Day 6: January 6th - A Fine Consolation

Partly cloudy, 46 degrees, Calm

     Much of the birding we do is dependent upon reports we receive via the Internet.  “E-bird” has become the life-line for many a birder, especially those of us who like to “chase” rare birds.  E-bird and the New York list-serve have been posting reports of an extremely rare find in New Jersey…..a Common chaffinch.  This colorful finch is quite common indeed in Europe and western Asia, but to find one in the States is definitely unique.  The bird has been visiting a back yard feeding station in Union, New Jersey since December 20^th, and for whatever reason, I’ve been putting off the 2 hour trip….until today.  If it has been in Jersey since before Christmas, surely it will be an easy North American lifer for both Sharon and me.  So off we go.

Carolina wren

     When we arrived at our destination, the handwriting was on the wall.  The street curbs looked like the worst mall parking lot on “Black Friday”, a real nightmare.  When we finally parked and walked up to the house where the owners were kind enough to allow birders to come and visit, there were 62 birders, not counting Sharon and me, jostling for position to see the expected Chaffinch.  Whether it was the crowd, the unnecessary conversation, or simply that the bird had finally moved on, we were not going to see this bird today.  We gave it our best, waiting patiently for 2 ½ hours for the bird to materialize, but to no avail.   I did manage to pick up a couple of nice “year birds” in the form of a Ruby-crowned kinglet and a Carolina wren.  But those certainly don’t equal a bird visiting from Eurasia!  This story does have a happy ending, however.

     I began by saying that we birders rely greatly on networking in our quest for new birds.   In my house, I am “king” of computer networking.  My wife, Sharon, however is definitely the “queen” of social networking, and she will always “work the crowd” to find out whatever info is to be had regarding other neat sightings in the immediate area.  Today, she struck up a conversation with a well know photographer who gave us the lowdown on another great find, the Snowy owl.  We plugged in the appropriate coordinates into the GPS and off we went.  When we arrived at our destination, it was only a ¼ mile hike back into the base of the dam at Merrill Creek Reservoir in Washington, NJ.  With the help of a local birder, we were quickly on the owl, a young supposedly female who with a little maneuvering could be seen in the clear.  Distant, yes, but still a clear enough shot to warrant the “image of the day” title.  So, Chaffinch or no Chaffinch, the day was a success with a great sighting.

Snowy owl