Birds and Other Nature Sightings

 This past Monday I posted about my day at Island Beach State Park and one of my observations was an American oystercatcher sporting a leg band.  I reported the encounter to the Bird Banding Laboratory at the U. S. Geological Survey.  I received an email certificate providing me with interesting information about this individual bird.  He (I should say it since the bird’s sex was not identified) is at least 13 years old; its hatch date came back as 2009 or earlier.  It was banded locally in Ocean County in May of 2011. American oyster catcher with a black-on-gold colored leg band.   © S. Weiss Online certificate for American oystercatcher with leg band, KU. I personally find this information interesting, and I think that the bander does too.  Whenever possible I try to get a photograph of a bird and its band when I see one and report the encounter online.   During late summer and early fall I commonly find banded oystercatchers and roya...

 Today I drove down to the end of Island Beach State Park in the morning just to see if anything interesting had turned up ahead of the predicted thunderstorms.  It turned out to be rather uneventful.  There were the usual and expected sea birds around, but little else bird-wise.  Most of the shorebirds have not yet returned from their northern breeding grounds.  But a walk towards the back of the inlet provided me with some sightings to share. Besides the seaside pea and poison ivy that line the beaten path heading towards the end of the jetty, some colorful plants were noticeable.  Rugosa roses and virgin creepers were sporting red colors.  Hoary mugwort, now past its flowering stage, was lush in its minty blue hue. Rugosa rose, or beach rose, is an introduced species from Asia.    © S. Weiss   Left, a virgin creeper (genus name), most likely Virginia creeper.  Right, hoary mugwort, a naturalized coastal plant.     ...