10,000 Birds

APRIL 16, 2012

The pine barrens of New Jersey look rather plain and boring if you only see them while driving past on the Garden State Parkway or New Jersey Turnpike. By the time urban and suburban sprawl started to reach New Jersey’s pine barrens they were largely protected and today over 1.1

New Jersey 177

New Jersey New York City Leopards New York 177

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2013

I was at the Oradell Reservoir in Bergen County, New Jersey (the northeasternmost county in New Jersey for those keeping track at home) and the woods were busy with Palm Warblers , Yellow-rumped Warblers , and Pine Warblers. Or is she practicing for when she reaches her breeding grounds?

New Jersey 169

New Jersey Breeding Birds 169

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2012

Warbling Vireos are found breeding in open deciduous woods, often riparian, across Mexico, the United States, and southern Canada. Their fondness for open woods means that they often adapt well to breeding in parks and it was Van Saun Park in New Jersey’s Bergen County that I found the individual shown in this blog post.

New Jersey 188

New Jersey Philadelphia United States Canada 188

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2019

With birds bedecked in their breeding best and filling the air with song, this is migration at its loveliest. Threatened by loss of habitat both on breeding as well as wintering grounds, a few species have even become endangered or at least on a perilous track towards that worrisome designation.

Costa Rica 179

Costa Rica Species Belize New Jersey 179

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2012

Last week a mystery bird from New Jersey rightly caused a fair bit of confusion among birders of the Garden State and beyond. New Jersey mystery sparrow. The bird was a sparrow, that much was clear, but it didn’t seem to fit any of the easily boxes the other North American sparrows can be fairly easily sorted into.

New Jersey 220

New Jersey North Carolina Sparrows Connecticut 220

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

I was reminded of the American Redstart I saw foraging in New Jersey several years ago and hoped that this bird would prove as resilient as I had observed that redstart to be. It will never make it to the Paramo in the high Andes for winter nor return to the tundra to breed.

Culling 157

Culling Falcons New Jersey Jamaica 157

10,000 Birds

MAY 18, 2012

When they are not getting ready to breed they are a pretty bland brown-and-white bird. The bird in these photos was foraging in the pond at the south end of Van Saun Park in northern New Jersey, a place I often stop to bird briefly on my way to work.

New Jersey 173

New Jersey North America Chile South America 173

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2013

Here in New York State Snowy Owls have been reported in more than ten counties, with most of those counties having birds being seen in multiple locations. Here’s hoping that they find the food they need and survive the winter to return north to breed.

Owls 278

Owls Rhode Island North Carolina New Hampshire 278

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 16, 2013

Even though it doesn’t show on the NatureServe range map above, Golden-crowned Sparrow vagrants have been recorded eastward to Ontario and Nova Scotia, Michigan, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey; also south to Alabama, Texas, Louisiana and Florida 1. Resources: 1 Birds of North America Online.

Sparrows 160

Sparrows Alabama North America New Jersey 160

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2022

I should have known that birding High Island meant I would be 20 minutes away from a place where hundreds of thousands of shorebirds and waterbirds rest, feed, breed, and generally have a good time. I love American Avocets and I rarely see them in such marvelous breeding plumage, so I was in heaven. Clapper Rail. Back to the Flats.

Houston 208

Houston Texas Sanctuary Sparrows 208

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2012

And there were several birds, often feeding close to shore, much different from my first encounter with the species along another fabled wildlife drive, the one at Brigantine in New Jersey. They do tend to wander after breeding which explains my first encounter with that New Jersey bird.

Wildlife 178

Wildlife New Jersey South America United States 178

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2012

Of course, I jest a bit in the above paragraph because as a sometime New Jersey birder I have birded the Delaware Bay and seen sights such as the memorable image below, in which thousands of Red Knots, Dunlins, and Short-billed Dowitchers fly up as if connected telepathically.

Delaware 178

Delaware New Jersey Eggs Research 178

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2014

One of the two sub-species of Red Knot occurring in North America, the Rufa subspecies breeds in the Canadian Artic Region and migrates along the east or Atlantic coast of the United States. The other sub-species, Calidris canutus roselaari , migrates along the Pacific Coast and breeds in Alaska and the Wrangel Island in Russia.

Endangered Species 160

Endangered Species Protection Delaware Species 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Any day of birding in New York State that includes a sighting of a Vesper Sparrow is a better-then-average day. All of this information was gleaned from The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds of New York State. What has caused the decline? What has caused the decline? … a.

Sparrows 165

Sparrows North Dakota Downers United States 165

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2013

One has been seen in New Jersey in 1988 , in Illinois in 1949, and in Ohio in 1954 (Links are PDFs.) – interestingly, all in May.). Though the Large-billed Tern is a bird of freshwater rivers, lakes, and marshes of South America it does wander to North America on very rare occasions.

Trinidad 173

Trinidad Nevada Illinois New Jersey 173

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2020

The authors’ detailed delineation of problems with the accuracy of NYC breeding bird surveys or with the limits of historical writings may test a reader’s patience. Because, as this book demonstrates so well, it is sometimes important to look back in order to move forward. It’s a very mixed chapter.

New York City 148

New York City New York Birds Breeding 148

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2012

female Pine Warbler at Bayonne Park, Bayonne, NJ – almost as bland as wood-warblers get With a large and increasing population spread over a wide area – it breeds across eastern Canada, the eastern United States, and into the Caribbean – BirdLife International considers the Pine Warbler a Species of Least Concern.

New Jersey 180

New Jersey New York Louisiana United States 180

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2012

Lovitch changes gears with the chapter “Birding with a Purpose”, in which he addresses the win-win of citizen science (called a buzzword, for some reason), gives resources for birding conservation, Christmas Bird Counts, breeding bird surveys, where to find birding job opportunities, and describes, all too briefly, the use of eBird.

New Jersey 232

New Jersey Science United States 2012 232

4 The Love Of Animals

AUGUST 21, 2012

It honors dogs of all breeds — from working dogs to family pets — and encourage pet owners to do something special for their dog. All dogs – whether Best Friends clients or not – are invited to stop by any of our 42 locations on Saturday between 9 a.m. for a free ice cream.”.

Dogs 100

Dogs Oklahoma Maryland North Carolina 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2019

A biologist friend of mine recently moved from New Jersey (where she visited the estuaries to study hundreds of thousands waders at close range) to Belgrade where I showed her some inland birding sites with two shorebirds here and one or two more over there. Where to find shorebirds around Belgrade, Serbia?

Serbia 151

Serbia New Jersey Europe Hunters 151

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2018

To get there we would need to get out of New York, through New Jersey into Delaware, and then on through Maryland and Virginia until finally reaching our destination. We broke the drive down into two segments: from New York to Delaware on 31 March and from Delaware to North Carolina on 1 April.

North Carolina 100

North Carolina New York Delaware Puerto Rico 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2012

Remember that friend of mine that saw 17 breeding pairs of Snowy Owls in a single valley? That means there were a lot more nuthatches around this spring to breed and that means that there are lots and lots more nuthatches to irrupt across the United States right now. So this was a good summer for lemmings, a very good year.

United States 265

United States Owls Atlanta North Carolina 265

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2015

Like the two previous books in the series, the American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of New Jersey by Rick Wright and the American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Colorado by Ted Floyd (photographs for all three primarily by master photographer Brian E. A generational ago, nobody knew any of that!”

Colorado 234

Colorado Florida New Jersey North America 234

10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2011

In New Jersey, police shot a Wild Turkey that was causing a few fender benders. These are just quick turkey car accident links I’ve found on my usual birding news feeds, but I’m sure many more are out there. I think the main reason turkey/vehicle collisions are more noticeable this time of year are breeding hormones.

Turkey 228

Turkey Hunters Coyotes Boston 228

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2018

I was on New Jersey Audubon’s Grand North Dakota birding tour this past July, driving along dirt roads through the prairies of western North Dakota. Since 1966, when the Breeding Bird Survey first began monitoring, numbers have declined 79 percent. Scott Barnes, N.J. Audubon Naturalist, and Linda Mack, N.J.

North Dakota 137

North Dakota Sparrows Birds Blackbirds 137

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2013

Atlantic Coast subspecies crepitans in New Jersey by Corey Finger. These are brightly colored birds that breed in freshwater environments. In California and Arizona, however, Clapper Rails are brightly colored and occur in both salt and freshwater environments. Clapper Rail of the grayish U.S.

Species 216

Species Cuba North America Louisiana 216

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2014

These are extremely large stick structures (some articles compare the largest ones to the size of a car) that are usually populated by multiple breeding pairs in separate chambers. I have not heard any reports of Monk Parakeets at bird feeders in New York City, or in New Jersey, where they have a colony in Edgewater, Bergen County.)

Chicago 198

Chicago New York City Illinois New York 198

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2017

But, then, no one expected a Common Greenshanks in New Jersey. …maybe there’s a secret Corn Crake breeding farm out in Gilgo Beach. No one expected a Corn Crake. Now, probably if I was Corey, my response would be to grab my car keys, bins, and camera and go go go. What if it’s an escapee? I should go.

New York 154

New York North America France Feral Cats 154

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

New Jersey is Undecided. New Jersey has an interesting approach, at the sate level. If left unchecked, free-roaming cats will breed and their populations increase at locations where they find suitable shelter and food, resulting in environmental/property damage, and public nuisance. Mole hills!

Feral Cats 206

Feral Cats Feral Cats Minneapolis 206

10,000 Birds

JULY 8, 2013

It is a bird of the Pacific coast of North and South America, breeding in western Mexico and southern California. It does not belong on the Atlantic coast of the northeastern United States at all, though they sometimes wander like the one that was found in New Jersey last year.

New York 150

New York South America New Jersey 2013 150

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2012

The Northern Flicker Colaptus auratus Northern Flickers are most common in New York City during migration, especially fall migration, but some are year-round residents. They breed in all five boroughs and can be readily identified in flight by their flashing yellow underwings and white rump. ……… a.

New York City 244

New York City New York Woodpeckers New Jersey 244

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2011

Because I did not have to arrive at my office in Emerson, New Jersey until 9:30 AM on Wednesday I planned a pre-dawn assault on the Croton Train Station, which, timed correctly, would give me over two hours with the bird before I had to skedaddle off to the salt mines for another day’s labor. And I even got to work on time!

New York 163

New York New York City Kazakhstan New Jersey 163

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2017

I started the year in Florida, traveled to India with the ABA in February, combined family and birding in an August trip to California, and in-between saw very good birds in New York and New Jersey. The year list total is 709 countable and 2 non-countable birds. I like to add, “But I’m not a lister!”

2016 109

2016 India Ducks Costa Rica 109

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

Seney National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1935 as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife.” Swan Lake Refuge is managed as “a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife”. New Jersey/New York. The refuge is already open to sport fishing.

Fish 143

Fish Wildlife Hunting Louisiana 143

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

There were a host of great shorebirds in New York’s Orange County on Thursday early in the day but reports of roads being flooded out and the rather long distance, almost two hours travel from Queens, made that idea a reject. What was this particular ibis doing in northern New Jersey?

New Jersey 187

New Jersey New York United States Breeding 187

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2018

Kevin Karlson is co-author of The Shorebird Guide , Birding by Impression , and The Birds of New Jersey. Three helpful sections precede the Introduction: Photo and silhouette comparisons of gulls that breed in North America (see illustration above), Basic Anatomical Terms illustrated with four diagrams, and a very selective Glossary.

North America 198

North America El Salvador America Nicaragua 198

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2018

New York City apartments don’t allow feeders to be hung from fire escapes (though I know certain birders that skirt that rule), and it wasn’t until I had already been birding for four-and-a-half years that I obtained a small yard in central New Jersey in which I could place a feeder or two or three.

New York City 171

New York City Birds Squirrels Woodpeckers 171