In search of a Harris's Sparrow at Sandy Hook on Saturday I did encounter a whole lot of birders, but only commoner sparrows (White-throated, Song, Dark-eyed Junco), an Indigo Bunting, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Hermit Thrushes, fly-over Horned Larks and a Northern Harrier. No Harris's seen by anyone all day and since there wasn't even a good hawk flight I departed after a few hours. The bay and Atlantic shore only held minimal numbers of diving ducks.
A sunset visit to Pole Farm (Lawrenceville) to check the prospect for owls revealed no Northern Harriers and no pre-dark Short-eared Owls which suggests that this location will be a bust in the 2011/2012 winter. A consolation prize was a Merlin perched at the parking lot, which somewhat agitated a local American Kestrel - at one point both were perched in the same tree looking at each other. I also heard a distant Belted Kingfisher.
Showing posts with label Pole Farm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pole Farm. Show all posts
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Pole Farm and Rosedale Park
Snow started early but slowly on Saturday (after about 2" on Friday that didn't melt) so I felt it was foolish to head further afield. Instead I checked the nearest birding spots: Pole Farm and Rosedale Park. I don't bird Rosedale Park much because it is more heavily used.
At Pole Farm it was me and a Mercer Co Park ranger. It was also low in bird diversity, and in fact there were two individuals: the ongoing American Kestrel, and a Northern Harrier male. I'd come to check for Harriers to see if the snow had pushed any more into Pole Farm, but that male was the only one I saw and it left Pole Farm and headed to neighboring farm fields. The Kestrel was perched over the usual sparrow spot, so nothing was active there.
So on to Rosedale Park where I had low expectations. Almost immediately I came across about 40 Horned Larks in a flock at the edge of the driveway, feeding on a partially cleared patch of earth. These are my first ones for Mercer Co. The lake itself had an open patch and a lot of Canada Geese were roosting here. There may well be a Cackling Goose in this group (seen feeding nearby on a CBC) but I couldn't see it. However as I was scoping a small flock of Northern Shoveler flew into the pond. These are also my first for Mercer Co. There was nothing else in the vicinity of the parking lot and I was apparently making the geese a little nervous, so I left.
Not a bad 45 minutes of birding wedged in before the snowfall got heavier.
At Pole Farm it was me and a Mercer Co Park ranger. It was also low in bird diversity, and in fact there were two individuals: the ongoing American Kestrel, and a Northern Harrier male. I'd come to check for Harriers to see if the snow had pushed any more into Pole Farm, but that male was the only one I saw and it left Pole Farm and headed to neighboring farm fields. The Kestrel was perched over the usual sparrow spot, so nothing was active there.
So on to Rosedale Park where I had low expectations. Almost immediately I came across about 40 Horned Larks in a flock at the edge of the driveway, feeding on a partially cleared patch of earth. These are my first ones for Mercer Co. The lake itself had an open patch and a lot of Canada Geese were roosting here. There may well be a Cackling Goose in this group (seen feeding nearby on a CBC) but I couldn't see it. However as I was scoping a small flock of Northern Shoveler flew into the pond. These are also my first for Mercer Co. There was nothing else in the vicinity of the parking lot and I was apparently making the geese a little nervous, so I left.
Not a bad 45 minutes of birding wedged in before the snowfall got heavier.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
A slow start to 2011
Otherwise busy on Jan 1st (upside: two Black Vultures while filling up with gas), I headed out to the northern NJ shore on Jan 2nd to kick start the year list.
I started out late because of intermittent rain and really dark conditions early. This put a crimp on the time I spent at Sandy Hook. Also a factor was the existing snow drifts at various places on the hook - coastal NJ had been hit hard by the storm of Dec 26th and it had by no means melted. Some of the roads still had significant snow plowed to one side of them, narrowing them from two lanes to one. En route to Sandy Hook there were no raptors or vultures in the air. I started off at D lot where I found Black Scoter, Common Loon, a few Horned Grebes, groups of gulls on the beach. But no shorebirds - I was expecting a Sanderling or two. One solitary Bonaparte's Gull was seen a little further out over the water. Just further north at the visitor center I added Yellow-rumped Warbler, House Finch and American Goldfinch.
Further up, just south of the bird observatory I took the boardwalk out to the bay side and heard a lot of Long-tailed Duck activity. I also saw Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Red-breasted Merganser and a mere two Common Goldeneye. Visibility was limited by heat haze (it was relatively mild) so the Goldeneye flock may have been more widely dispersed. Best bird for this site was a Belted Kingfisher which was noisily surveying the saltmarsh. American Black Duck and Brant were also in this area.
I stopped at B lot on my way out, and saw distant flocks of Sea Ducks but the haze was too much to ID them. Other species of scoter and Eider are perhaps likely candidates. If only they had been closer. The ducks that were close enough to ID were: more Black Scoters, and a mixed flock of Ruddy Duck and Greater Scaup. I almost convinced myself there were Lesser Scaup mixed in, but demurred since the viewing conditions were not great.
If I spent more time at Sandy Hook I might have added a few more species, judging by other reports, but I wanted to head south and check out a few ponds north of Point Pleasant - Lake Como, Sylvan Lake etc. I found these to be almost totally iced over with little or no open water, and the birds were mostly gulls. I added American Coot to the year list but otherwise that was largely a waste of time and I need to wait for the thaw.
Finally I decided to skip the Manasquan River inlet/Point Pleasant area since the interesting birds had departed, and instead I came back to a site near me - Pole Farm (aka Mercer County Park Northwest) where I saw Short-eared Owl before even getting the scope out of the car, and ultimately came across a total of three. What's interesting is the almost total absence of Northern Harrier from this site this year, and the SEO's must have been bored since they took to harassing a Red-tailed Hawk perched over in the far corner of the field. An American Kestrel was perched on the symbolic remaining pole in Pole Farm, and there was a flock of about a dozen Eastern Bluebirds to round out the day.
(Jan 3rd: added Turkey Vulture)
(Jan 4th: added Great Blue Heron)
I started out late because of intermittent rain and really dark conditions early. This put a crimp on the time I spent at Sandy Hook. Also a factor was the existing snow drifts at various places on the hook - coastal NJ had been hit hard by the storm of Dec 26th and it had by no means melted. Some of the roads still had significant snow plowed to one side of them, narrowing them from two lanes to one. En route to Sandy Hook there were no raptors or vultures in the air. I started off at D lot where I found Black Scoter, Common Loon, a few Horned Grebes, groups of gulls on the beach. But no shorebirds - I was expecting a Sanderling or two. One solitary Bonaparte's Gull was seen a little further out over the water. Just further north at the visitor center I added Yellow-rumped Warbler, House Finch and American Goldfinch.
Further up, just south of the bird observatory I took the boardwalk out to the bay side and heard a lot of Long-tailed Duck activity. I also saw Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Red-breasted Merganser and a mere two Common Goldeneye. Visibility was limited by heat haze (it was relatively mild) so the Goldeneye flock may have been more widely dispersed. Best bird for this site was a Belted Kingfisher which was noisily surveying the saltmarsh. American Black Duck and Brant were also in this area.
I stopped at B lot on my way out, and saw distant flocks of Sea Ducks but the haze was too much to ID them. Other species of scoter and Eider are perhaps likely candidates. If only they had been closer. The ducks that were close enough to ID were: more Black Scoters, and a mixed flock of Ruddy Duck and Greater Scaup. I almost convinced myself there were Lesser Scaup mixed in, but demurred since the viewing conditions were not great.
If I spent more time at Sandy Hook I might have added a few more species, judging by other reports, but I wanted to head south and check out a few ponds north of Point Pleasant - Lake Como, Sylvan Lake etc. I found these to be almost totally iced over with little or no open water, and the birds were mostly gulls. I added American Coot to the year list but otherwise that was largely a waste of time and I need to wait for the thaw.
Finally I decided to skip the Manasquan River inlet/Point Pleasant area since the interesting birds had departed, and instead I came back to a site near me - Pole Farm (aka Mercer County Park Northwest) where I saw Short-eared Owl before even getting the scope out of the car, and ultimately came across a total of three. What's interesting is the almost total absence of Northern Harrier from this site this year, and the SEO's must have been bored since they took to harassing a Red-tailed Hawk perched over in the far corner of the field. An American Kestrel was perched on the symbolic remaining pole in Pole Farm, and there was a flock of about a dozen Eastern Bluebirds to round out the day.
(Jan 3rd: added Turkey Vulture)
(Jan 4th: added Great Blue Heron)
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Pole Farm Sunday 11/14
Let's just say that I don't think it's going to be a big Short-eared Owl year based on the early winter going with a late afternoon visit to Pole Farm (Mercer Co. Park Northwest) in Lawrenceville:
American Kestrel: 1
Northern Harrier: 1
Short-eared Owl: 0
In recent years the number of Northern Harriers milling around have been a pretty good predictor of Short-eared Owl occupancy. Unlike the big year, I also haven't heard rodents milling around in the grass. Few rodents = few/no owls.
Other birds: Eastern Bluebirds, Hairy Woodpecker, large overhead flock of Grackles, some American Robin movement at sunset, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow. Really fairly quiet. Not even a Red-tailed Hawk perched along the fields, which might also correlate with the lack of mice.
American Kestrel: 1
Northern Harrier: 1
Short-eared Owl: 0
In recent years the number of Northern Harriers milling around have been a pretty good predictor of Short-eared Owl occupancy. Unlike the big year, I also haven't heard rodents milling around in the grass. Few rodents = few/no owls.
Other birds: Eastern Bluebirds, Hairy Woodpecker, large overhead flock of Grackles, some American Robin movement at sunset, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow. Really fairly quiet. Not even a Red-tailed Hawk perched along the fields, which might also correlate with the lack of mice.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Six Mile Run, Griggstown, Pole Farm: May 30th
Results for Six Mile Run (Franklin, NJ) were almost identical to the visit on the 26th:
http://nycbirding.blogspot.com/2010/05/six-mile-run-may-26th.html
The most cooperative bird was the same Willow Flycatcher, actively marking territory.
Dropping down to Griggstown the grass has grown up but there was somewhat of a dearth of singing heard from the parking lot. Orchard Oriole and Rose-breasted Grosbeak were fly-bys but I didn't linger there.
Instead I headed to Pole Farm to check for Bobolink, which were there in modest numbers (4-5 males, 1 female) along with Eastern Meadowlark and Willow Flycatcher. Despite the new kestrel box, I didn't see any raptors.
http://nycbirding.blogspot.com/2010/05/six-mile-run-may-26th.html
The most cooperative bird was the same Willow Flycatcher, actively marking territory.
Dropping down to Griggstown the grass has grown up but there was somewhat of a dearth of singing heard from the parking lot. Orchard Oriole and Rose-breasted Grosbeak were fly-bys but I didn't linger there.
Instead I headed to Pole Farm to check for Bobolink, which were there in modest numbers (4-5 males, 1 female) along with Eastern Meadowlark and Willow Flycatcher. Despite the new kestrel box, I didn't see any raptors.
Friday, March 19, 2010
The Month of Hope Denied - March 18th
AKA a little mid-March skim of three parks.
1. Griggstown. There's a new rail fence around the entrance drive and parking lot, to match the shorter stretch that did exist along the last section of the gravel entrance drive. The ground still shows the very harsh mowing it received last fall. Grand total: one Eastern Bluebird and one Red-tailed Hawk. This clearly isn't going to be interesting until late April after which the foliage might come back in. Or it might remain trashed for another year.
2. Rosedale Park. Despite having the same sort of signage as Pole Farm and being grouped under Mercer County Park NW this really is just a park. Nothing of interest there.
3. Pole Farm. Two singing Eastern Meadowlarks and two more seen in the air at a distance were the main signs of spring. Interesting lack of Red-winged Blackbirds at this stage. There's a new Kestrel nestbox on a tall pole out near the model aircraft field - but no Kestrel in sight. Song Sparrow was also singing and I saw what was probably a Field Sparrow (but the fleeting views didn't make it possible to be sure it wasn't a late American Tree Sparrow).
It will still take a little more time before spring kicks in full gear, although I have been seeing Killdeer on Princeton campus in the last week or two - most recently a pair near Icahn.
1. Griggstown. There's a new rail fence around the entrance drive and parking lot, to match the shorter stretch that did exist along the last section of the gravel entrance drive. The ground still shows the very harsh mowing it received last fall. Grand total: one Eastern Bluebird and one Red-tailed Hawk. This clearly isn't going to be interesting until late April after which the foliage might come back in. Or it might remain trashed for another year.
2. Rosedale Park. Despite having the same sort of signage as Pole Farm and being grouped under Mercer County Park NW this really is just a park. Nothing of interest there.
3. Pole Farm. Two singing Eastern Meadowlarks and two more seen in the air at a distance were the main signs of spring. Interesting lack of Red-winged Blackbirds at this stage. There's a new Kestrel nestbox on a tall pole out near the model aircraft field - but no Kestrel in sight. Song Sparrow was also singing and I saw what was probably a Field Sparrow (but the fleeting views didn't make it possible to be sure it wasn't a late American Tree Sparrow).
It will still take a little more time before spring kicks in full gear, although I have been seeing Killdeer on Princeton campus in the last week or two - most recently a pair near Icahn.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
New signage at Pole Farm
And by "new" I mean "sometime within the last couple of months" - because of a dearth of Short-eared Owls and even Northern Harriers at Pole Farm I've been going there infrequently despite the fact that it's by far my most local interesting birding area.
However on the tail end of the last big snow storm I made managed to get into the parking area off Federal City Road and found this sign on the old barn. It identifies the breeding and wintering grassland-dependent species there and tells the off-leash dog walker to reign them in. Given that Mercer County had not evidenced a clear direction for Pole Farm in the past, this is great news. I expect the dog walkers to largely ignore it, which is where cameras and video come in .......
The sign is also at the parking area at the other entrance to Pole Farm.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Pole Farm - 1/17
Just before the rain hit on Sunday I made a quick run to Pole Farm (Mercer County Park Northwest) to survey the activity and to look for sparrows. The success for the morning was American Tree Sparrow, fairly reliable here. Also present was Song Sparrow, Red-bellied Woodpecker and a single American Kestrel.
What was absent, however, was any trace of Northern Harrier and this is probably an indicator of a slow year at Pole Farm. The mowing patterns were a little different, which might displace them a little, and this might be either gratuitous or intelligent management of the grasslands. In any event in the year with many Harriers and multiple Short-eared Owls you could hear the rodents scurrying around in the grass. This year it appears to be deathly quiet.
What was absent, however, was any trace of Northern Harrier and this is probably an indicator of a slow year at Pole Farm. The mowing patterns were a little different, which might displace them a little, and this might be either gratuitous or intelligent management of the grasslands. In any event in the year with many Harriers and multiple Short-eared Owls you could hear the rodents scurrying around in the grass. This year it appears to be deathly quiet.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Raptors, raptors everywhere
Saturday was a bad day for prey in Lawrenceville. Despite the overcast I did a last minute wander to Pole Farm. At 4:30pm a Peregrine with prey flew up to the top of a pole along Federal City Rd near the small shopping center. At Pole Farm the Short-eared Owls were already up in the air at 4:30 with dark overcast conditions with little wind. At least four Northern Harriers were around, one or two Red-tailed Hawks) and finally on exiting Pole Farm I saw a Merlin perched in a tree near the entrance.
(I also saw Red-shouldered Hawk there earlier in the week).
(I also saw Red-shouldered Hawk there earlier in the week).
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Florence and Pole Farm: Jan 20th, 21st
While waiting for FedEx Ground to screw up a delivery I birded Florence (NJ) and the Mercer County Park NorthWest (i.e. Pole Farm).
At Florence I arrived to find a lot of ice on the Delaware River at the boat ramp park. This stretch of river heads east-west and of course such is the curse of Florence that the river view overlooks the large Tullytown landfill on the Pennsylvania side. The upside, of course, is that landfills attract a ton of gulls and many of these loaf on the river.
The moment I arrived at the boat ramp park a Great Cormorant flew by and helpfully circled back around to help me clinch the ID - it was starting to molt into breeding plumage so the white flank patch was partially formed. There were quite a few Common Mergansers on the river - probably frozen out further north and from interior lakes. But the main deal is the gulls, many thousands of them, most of them Herring and Ring-billed: there were relatively few Lesser Black-backed Gulls, perhaps less than 10 seen on the entire trip, but I found a pale immature Iceland Gull on the second pass through the flock, and then a second one that kept flying around that was a little darker - towards pale coffee color. After scanning the flock multiple times I went west (i.e. downstream) a few blocks to River's Edge Park where there were very few gulls but luck produced a fly-over third Iceland Gull.
Back at the boat ramp the gull flock had taken flight and moved upstream, so I went to neighboring Roebling and at the park along Riverside Ave I scoped through the chain link fence at the more distant gull flock, (re-)finding two Iceland Gulls and Lesser Black-backed but no Glaucous. I hadn't birded Roebling before but in line with the whole Florence experience the park there overlooked an EPA Super Fund site along the river and seemed to be next to an abandoned manufacturing center. The dilettante nature of birding seems somewhat at odds with the gritty nature of these two towns.
Back at Pole Farm in Lawrenceville a mid afternoon visit yielded the usual suspects: Northern Harrier (2 females, at least one of which was immature), Red-tailed Hawk, a female American Kestrel, American Tree Sparrow and a Short-eared Owl that put in an appearance at a relatively early 3:30pm. Around that time two Eastern Meadowlarks zoomed overhead. Lets hope all these species can hang on for the snow thawing toward the end of the week.
The following morning at Pole Farm I pulled up to find a hovering Red-tailed Hawk, then panned to what I thought was another one before realizing that it was a pale morph Rough-legged Hawk. Possibly the same one that has been in the area for several weeks. I watched this bird for a while as it hunted the field, catching at least one rodent, before it circled high into the air and headed north. I suspect these Rough-legged Hawks cover quite a lot of territory in one day, whereas the Harriers (1 male, 1 female on this visit) seem to cover more limited ground.
(Thursday 22nd: both pale morph and dark morph Rough-legged Hawks were at Pole Farm, with the dark morph showing some aggression toward the light morph. Also there was the female American Kestrel, a single Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Dark-eyed Junco and American Tree Sparrow. The Kestrel showed signs of food caching, something I hadn't observed before.)
(Friday 23rd: one apparent male pale morph Rough-legged seen well at Pole Farm, with what appeared to be a second adult female pale morph seen just before I left - it appeared different with a solid black breast band but was only seen at a distance)
At Florence I arrived to find a lot of ice on the Delaware River at the boat ramp park. This stretch of river heads east-west and of course such is the curse of Florence that the river view overlooks the large Tullytown landfill on the Pennsylvania side. The upside, of course, is that landfills attract a ton of gulls and many of these loaf on the river.
The moment I arrived at the boat ramp park a Great Cormorant flew by and helpfully circled back around to help me clinch the ID - it was starting to molt into breeding plumage so the white flank patch was partially formed. There were quite a few Common Mergansers on the river - probably frozen out further north and from interior lakes. But the main deal is the gulls, many thousands of them, most of them Herring and Ring-billed: there were relatively few Lesser Black-backed Gulls, perhaps less than 10 seen on the entire trip, but I found a pale immature Iceland Gull on the second pass through the flock, and then a second one that kept flying around that was a little darker - towards pale coffee color. After scanning the flock multiple times I went west (i.e. downstream) a few blocks to River's Edge Park where there were very few gulls but luck produced a fly-over third Iceland Gull.
Back at the boat ramp the gull flock had taken flight and moved upstream, so I went to neighboring Roebling and at the park along Riverside Ave I scoped through the chain link fence at the more distant gull flock, (re-)finding two Iceland Gulls and Lesser Black-backed but no Glaucous. I hadn't birded Roebling before but in line with the whole Florence experience the park there overlooked an EPA Super Fund site along the river and seemed to be next to an abandoned manufacturing center. The dilettante nature of birding seems somewhat at odds with the gritty nature of these two towns.
Back at Pole Farm in Lawrenceville a mid afternoon visit yielded the usual suspects: Northern Harrier (2 females, at least one of which was immature), Red-tailed Hawk, a female American Kestrel, American Tree Sparrow and a Short-eared Owl that put in an appearance at a relatively early 3:30pm. Around that time two Eastern Meadowlarks zoomed overhead. Lets hope all these species can hang on for the snow thawing toward the end of the week.
The following morning at Pole Farm I pulled up to find a hovering Red-tailed Hawk, then panned to what I thought was another one before realizing that it was a pale morph Rough-legged Hawk. Possibly the same one that has been in the area for several weeks. I watched this bird for a while as it hunted the field, catching at least one rodent, before it circled high into the air and headed north. I suspect these Rough-legged Hawks cover quite a lot of territory in one day, whereas the Harriers (1 male, 1 female on this visit) seem to cover more limited ground.
(Thursday 22nd: both pale morph and dark morph Rough-legged Hawks were at Pole Farm, with the dark morph showing some aggression toward the light morph. Also there was the female American Kestrel, a single Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Dark-eyed Junco and American Tree Sparrow. The Kestrel showed signs of food caching, something I hadn't observed before.)
(Friday 23rd: one apparent male pale morph Rough-legged seen well at Pole Farm, with what appeared to be a second adult female pale morph seen just before I left - it appeared different with a solid black breast band but was only seen at a distance)
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Jan 2nd - Mercer County Parks
To start the year out, I decided to head to Florence NJ to view the gulls in the river that accumulate there when the dump was in operation. Of course, on Friday the dump wasn't operating at all and there were very few birds to be seen, only the three species of gulls, and in the light snow not a great deal else.
While contemplating this debacle I decided to visit Mercer County Park in Lawrenceville/Hamilton to see if I could at least find a Common Merganser. I did, almost immediately, and there were a few small flocks flying around. Most of the lake was frozen but at the marina a decent size Canada Goose flock had accumulated. In the midst of it I found a Cackling Goose - classical in petite structure with a paler and pale-fringed mantle. Then while looking for more of them I came across a Greater White-fronted Goose in the same flock. After I returned with my scope I couldn't find the GWF but finally tracked it down after the flock decided to leave the lake and feed on the ball fields behind the ranger station near the marina. Two nice geese and not a bad consolation for Florence.
Near home I decided to check out the other version: Mercer County Park North West i.e. Pole Farm. The snow had stopped and the weather was starting to clear as I made it to the park. Almost immediately I saw a pale phase Rough-legged Hawk - rather unexpected - and then a few Northern Harriers (including two males) and an American Kestrel. A rather nice mix of raptors, padded by one of the local Red-tailed Hawks. After sprinting home to get the camera to see if I could get photos of the Rough-legged I returned just to watch the pale phase decided it had had enough action for one day and perch on the far side of the field. The icing on the cake was a dark phase Rough-legged that flew over the park toward dusk, ultimately ending up roosting on the far side of the other field I was monitoring.
I waited around until dusk and after the sun went down the final bird of the day was a single Short-eared Owl. Not as prolific as last year in terms of owls, Pole Farm still has some nice birds hunting the grassland this winter.
Interesting invasion patterns related to food supplies in northern wintering areas: last year was a Short-eared Owl invasion year, at least at Pole Farm but also in general; this year the numbers are low but in turn Snowy Owls and Rough-legged Hawks are having some of the best invasion numbers in years. I'm always conflicted about this - I love these birds but invasion years always correspond to years in which food supplies crash and the birds are starving. Many will not make it to return to breeding grounds.
While contemplating this debacle I decided to visit Mercer County Park in Lawrenceville/Hamilton to see if I could at least find a Common Merganser. I did, almost immediately, and there were a few small flocks flying around. Most of the lake was frozen but at the marina a decent size Canada Goose flock had accumulated. In the midst of it I found a Cackling Goose - classical in petite structure with a paler and pale-fringed mantle. Then while looking for more of them I came across a Greater White-fronted Goose in the same flock. After I returned with my scope I couldn't find the GWF but finally tracked it down after the flock decided to leave the lake and feed on the ball fields behind the ranger station near the marina. Two nice geese and not a bad consolation for Florence.
Near home I decided to check out the other version: Mercer County Park North West i.e. Pole Farm. The snow had stopped and the weather was starting to clear as I made it to the park. Almost immediately I saw a pale phase Rough-legged Hawk - rather unexpected - and then a few Northern Harriers (including two males) and an American Kestrel. A rather nice mix of raptors, padded by one of the local Red-tailed Hawks. After sprinting home to get the camera to see if I could get photos of the Rough-legged I returned just to watch the pale phase decided it had had enough action for one day and perch on the far side of the field. The icing on the cake was a dark phase Rough-legged that flew over the park toward dusk, ultimately ending up roosting on the far side of the other field I was monitoring.
I waited around until dusk and after the sun went down the final bird of the day was a single Short-eared Owl. Not as prolific as last year in terms of owls, Pole Farm still has some nice birds hunting the grassland this winter.
Interesting invasion patterns related to food supplies in northern wintering areas: last year was a Short-eared Owl invasion year, at least at Pole Farm but also in general; this year the numbers are low but in turn Snowy Owls and Rough-legged Hawks are having some of the best invasion numbers in years. I'm always conflicted about this - I love these birds but invasion years always correspond to years in which food supplies crash and the birds are starving. Many will not make it to return to breeding grounds.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Griggstown Preserve, October 25th and 26th
I birded Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve in Franklin Twp on the mornings of Sat and Sun the 25th and 26th. On the Saturday the weather was gray and foreboding the rain storm to come, and bird activity was fairly quiet with only a few sparrows. There were a few good hawks, however: two Sharp-shinned, Cooper's, Red-tailed and an American Kestrel.
In contrast, after the passage of the storm, the following morning was much birdier with cooperative Savannah Sparrows everywhere and the usual suspects: Swamp, Savannah, Song, White-crowned, White-throated, Field Sparrows. There was also a late Blackpoll Warbler along with Yellow-rumped, Palm Warblers and Common Yellowthroat.
Bird activity at Pole Farm (Mercer Co Park NorthWest) was much lower, with Field and Song Sparrows, a fleeting Eastern Meadowlark, and the best bird being a fly-over immature Bald Eagle. Two Northern Harriers were hunting the fields.
The aggregate birding list for Griggstown was:
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Hairy Woodpecker
Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Palm Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
In contrast, after the passage of the storm, the following morning was much birdier with cooperative Savannah Sparrows everywhere and the usual suspects: Swamp, Savannah, Song, White-crowned, White-throated, Field Sparrows. There was also a late Blackpoll Warbler along with Yellow-rumped, Palm Warblers and Common Yellowthroat.
Bird activity at Pole Farm (Mercer Co Park NorthWest) was much lower, with Field and Song Sparrows, a fleeting Eastern Meadowlark, and the best bird being a fly-over immature Bald Eagle. Two Northern Harriers were hunting the fields.
The aggregate birding list for Griggstown was:
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Hairy Woodpecker
Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Palm Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
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