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| NJ semi-Big Year 2012 |
 New Jersey semi-Big Year 2012: Well 2012 is winding down and I am happy to report that I have had a very successful New Jersey ‘semi-Big Year’. Click here to read all about it. Sandy Komito, I am coming after your record one of these days… |
| November 2012 |
 11/24/12 Cape May: I saw my first Ash-throated Flycatcher while birding with Nicholas Haas at Higbees back in November of 2005. I will never forget how excited he was and I have since been visiting Higbees each November 2-3 times hoping for a repeat. This year was no exception but after a 6 year dry spell, I finally got another Ash-throated Flycatcher.
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| August 2012 |
 8/18/12 Cape May: Mourning Warbler is a warbler that has eluded me through the years but my NJ semi-big year has given me an incentive to be better prepared and more persistent which resulted in a nice photo of yet another lifer.
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 8/6/12 Cape May: My New Jersey semi-Big Year is faltering as another trip to Cape May Point did not yield any Sandwich Terns – they were reported the day before and the day after!! I did get to see and photograph 3 Black Terns though….
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| June 2012 |
 6/26/12 Cape May: It took me three attempts to finally bag one of the Roseate Terns that have been seen on and off at the point in the past 10 days. After striking out on two weekend in a row, I left early from work on Tuesday and got to see and photograph 2 adult birds.
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| May 2012 |
 5/12/12 World Series of Birding: Once again 1000birds.com participated in the World Series of Birding. We managed to count 155 species and raised more than $2,000 for NJAS and Fyke Nature Association. Full report on the big day will be posted here shortly.
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| April 2012 |
 4/7/12 Morgan Mudflats – South Amboy, NJ: After some tense moments and right before I was about to give up, a beautiful Little Gull appeared for a second day at the Morgan Ave Mudflats. A lifer that made brief appearances for 3 days in a row before it moved on.
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| March 2012 |
 3/4/12 Cape May NJ: A Broad-tailed Hummingbird had managed to overwinter in Cape May but had not drawn much attention as it was first thought to be a Rufous Hummingbird. A couple of days after its true identity was revealed to the birding world, I was one of many to get some looks and a few shots of this very rare (1st ever) sight in NJ. Later on I visited a Great-horned Owl nest for some more world class photos (not). |
| February 2012 |
 2/4/12 Cape May Pelagic: Had a very successful Pelagic Trip off the waters of Cape May. I was able to photograph 2 new bird species (Northern Fulmar & Dovekie) and we had as many as 10 Atlantic Puffins. Those 3 along with Razorbill and Common Murre were good additions to my NJ Year list. |
| January 2012 |
 1/1/12 – 12/31/12 New Jersey: I am attempting a New Jersey semi-Big Year in 2012. What does this mean? Since work and family commitments are not allowing me to do a ‘proper’ Big Year, I will chase as many birds as I can on weekends, holidays and days off with a goal of seeing at least 300 in New Jersey in 2012.
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| December 2011 |
 12/18 Cape May, NJ: Cape May came through again as a Bell’s Vireo must have made a left hand turn early in its migration to Mexico. Sure hope this little guy heads south soon as its running out of time….
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 12/4 Cape May, NJ: A Painted Bunting showed up in Cape May just a week after I was temped to chase one that was reported up in Connecticut. A walk around Cape May Point resulted in nice looks of a White-winged Dove and 3 Eurasian-collared Doves all of them on the same tree at one time!
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| October 2011 |
 10/2 Cape May, NJ: A mini reunion of the 1000birds.com Word Series of Birding team this weekend in Cape May. I met up with Jonathan Wasse (a.k.a the British birder who saw a Black-throated Gray Warbler on 9/30 – the 1st day of his 2 week trip) and Bob Hoopes. No new species but many good birds around including Cape May Warblers, Black-throated Blue Warblers, Chestnut-sided Warbler and other local and migrating birds. |
| September 2011 |
 9/18 Cape May, NJ: My first visit to Cape May for the Fall migration resulted in 2 new species: Blackburnian Warbler and Philadelphia Vireo. Many other birds were coming through including this beautiful Magnolia Warbler. |
| August 2011 |
 8/28 Ocean City, NJ: With Hurricane Irene passing by my area, I went out to see what birds were on the move. Nearby Ocean City was a safe 15 minute drive and yielded some good birds (Sandwich, Royal & Caspian Terns, Red Knot) but nothing compared to what was seen in Cape May.. |
 8/21 Cape May, NJ: A good weekend indeed as I added 2 new species to my total. A Brown Booby was spotted in Jarvis Sound just a couple of miles away from Cape May on 8/12. Luckily it stayed around long enough for me to get down there and take a few photos. The other addition is courtesy of a split of the Common Moorhen to Common Gallinule and Eurasian Moorhen. |
 8/13 Pelagic Trip, NJ: I tagged along on a fishing trip some 90 miles offshore. The highlight by far was an awesome look at a Cuvier’s beaked Whale leaping some 15ft off the water. We also had some nice birds including Great Shearwater, Cory’s Shearwater and Wilson’s Storm-Petrels. |
 8/7 Egg Harbor Twp, NJ: I was finally able to spend some time at the local Black Skimmer colony. The state biologist responsible for monitoring the colony told me that this was a very successful year for them. The numbers are impressive (more than 1,500 individual birds) and there was always something happening in the 4 hrs I was there. |
| July 2011 |
 7/23 Egg Harbor Twp, NJ: I woke up this morning and I could hear the resident Eastern Bluebirds making a lot of noise. AT first I thought that brood #2 must have fledged and the parents were on high alert because of the odd squirrel or domestic cat that may have been near by. After an hour of persistent chatter, I decided to investigate and as I walked to the back yard I saw an immature Cooper’s Hawk standing on the ground. [more] |
| June 2011 |
| 06/10 Web Site : The new web site is finally up. Hope you like it!! |
| May 2011 |
 5/22 Dividing Creek, NJ: I was happy to discover a nice sized colony of Bank Swallows and spent some time observing and photographing them. It got even better when I got home and looked at the photos only to discover that a Cliff Swallow (bird #642) was amongst them |
| 5/1 Bellplain : Was able to photograph a nice male Cape May Warbler while performing my scouting duties for the World Series of Birding. |
| April 2011 |
| 4/30 Cape May, NJ Eagle vs Osprey : There can only be one winner in this areal dual… |
| March 2011 |
| 3/1-3/6 Mexico : Family vacation to Riviera Maya resulted in 37 new species (120+ total). Full report to follow shortly. |
| Website Update : Updated Reports for my Las Vegas outings. |
| January 2011 |
| Count Update : After a couple of splits and some cleaning up, my count now stands at 600+. I am hoping to add another 40-50 species this year. |
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Nice Blog !!! your the best
I suggest adding a facebook like button for the blog!