Fairweather Zealot

We recently received a letter from our mortgage holder, Chase Bank, offering to reduce our mortgage interest rate by 1% with no fees. It even came in a next day envelope to help validate its importance.

Unfortunately, our previous dealings with Chase (they took our mortgage payment out twice last fall, leading to 4 months of ridiculous BS) made me suspicious immediately of their motives. Plus, I had heard the stories of fake mailings that purport to be from your mortgage company but in reality scam you out of you house. Two quick things that put me on guard. Continue reading

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns

Family: Ardeidae

# of Heron Species: 4

# of Night-Heron Species: 2

# of Egret Species: 4

# of Bittern Species: 2

Species Seen / Photographed: 12 / 10

This group of birds are common visitors to most wetlands and watery areas in our country. Their large size and noticeable behavior makes them recognizable to even many non-birders. They run a wide variety of sizes from the smaller white egrets to the larger Great Blue Heron, and a range of habits from the open fishing habits of the GBH to the more secretive lifestyles of both species of bitterns. Similar in form, they represent a mostly common set of feeding habits, focused mostly on fish but taking opportunities for a wide variety of other prey including small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and anything else that gets too close to their large bills. Continue reading

I was walking home from work when I heard a call that I didn’t recognize in my neighbor’s yard. I had heard the same call yesterday from our yard but wasn’t able to find it in the trees – kind of like a robin, similar to a cardinal but not quite. At the risk of looking like a creep, I tried to spy the bird from the sidewalk but a flash of yellow piqued my curiosity enough for me to step closer. But the bird was singing high in the tree, just too far to get a good look.

I asked my neighbor if he minded if I came back with binocs, and he was fine with it (though uninterested in the bird once he knew what I was looking at). Between the binocs and my camera, I finally figured it out – a dicksissel, an unexpected find and a lifebird. They are uncommon east of the Appalachians, and rare in NJ – especially in spring.

He was gorgeous – a broad yellow eyebrow leading to a thick bunting-like bill (but longer), and a deep yellow breast topped with a dark black bib surrounded by white flashes on the chin and on either side of the throat. The brown plumage on the back was accented by a rusty brown, accenting the already colorful bird.

I watched him singing that distinctive song for a while, admiring his vigor and the way he chased the male house sparrows into the bushes, and in one case into the dirt. He flew from the magnolia to a fence where he perched for a short time. Things got even better as it flew practically to me and offered me even better looks from only a few feet away.

« See Unexpected Beauty on Flickr »

Pelicans, Anhinga, Cormorants & Gannets

Families:Pelecanidae (Pelicans), Anhingadae (Anhingas), Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants), Sulidae (Gannets & Boobies), Fregatidae (Frigatebirds)

# of Species: 14

Species Seen / Photographed: 8 / 8

The Pelecaniformes are probably the most diverse group on this list, encompassing 5 families of distinct birds. The whole group consists of fish-eating birds who live and spend a majority of their time in or around water, across the United States. I’ve been lucky enough to see a large number of them although I’ve yet to have a quantifiable ID of any of those in Sulidae yet. Continue reading

The notice that this beautiful bird was being seen here in NJ was put out on the Jersey Birds list. I took the (gorgeous) day off today to head to Cape May and my last stop was to see if I could find this rarity. I showed up at the property and waited 45 minutes. I was getting up to leave when I saw a flash of red in the trees at the edge of the property – it was him! I waited quietly for a while and he came to the feeder where I could get a better look. All of those colors were just a spectacle.
« See Gaudy on Flickr »

Next up on the list are what I call the “Tubenoses”: Albatross, petrels, shearwaters and storm-petrels.

Tubenoses: Albatross, Petrels, Shearwaters and Storm-Petrels

Families:Diomedeidae, Procellariidae and Hydrobatidae

# of Albatross Species: 2

# of Petrel Species: 4

# of Shearwater Species: 5

# of Storm-petrel Species: 6

Species Seen / Photographed: 0 / 0

The “Tubenoses” are a group of pelagic birds who spend much of their lives in open water, rarely coming to shore except to nest. There ranges tend to keep them away from most birders who aren’t willing to board a ship, except during migration or when storms force them toward land. Unfortunately, that has resulted in me not having seen a single species in this group – I am fairly sure I was a storm-petrel in North Carolina on evening but can’t be sure.

Sigh… one of these days…

Next up on the list are the GREBES.

Grebes

Family:Podicidpedidae

# of Species: 7

Species Seen / Photographed: 5 / 5

Grebes are found throughout the United States, primarily in marshy and coastal areas. Pied-billed Grebes are the most common of the group, the only species that can be found in all states at some point of the year. The majority of the grebe species breed at least partially in Canada, with only the Clark’s Grebe and Least Grebe breeding only in the U.S., the latter restricted to only a few specific locations in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas.

I’ve always enjoyed grebes, although there only few times I get to see them other the most common pied-billed grebes.
Continue reading

While it wasn’t my main reason for heading to Austin, TX, I was lucky enough to get some quality birding in while I was down there.  I got to see 3 areas: Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory (aka wastewater treatment plant), Emma Long Metro Park and the Lady Bird Lake/Austin Lake Trail, and was lucky enough to check out the first two with a fellow NJ Birder, Bev Robertson.

Continue reading

Best of the Birds I – Loons

The first category of birds in the guide is the LOONS.

Loons

Family: Gavidae

# of Species: 5

Species Seen / Photographed: 3 / 3

Loons are primary northern birds, with 4 of the 5 species spending the majority of their time in northern climates (Maine, Washington, Canada). For me, the majority of my loon sightings are at Barnegat Light, where I have seen quite a number of Common Loons and Red-throated Loons. Common loons are just what the name implies – the more commonly seen version, and the source of the famous loon call heard in many movies.
Continue reading

I want to be more active on this blog, and to do that, I’m going to try to post a collection of my bird photography on a semi-daily basis, using the Sibley Field Guide to Birds as the guide to the order I present them in. Hopefully, doing at least that limited post will stimulate me to write more in general, both here an on my UX blog (which I really need to work on).

Here is my list as I’ll tackle it over the next few months. Continue reading