Month: March 2016

No place like home

NMcAllister Big Year, Birding with Kids, Uncategorized , , , , , , , ,

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Well, my birthday was last week and I admit I took the opportunity to play the birthday card more than once. 🙂 We spend the holiday weekend back in my old stomping grounds of northern NJ. I ate several servings of dessert Friday night, went birding Sat morning  and had a chance to visit with dear family and friends all weekend.  What fun!

A visit to Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary was at the top of the list. It’s one of New Jersey Audubon’s Centers, just minutes from my childhood home. They happened to be hosting a family nature walk Sat morn, so I dragged my boys and hubby to join me. We had a great time (see pics below) and since I hadn’t been north of my Maryland home since last year, I added black-capped chickadee to my Mom’s Big Year list. Yay!

Pileated woodpecker evidence
Tree swallows
My middle
My youngest
Eastern bluebird
The family walk begins

Scherman Hoffman is a special place to me. I clearly recall visiting when I was a high schooler, enjoying chats with the long-time director, Rich Kane, and asking Pete Dunne for advice on how to go about saving the last tract of woods in my hometown of Parsippany. In the late ’80’s, I took my first warbler ID course there. Great memories for sure.

Indeed, there’s no place like home.

Spring Break

NMcAllister Big Year, Bird Chase, Job, Uncategorized , , ,

This past week may have been Spring Break for the professor in me, but it was far from a break for the birder in me! It was ‘catch-up’ time….ticking birds for Mom’s Big Year! Fun!

My plans to get ahead on several weeks of class lecture prep went out the window, with local sightings of harlequin ducks and other fun birds posted Monday. There were several winter birds still out there on the coast of Maryland that I needed, so I sent a quick email out. Shortly after I sent it, I had several very kind offers from local birder buddies to get out in the field with me all over the state this week! Fun!

I’m still recovering… and soon you’ll know why..

Last Wed 1:11 am-bedtime…IMG_6011

 

followed by a 4:14 am wake-up for a trip to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to chase winter waterfowl for the day.

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I’ve got a whole lot to tell about some really fun birds, including a long-tailed duck and gannets!

Every night I sit at my laptop to write you all about it….. BUT I fall asleep… 🙂

Tonight as I tried to squeeze in the last moments of daylight… I was outside pruning the bushes(despite being completely overtired) and accidentally clipped a string of Christmas lights still hanging. Yes, you heard me, Christmas lights.. you can laugh now.. as the wreath is still up too!   (So, perhaps it’s not TOO late for me to send out those holiday cards after all. LOL!)

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Such is life in a busy Mom’s Big Year, right. 🙂 

Must get to bed now as migration is starting!

But I’ll post more soon!

Good night and good birding,

Nancy