NJ Bird Photos: Birds of New Jersey

A boat ride in the sun

2009-06-28T16:18:00.005-04:00

Great Blue Heron

Cormorant

Turtles

Beaver

We were finally able to get the pedal boat out this morning and we saw some of our favorite creatures enjoying the sunny day. The beaver is smaller than the ones we've been seeing come by our dock. Perhaps he's one of this year's offspring.

Northern Flicker

2009-06-28T07:08:00.002-04:00

Here's a photo of a Northern Flicker. They have not been very frequent visitors, but we've been persistent and patient.

Blue Jay

2009-06-28T07:01:00.002-04:00

Sometimes we forget about the blue jay because he's so common. He really does have some stunning colors.

What does a night heron do during the day?

2009-06-28T06:24:00.003-04:00

While we were in the yard yesterday, the night heron was sleeping in a tree. We were quiet so we didn't disturb him. If only we could put an end to lawn mowers, leaf blowers and weed wackers.

Mike couldn't resist taking a few (hundred) more photos.

Black Skimmers: Photo By Carol

2009-06-27T11:14:00.001-04:00

These pictures were taken at Forsythe Wildlife Refuge in Oceanville
New Jersey . These birds are a wonder to watch as they skim over the
water to catch their fish.

Black Necked Stilt: Photo by Carol

2009-06-27T11:01:00.001-04:00

This picture was taken at Forsythe Wildlife Refuge in Oceanville
NJ. This is a rare bird to see at Forsthye.

A better waxwing photo

2009-06-27T06:46:00.003-04:00

We get an occasional cedar waxwing at home, always high in the trees. With all the rain, a drainage pond formed at Mike's work. After a while, he saw what appeared in the distance to be swallows flying over it. Upon closer inspection, it turns out that 20 or more waxwings were in the area. Here are some of the better photos.

Great Blue Heron: Photo by Lynn

2009-06-25T21:35:00.002-04:00

Here's a photo of a heron taken by our daughter. The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree.

Cedar Waxwing

2009-06-25T21:16:00.002-04:00

Here's our best photo yet of a cedar waxwing. If you ever watched Zaboomofoo, you'd know why we call him Wiggy Waxwing.

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron

2009-06-25T21:15:00.003-04:00

The night herons seem to have taken over our backyard while we were shut in due to the rain (or escaping it in Florida). Here's two photos of the juvenile. His colors are starting to change.

The house wrens seem to have abandoned their nest in the duck house. Maybe they didn't like the herons using it as a fishing perch.

Bird Photos by misseymarie : ) Butler New Jersey

2009-06-23T20:33:00.001-04:00

Male Cowbird

We get a flock of 10 to 12, they are all males, I haven't seen a female so far this season.

Baby male Downy Woodpecker

We have a baby female Downy that also visits our feeders. There was a adult Male Downy and a baby male and female on the suet's at the same time but I wasn't fast enough to get a picture, maybe today!

Male Hairy Woodpecker

It is always a thrill to see a Hairy Woodpecker. I have only seen the male so far, he has been a frequent visitor this year.

Female Red-Bellied Woodpecker

This is a 1st year female, we named her Annie last year, I took a series of pictures from the 1st time she stuck her head out of the hole in the dead tree across the street from our house to the 1st time she came to our feeders, her head was mostly gray and gradually her red feathers started coming in. Red-Bellied Woodpeckers are my favorite.

Male Red-Bellied Woodpecker
This is a 1st year male, we named him Andy, he is a frequent visitor, he likes to feed at the house feeder instead of the suet.

Photos by misseymarie : ) Butler New Jersey

More of the Night Heron

2009-06-23T20:24:00.002-04:00

Sorry if this is getting a bit repetitive, but it's hard not to take photos of a night heron in your tree especially when he's just waking up.

Escape to Florida

2009-06-23T08:07:00.003-04:00

Great Blue Heron at a fishing pier

Seagull with a crab

Lesser Tern

Loon

We couldn't tolerate the rain and overcast any longer, so we took a quick trip to Florida's Emerald Coast. We didn't do any serious birding, but took a few shots with the old camera while strolling along the beach.

Pied Cormorant and Australian Pelican from Monkey Mia, Western Australia

2009-06-18T08:05:00.005-04:00

It's still too dark and rainy to watch birds here, so here's another vacation photo: A pied cormorant from Monkey Mia in Western Australia.

Monkey Mia also has many Australian Pelicans.

By the way, the main reason to visit Monkey Mia is a group of wild bottlenose dolphins that come in to feed occasionally. The cormorants and pelicans hang out in hopes of getting some fish from the visitors.

Baby Ducks

2009-06-15T19:50:00.005-04:00

Finally, some baby ducks (and the proud father).

Young Chickadee

2009-06-15T19:46:00.002-04:00

On our walk this morning, we were looking for some Northern Flickers which we haven't seen many of lately. Instead we saw lots of small birds darting about a tree, and it turned out to be a family of chickadees. We saw some parents feeding young. We think the Chickadee in the photos is a young one because it wasn't very good at flying.

We are still waiting to get a glimpse of the Oriole babies. We can hear them when the mother comes by to feed but they are 40 feet up and not showing themselves.

Downy at the new feeder

2009-06-15T19:45:00.001-04:00

The woodpeckers don't mind hanging upside down to eat suet, but the grackles do.

Backyard Birds

2009-06-13T17:36:00.003-04:00

House Wren

Robin

Baltimore Oriole

Groundhog

We got almost 30 minutes of sunshine today. Here's are photos of the birds (and a groundhog) that were out.

Night Herons

2009-06-12T07:35:00.003-04:00

We haven't seen as much bird activity recently with the past week or two of rain. A juvenile and adult night heron landed on the dock. The juvenile is starting to get some adult coloring.

The juvenile got quite interested in a beaver that was nearby. The herons fly away and the beaver swims away when we get near, but they don't mind one another.

Dreaming of Sunshine

2009-06-12T07:31:00.003-04:00

It's been raining so long that we are starting to dream of sunnier times. Here's an old vacation photo from Belize of a heron that can't read.

Turtle Sunbathing at the Dam

2009-06-09T08:46:00.001-04:00

The sun was out for a few hours this weekend. We went out to enjoy the heat and encountered a turtle sunbathing on the dam.

Night Heron on the Dock

2009-06-05T06:21:00.003-04:00

The rain cleared a little yesterday evening and we wanted to go out on the dock to check on the wren nest and the oriole nest. However, there was a night heron out there so we let him have the dock and just took a few photos as he posed.

How many hummingbirds do you see? (Photo by Vicki in Jackson, NJ)

2009-06-01T07:49:00.002-04:00

The ones in the picture are mostly the female and adolescent ruby throated hummingbirds. There are actually 8 that I can see to count. Can you find all 8? There were more than that, but this is what I could catch on film.

Hope you enjoy.

The house wren has a mate

2009-05-31T16:35:00.004-04:00

The house wrens have been courting and singing. This morning, there was a flurry of activity and they consummated the relationship on the ground before our very eyes. For the rest of the day, there has been quite a bit of carrying twigs to the nest, some too big to fit.

We are thrilled to have a third nest (after the robin and oriole) on the property and this is quite a fun bird to watch and a great singer for such a small bird.

Carolina Wren & Male Bluebird: Photos by Donna in Denville NJ

2009-05-31T07:56:00.003-04:00

Male bluebird taken this spring in Tourne County Park

Carolina Wren taken in my backyard in Denville, NJ