Birds, Bats and Beyond

New Address

Jim Wright's blog is now at:

http://celeryfarm.typepad.com/cf/

OWL: Great horned owls!

   

  A woman who reads my stuff in The Record e-mailed me to say that she had a great horned owl and two owlets just beyond her backyard along the Hackensack River.
   I was dubious, and it turns out I was right.
The owls were just beyond her neighbor's backyard, just close enough to get good shots with telephoto lens and a muliplier.
   I tried to be as quiet as possible, and not stay too long,  and keep my distance.
    The video here probably makes it seem that I was even farther away than I was, but I wanted to make a point that it is not a good idea to go anywhere near nesting birds -- or animals -- to photograph them.
   The photo that begins the "Think Worms" video, for example, was taken from inside my house with a telephoto and a great deal of cropping...
   The great horned owl Mom was a very cool customer, as you'll see from the video. She is, after all, at the top of the food chain.
   I am vague about the owlets' location, just as a precaution.

BIRDING: Hummingbirds

   There's a very well-done post today on the blog "Oak in the Seed," by writer/birder Diane Brown, who is a friend of this blog.

   It's all about hummingbirds, who are now making their way back into our region.

   Link is here.

BIRDS: Duckling Rescue (video)

The marsh warden of the Celery Farm coaxed a mallard mom and her 11 tiny ducklings out of the courtyard in the Church of the Epiphany in Allendale, N.J., on Sunday morning before services began.
   This has become a common problem -- a mallard laying her eggs in the courtyard of a church or school, without an all-important exit strategy.
    The courtyard nesting makes sense, though.
   The babies are safe from predators, and there's invariably a good Samaritan to help them out.
   In this case, for a minute or two, the Church of the Epiphany became the Church of the Good Shepherd.
   Coincidentally, the marsh warden was born on December 25.

CELERY FARM: Swallow fest

   

Before the Celery Farm turns into Warbler Ville for the next few weeks, I'd just like to put in a good word for the tree swallows.

   They are back in full force, putting on great aerial displays and being kind enough to perch a few feet from the Warden's Watch.

   More info on them here.

  In case you hadn't guessed, my friend Jerry Barrack took the photo above. I took the typical tree swallow shot below.

 

CELERY FARM: Calling all warblers

    

The flowers are here.

The place is beautiful and brimming with energy.

  The help have done their cleaning and pruning. 

  A few early arrivals have trickled in and are munching on the hors d'euveres.

  The hosts are starting to pace.

  Where are the guests of honor?

  When is this warbler party going to start?

  (My guess is next Monday, after we're back to work or back to school, but I seldom seem to get it right.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warbler watching

I have a story on warblers on Page L-3 of The Record, with a great photo of a black-throated blue, taken by Jerry Barrack.

  Bottom line is the warblers should be arriving in numbers soon, although winds from north this weekend may slow them down.

  Among the best places to see them: Garret Mountain in West Paterson, along the Saddle River in the linear county park, along the Ramapo and the Palisades, and a place called the Celery Farm.

  The Record's EnviroWatch calendar every Friday on Page L-3 will be listing several warbler watching outings at Garret, the Celery Farm and elsewhere.

  For some reason, the story I wrote for today's paper is not on line yet, but an essay I wrote for The Record on warblers five years ago is still available here.

OWL: 'Think Worms,' a video poem

Hummingbirds are here

   

If you haven't put up a hummingbird feeder yet, now is a good time.
   I like this window feeder. I had hummingbirds all last summer with it.
   Window feeders are great because they give such closeup views of birds.
   Hummingbird feeders are great because sugar water (four parts water to one part sugar) is the cheapest bird food you'll ever have.
   Here's a map that shows the ruby-throated hummingbirds' progress this spring.
   P.S. The bats are here as well -- but they don't seem to have found my batboxes yet.

COMING SOON: A bee video and an owl video.

Gardening to attract birds

   My buddy Ray Edel at The Record has a nice story in The Record on Saturday about attracting birds to your garden.

   Very informative,

   Read it here.

   (I think the word "tailed" was dropped in the "red hawk" description...)  :-)