Photos by Nina

Peregrine Falcon. Taken at E. B. Forysthe.

Juvenile Mute Swans. Photo taken at Silver Lake, Belmar NJ

Redtail Hawk with a meal This photo was taken on Mapleton Road in Princeton next to the Carnegie Lake.

Wild Turkeys at Lake Nelson

 

 

Baby robins getting bigger

May 11

May 14

The baby robins are growing quickly. Mother is busy bring insects back to the nest.

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron

 

 

 

 

Another great sighting this morning! We went out to try and take a quick walk between the rain showers, so we went without birding gear. When we got to the dam, first we saw the adult heron in the tree. As we were deciding whether or not to go back for the camera, something else flew in. Our first reaction was "that's a duck" due to the brown coloring, then we thought maybe a brown seagull. When we quickly realized it was a juvenile black-crowned night heron, it was decided the camera was a must. We didn't want to spook it, so Chris crept carefully past it, then ran to the house for the camera while Mike stayed and watched it to make sure it didn't fly away. It did stay and posed nicely for photos but is definately more shy than the adult (who we are hoping is its parent but we don't know how to verify that.)

Morning walk around Lake Nelson: Who needs Cape May?

We took our morning walk around Lake Nelson without the camera and binoculars. The day was so beautiful and the birds were all out, so we returned again with our birding gear to enjoy the migrating birds. There are many pairs of orioles, and we hope some will nest in the yard, perhaps enticed by the grape jelly Chris went out to get for them.

 
Cedar Waxwing

Baltimore Oriole 

 
Yellow-rumped warbler

 
Brown-headed Cowbird

Blue Grosbeak and/or Indigo Bunting from Cape May

We took a trip this weekend to Cape May to see the migrating birds. Does this mean we are "birders" now, because we did put up with mosquitoes and ticks and rose at sunrise just to go out and bird? Well, we're still not sure ourselves, but if we continue this hobby, we will need vests with lots of pockets, special footwear, and bigger hats. We like watching birds in our backyard from a lounge chair with a sangria too. Anyway, one early morning while birding at Higbee Beach in Cape May, we were thrilled to encounter these lovely blue colored birds since we don't get them in our area. But, since we don't see them often, we are also not very good at identifying them. We think most are Blue Grosbeaks, but there may be an Indigo Bunting in here too. They hang around together and have similar habits, like eating from the ground and singing from the tops of trees. We decided to just enjoy the fact that we saw them and post these without worrying about our identification skills. Maybe we'll get some comments to help us.

Great Crested Flycatcher from the Beanery in Cape May

 

 

 

Our last stop in Cape May was the "Beanery", an old lima bean farm also known as Rea Farms. We watched this Great Crested Flycatcher in the warm morning sun and got a few good pictures (and many more blurry ones with his face obscured by branches).

Male and Female Rose-Breasted Grosbeak from Cape May

 

 

 

 

Yellow Warbler from Tuckahoo

 

 

We took a long drive from Cape May to the Tuckahoo Wild Life Management area and just got some photos of one very small warbler: the yellow warbler. There was no waterfowl to be found. Mike thinks Chris should stop carrying on about all the things we didn't see because she got a nice picture of the swan in flight (and running on the water during take off).

 

 

Common Yellowthroat from Higbee WMA, Cape May

 

Oriole Photos from Higbee WMA

 

 

 

Chris spotted an Orchard oriole in a tree at Higbee. Mike got some photos of the Orchard Oriole hidden among the leaves.

Eastern Towhee at Higbee

 

 

We arrived at Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area in Cape May shortly before 7am and were surprised that the parking lot was already full. The Eastern Towhee was the first bird we were able to photograph. Mike saw him land at the top of a large tree and he stayed around for a few minutes singing loudly.

Barn Swallows from Cape May

 

 

American Oystercatcher

 

Here's an American Oystercatcher by the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse near Cape May.

Willet?

 

Here's a "shore bird", about 12 inches tall. We think its a willet or maybe a snipe.
From the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor near Cape May.

Purple Martins from Cape May Point State Park

 

 

Here are some purple martin photos from a purple martin house at Cape May Point State Park.

Brown Thrasher from Cape May

 

Incredibly Cute Baby Swans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some photos of mute swan families from Cape May. Some are from Cape May Point State Park and others Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge.

Did you know that baby swans are called "cygnets." Mike did. Did you know they are really cute? Chris did.