Good Friday Birds

Today is Good Friday, the traditional anniversary of the day when Jesus of Nazareth was crucified in Jerusalem.  And there is a bird connection.

White-winged Crossbill, Spruce Run Reservoir, 2013.

According to Medieval accounts, one bird, the crossbill, got it's unusual crossed beak by trying to pry the nails from the hands of Jesus as he hung on the cross.  And his blood stained the birds red.

So it's just a legend.  The reality has more to do with millions of generations of crossbills specializing on prying the seeds out of pine and spruce cones.  But it's a fun connection, just the same, and one I remember every time I am fortunate enough to see some of these fantastic birds.

Happy Easter everyone!

Grooving on Birdscapes

I love birds.  But as much as I love the birds, I also love the places where the birds are found.  The other day I spent several hours just enjoying the wind, water, and clouds at my local reservoir.

Spruce Run Reservoir, Hunterdon, NJ, 28 March 2013

Birding has taken me to all 50 US states and a host of other countries.  I've enjoyed all the birds, but in many ways the birds are just a small piece of the landscapes--or birdscapes, if you will.  It is hard to separate them in my mind.  The three Bonaparte's Gulls that flew in to join the other gulls on the edge of the reservoir in the shot above (three small white dots on the left of the others), are as much a part of the moment as the clouds and the waves.  Birding is a celebration of birds, but even more so a celebration of life and place.

This really struck me as I picked up a copy of the new Crossley ID Raptor Guide.  There on each plate was captured amazing scenes that I've enjoyed in my travels.  In fact, I loved it so much I got Princeton Press to give away a free copy of the guide to whoever can best guess the location of seven birdscapes shown in the book (check it out and enter the contest over at BirdingIsFun).

In the meantime, here are several other amazing birdscapes from the guide.  Enjoy!  

Be sure to pick up a copy of the Crossley ID Raptor Guide if you love this kind of stuff.  But with spring in the air here in the northern hemisphere, be sure to get outside and connect to your own favorite local birdscapes.  Then come back and tell us what birdscapes most inspire you and why!

Pacific Loon in New Jersey

Last night I got a text about a Pacific Loon in nearby Morris County, NJ--a first county record for this species.  After the kids got on the bus for school this morning, I headed over and was able to get some digiscoped shots of the bird as it swam laps around an office park detention pond.  My most urban Pacific Loon yet (beating out my first county record and sewage pond sighting at Hornsby Bend in 1998).

Like shooting fish in a barrel, a loon in a detention pond!

Not maybe where you would expect to see a Pacific Loon, on either coast, but what the heck!

 .
At any rate, here are some of the better shots I managed of the actual bird.

You can see the white eyelids on this shot of the bird sleeping briefly

OK, not a great shot, except for the action as it dives!

Perhaps my favorite shot

Not a great shot, but a more typical Pacific Loon posture

I love it when loons look under the water for food

Why do we always focus on shots from the side?  I like the grays in the head as it is going away

Going away now

White-winged Crossbills

This was a good year for crossbills in much of the Mid Atlantic states.  We had a good push through my county in November, and then not so much.  Today I found four White-winged Crossbills feeding on downed sweetgum pods at Spruce Run in Hunterdon County, NJ.  Fun to watch them so close.  Enjoy!

Male and female White-winged Crossbill, Nikon P500, 28 Feb 2013

Male and female White-winged Crossbill, digiscoped with Kowa 883 and HTC Incredible phone.

Male White-winged Crossbill, digiscoped with Kowa 883 and HTC Incredible phone.

Two male White-winged Crossbill, digiscoped with Kowa 883 and HTC Incredible phone.

Male White-winged Crossbill, digiscoped with Kowa 883 and HTC Incredible phone.

Male White-winged Crossbill, digiscoped with Kowa 883 and HTC Incredible phone.
 

White-winged Crossbills, digiscoped with Kowa 883 and HTC Incredible phone.

Male White-winged Crossbill, digiscoped with Kowa 883 and HTC Incredible phone.

Male White-winged Crossbill, digiscoped with Kowa 883 and HTC Incredible phone.

Male White-winged Crossbill, digiscoped with Kowa 883 and HTC Incredible phone.

Male White-winged Crossbill, digiscoped with Kowa 883 and HTC Incredible phone.

The Urban Birder

For the last two days, I've had a great time birding and hanging out with David Lindo, The Urban Birder, from London.

David Lindo (The Urban Birder) and The Birdchaser

We started out yesterday with some great looks at roosting Northern Saw-Whet Owl and a brief look at roosting Long-eared Owls.  We also managed to come up with a Cackling Goose in a Canada Goose flock on the side of the highway.

Northern Saw-Whet Owl, Hunterdon County, NJ 2-14-2013

The rest of the day saw a steady stream of birds, with fewer surprises.  We covered the full county from north to south and ended up with over 50 species for the day.

This morning we started off the day with another owl; a red-morph Eastern Screech-Owl roosting in the rafters of a barn on private property in Clinton Township.

Eastern Screech-Owl, Hunterdon County, NJ 2-15-2013

We scoured several other areas for a few hours, but the wind and clear skies seemed to work against us before we called it a day in mid-afternoon.  Lots of urban birding and great birds.  We'll have to do it again!

Review--Birders: The Central Park Effect

I just spent a very enjoyable hour watching Birders: The Central Park Effect.  This documentary film features a year in the life of the park, birds and the birders that watch them.  This is another great film to show your non-birding friends.  I had a big smile on my face as I saw over 100 bird friends, as well as birders in their natural habitat!  The film really does capture the beauty of birds, as well as the spirit of birding.  

If you are a Central Park birder, you will see people that you know.  This film spends a good deal of time walking around with Starr Saphir--a legendary Central Park birder who was in the advanced stages of breast cancer while this film was shot, and who actually passed away this week at the age of 73.  The film is a great tribute to her as well as the other NYC birders who make Central Park their home.

I look forward to seeing the extra features in the DVD, including extended interviews with Jonathan Franzen and others, as this review was based on a preview copy (without extra features) sent to me by Music Box Films.  So get the DVD and enjoy an hour celebrating the joy of birds and birding in an iconic setting.

Kevin Spacey...Birder?

Here's the evidence:

 

Click on the photo to enlarge. Yes, that's the Princeton Field Guide to The Parrots of the World that he's thumbing through!  Alas, it isn't a candid shot.  This is a still from the new made for Netflix series House of Cards.  But it was cool to see that book in the shot, and Gerald McRaney's character is a birder.  Spacey's character even accompanies him on a bird walk, though he is completely not into it.  

Kevin Spacey tagging along with Gerald McRaney on a bird walk.

And there you go...looks like he's had enough!

Looking not so thrilled to be out birding!

But in the end, the birds provoke at least a little interest!

At any rate, fun to see more pop culture birding references.

Great Plains Birding...in New Jersey!

Yesterday I felt like some Great Plains birding, so I drove out to the wide expansive grasslands south of Phillipsburg.  This isn't a little town in Nebraska, though if you didn't know where you were, you might think it was.  

Believe it or not, this is New Jersey.  But it might as well be Nebraska.  This area is called the Alpha Grasslands, and it is a traditional spot to find Rough-legged Hawk, Short-eared Owl, and the focus of my search--Lapland Longspur.  

When I realized I couldn't remember the last time I saw a Lapland Longspur (I had flyovers in Texas back in the early 2000s), I figured I needed to make a bigger effort.  So I drove over to Alpha (its not far, just the next county over) and drove around the area until I started seeing Horned Larks.

It didn't take long to see smaller birds mixed in with the larks in flight, but it took a bit of scope work to finally get a look at one on the ground.  Here's an Alpha male longspur :-)

Lapland Longspur, Alpha Grasslands, Warren Co, NJ 29 Jan 2013.  Digiscoped HTC Incredible phone/Kowa 883.

So, not the greatest shot.  The birds were over 100 yards away in a field.  But at least I got some decent scope looks at two birds.  I could have spent a lot more time enjoying my Great Plains birding and maybe looking for other birds in with the larks, but duty called and I had to get back to work.  But not before finding this locally rare Glaucous Gull out at Spruce Run Reservoir on my way home!