Birds and Other Nature Sightings

     Yesterday I took another long walk of the southern end of Island Beach State Park.  Again I was hoping that the lack of bird species would finally change, and, yet again, nothing changed until I reached the inlet at the terminus of the beach.  For nearly the entire mile-and-a-half or so walk the beach was barren, and just a spattering of the usual waterfowl- long-tailed ducks and surf , black and white-winged scoters out on the ocean.  But as I got close to the jetty I did notice something that looked different, something I have not seen in a while. Glaucous gull, center, with American herring gulls.   © S. Weiss Standing on the rocks was what I considered a very clean gull.  With my binoculars I saw a herring-like gull with a pale gray mantle and wings, and a clean white head and tail.  I was looking at my second white-winged gull in a week here.  Last Wednesday a first winter Iceland gull sitting on the water in the inlet im...

     Earlier in this still somewhat new year, I was seeing alcids, mostly razorbills , from the beach and inlets.  I even had a few dovekie sightings, including nice views of one at Manasquan inlet.  But pretty much since the beginning of February I have not seen any alcids.  The only thing more disappointing than a winter beach day without seeing an alcid is a day seeing a dead one.   Yesterday was such that case.  On a short afternoon walk at Island Beach State Park, I noticed an obviously deceased sea bird near the dune line.  As I approached, it became apparent that it was an alcid.  When I came upon it and saw its head, I knew it was a murre.  The noticeable creamy colored gape line on its bill and the lack of dark streaks on its flanks had me saying to myself that it was a thick-billed murre (TBMU).  Of course I took some photographs which I sent to some friends.  Within minutes they all responded back, unanim...

     The miserable winter weather here in New Jersey has not given me much opportunity to get out and about to explore.  The sub-freezing temperatures and gusty winds have seemed to be the norm for a while now.  The foot or so of snow that blanketed the area back in January had quickly frozen over and only recently began to slowly fade.  Any trails that I might walk have been inaccessible; either plowed in or too treacherous to walk on without specialized footwear.  There has been very little, if any, open water around either for the birds to drink or the waterfowl to gather.  The Barnegat Bay has frozen over from the barrier island to the mainland.  Even our ocean beaches are partially eroded and with ice chunks strewn about the sand.  The erosion bad enough to force Island Beach State Park authorities to close its beach to sport fishing vehicles. The past couple days, finally, saw the feels like temperatures climb above freezing. ...

     On Tuesday I took a ride down to Cape May with a friend who wanted to see the Townsend’s solitaire that appeared at the state’s southern most community a few days earlier.  I have seen this western species as recently as October when I was in Arizona, where they should be.  I have seen one in New Jersey in my home county of Ocean back in 2019.  My friend wanted to see one for New Jersey so when she ask if I wanted to take a ride I agreed.  The solitaire is always a neat bird to see outside of its normal range, plus you never know what rare bird will show itself in Cape May at any given time. On the way to Cape May, before leaving the confines of Ocean County, we made a brief detour stop at a park in Manahawkin.  My friend Larry had recorded 17 greater white-fronted geese there on Sunday.  The birds had dispersed before anyone else could find them but reappeared at some time yesterday.  When we arrived there at about 8:30, all 17 w...

     On Sunday I headed down to Long Beach Island at the southern end of the county to help a friend who was doing the beach portion of the annual Holgate Christmas Bird Count. I normally don’t participate in CBC’s only because I like to bird on my time, at my pace and where I want.  My friend had asked me a couple of times, so I didn’t want to diss him.  He already had enough people to help him which allowed me to meet up with them well after they started.  The ocean was very flat, and it didn’t take me long to realize that there was not going to be very much to find on this walk.  That was also about the time that Rule #3 came into play. Rule #3, actually Law #3, comes from Zirlin’s Laws of Birding.  You won’t find these laws published anywhere as they come from the mind of my friend, Larry.  They are his own personal axioms, that over time have proven their salt with me.  Law #3 states, “ Wherever you are, you should be somewhere els...

     Another year, as they all seem to lately, went by quick.  Winter is officially not even a month old, and I am already fed up with the cold and wind outside.  With warmer weather months (or a plane flight, or daydream), away, there are no planned excursions yet on my horizon.  To make use of the down time, I thought I might as well reflect back on what I saw and shared in 2025.  I did manage a few trips this year outside of New Jersey (252).  With family, I made several trips to Rhode Island (64); two to Florida (101); and one trip each to California (92), Arizona (63) and Massachusetts (20).  Of course, driving to Rhode Island also took me through New York (9) and Connecticut (1), but those were not destinations.  I also found my way in Maryland (4) waters on one of my pelagic trips.  On the birding front, I racked up 334 species.  The parenthesized numbers represent the number of species I saw in that state for 2025. New ...