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| Horned Lark, Jackson Liberty HS |
On very cold mornings it is my inclination to stay away from the ocean and head inland and it has been very cold of late. I thought I'd check a few spots at Colliers Mills for Red-headed Woodpecker, though I wouldn't admit that to a dog walker when he asked what I was looking for. I just tell people "Anything I can find," which is close to the truth. Looking for a specific bird sets up a success/fail situation and it is no fun to fail, while a long walk can always be judged a success.
So, I failed with the woodpecker, but walking along Success Road (really), the morning turned out fine. The last few years I have occasionally found Eastern Meadowlarks in the fields along Success and today was another when one flew out of the high grass and flew to the other side of the road. At the same time, as I was getting on the bird with its yellow chest, I heard, at 9:24 AM no less, a Great Horned Owl, hooting in the woods to the north. Not a half hour before I had skirted those woods, one of the hangouts for RHWO, and had no sign of the owl, but I think the 2 Red-tail Hawks swooping and screaming over the treetops may have got its dander up. Quite a visual and aural few minutes.
Having had luck with one "lark" I thought I'd try for a true one. For reasons mysterious, every winter the Jackson Liberty HS soccer fields hosts a flock of Horned Larks. The only other place I can think of where you can see a lot of Horned Larks is the Lakehurst Naval Base and that's restricted. Speaking of restrictions, it is only feasible to check out the larks on weekends when school is not in session; anyone with binos during the week is sure to attract the attention of the Jackson Police.
About halfway along "Pride Way" and about halfway toward the back of the fields I found a flock of the larks, perhaps 20 in all. Since my camera broke, I have been using Shari's Nikon D90, a behemoth which I don't handle well, and which does not have the digital zoom on which I have become reliant, so despite a 300MM lens, I can't be Phil D. Frame with it. I like getting pictures of the occasional bird, especially the rare and/or infrequent ones. I just don't like
- Carrying a camera
- Learning a camera
- Using a camera.
All of which goes to explain the mediocre (at best) quality of the photos in most of these blog entries.
At least I broke the streak of lousy looks at target birds which continued yesterday when I made a trip up to Mantoloking to find a flock of Redheads, which I found, and which immediately took to the air when a boat noisily ran them off. Who the hell is boating in 15 degree weather!
My somewhat interesting list for Colliers Mills. The "sparrow spot" is at the beginning of Success Road where the fields start.
24 species
Great Blue Heron 1 Stream between CM Lk & Turnmill
Turkey Vulture 2
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Great Horned Owl 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Downy Woodpecker 2
Blue Jay 5
Carolina Chickadee 1 Heard
Tufted Titmouse 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 5 Heard
Winter Wren 1 Heard
Carolina Wren 2 Heard
European Starling 10
Northern Mockingbird 1 Heard
Eastern Bluebird 2
Hermit Thrush 1 Heard North end of CM Lake
American Robin 3
Chipping Sparrow 5 Sparrow spot
Field Sparrow 1 Sparrow spot
Dark-eyed Junco 15
White-throated Sparrow 6
Savannah Sparrow 4 Success Road
Song Sparrow 5
Eastern Meadowlark 1
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| In flight |
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