinga Trail offered a treat. We watched a Wood Stork catch and eat an Asian Swamp Eel, click here for some video Wood Stork eats eel

February 19 - Burrowing Owl

Today is the first day of a short vacation to South Florida. We arrived a bit late in Ft. Lauderdale. My plan was to get to Brian Piccolo Park to look for the Burrowing Owls. We arrived after sunset and had to do some searching. There were no owls at the first burrow, but we had good luck at the second. 2 birds sitting right outside the burrow. I should now get to use 5 birds in Florida on this short trip. This photo is from a previous Florida trip.

February 18 - Peregrine Falcon

Another day with limited birding time as I work the autograph show in Somerset. I traveled down to South Amboy before the show in search of Bonaparte's Gulls. I walked out to the mudflats and scoped the gulls. The Bonaparte's were nowhere to be seen. On the way to the show I spotted a Peregrine Falcon on the Ellis S Vieser Memorial Bridge, or the Rt. 9 Bridge. Photo is from a sighting at Island Beach State Park.

February 17 - Eastern Bluebird

This weekend I'm working at an autograph show in Somerset, NJ. That gives me little time to bird. I headed out to Great Swamp in search of the Barred Owl. It was a very foggy morning and I had no luck with the owl. I did spot some Bluebirds in a few fields and will make them today's bird. Photo is from a Bergen County location.

February 16 - Iceland Gull

I had little time to bird today. On my way to Manhattan I took brief detour to Port Newark to look for a reported Iceland Gull. After 15 minutes searching a white-winged gull flew onto a building across from the water treatment facility. I took some distant photos.

February 15 - Snow Goose

I made a trip today with Mike so he could see the Snowy Owl at Merrill Creek Reservoir. We tried a couple of places outside the reservoir looking for the Ross's Goose with no luck. I saw 1000+ Snow Geese at and over the reservoir.

February 14 - Merlin

I took a walk around The Meadowlands today with a friend. We found good numbers of Tree Sparrows 45+ and White-crowned Sparrows 12+ as well as Song and White-throated Sparrows. A male Ring-necked Pheasant flushed and flew past us. Off one of the power line towers a Merlin dove, flying along the railroad tracks. We saw only a few other raptors, all Red-tailed hawks. Photo of Merlin is from Oberly Rd., Alpha 2 winters ago.

February 13 - Canvasback

I made an afternoon trip to The Meadowlands today. I stopped on Disposal Rd. when I saw some raptors flying. 2 Red-tails were flying together, one of them "Bells" the bird with jesses and bells, that a falconer lost. Snow Buntings were flying around the side of the Kingsland Landfill and a few Canada Geese were just coming in to feed on top. I made a sop at DeKorte Park and spotted many gulls coming in as the tide went out. 200+ Canvasacks and the regular ducks were in the Saw Mill. Photo is from the Saw Mill mudflats.

February 12 - Purple Sandpiper

Today I sold cards at another show in Ocean county so I had another opportunity to bird the shore. I chose Manasquan Inlet today. It was cold and very windy, but I still made a trip to the end of the jetty to search for Purple Sandpipers. 15 were seen, some flying around the jetty and a few feeding on the edge. Lots of gulls around, but nothing stood out. I found the sandpipers so quickly I had time to stop in South Amboy area to search mudflats for gulls at the Morgan Ave. Mudflats. Upon arrival it was recommended by Tom that I wear something boot-like on my feet, no sneakers. This was a great tip. I followed Tom's footprints in the mud out to the gulls. There was a group of 80-100 Bonaparte's Gulls with a lone Black-headed Gull feeding on the edge. It was good to know the Bonaparte's will be there to use another day. These gulls were 2 new NJ birds for the year. Sandpiper photo was taken a few days ago at Barnegat Lighthouse. It was a too windy for decent photos today.

February 11 - Northern Gannet

Today was a day I had little time to bird but I was in an interesting part of the state. I had the opportunity to bird the Jersey Shore. I had spent the day a few miles from the coast working at an autograph and baseball card show featuring Super Bowl Champions NY Giants Chase Blackburn and Jake Ballard. After the show I drove to the beach, but little was around at my choice of beaches, Seven President's Park in Long Branch. I scanned the ocean and found a Common Loon and some distant Northern Gannets and made the Gannet my bird today.

February 10 - Red-headed Woodpecker

I made a trip today to Manhattan. After some business downtown I headed up to Central Park in search of Red-headed Woodpecker. After about a half hour I had lost hope of finding the woodpecker. I found my consolation bird - Hermit Thrush. As I was walking out of the park I noticed a Red-tailed Hawk getting bombed by 5 Blue Jays. I took a bit of video. I then saw a woman feeding peanuts to the Blue Jays and squirrels. While speaking with her I noticed the Red-headed Woodpecker fly to a nearby tree. This immature bird has more red in the head than when I saw it last month. Main photo is from January, bottom photo from today.

February 9 - Eastern Screech Owl

I made a morning trip to The Celery Farm today. The goal was to see Great Horned Owl or Virginia Rail. I stopped by the culvert where the rail is seen. I believe the rail was there. I saw some ripples in the water and movement under some brush but I had no luck with seeing it. I then made a stop in Mahwah and found 6 Bluebirds, new for Bergen County this year. Oradell Reservoir was my next stop. Lots of Common Mergansers were seen. A Pied-billed Grebe and Greater Scaup were pointed out to me by another birder, 2 more new Bergen County birds for this year. My bird of the day is an red morph Eastern Screech Owl seen in Bergen County, but I won't disclose the location so it's not disturbed. Photo is the actual bird just taken a few days ago.

February 8 - Harlequin Duck

I made a trip to Barnegat Lighthouse State Park today. Winds were relatively light and out of the east. 2000+ Gulls, mostly Herring were all over the inlet. Red-throated Loons were in the inlet as well as a few Long-tailed Ducks. On the jetty I spotted an Ipswich Sparrow as well as 60+ Ruddy Turnstones, 15 Purple Sandpipers and a small flock of Sanderlings. 28 Harlequin Ducks were well out on the jetty as well as some Surf and Black Scoters. Common Eiders were viewed from the beach. View my photos and a video of Purple Sandpiper from today here Barnegat Light Photos

February 7 - Pileated Woodpecker

I made a trip to The Celery Farm this morning to search for Great-horned Owl or Virginia Rail. Struck out on both. I did see a new Bergen County bird for the year, 2 Black Vultures. I made another stop to bird Mary Patrick Park in Mahwah. Shortly after arriving I spotted a large woodpecker flying through the woods, Pileated! Always a pleasure to see. I did some walking around the lake and spotted numerous Ring-necked Ducks, a couple of Hooded Mergansers and Common Mergansers, a single Coot and a number of White-throated Sparrows. Pileated Woodpecker, a tough bird for me to see in my area is today's bird. Photo from another sighting.

February 6 - Fish Crow

Today I had little opportunity to bird. I was driving past the exit for Garret Mountain, so I took it. Not too many birds were seen, but a couple of interesting ones were around. Great Black-backed Gull was loafing on Barbour's Pond. Lots of Crows made their way into the park in the afternoon, with some Fish Crows in the gang. Photograph is from another Fish Crow sighting.

February 5 - Orange-crowned Warbler

Today I attended the Super Bird Sunday walk at Richard DeKorte Park, NJ Meadowlands. This walk is a Bergen County Audubon / NJ Meadowlands guided walk. We searched for American Bittern, but tide was high in the impoundment and we had no luck. We also looked for Brown Creeper, Orange-crowned Warbler and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. All these were found in the Lyndhurst Nature Reserve. Photo of the warbler is from earlier in the season in The Meadowlands.

February 4 - American Bittern

I made a morning trip to DeKorte Park in NJ Meadowlands to search for American Bittern or Orange-crowned Warbler which were seen yesterday. I checked the Ruddy Duck blind on the Marsh Discovery Trail and had no luck for the bittern even though others did. There was no sign of the OCWA either. An adult Bald Eagle flew overhead, I thought this might be my bird. My best sighting of the day was Sandy Komito who stopped by The Meadowlands to bird some while waiting for a flight overseas. I always try to spend time birding or sharing stories with whenever I see him. Today we did both. Still no bird "better" than the Bald Eagle. In the afternoon I made a second trip to DeKorte and on Disposal Rd. saw a Kestrel and 40 Snow Buntings. I met up with another birder and we were off to look for the bittern again. On the trail I spotted a Common Teal amongst the Green-winged Teals and shared it with 2 other birders. We walked to the Ruddy Duck blind and I found the American Bittern hunting the edge of the channel, much closer than we expected. I took some photos and tried out some video here American Bittern Video

February 3 - White-winged Scoter

I made a morning trip to Sandy Hook this morning. It was very windy at the beach, lots of white caps on the water. The only close birds seen at first were Long-tailed Ducks. Gannets were diving in the distance, 5 Horned Larks on the beach. I moved to another beach and found some Scoters in the distance. Once I scoped them I found they were Black Scoters. 1 sleeping Scoter awoke and found this one to be a White-winged Scoter. I have 4 birds to choose from for bird-a-day in Sandy Hook. I stopped in The Meadowlands on the way home where an American Bittern was being seen. This is a new Bergen bird for the year as well as a new bird for the Meadowlands Big Year giving me about 70 in The Meadowlands so far. No Scoter picture is available right now and today was far too windy to get a photo.

February 2 - Northern Pintail

I spent some time in The Meadowlands today. There's lots around in the way of ducks; 100+ Shovelers, 40+ Pintails, 50+ Green-winged Teal and 255 or so Canvasbacks. That number represents the most Canvasbacks I've seen in The Meadowlands in the 8-9 years I've birded there. I found a couple of new birds for me in Bergen County this year today. A Common Grackle showed up in my yard and a Sharp-shinned Hawk was adjacent to the Kingsland Landfill. Nothing stood out today as a good bird form bird-a-day, so Pintail will be used.

February 1 - Horned Grebe

Today was another day I had limited time to find a bird. I had an appointment in downtown Manhattan, so I made a stop at Liberty State Park on the way in. There were not too many birds around. Red-breasted Mergansers, Black Ducks, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Brant and Canada Geese were the easiest to spot. 3 Horned Grebes were in the Hudson River. This would be my bird of the day for today. Good thing I took a few photos last time here because these guys were way off the shore.

January 31 - Green-winged Teal

With very little time to get out and bird anywhere today, I took a 10 minute walk in Mill Creek Marsh, NJ Meadowlands. Tide was high and most ducks we not near the entrance. Then 2 Green-winged Teal swam from the near shore viewable without binoculars. Photo is from Mill Creek Marsh just earlier in the month.