BrandonBirds : 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.