Here are some of my attempts at catching the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher through my scope. Seems that despite my best efforts, this guy was always able to hide behind at least a little bit of tree stuff. The last shot is my favorite, catching it mid-hover as it is going up to snag an insect off of the leaves. The hawk … Read More
Birding has been good
With spring migration in full swing now, and no nasty weather to stop it sightings have really picked up. I was lucky enough to go home to Pennsylvania for a day and was able to find 7 species of warbler close to Lake Ontelaunee, one of my favorite places to bird in my county. My highlight was getting very close … Read More
Warblers are a’coming!
Just to whet your appetite on what’s to come, here is my somewhat poor digishot of a Louisiana Waterthrush. I thought that putting everything in b&w except for the warbler itself would jazz it up a bit. I know that there have been recent controversies about doctoring photos but you have to remember that this is not photojournalism, its closer … Read More
Montclair Hawkwatch update
It appears that Broad-winged Hawks are finally starting to arrive. We had our first double-digit day yesterday and hopefully as this weather clears we will get an excellent flight. Here are the numbers so far for the season. Daily Raptor Counts: as of Apr 11, 2007 Species Day’s Count Month Total Season Total Black Vulture 0 1 15 Turkey Vulture … Read More
Mourningcloak
The Mourningcloak (Nymphalis antiopa) is a medium-sized (2-4 inchwingspan) butterfly which is easily identified by the yellow trailing edge to its wings. On the inner edge of the yellow border there are iridescent blue spots making it very striking and distinctive. It belongs to the family Nymphalidae which are known as the ‘brush-footed butterflies’. Their front legs are smaller and … Read More
Inquisitive Birds
Some days at the hawk watch the weather is less than ideal and the the hawks are not flying. These are the times when it is particularly fun to watch the other local birds behavior. Since I am stationary most of the day, the birds become used to my presence and settle down to enjoy the bird seed I put … Read More
Big Flight of the Kestrels
American Kestrel, photo by copeg. Today was the day of the American Kestrel. It started at 10 am and by the time I finished counting at 6 pm, 28 of these light weight, Microtus–killing machines had flown past. That was counting 10 in the last hour, and four birds in the last few minutes of that hour. This is a … Read More
Pre-snow hawk watch
The first day went smoothly, minus the various encounters with curious dogs and their unconcerned owners. You would think people would be embarrassed to have their dogs sniff thru perfect strangers bags but no, instead its our fault that we “don’t like the dogs.” Never mind that the dogs are supposed to be on a leash. Well, Tree Swallows are … Read More
The Watch is about to begin, what’s up with this weather
Tomorrow marks day one of the Montclair Spring Hawk Watch, weather permitting. After reaching about 75°F today the thunderclouds are rolling in and we might get a good storm tonight. Thats all good but what about this…snow on Friday? That could make things really interesting. Well, hopefully I will have some reports soon and some pictures to go along with … Read More
Montclair Hawkwatch
This weekend I will be moving to NJ Audubon’s Weis Ecology Center to start as the counter for the Montclair Hawkwatch. I suppose I will be giving updates on the flights and the progression of spring as I watch it come northward everyday for the next two months. I am excited about being outside for 2 straight months in the … Read More