Blog¶
Prone for Cooper¶
2023-11-25
After 6 months with no blog post, I will be sharing a Cooper's Hawk encounter in my backyard. For the past few weeks, there's been a hawk stalking our bird feeder at least once a day (hawks have to eat too). Usually, it will hang out below flower bushes where it can see the bird feeder but stay relatively out of sight.
Sunny Florida Adventures¶
2023-03-05
This week I went to Florida to go to Okeechobee Music Festival with my cousin who lives nearby in St. Petersburg. I decided to go two days early before the festival started so I could explore the area and go hiking/birding with my cousin. This was my first time going to Florida so I was very excited. The night before my flight, there was the first major snowfall of the year in New Jersey (~4 inches) and I was up until 1am making a massive snowman with my sister. It was interesting having the plane de-iced before the flight only to land into sunny, 80-degree weather in under 3 hours.
Woodcocks at Bryant Park¶
2023-02-20
On this warm President's Day, my sister and I decided to go to Bryant Park in NYC in search of American Woodcocks, also known as timberdoodles. Last summer, we discovered Woodcocks and their hilarious bobbing behavior while watching funny YouTube videos, where one can see them bob to music . We immediately checked where Woodcocks could be found in our area and, to our surprise, discovered that they could be seen at Bryant Park in NYC. Apparently, birders know this park as "Doodletown" because the migratory bird arrives in large numbers starting in March. We decided that this warm winter day (~60 degrees) was the perfect time to visit. We also checked eBird the day before to confirm recent Woodcocks sightings at the park.
Eagle Fest and DeKorte Park Ducks¶
2023-01-16
Today my sister and I went to the Bergen County Bald Eagle Festival. I heard about this festival from a flier that a close friend gave me the prior week. I wasn't too sure what to expect since it was also the first time the event was held. I was surprised to see a lot of people at the event, at least 60 people from children to older adults. The event was also very organized and well set up.
Prone for Pipers at Sandy Hook¶
2022-12-26
Today, my sister and I decided to wake up early to go birding at Sandy Hook. It was very a cold morning (~10 degrees) and it had rained days prior so it wasn't surprising to see snow and ice at Sandy Hook. What we didn't expect was that a big chunk of the beach would be coated in ice. It was interesting sliding across ice while also seeing sand and the ocean which are usually associated with much warmer weather.
A Week at Milton ft. Fox Sparrow and Hermit Thrush¶
2022-12-20
This past week, I went birding at Milton Lake Park just about every morning and afternoon. At this time of year, the sun's arc in the sky provides great lighting across the park from about 8 am to 3 pm. Instead of making several blog posts, I'll try to summarize them into one post.
Snow Goose and Vultures at Rahway River Park¶
2022-12-18
This morning, my sister and I went to Rahway River Park for birding. I was hoping to see some Hooded Mergansers and maybe some new ducks at the lake. As soon as we parked the car, my sister pointed out some Turkey Vultures flying low along the tree line. I immediately grabbed my camera, set it to a faster shutter, and got some crisp shots of the Vultures.
Merganser Couple at Rahway River Park¶
2022-12-14
Today I went to Rahway River Park during lunch. I saw there were many birds at my feeder and I figured it would be a good day for birding. It couldn't be worse than yesterday when I almost froze my hands off in 20-degree weather and saw almost no birds.
Shovelers and Hand-feeding Titmice at Central Park¶
2022-11-26
After stuffing ourselves with multiple Thanksgiving meals these past few days (leftovers included), we decided to take advantage of the unusually nice weather in November (50 and sunny) and choose to take a day trip to New York City. We planned to do birding at Central Park and after seeing multiple posts on the Manhattan Birds Twitter account of people hand-feeding birds there, I also packed bird feed and peanuts.
Fungal Foraging, Foxes, and Sharpie Sighting¶
2022-11-09
I couldn't resist heading back to Milton Lake Park this morning in search of another Hooded Merganser. I woke up, immediately drank coffee, and headed out. I was quickly greeted by a cacophony of screeches coming from a flock of Grackles above, one of the many signs that winter is coming. Along the path I saw a bunch of Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows. I also talked to a jogger who asked me about my camera and mentioned he travels to the city for people photography.
Hooded Merganser at Milton Lake Park¶
2022-11-08
After eating way too much for breakfast, I felt like I needed to go for a walk. I decided to head over to Milton Lake Park and bring my camera since I had not gone birding there in a while. Milton Lake Park consists of a walking path that goes alongside the Hazel Wood Cemetery and Middlesex Reservoir which eventually becomes Milton Lake. The area is fairly secluded compared to the nearby Esposito Park but dense foliage makes birding difficult at times.
Penn State Birding¶
2022-11-05
This weekend, some of my college friends and I got together at Penn State for a reunion we planned. It has been over 4 years since we graduated and most of us had not been back to State College. I was excited to see my friends and catch up. It was also a good opportunity to bring my camera and see Penn State from a photographer's perspective. During my years at Penn State, I did not own a camera or know much of anything much about birds.
Halloween Hike Ravens¶
2022-10-30
Today I went on a Halloween hike with my sister at Harriman State Park. We decided to revisit a trail from last year, Seven Hills Loop, because we wanted something challenging and this one had scrambling. The motivation for the hike was that my sister had not been to our favorite Japanese restaurant near Harriman State Park since last Halloween, and we couldn't let it be more than a year without pork buns.
Titmice at Central Park¶
2022-10-29
Today I went to Central Park with some friends to explore and take photos. We decided to visit Central Park since the weather was nice (60 degrees) and the fall colors were in full bloom. While crossing Bow Bridge, I saw a Red-Tailed Hawk fly overhead and got some cool shots. I think I startled the people around me when I yelled "Red-Tailed Hawk!" and pointed at the sky.
Bald Eagle Over Jackson Pond¶
2022-10-28
This morning I was torn between going back to Hawk Rise Sanctuary and going to a different location. I ended up flipping a coin which ended in me going to Rahway River Park's Jackson Pond. The morning started quietly with few birds but the fall colors inspired me to switch to my wide-angle lens and get some shots of the pond.
Kestrel and Kingfisher at Hawk Rise Sanctuary¶
2022-10-27
I went to Hawk Rise Sanctuary this morning before work. It was a cool fall morning with no clouds in the sky. The leaves are almost all turned to their fall colors but still mostly on the trees. This time, I brought my wide-angle lens to get shots of the landscape as well.
Sandy Hook Overrun by Mockingbirds¶
2022-10-23
We went back to Sandy Hook today early in the morning with the help of some espresso. It was a cloudy day with some drizzling that wasn't ideal for photos but I was too excited to go back. This time we decided to walk around the shore before going to Plum Island where we saw large groups of gulls alongside fishermen. You can see New York City from the shore and I got some interesting shots of fishermen with the city behind them.
Night Heron and Towhee at Sandy Hook¶
2022-10-22
Today we went birding at Sandy Hook for the first time. We decided to try out the location because I saw the NJ Audubon Society was having a birding tour there earlier in the day and figured it must be a good location. The tour started at parking lot B near Plum Island so I assumed that island is where the birding took place.