Leucistic hawk

One day about a month ago, Chris was driving home from having a nice lunch with Mike. Close to our exit off of Route 18, she saw something very large and white perched in a tree. She called Mike and said, I think I just saw an all white hawk. He suggested she put on warmer clothes and take another drive around to see if she could get pictures. No luck that day. Another day Mike thought he saw it, and it was around the same time in the afternoon on another sunny day. So, one day Chris and Mike went out together on a sunny afternoon specifically looking for this curious specimen. No luck that day either, but we did get chased off by the police for parking along the side of the road. Mike is persistent and dedicated to the mission, so today when we were heading out for the movies, he suggested we bring the camera and make a scan for the hawk since it was sunny and around the same time again. Well, weren't we lucky today! He is likely a leucistic red-tailed hawk.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Mr. Cardinal

 

The Northern Cardinal is one of our favorite winter birds in New Jersey.

Winter birds: Tufted Titmouse, Goldfinch and Blue Jay

 

A heated bird bath, some nyjer seed, and some peanuts help the birds get through a cold winter. The backyard birds help us get through the winter.

Sharp-shinned Hawk For Pat

Chris' sister Pat complained that we haven't been posting recently. It's been cold and cloudy and the usual birds have been around: finches, cardinals, woodpeckers, titmice, juncos, etc. However, they all leave when the sharp-shinned hawk comes by.

Canvasback Ducks at DeKorte

We went to the DeKorte Park's Lyndhurst Nature Reserve today. We didn't see the northern shrike that has been reported there, but we did see quite a few canvasback ducks. Most were resting with their heads on their backs, but we found a male (top photo) and a female (second photo) that were awake. The male's head looks brilliant when the sun catches it.

Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers

This time of year is ideal for sapsuckers. When it's freezing at night and above freezing in the day, the sap flows the most. It's also a good time for making maple syrup.

The sapsucker opens up holes in the tree that benefit him and other birds. We've seen red-bellied woodpeckers, goldfinch, and chickadees eat either sap or insects from these holes.

Ducks at Haddon Lake Park: Photos by Kate

 

 

 

I have been a casual visitor of your site for a few months- I love your photos!! I am hoping you could help me identify the duck in the first picture I attached (the all brown one with a dark bill). The others I just attached because the mallards were having so much fun in the sun today out on the frozen lake. The white ducks were also out on the lake with the mallards soaking up the sun. These pictures were taken on a walk around Haddon Lake Park in Haddon Heights, NJ on January 16th.

Thanks for your help identifying that first duck!
Kate

More Winter Robins

We had a large flock of robins come by this afternoon. They only stayed for a few minutes. Last week, Chris put out cranberries for the visiting winter robins, but none were eaten. Today, several of the robins found cranberries and ate them. Finally!!!

Birdcam Photos

Mike got a birdcam for Christmas and is using an eye-fi wireless memory card to load pictures on the computer. While the photos are not as good as the DSLR, it beats going outside in cold and has a longer attention span. Click on the bottom photo to see a slideshow of common winter backyard feeder birds: finches, a cardinal, a chickadee, a goldfinch, a tufted titmouse, a nuthatch, a blue jay, and more.

Hungry Woodpeckers

Today was a pretty active morning at the bird feeders. There were plenty of woodpeckers including a hairy woodpecker (lower photo) who hasn't been around that often. In the upper photo, a red-bellied woodpecker is taking a peanut.

Red Fox on Lake Nelson

 

 

Mike was up early this morning and noticed a fox running across the frozen lake. It stopped for a while to get its photo taken and then ran off into the wooded area by the dam. A couple weeks ago when the lake first froze, Chris thought she saw a fox go by in the same direction, but she didn't jump off the treadmill to get the binoculars to confirm it. (Mike said he believed her then, but now he really believers her!)

More Photos of Winter Birds in NJ

Carolina Wren


White-throated Sparrow

The Carolina Wren and the White-throated Sparrow are common birds in New Jersey in the winter but harder to photograph because they rarely come to bird feeders and spend most of their time in the underbrush.