Birds and Other Nature Sightings

     Late Saturday afternoon I saw reports of a Harris’s sparrow in nearby southeastern Monmouth County.  It was too late to go look for it so I reconciled with myself that if it hung around into Sunday then maybe I would go for it.  The vagrant bird was spotted again Sunday morning, so after catching up on some other things I decided to take the ride.   This bird didn’t exactly meet my personal criteria for chasing a rarity.   Normally, a target bird would have to be a potential life bird and one that I may not have another opportunity to ever see.  Harris’s sparrows only breed in Canada and winter in the central United States.  I have seen one Harris’s sparrow before, in February 2023, the last time one showed up in New Jersey.  I had distant and brief looks at that one.  That bird was about 30 miles away in Mercer County.  The current one was about half the distance.  For that reason, I decided to try for better looks ...

     For the first time this year I took a vehicle ride along the beach at Island Beach State Park.  Off road vehicle access has been closed much of the year so far due to the winter storms battering the beach.  It finally reopened yesterday and since it was cold and windy yet again, I opted for the warmth and comfort of driving rather than walking.  There wouldn’t have been much to mention about today’s jaunt except for a couple of little birds I noticed scurrying across the sand.  It was the fact that they were using their legs more than their wings that first caught my attention.  They weren’t sanderlings because they were too small.  When one stopped and turned around, I knew I had my first-of-the-year piping plovers .   When I was young, the saying was that a robin was the first sign of spring.  Then I realized that robins are around all year.  Maybe different populations of American robins come and go throughout the year...