sandpipers – The Jersey Birder

More warblers in the New Jersey Pine Pinelands

A black-and-white warbler opens its beak wide to sing while perched on a bare tree branch. Green leaves dappled by sunlight form the background.

My buddy Jim and I headed south once more today to the Pine Barrens, hoping to find a summer tanager in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest. In my Subaru Outback, we crawled along some sandy trails and negotiated many large puddles to get deep into the woods. Alas, no summer tanagers brightened our day, evenContinue reading “More warblers in the New Jersey Pine Pinelands”

Sandpipers and killdeers aplenty in Hamilton

A solitary sandpiper stands on a mud bank, with greenish water in the background.

After the excitement of seeing a pair of rare sedge wrens, for a change of pace I drove to Veterans Park in Hamilton. The park has a big lake that attracts eagles and waterfowl, and I was eager to spot a few to broaden my species count for the young month. I walked across theContinue reading “Sandpipers and killdeers aplenty in Hamilton”

Everything’s bigger in Texas, and so is my life list

While I didn’t add a huge number of birds to my “Big Month” count, my trip to Texas did net me four lifers, two that I had seen before but never recorded and two that truly were new sightings for me. I racked up a modest 21 species in College Station during the six daysContinue reading “Everything’s bigger in Texas, and so is my life list”