36 Months Later

I started seriously birding in January, 2013.  I entered a year-long photo contest with a few friends and people who would end up being great friends - bird dorks, really.  Who knew I would become one of them!

So here I was, in a brave new world, learning the birding ropes.  It was so much different than my herping background.  I could write an entire book on that, but I'll keep it short.  It turns out that in birding people practically share everything!  Herping is a big world of fake secrecy where nobody shares anything until you are part of the in-crowd.  *It's dumb, really.  But the bottom line is, in herping you aren't supposed to share locality information while in birding, you are EXPECTED to share a spot down to the very branch.  I loved it, actually.

Anyway, my first chase was for a Northern Shrike in Assunpink WMA, about a half hour away from me.  I had no idea what I was doing and failed.  I didn't think it was a big deal.  I still wouldn't - any excuse to be outside is never disappointing.  

Fast forward three years and here I am 365 species into my birding career, yet - no Northern Shrike!  One had been reported for a few weeks within an hour's drive.  But it seemed every free day I had also had warm temperatures.  Any chance at December snakes trumps practically every other opportunity, thus no shrike-chase materialized.  Until Monday...

I had the morning free since I had my kids an extra few days, thanks to Christmas.  They would all sleep til at least 10:00, as long as I wasn't waking them.  I decided to let them sleep since I dragged them out of bed the morning before at 5:00 to bird in Bombay Hook.  I woke up early and got on my way. 

South Branch WMA at sunrise.


Pulling up to abandoned farm buildings and silos, my mind screamed milksnakes!  Just look at this set-up:

Milksnakes?

Milksnakes?

I began birding.  I hung around the structures for a bit hoping the shrike would fly in.  It didn't, but a few sparrows kept me busy.  

White-crowned Sparrow

White-crowed Sparrow

After a while, I started to head down the muddy path, already feeling defeat as my time was limited and the place was big.  A Fox Sparrow popped out and then disappeared.  Here's a photo from another time, as I didn't secure a picture this time.

I was now a bit down the path from the silos.  I'm sure every person who has come in search of the shrike has looked for Barn Owls here, but no dice - at least for me.

South Branch WMA 

I headed back knowing full well I was looking to the right too intently.  The bird could easily be to the left, in the blinding sun.  I forced myself to squint all the way back, but no shrike.  As I arrived back by the house I heard bluebirds turalee and starlings chatter and show off a killdeer impression.

I still had a half hour before having to leave, but was feeling like I didn't allot enough time.  I looked into the sun once more, and there before me at the top of a lone tree right near the very point in which I started the search, stood a bird silhouette.  My experience didn't know the shape, but my instinct did - it was the shrike!  

Shrike silhouette

I circled the tree slowly, as far away as the vegetation would allow, in hopes that I could get a look at my newest lifelist addition in the sun.  I did, briefly, but it was awesome!  The hooked bill may as well have had "predator" tattooed down it.  This was truly a wolf in sheep's clothing.  A predatory songbird.  A bird who seizes prey, bites through its neck, and often collects more than it can eat; impaling it on nearby thorns or anything sharp at its disposal for later consumption.  This passerine has captivated me from the second I learned of its behavior.  And finally, it was in my sight!

Northern Shrike

I watched it for two minutes before it flew off into a distant treeline.  It shared branches with Eastern Bluebirds for a brief second, displaying how large it was in comparison.  Its size surprised me.  I was able to grab a photo with a starling - a bird many are familiar with, in case someone is curious to the size.

European Starling and Northern Shrike comparison

It was bird #321 of the year and life bird #366.  I'm a stat-addict, but in this instance the numbers didn't matter.  The bird was a fantastic animal and I'm glad I took the time to...

...step into the outdoors.

Christmas Came Early

It was my normal Saturday out... my three boys and I, but my daughter Lily was along for the ride!  While the offspring combination can be chaotic, I was willing to deal with it to get my daughter out into the field.  Here's a photo of Lily on the 8th Street Jetty in Avalon, NJ.  

Lily in the morning - Avalon, NJ

 

We arrived here at 7:30.  The birds were numerous... Purple Sandpipers, a few Ruddy Turnstones, and flocks of Dunlin all dotted the jetty.  Gulls glided by the dozen or so fisherman, and the sun made the view into the ocean a bit difficult.  The day was already gorgeous.  There was a hint of a breeze, the sun was warm, and my teenage son was in a t-shirt by 8:30 on December 12th!

A passerby may have not noticed all the activity offshore.  To the naked eye, it looked like a hazy ocean horizon to the East.  But a patient birder armed with some optics is able to open up the secret of the sea.  I watched multiple scoter flocks, and the most Long-tailed Ducks I had seen in a while.  Numerous Red-throated Loons flew by, while a common one dove and surfaced - eventually popping up 20 feet from us.  The sun made photos difficult, but it was fun to guide my daughter into observing the birds over the horizon.  Meanwhile, an occasional side-eye let me know none of my sons had fallen into the water.

I had talked to the bird counter on duty and he tipped me off as to where Red Knots hang out.  Red Knots would be bird #320 for me and would break my old record from 2014.  I had been stuck on 319 since Black Friday.  So without hesitation we made our way further down the coastline and wouldn't be disappointed.

When we arrived and walked the path through the dunes, we were greeted with a gorgeous beach.  To our left, about six blocks down, was a myriad of shorebirds.  My knots HAD to be in there!  ...so we walked.  Along the way, I was surprised by a group of six Semipalmated Plovers.

Semipalmated Plover

The group of shorebirds was within reach and I would do my best to sneak up on them and grab as many photos as I could. 

Are those my Red Knots???  ...no, Black-bellied Plovers.

Hmm... There's definitely birds in there with a different size than the Black-bellied Plovers and the Sanderlings closer to the surf.  These were the anxious thoughts in my head.  I am addicted to stats and wanted to beat my record badly at this point.  So I moved in and sure enough, #320 and a new record - RED KNOTS!

Red Knots

There were Dunlin mixed in and the size difference was apparent.  A group of Dunlin flew in while I was laying in the wet sand, obtaining shots of #320.

At this point I was soaked.  Thank God it was warm out.  I used the opportunity to grab some sand-level Sanderling shots as well - why not, right?!  *It's funny to me that they sleep on one leg and if I got too close, they would hop instead of putting the other foot down to at least run, let alone fly.  I captured one hopping below.

Sanderlings

It was really warm and the kids wanted to try for snakes - no problem with me!  We worked our way up into the Pines but hit Brigantine for a quick loop as it was on the way.  The normal birds were there.  We did see an American Avocet, which was nice!  I didn't take many photos as we were in a rush to get to some dens at the peak of the heat.  But here's a few...

Snow Goose

American Black Duck

Juvenile Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon

American Avocet - not from Brig as it wasn't close enough for any half-decent shot.

Our quick loop was done, so it was den-checking time!  I won't get into any details, let's just say it was good!  We only had about an hour to check, and I ran around to a few quick dens and found two snakes basking and flipped two snakes (racer, pine, two corns)!  The weather and sun combined with perfect timing andit  paid off.  Here's the herps from the day:

Northern Cricket Frog - eye detail

Northern Pinesnake - en situ

Pinesnake scale detail

Black Racer - en situ

Red Cornsnake

Red Cornsnake

What an amazing day in the field!  December 12th and we broke the annual bird count record... December 12th and we were sweating by 9:00 AM... December 12th and we found four snakes, one threatened, and two endangered!  December 12th and we enjoyed the natural world and kept the kids away from video games for a day.

...step into the outdoors