First lifer of the year! I tried chasing this species on Thursday, but after two hours of sitting and waiting it never showed up. When I got to the park today it was already at the feeders.
I had the day off on Wednesday and with the weather being 50 degrees Fahrenheit (although I would later find out the wind made it feel much colder) I decided to take a trip up to Connecticut to try and get a Snowy Owl before the excellent season for them ends. In addition I had notice a some other species on the Fairfield Rare Bird Alert that I figured would be easy targets. The first stop would be Cummings Park in Stamford. While the flocks of Crows, Gulls, and Geese signaled it was just any old park, I had stopped there for a rare Kamchatka Gull (officially recognized as a subspecies of the Common Gull.) After scanning through the initial flocks of Herring and Ring-Billed Gulls it seemed like a bust, I noticed another group in a distant, kind of obscure parking lot. After walking around, I spotted the darker gull in the back of the flock. While a really needed a scope to look at it without scaring the flock initially, luckily for me a man started feeding the gulls (something I personally wouldn’t do) which drew the Kamchatka closer allowing me to get some good photos. I then went to the next town over to Weed Beach in search of a Barrow’s Goldeneye. While the chances of me seeing one in Yellowstone in 2023 are high, I never officially recorded it and therefore it isn’t on my life list. When I first arrived to the beach I was greeted by a long overdue lifer in the Greater Scaup, along with some Red-Breasted Mergansers and Ruddy Ducks, however no sign of the Goldeneye. While heading to another section of the beach, I thought I lost it. A goldeneye flew out into the sunset (well the midday 1pm sun.) Luckily it wasn’t him as I would spot the Barrow’s Goldeneye with a group of Common Goldeneye. With much success to that point into the day I went to Stratford Point near Bridgeport to look for a Snowy Owl. While at first it wasn’t looking promising for new species with only Greater Scaup and Red-Breasted Merganser on the Oceanside, going to the bayside would reveal a lot more. First was a lone handsome male Surf Scoter right off the coast. I started scanning some distant rocks for the Snowy. While there was no white blob, I did see a first for the US Great Cormorant. Walking down further some other birders pointed out a rare Eurasian Wigeon. While a nice surprise to distract me for a few minutes, I was still determined to see my target species, especially since I had seen a Eurasian Wigeon in New Jersey a month prior. While scanning I did pick up American Wigeon, along with some different white blobs in Mute Swans, there was no sign of the Snowy. With the first signs of dusk arriving I thought I would have to call it quits for the day, however I saw the Snowy had been reported just a few hours ago at another park in Stratford. Just shortly after arriving I was called over by the same guys who showed me the Eurasian Wigeon, and they had spotted the elusive Snowy Owl that had to be over half a mile away in their scope. Despite it being so far, it was so cool to see a species that as a kid I had associated with the far northern arctic. And with that I went 4 for 4 on my main targets of the day (although I did miss a couple other species including Loons, and Snow Bunting)Bit of a long update here. It begins as I went to look for a rare Iceland Gull on the Passaic River. While after looking through hundreds of gulls in the freezing cold. Despite never locating the gull, I did pick up an overdue American Crow along with a Belted Kingfisher and got a surprise on the way home in a Peregrine Falcon! The next day I went to the Eagle festival in Richard W. DeKorte Park where I quickly picked up the namesake bird. Additionally I collected several species of duck (Ruddy, Canvasback, Pintail, and Shovler) along with Red-Winged Blackbird. While the cold week kept me inside, only new bird being a Red-Tailed Hawk in my neighborhood, I was absolutely flabbergasted to see a Groundhog in my neighbor’s backyard. Every result on Google showed that these fat rodent wake up at the earliest in February and it only comes out before then if it was unseasonably warm (this day was near freezing.) If anyone who knows more about rodents than me knows why this guy was up and scurrying around please tell me! After it got a tad warmer (although I wouldn’t call the upper 30s warm) I was able to make 2 quick trips on MLK weekend before a big snowstorm came in. The first trip was to the Celery Farm where I hoped to find continuing Virginia Rail or Eastern Screech-Owl which would both be Lifers. Despite neither showing, it was a very active morning for birds, especially sparrows including American Tree and Swamp which are new for the year along with a pair of Wild Turkeys, a bird I saw only one of in Bergen County last year. I also made a quick stop a Van Saun Park which had been a reliable location for Green-Winged Teal which I missed in DeKorte. I spotted the Teal along with a pair of Rusty Blackbirds, a pleasant surprise as I thought I would have to go to the Teaneck Creek Conservancy for them. After the snow it was even colder, although while birding in my yard I was able to catch a glimpse of a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker which I had heard around my house several times this year but hadn’t seen since December. Finally this past weekend I travelled back to DeKorte. While all the waters were covered with ice, I had come in search of 2 sparrow species- Field and an unseasonable Chipping Sparrow. While trekking the ice and snow in the more woodsy part of DeKorte I was able to catch a puffed up Flicker near a group of White-Throated Sparrows along with a pretty unseasonable Brown-Headed Cowbird. While the sparrows seemed like a bust, I was able to spot a large flock that matched the description of the flock that the Chipping and Field Sparrows. I looked through the flock, picking out Swamp, American Tree, White-Throated, Song, and Juncos. Unfortunately as I kept scanning the sparrows I realized something highly unfortunate- I forgot my glovesThus as my hands felt like they were being eaten alive I had to call it quits, it wasn’t worth sacrificing my body for a pair of birds I would almost surely end up picking up later this year. Additionally at some point I saw a House Mouse, although I never wrote down the date.
Mammals
3) House Mouse (Mus musculus)
4) Groundhog (Marmota monax)
Birds
55) American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
56) Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)
57) Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
58) Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
59) Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
60) Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
61) Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)
62) Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
63) Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
64) Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
65) Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)
66) American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea)
67) Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)
68) Green-Winged Teal (Anas carolinensis)
69) Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)
70) Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)
71) Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
72) Brown-Headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
Progress:
Mammals- 4
Birds- 72
Herptiles- 0
Total- 76
Birds
February 2, 2025
2/3/25
Actually, it is not only the species that has been spit. The genus has also been split recently so it is Astur gentilis now.
Is this a returning Devil's Lake combo?
Mammals
97. Long-billed Corella (Cacatua tenuirostris)
This update begins last week at Wood Dale County Park. This was my first time visiting the park, however it was for good reason, 2 species I needed on my year list (one of which I needed on my county life list!) I instantly saw the first bird, the American Coot. While common at several places across the tri-state area, I wanted to get this rail relative out of the way as the chances of me going to Jamaica Bay or Lake of the Lilles among other places during the winter were slim. While it took a bit more time, I soon found a lone male Ring-Necked Duck in the small, mostly frozen-over pond. While I avoided birding on Sunday due to inclement weather, Monday was absolutely beautiful, first day near 50 this year (well at least the real feel, it had been near 50 when I traveled to Sandy Hook and Connecticut however the winds made it feel much colder.) Thanks to this nice weather, I ignored the slush and mud and went to the Celery Farm in search of a couple lifers- Eastern Screech-Owl, Barred Owl, and Virginia Rail. I knew that all these species were hard to spot and I would be lucky to come out of the Celery Farm with just one. After a suspiciously quiet walk at first, we came to an area where the Screech-Owl would be. Fortunately I found the Eastern Screech-Owl roosting high up in a tree. After taking a quick picture, I continued on, not trying to disturb it. I wouldn’t take long for me to see the Barred Owl which I would also admire for about a minute before leaving it alone. Finally I had arrived at a section of the Celery Farm where the Virginia Rail was known to be. A good sign was immediately a photographer looking into the creek where it’s been and after coming a bit closer, the Mockingbird sized Virginia Rail was in sight. I left the Celery Farm with much success with a pair of 2 beautiful male turkeys being a bonus. Finally yesterday I took advantage of the fact there wasn’t 5 inches of snow on the ground (it’s supposed to snow a lot tonight) to go birding, even if it was just ol’ faithful Van Saun Park. Even if I wasn’t going to be seeing any birds there, it was a nice outing as someone had dropped seed along the path, allowing me to get some great photos of some hungry birds, and it was always cool to see the Rusty Blackbird. While I was taking pictures of some birds, I heard something that sounded like a Chickadee right next to me, I turn around to try and get a photo of the curious bird and it turned out I spooked a Brown Creeper. While the creeper never showed back up, it was still a pleasant surprise.
MAMMALS:
BIRDS: