Haris Neck NWR, Georgia

 
 As we near the end of out journey south, we pass through the state of Georgia and revisit one of our favorite National Wildlife Refuges, Harris Neck. In addition to several miles of hiking trails, the refuge has a 4 ½ mile wildlife drive which affords birders and photographers a mobile blind from which to observe and capture images of some of the southland's most spectacular birds. We are heading into the breeding season for many of these birds. and in preparation, the plumages are transforming from the dull drab browns and grays the birds use to help in camouflaging themselves in winter into the brilliant colors employed to attract a mate. The ducks (like the Green-winged teal seen above), the waders, the warblers are all undergoing this remarkable transformation. As we saw last week, back in the north country, some birds like the Long-tailed duck undergo such a huge alteration that one would be hard-pressed to identify the two morphs as the same species. Feathers change, leg color changes, the color of the lores becomes so bright you’d swear someone had thrown a switch, and the birds begin to crank up their vocal repertoire…..all to make themselves more attractive. And so it is here at Harris Neck where we are hearing more song than we’ve have heard in the past 10 months, and the finest songsters, the warblers, have yet to arrive!
     Our most remarkable spotting of the day, however, is the mass of Black-crowned Night-Herons which have gathered in the trees near the first impoundment. (See image below) Sharon counted more than 40 of these handsome birds visable at one time perched in the same three trees.  We hope that this is only a precursor of what is to come at this most productive time of the year in a wonderful locale for birds and birding.

Santee NWR

On the way down to the Sunshine state, we’ve stopped along the way to bird one of the best reserves in South Carolina…..Santee National Wildlife Refuge. We’re greeted by a half dozen of the state bird of New York, the Eastern bluebird. In various molts, they range from washed out blue over a barely buffy chest to deep azure over a rich rusty mantle. Pine warblers flit in and out of the trees grazing on the ground for grubs and whatever insects happen to be available. Inside the VC, we talk to two of the staff members who advise us that the best birding recently has been the Wright’s Bluff Nature Trail and then over to the Cuddo unit several miles away.


Along the 1 mile loop of the nature trail, there is a lot of avian activity with the highlights being the calling of the Red-shouldered hawk which flies overhead and the three hen wood ducks which I inadvertently flush from the swampy cypress woodlands I am crossing over by boardwalk. Later, we drive around the 7 mile loop at Cuddo. It’s eerily quiet as we begin the circuit, but eventually we come upon an overlook where we have our first American coot and American widgeons of the year. A handsome male cardinal follows the path of our vehicle while a number of yellow-rumps escort us down the dirt thoroughfare. We decide to pull off at a canoe put-in site for lunch and immediately find a Brown-headed nuthatch nearby tapping resonantly on a dead cedar. Yellow-rumps are fly-catching over the shallow inlet and are soon chased off by a fine Belted kingfisher. Beyond these birds is a lone pied-billed grebe cruising back and forth on the shallow waters puntucated by stumps which look as if they were randomly scattered over the surface of the inlet.

It’s time for us to continue south, but not before a magnificient mature Bald eagle passes overhead as if to bid us a fond farewell. Next stop, Harris Neck NWR in Georgia.

Day 2 in New Jersey

The back side of our 2 day trip to NJ is spent at Brigantine NWR just below Smithville, NJ.  The water is higher than any of us have ever seen it in the reserve, but that's OK.  At this time of year,  we don't expect to find a great number of waders and shore birds.  We're looking for wintering waterfowl.  Hence, the more water, the happier they are and the more contented we become.  Adding to our year list of ducks, we find Pin-tails, Hooded mergs and Buffleheads among the target birds...the beautiful and bountiful Snow geese.  Literally thousands of these spectacular birds dot the marshlands.  Among the white, we spot an occasional "blue morph".  Try as we might, no Ross's could be find, however.  The real find of the day was towards the end of the loop where we came upon a group of 9 Trumpeter swans.  We really worked hard at identifying these and making sure we didn't have something more common like an immature mute or a tundra.  But these birds had deep black bills and out of the entire group, we could find NO yellow on any of the lores.  The black of the bill blended right into the eye and the heads seemed to be more angular than those of the tundra.  And so, we made the commitment to Trumpeter.  Later, we stopped by the Manahawkin Wildlife Management Area and in spite of being skunked as far as our target Short-eared owls were concerned, had a fine time observing a group of two female and one male harrier work the late day waning sun. We have to head back to NY tomorrow and will begin our annual Waterfowl count along the Hudson for DEC.  The weather is promising to make it a pleasant excursion once again. 

Winter assemblage - Long Beach Island

We arrived in Long Beach Island yesterday afternoon to a driving rain and windy conditions. That weather persisted through much of the night, but today has begun on a much "brighter" note.....skies are clear and the sun has warmed the air to a balmy 50 degrees. Add to that the fact that the winds are basically non-existant, and you have the prefect prescription for a promising day of birding. We've travelled here in search of winter specialties which are known to frequent the area around the Barnegat Lighthouse. We're hoping for the brilliantly colored Harlequin and the usually ellusive Purple sandpiper. We decided to walk the beach down to the jetty where we expect to find most of our targets and so drive down to the end of 9th Street in Harvey Cedars. We were greeted by a pounding surf and rafts of Long-tailed ducks, all three scoters, and Buffleheads all swimming just beyond the breakers. Moving along to the jetty, we quickly find the Harlequins swimming within the relative calm waters behind the rocks. They are joined by a compliment of Long-tails, Common loons in winter plumage, several Surf scoters in close, and a lone Red-breasted mergansers. The combination of yesterday's rains, the new moon, and high tide have segregated us from the jetty, and so we hike along the beach in close and parallel to the parappet. Still, we can see well enough over the jetty to get good looks and nice photos of the birds. As we approach the lighthouse, we finally can cross over onto the rocks and walk back out towards the sea. The new vantage point allows us to get closer for better photo-ops and we are quick to join other birders and photographers who are already out on the jetty. Eventually, we head back towards the mainland and find a nice pair of Brant feeding in a shallow tidal pool. The final sighting of the morning is a fine in-close view of a pair of Long-tailed ducks in their winter coats swimming by the docks. We've been blessed with a wonderful day of great weather and exceptional views of birds not all that common. This is truly one of the meccas on the east coast for viewing winter specialties!

Hudson Valley Winters

Each year as the seasons progress and winter gains a firm hold on the Hudson Valley, a new cast of characters appears on and along the Hudson River. With the onset of the cold nights and chilly days, ice begins to appear and depending upon the year may come close to choking the rivers pathways for commercial vessels. This year has seen an early appearance of masses of ice and with it the coincidental influx of Bald eagles. Sharon and I led our annual EagleWatch for our community group VISION this past Saturday and the conditions could not have been better. Not only was the river full of nice ice flows for the eagles to raft upon, but the weather was unseasonably warm and the skies absolutely free of clouds. The day totalled an impressive 56 eagles between Bear Mountain and Croton Reservoir. The day's viewing was augmented by a nice variety of winter ducks (over 300 Canvasbacks at Georges Island) and an extended session of posing by a local Red-tail at Croton Point Park. We'll head down to New Jersey tomorrow for a shot at Harlequin ducks along the jetty at Long Beach Island's Barnegat Lighthouse. We'll eventually head for Florida in the next couple of weeks, but this is exactly why we spend the first part of winter here in the northeast.....beautiful avian visitors from the north.