My boyfriend and I went birding at Sandy Hook, NJ Monday - hoping to see lots of migrating raptors and sparrows. I saw plenty of raptors on the road TO Sandy Hook, but there weren't even any vultures around this day. We saw a lot of gulls, some Canada geese, a small flock of brants and some birds far in the distance that looked an awful lot like red-breasted mergansers. The brants and mergansers were particularly exciting, as I've only seen them once before.
I got a lot of pictures anyway (I'll be posting some in my album, not of the mergansers though as it was too dark), and at around sunset we ran into this charming couple that told us they had been birding for 27 years. They helped us identify the gulls, recommended some field guides that are small enough to carry (I have the Smithsonian which I love but it's very big!), and told us that they were going to stick around in the parking lot till dusk, because apparently it was right time to catch the glimpses and sounds of the American woodcock's mating ritual (March 1 through the 20th). I never even heard of the woodcock before so we waited with them. It was pretty dark already when we heard the bird's raspberry calls turn into the winding chirps which I learned meant that the birds had flown up into the sky and were spiraling down to earth. Unfortunately, it was so dark that all we actually got to SEE were a few "nerf football" shaped birds flittering overhead. That of course means no pictures... We were soon shooed away by the Park Rangers though, as the park closes at sunset. Oops! It was still a very nice experience. I didn't get their names, but I'm grateful to that kind couple for making a semi-uneventful birding trip end on an extra special note. ^_^
