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Behind the Bins
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Join me behind the bins to watch birds around the country and sometimes in other places around the globe.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'migration'
Blue Skies, Nuthin’ but Blue Skies
We all stared at the flat blue expanse of the firmament. Not a cloud, not a wisp, heck, very few contrails even. We battled eye floaties, crinks in our necks, and sunburn hoping today was the big one; when the flow of thousands of Broad-winged Ha...
Skywatch Friday
I heard them first. When I looked up, following the sound, I saw dozens of Cedar Waxwings on the overhead wires, kibitzing among themselves. Like all travellers, I’m sure they were complaining about the weather, the lack of appropriate fo...
Bird Photography Weekly
My sister and I had just finished dragging the table and chairs out of the garage and uphill into the back yard and were enjoying our first sip and sup of well-deserved crisp white wine and creamy Saint Andre cheese when, from out of the corner of m...
Warbler Neck
Warbler neck is a serious malady that affects all birders in May every year. If you have ever spent 40 minutes staring up, searching every movement in the tree for the elusive warbler-of-the-moment, you know what I mean. Fortunately this chronic co...
Chasing a Ruff
Hark back with me to May 1995. I was in Cape May for the Spring Weekend racking up lifebirds when a Ruff was reported. The discovery was met with lots of excitement. My friend and I jumped in our car like everyone else eager to see the bird b...
Bird Photography Weekly
I stood on the narrow catwalk hanging below the bridge over Oregon inlet. The platform vibrated as the cars passed behind me; their tires whizzing by just over my head. Although the catwalk was intended for fishing, it made a good spot for bird...
Beach Birds
I am off to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to spend a few days with my cousin. She and her husband are not birdwatchers, but appreciate that I am, so I will be able make myself scarce a few hours of the day to see what is around. I hope there ...
Ducks are on the Move
With the last of the ice melted from lakes and reservoirs, waterfowl has been on the move north. I popped over to the Wallkill NWR the other day to see what was shakin’. Used to having the place to myself, with perhaps one or two other cars...
Happy Spring!
At last spring has sprung and I am teasing you with the joy of birds to come. The first wablers I see are usually Palm Warblers. And that won’t be for another few weeks. But my friends, they are coming. ...
Chimney Swifts are on their way back
The first Chimney Swifts of the season have been spotted on the Gulf Coast. YAY!!! The folks at Driftwood Wildlife Association will be plotting the swifts’ movements northward over the next few months. If you would like to contribute, let...
Odd Yellow Pine Siskin
While chatting on the phone and idly looking out the window, I noticed an odd Siskin with a small flock pecking around on the ground under the feeders. It looked positively lemony compared to the other hundred or so swirling around the yard. Peop...
Eared Grebe at Round Valley Reservoir
I rolled down my window (when is the last time you actually rolled down your window? Funny how we still say that, when we are just pushing a button.) to ask the cluster of birders who appeared next to my car what they were seeing. One women ge...
Harlequin Duck Soap Opera
Mrs. H. was going about her business but keeping close to the Mister after such a hard migration. The usual rigg-raff was in the neighborhood of course, but that was to be expected in NJ. What she had not expected, afer all off this time, was a b...
Myrtle Warblers really eat Myrtle
While I was down at the beach last weekend, I saw loads of Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting amidst the low shrubs on the walk back from the jetty. The wind was blowing pretty fierce, so they would fly up but settle back down quickly. Mostly they w...
Siskin Visit during an Ice Storm
I woke up to a world turned to glass. Every paved surface was as smooth as a skating rink and icicles dripped from the trees. The rain that everyone else had down below was freezing rain on the mountain. The backyard was a flurry of activity as...
Sorting through Flocks of Canada Geese
One of the joys and sorrows of winter birding in the Northeast is all of the odd geese (Greater White-fronted, Pink-footed, Ross’s, Cackling) that show up with the migratory flocks of Canada Geese. But searching for an odd goose in a sea of C...
Ross’s Goose in Franklin Lakes, NJ
After dipping on the Barnacle Goose yesterday, I really wanted to get the Ross’s today, especially since it is so close by. I called my birding bud this morning at the crack of dawn (well it was really more like 8:30, which is still pretty early f...
Red Crossbill in NJ
On the 3rd try I finally got a really good look at the female Red Crossbill that I have been stalking since last weekend. She is a late riser, so I didn’t kill myself getting there super early only to find out that she had been spotted at 7:3...
King Eider in Piermont
All Hail the King! Well, I guess it’s more of a Prince at this point. Once in a while the birding gods smile on me. Late last night I saw that a juvenile King Eider had been spotted Sunday afternoon at the pier in Piermont, NY. It was not...
Fox Sparrow visitor
I stood at the kitchen sink talking to my sister on the phone. The wind was howling around the house and the thermometer read 6F. The neglected rusty brown oak leaves in the backyard were swirling and dancing in the gale. I squinted; one of tho...
Mount Peter Hawk Watch
The morning started slowly as it usually does at the Mount Peter Hawk Watch. The temps were in the low 20s. (This time, I had bundled up in 4 layers of clothing-unlike last time I was leader and I nearly froze my butt off.) I paced the 8 steps ...
Birding Brigantine
I had come to the Brigantine division of the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge to look for sparrows. An odd thing to do perhaps, but I was specifically looking for the Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow. I had seen several reports of them being there...
Commuter’s view of Autumn Migration
Driving home due west into the sunset, I am treated every night to the most amazing sherbet shades of lemon, raspberry, apricot and orange. Flowing across these mouthwatering colors is the long river of migration. The birds are high but their lon...
Migration way-station
Migration makes for strange bed–er–tree fellows. I saw the Yellow-shafted Flicker and the Eastern Bluebird. What I did not see until the Flicker flew away was the Blue-headed Vireo. Can you see it? Ok. I know the picture is crap...
The Addiction - a short story
Paul pulled up to the ATM, stuck in his card and punched in $300. He had held out as long as he could. He needed cash. There was no time to waste. The machine whirred and spit out a receipt that said INSUFFICIENT FUNDS. Paul slammed this fist against...
Skywatch
I pulled up to the stop sign at the end of Beech Road heading to work after the Thursday Morning birdwalk. I glanced both ways and then up. Way above me a hawk soared, making lazy circles in the sky. It was pretty high but as it turned and twis...
Hawks are on the move at Mt. Peter
I snapped the packet of pepper with my fingers before ripping it open to pour the tiny black specks onto my pea soup. In the process some pepper spilled onto the cafeteria table. Stirring the soup, waiting for it to cool, I brushed the pepper in...
Whooping Crane Habitat Worry
I am a worrier. I know you have been watching the weather. Or at least have heard that Hurricane Ike is headed for the Texas Coast and right for Aransas NWR. I was there last Spring and took a boat out to see the cranes. I have seen the marsh ...
Jonathan Trouern-Trend will speak at the 5th NJ Meadowlands Festival of Birding
Knowing that I love all things birdy, a few years ago, a friend gave me a small birding book called Birding Babylon: A Soldier’s Journal from Iraq. Originally written by Sergeant First Class Jonathan Trouern-Trend during his time north of Bagd...
Eagle day at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch
Ya shodda been there. Tropical Storm Hannah passed in the night leaving a chilly day with scuttling clouds against a bright blue sky. Thinking it might be too windy for migrating hawks, I nearly didn’t go to Mt. Peter today. But, boy, am I glad...
