A day of hooky

Watching Over the Kingdom On Friday, I really needed a mental health day to spend with my wife. I’ve been working a ton of hours, and haven’t been out to do any real photography or birding in weeks. So, on Friday, we headed down to Forsythe NWR @ Brigantine to do some birding. There have been a lot of ‘rarities’ there like the long-standing Roseate Spoonbill, Eared Grebe and an American White Pelican. With so many things down there, it seemed the perfect place to go. I know that sometimes I can get so caught up in the excitement that I get frustrated, so I made a vow to just relax and enjoy the trip with Shari – and it worked.

The place was packed with egrets (snowy and great), herons and shorebirds of various types, as well as a wide variety of other birds. We saw 50 species in total, including a good number of cool birds. The trip added 2 lifers (†) for me, as well as some additions to my photo lifelist (*), and some NJ firsts (^): Merlin

  • American White Pelican ^
  • Roseate Spoonbill * ^
  • Eared Grebe * ^
  • American Avocet^
  • Hudsonian Godwit † ^
  • Merlin † * ^
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper *
  • Semipalmated Plover * ^
  • Peregrine Falcon
  • Northern Harrier

I might have also seen a Vesper Sparrow, but I’m still trying to confirm that ID. Another birder pointed out a Baird’s Sandpiper to me, but I couldn’t see it well enough to call it. All in all a good day. Now I just need to find the time to make it to Palmyra to see some warbler migration…

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2 Responses to “A day of hooky

  • Hooky days rock and I didn’t even see anything close to these guys today! Love your photos of the falcon!

  • A day of hooky sounds fantastic, and exactly what I would’ve liked today. It’s unbelievable how many different kinds of birds you saw. Great way to spend a day … sure beats work!

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