Happy Birthday!

To my favorite son!

 

Barnegat Day Two

 

After shaking off the worst effects of our owl prowl we headed to the 

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Drive, a trip I would highly recommend to anyone visiting the area. The drive wanders through 8 miles of marsh and saltmarsh and provides shelter to a delightful array of birds and wildlife.

Sneaky little American Bittern

Kinda judgey Red-tailed Hawk

We were fortunate to encounter a gentleman at our first stop near the entrance who pointed us to a side road where a rare-in-this-season American Bittern was being seen from a tower. Of course we took it, to find a small crowd of birders photographing an obliging Red-tailed Hawk near the road. Lazy me stayed in the car and shot out the window. Just before we moved on, something caught my eye right between Kris's car and the next one in line. Said bittern was prancing across the road right in front of us!

Brant

Snow Geese

The whole drive was packed with surprises and delights, from a flock of around 90 Snow Geese right next to the car, to all three mergansers, Common, Hooded, and Red-breasted, hunting in a single small pool.

By the end of our circumnavigation of the drive we had seen 37 species.

Great Black-backed Gull

We next decided to return to the Barnegat Lighthouse in hopes of getting a look at the Harlequin Ducks that were being seen there. Alas, being ancient and sporting a pair of pretty awful knees, I didn't dare go out on the tumble of giant riprap rocks that form the jetty...not that staying on the sand was any kind of punishment.... There were plenty of birds where I was too. Anyhow, Kris got spectacular photos of the sought after ducks on the other side of the jetty, while almost by accident I got reference level shots of same surfing a line of rocks out in the water. What a happy!

Brant

It was a great trip that I will not forget anytime soon. If you get a chance, go do those things! See those birds and waves and shells and rocks. Hear the crashing of the surf and the calling of the gulls and the wind rushing through the sea grasses on the dunes. It will bring joy to the depths of your heart. Thanks again Kris for making it possible!

Barnegat Day One

 

It's spring in Barnegat. The bushes and grasses are thronged with Yellow-rumped Warblers, still clad in drab winter plumage, but ready to assault the great North any day now.

Kris and Kristen on the jetty. A younger me would have been out there hopping rock to rock, but it is a nope for an old lady with bad knees and questionable balance. Instead I walked the sand from where I took this shot.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

The sea there is likewise thronged with wintering ducks and geese that would trigger rare bird alerts here in NY and instantly bring flocks of birders, rivaling those of YRWA, to stand and stare while madly clicking camera shutters.

Purple Sandpiper...he knows exactly how cute he is!

My dear friend and Best Birding Buddy, Kris, invited me to share a quick trip there to view these amazing creatures, so we took off at o'dark-thirty Friday morning. On the way down we speculated about what we wanted to see most. I was hoping for Great Cormorants, and we both settled on Purple Sandpipers as grail birds so to speak. I had only encountered either on Bird Wise or on Cornell birding courses.

Once we found our way through the tangle of going south in order to go north engendered by the whole just one bridge to Long Beach Island thing, we were instantly greeted by a whole flock of Brant, one of those geese that get folks all excited here in this area. They were grazing on lawns and strolling in the streets, much like our local Canada geese do here. We were out of the car and pointing the cameras in seconds.

Soon, we met the other Kristen, an experienced birding guide who generously shared tips on where to go and what to see, as well as accompanying us out on the jetty at the lighthouse...well, K and K did the jetty. I walked out far enough to see the rock hopping that would be involved in going on the actual rocks. Not being a penguin, I hustled down to the sand route....

Within a short time we had spotted Great Cormorants drying their wings on another nearby jetty, and Purple Sandpipers hip-hopping and scurrying to forage among the stones. The latter were even more beautiful than I had imagined and tickled me....well, purple, not pink.

Red-throated Loon

Red-breasted Merganser

American Herring Gull

Among other notables was a Red-throated Loon that swam up right next to us, floating on a breaker just as it hit the beach. There were so many amazing birds that I can barely describe them. Mergansers, Long-tailed Ducks, all three scoters, a Gadwall, scads of American Black Ducks and Mallards. Gulls abounded, mostly the three common species here, Herring, Ring-billed and Great Black-backed. We found 31 species just on that walk.

American Black Ducks, strolling with a Gadwall drake

Later we went to Holgate to seek the Snowy Owl spending the winter there. Hiked 2.84 miles down a sand spit reaching out into the water, almost to the very dip, only to be unable to find it. It was less than thrilling to get a rare bird alert a short time after we trekked back to the car...someone had seen it almost exactly where we had been right after we left. It taunted us all weekend, being spotted off and on... Although it would have been nice to see it there were so many other birds to make up for it. Day two was even more amazing...TBC

I can't thank Kris enough for allowing me to share this incredible experience!

Twas

 

The night of the Full Moon

And all through the House

Every Creature was Frozen

Including the Mouse

The Toothpaste was iced in the Bathroom (unfair).

And Soap in the Laundry won't pour anywhere.

Are these Rock Pigeons or Willow Ptarmigan?
Note the protective coloring...

***And now you tell me that d*mned overgrown lawn rat saw his shadow etc. etc.

As I told the boss...as of the 2nd day of February in Upstate NY, there will ALWAYS 6 more weeks of winter.

Or really more like 12 or 14.

And that blasted marmot won't show his furry face until the beans and peas are sprouting up in the garden and he can have him a nice salad with the best of my lettuce.

Winter. 

I'm over it.

Snow Song

Rising, the sun trickles pink and gold across the snow. So faint you wonder if you really see it and miss the green of sweeter seasons.

Deer tracks trace a trail across the palette, stencil in the night. I think it's one of the summer fawns. He was tiny when the winter came but Alan said he'd be all right, and so far I guess he is.

American Tree Sparrow

No bird song now. Weeks ago it ended, as the focus turned to living through the winter, with no love in sight. 

Or sound

In a few weeks it will begin again, old as time and sweet as summer. The hills will ring with joy and hearts will leap with warming sun.

But for today, two ponies shred the snow with flying hooves, sailing by a dozen times, racing, dancing, manes a-flying, silent but for snorting, muffled by the banks of white stuff.

But where is Jack? Diamond and Gambit are in the strength of middle age and full of vigor. Jack is in his 20s and over all that stuff.

They scoop him out of his sheltered corner and it's a race, two on one; snow flies in their wake.

I go out with the camera and sing to them.

Di stops to stare down at me and then they're off again.

Critics

They're everywhere.

Snow rollers on the side lawn