A "SNOWY" day
You can take a guess where I birded today by the picture below.
Yes sir, I joined my bird club at NJ's Liberty State Park for a chilly morning of birding. The highlight of the day by far was basically the first bird of the trip. While we were all milling about and chatting prior to the start of the trip, someone shouted "There's a Snowy Owl over here." Sure enough, there was a Snowy Owl over there. Well, it was pretty darn far, but that's what it was. Very awesome! I'd like to say that it's a bit of good fortune for me having not gone to Guatemala. I got a very distant picture of it with its head turned around.
This is the only sighting of one in NJ this winter to my knowledge and I don't recall any reports of birds further south. This is also the first I've seen in NJ since 2004. The rest of the day was nice, but uneventful. I hadn't birded Liberty State Park since I was a new birder so it was nice to learn some of the ins and outs from the local expert who guided us. I also got this sweet picture of a Mourning Dove. Beth says it looks like it has 6-pack abs. A few more pics below too...
8 comments:
I need to make it to the city one of these days! Great birds and the snowy owl is stunning!
Ahem...Liberty Island, NY...we'll never give it up (okay, we did, but still).
Sweet Snowy...and the MODO does look like its been doing some crunches.
Now that I'm in NYC it's time for some birding...
I like the Mockingbird pic, too. Are those Ruddies on the bottom?
Suh-Weet!
I guess that makes up somewhat for missing out. I'll have to make a trip up to see it if it sticks around.
LSP is a neat park. I haven't birded it much, but I used to visit there a lot when I was younger. The old railroad terminal at the north end of the park is worth a visit if you like historic sites.
Corey, we should just share that island! I was in Liberty State Park though - 100% NJ pollution there!
Paul, those are Ruddy Ducks. We found a nice raft of them there. It's a good spot for them. They actually breed in small numbers in the NJ meadowlands nearby I believe.
Beth is right! hahaha
Nice owl pic, btw... Lucky you!!
I saw Laurie Larson's report on the NJbird listserv of Snowy Owl at Liberty State Park this morning and I thought lucky buggers. Turns out you were one of those lucky buggers! Nice photo. I guess I can't complain - I saw two different owl species in one day last week. Snowy owl would be a lifer for me though. Maybe I'll need to check it out if it stays around.
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