The Birdchaser: February 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

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.

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

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

Friday, February 15, 2013

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!

Saturday, February 09, 2013

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.

Friday, February 08, 2013

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.