Bombay Hook, June 12, 2024
Our Pathways trip to the Delaware refuge enjoyed perfect weather and interesting birds.
Our Pathways trip to the Delaware refuge enjoyed perfect weather and interesting birds.
We enjoyed a very pretty walk through historic Batsto village to the lake, which was mirror-calm. Later, we looked for a Red-headed Woodpecker along a sand road near Chatsworth, but instead found the Pine Barrens endemic plant “Pyxie” in full bloom.
The rain date of Sept. 27 was a lucky, sunny, 65-degree day in between two days of clouds due to Tropical Storm Ophelia. Despite a shortage of migrants, there were some surprises.
A mild spring day with high clouds made for good birding at Assunpink. We made a side trip to Roosevelt, a town with a fascinating history.
For the second year in a row we visited Bombay Hook in November, for a transitional season look at departing shorebirds and arriving waterfowl.
The PPA’s Rancocas Creek Farm was our second short trip of the year, and we combined it with a visit to the Eagles’ Walk Green Acres trail in Vincentown. The weather was delightful with starting temperatures in the mid 60’s into the mid 70’s at Eagles’ Walk Green Acres.
The ML Birders took our first short trip of the year to Boundary Creek Park on a mostly overcast day with temperatures in the low 60’s. The bird of the day based on numbers was the Gray Catbird. We observed a total of 30 species for the morning.
Combined notes from two trips, April 8 and April 27 2022. April 8 was a fine early spring day, while April 27 was very windy, with less bird activity.
It was a top ten weather day in a beautiful setting but only a fair day for the number and variety of birds seen and heard.
A bright, breezy, cool and sunny day greeted ten ML Birders at Brightview Farm. We managed to see and/or hear 25 species with excellent views of a Bobolink and a confusing sparrow perched and singing on a pasture fence.
The rain ceased, the sun appeared and six ML birders spent a pleasant morning birding at Boundary Creek Park. We saw and/or heard 36 species that included some good views of a Warbling Vireo singing on a branch.
For most people our outing to Bombay Hook NWR would be just a gray and dreary day but for 15 Medford Leas Birders and guests it was “paradise.” There was a dearth of bugs in the wooded areas, it did not rain and we had an abundance of birds.
It was a damp, cool (low 50’s) and gray day but three ML Birders did manage to walk the ML Trails and saw and/or heard 29 species.
On a picture perfect Spring day five ML Birders and one guest visited Mercer County Parks Abbott Marshlands (formerly Trenton-Hamilton Marsh) just east of Trenton, NJ.
The day had an early nip in the air but warmed to bright and sunny very quickly. ML Birders walked the trails of Lumberton Leas and the central meadow and saw and heard a total of 33 species in the wetlands and uplands areas.
Fourteen ML Birders and two guests visited the open farmlands, tidal marshes and Delaware Bayshore of Salem County on a warm, partly sunny and very blustery day.
We had a fine warm day with light clouds and a bit of wind; the showers in the forecast failed to materialize. Spring was in the air and Speedwell was in bloom. Eagles and Sandhill Cranes made appearances, and we were happy.
The ML Birders headed for the shore to look for winter waterfowl. Conditions conspired to offer fantastic concentrations of the beautiful Long-tailed Ducks in Barnegat Inlet, with hundreds of birds splashing, courting and calling.
The Medford Leas Birders scouted a route along the entire Burlington County side of the Delaware River, from Bordentown to Palmyra and a bit beyond. We didn’t have many ducks, but visited some interesting places.
It was a beautiful day to enjoy the last colors of Fall and the first waterfowl of Winter. Even on Nov. 10 we didn’t need heavy coats or gloves. The Bombay Hook refuge on the Delaware side of the bay is always a pleasing birding destination.
The ML Birders gathered on an overcast, calm day for a trip to Brigantine to see what we could see. In between summer and winter, the refuge can seem quiet, but we managed to find a good number of birds.
We welcomed new members as we resumed our field trip schedule after the pandemic pause. The weather was partly cloudy and hazy with an east wind, far from ideal for landbird migration, but you can’t choose the weather when you schedule a field trip.
The Medford Leas Birders hoped for a cloudy day for their August trip to Brigantine; the weather wasn’t cooperative, and the green-headed flies were biting, but the birds did not disappoint.
Several ML Birders from the Lumberton Campus put in a full day of birding, beginning at the Visitor’s Center for Ocean City, NJ. A heron rookery is situated behind the Center and birders have an excellent vantage point for viewing.