Birding at Duke Farms

On Wednesday, my online friend, Shayne, invited me to join her on a birding outing at Duke Farms in Hillsborough. I had been toying with the idea of trekking into the city to attend a literary salon at NYPL, but a quick check of the times and distances revealed that doing both was possible.

The birding was to begin at 8:30 AM and the suggested arrival time was 8:15. Google Maps predicted a drive of 1 hour, 15 minutes. I set out around 7 to leave time for wrong turns and such. I watched the sun rise in my side and rear view mirrors on Route 80, listened to a disc of Reached by Ally Condie and arrived in the parking lot a little after 8. 

Our group was supposed to be 8, but there was 1 no-show. The weather was brisk and breezy. I quickly pulled my hood over my cap and pulled on gloves. Otherwise, my layers and down coat did the trick. Once the clouds moved away from the sun, it was quite pleasant. Our guide, Michael, was soft-spoken but knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He also lugged a scope and tripod, which is so cool to view through, but must be a real chore to carry! 

The grounds are lovely, there's an area where wetlands are being restored, there are man-made lakes, meadows and wooded areas. Perfect for birds and their lovers. We joined Michael for a bowl of vegetarian chile, which he (rightfully) raved about while he did a count of the birds we saw. He tallied 31. I know that I missed a few of his. I did not see the harrier or the kinglet. 

The walk was scheduled to end at noon, which would've left me plenty of time to make my way to either the Lincoln Tunnel or the ferry to Manhattan. But, we fell behind what with the easy conversation and plethora of birds to view and look up. At  11:45, Michael revealed that we were behind and pointed the path back but we hadn't made it to Research Woods, where he claimed he saw a Great Horned Owl the previous outing. He also mentioned the delicious vegetarian chile. Sorry Betsy Bird, maybe next month.

Here's a partial list of what I saw:
Ring-necked Duck
Bald Eagle (way high and would've missed it w/o the eagle eyes of one of our group)
American Kestrel
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (why do I always think of a cartoon character whenever I hear that?)
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Eastern Bluebird 

Sigh. What a day. I made the mistake of turning my audiobook on almost immediately as I back-tracked my way back to 287. It was only three turns. What could possibly go wrong? I got so engrossed in the story that I headed south on 287 instead of north and didn't notice for 5 or 10 miles or so. I came out of my book fugue when I passed the exit for Rutgers. Rutgers? I asked myself. Oops.

When I got home, I took a two hour nap. All-in-all a satisfying way to spend a gorgeous winter's day. AND, meeting my online friend in person just cemented our friendship. I will return to Duke's Farms. I would like to do so at least once per season and it would be great if Shayne could do so as well. The location is just about halfway between our two homes.        

Happy New Year

Bergen Audubon Society's FB page asked what was the first bird spotted in the new year. Two juncos were hopping around in the slush on my deck under the feeder. I love those perky little birds.

Later, there were chickadees, tons of sparrows, mourning doves, bluejays, a pair of cardinals, and squirrels, sigh.

I didn't make the New Year's walk, nor did I do yoga, but I did take one of my labs on a long jaunt skirting the woods by the reservoir. Unfortunately, I spent most of it in training mode since it has been awhile since we've been a long trot and he wanted to dash off and sniff everything!

Here's to a better birding year! Happy New Year!