Hatfield Marsh...Full of Sparrow Diversity!

Today I went on a free guided birding event by Bergen County Audubon.  Although I had a pet-related medical emergency and had to leave prematurely, the birds were out and doing just fine!  Led by David Hall, the roughly two hours I was there turned out to be well worth the trip. David has birded the area for 30 plus years and has an extensive knowledge of the region's bird life. Although the event was supposed to be at Lincoln Park Gravel Pits, the replacement trip to Hatfield Swamp did not disappoint.

Hatfield Swamp is located in the township of West Caldwell, NJ and offers an incredible variety of birds and habitat types.  The swamp is centrally located in part of a watershed system that includes both the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge (upstream) and the Great Piece Meadows (downstream).  A series of fairly large power lines cut through Hatfield Swamp and this has induced the growth of grasses and some other invasive species (some of which are water adapted i.e. phragmites).  Add a mulch processing lot in the middle of all of this and conditions are absolutely ripe for sparrow species.  Waterfowl are also abundant and seasonal commons include: Mallard, Black, Wood and Ring-necked ducks.

Highlights included a Blue-headed Vireo right off the first trail where we started.  Fox Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Field Sparrow, perching Cooper's Hawk, Pine Siskin and a close encounter with a Great Blue Heron were also great finds.  Who knows what else was seen after I left? There was still two hours left and some places David was excited about showing the group.

All pics were shot at 1600 ISO...

 The second bird our group saw was this Blue-headed Vireo.  I had forgotten to dial down my exposure from my last birding/photography outing so these were not the best.    

female and male House Finches

After being greeted by the vireo we ran into a group of Golden-crowned Kinglets.

Fox Sparrow through the twigs and branches. 

Pine Siskin

American Goldfinch

Great Blue Heron that took off near us from a small stream, which it then headed to pile of dirt.

Cooper's Hawk perched in a tree (1600 ISO).

Song Sparrow

Juvenile White-crowned Sparrows in the thorny brush.

Swamp Sparrows

Field Sparrow

Savannah Sparrows

A couple more Savannah Sparrows on the edge of the utility road.

One last look at a Savannah Sparrow.

Species List (from the first half of the trip, from memory), sparrows in bold:

1. Blue-headed Vireo

2. Dark-eyed Junco

3. Golden-crowned Kinglet

4. Ruby-crowned Kinglet

5. American Goldfinch

6. Pine Siskin

7. White-throated Sparrow

8. House Finch

9. Downy Woodpecker

10. Song Sparrow

11. Blue Jay

12. Northern Cardinal

13. Swamp Sparrow

14. White-breasted Nuthatch

15. Black-capped Chickadee

16. Great Blue Heron

17. American Crow

18. Fish Crow

19. Yellow-rumped Warbler

20. Eastern Palm Warbler

21. White-crowned Sparrow

22. Savannah Sparrow

23. Cooper's Hawk

24. Field Sparrow

25. Turkey Vulture

26. Fox Sparrow

27. Common Grackle

28. Brown Creeper

29. Tufted Titmouse

30. Mourning Dove

31. Rock Pigeon

32. Eastern Phoebe

33. Northern Flicker

34. Red-bellied Woodpecker

35 Red-tailed Hawk

36. Belted Kingfisher

37. Hermit Thrush

38. European Starling

39. Canada Goose

30. Ring-billed Gull

41. American Robin

41 species (leaving at the halfway point of the trip)

State Line Lookout Continues to Impress!

I was at State Line Lookout on Monday (10-22-12) along with several expert counters and a couple highly exceptional photographers.  An adult and a few juvenile Bald Eagles, Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk and Red-tailed Hawk were the raptors observed.  I apparently had just missed a Short-eared Owl that had flown by about a half hour earlier at eye level.  The resident Peregrines were also out shortly before I arrived and unfortunately never made another appearance.  A Golden Eagle was seen the day before flying down the Hudson.  This was the first recorded Golden Eagle at State Line this year!

Eastern Palm Warblers (above) and Yellow-rumped Warblers were feeding on insects the entire time I was there.  When the raptor action died down I just turned around and there they were along the cliff edges.

The resident Red-tailed Hawks always put on a show, however, it was thought that this one might have been a migrant that happened to be sticking around a bit.  His or her colors were distinct from the resident.

Common Ravens can be seen on a daily basis at State Line.  Once uncommon, this bird has made an incredible comeback in northern New Jersey in the post-DDT era.  They are still very uncommon in southern Jersey, aside from the Pine Barrens area.

Sharp-shinned Hawk aka "Sharpie"

Black Vulture

As my luck would have it I ran South along the cliff anticipating this juvenile Bald Eagle's movement.  Of course, he or she flew the OTHER way and circled closely to the cliff (which would have been a GREAT photo opportunity).  There were a couple top notch photographers who got some amazing shots.  Getting close to these guys still eludes me!