The bird nerd that I am, I decided to join a New Jersey Audubon field trip on Halloween today. It was a cold and overcast morning as we walked along the fields and trails of Sandy Hook.
New Jersey Audubon does a great job of providing every birder (regardless of skill level) with an excellent, informative program. I highly recommend their guided walks for any beginner (like me). The community of birders, in my experience, has always been extremely welcoming and energized by a new person on their walks. I learned so much about identifying different types of sparrows, warblers and other song birds from everyone in our group.
Today, we saw a wide array of species. Dark-eyed Juncos and both Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were out in high numbers. The crowd favorite was a Winter Wren. Usually, Winter Wrens are heard but not seen because they hide in brush and at the base of trees. We were able to see one up-close along the wall of an abandoned building.
The Kinglets were my personal favorite. They are the second smallest type of bird (hummingbirds are the smallest) and were adorable hopping around in the fields and trees.
I do know all birders love making lists, so here’s one of all the birds I saw today:
- American Kestrel
- Black Phoebe
- Brown Creeper
- Canada Goose
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Loon
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- European Starling
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Gray Catbird
- Hermit Thrush
- Mallard
- Merlin
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Gannet
- Northern Harrier
- Northern Mockingbird
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Savannah Sparrow
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Song Sparrow
- White-crowned Sparrow
- White-throated Sparrow
- Winter Wren
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
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