Birding at Sandia Crest

Every time I mentioned that I needed to see Rosy-Finches, I was told I had to go to Sandia Crest.  The first time, I had no idea what or where Sandia Crest was.  From mid-November through March the 3 species of Rosy-finches are supposedly there at the gift shop cum restaurant.  Lest you feel out of the loop, let me fill you in.  Sandia Crest House is in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the very top of Sandia Mountain at 10,678 ft.  The tram will not get you there by the way, you have to drive up or hike the rest of the way up from the tram stop.

I was told seeing the Rosy-Finches was a sure thing, that they were there in masse.  But, you know how these sure things go, right.  I went up the day after a snowstorm, confident I was going to be ticking them off my list. With all that snow, they would surely be at the feeders. When we arrived, the staff said they had just been there and that they came about every 30-40 minutes.  Great. We sat down to wait, and we waited, we ordered lunch, and waited some more.  After an hour and a half, only 2 Black Rosy-Finches had come to the feeder.  I bounced up and snapped a few shots through the windows.  We went back to waiting.  Finally after 3 hours, we threw in the towel and went down the mountain to try for Pinyon Jays and Scaled Quail (which I did not see either).

But as luck and the birding gods would have it, my conference ended early and I was able to rent a car and quick, quick, scoot back to the mountain on the last day I was there.  The sky got darker as I drove out of town and more threatening as I drove up the mountain.  When I stepped out of the car at the top of the mountain, the wind was whipping around and the clouds looked like snow.   With an eye to the sky, I negotiated the icy walk to the Sandia Crest House.

I was not in the restaurant at a table facing the feeder for more than 10 minutes before a large swirling flock of birds came in.  I grabbed my bins afraid they would take off before I had a good look.  The feeder swayed with the wind and a tray full of birds.

The Black Rosy-Finch is very distinctive looking, no problem identifying that.  The Brown-capped Rosy-Finch is brown over all with dark-centered crown feathers that fade toward rear. Of the 3 subspecies of  Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, 2 of them were at Sandia Crest, the interior (Gray-crowned) and the costal (Gray-cheeked or Hepburn).  They are all 6.25″,  slightly larger than a House Finch.

Now a Bird Quiz.  Can you tell them apart?

Oh yeah, there were also Mountain Chickadees, Gray-headed Juncos, Red-Breasted Nuthatches, White-breast Nuthatches, Steller’s Jays and Ravens .

For detailed info on the Rosy-Finches at Sandia Crest check out their website.

All my photos were taken through the plate-glass windows, so they are not as crisp as I would like, but the birds were skittish whenever I opened the door.

Marsh Cruise at the Meadowlands Festival of Birding

I signed up for the 1st pontoon boat eco-cruise through the marsh at 7 am.  Of course this meant I left my house at 5:15.  I thought I would spare you the early morning drive and give you a virtual ride.

3 boats left the River Barge Park and Marina in Carlstadt.  Our boat was captained by the RiverKeeper himself.  My friend from Oak in the Seed has a great post on the trip.

It was hazy and misty as we motored away from the dock.

As we went up river, turning past the school park and gliding into the marsh, the sun started to burn away the fog.

We startled some Snowy Egrets.

While this Black-crowned Nightheron just watched us go.

We turned and went down river, sometimes ducking or bending over in our seats as we passed under bridges until we reached the open marsh.  We heard loads of Marsh Wrens in the reeds.  There were Red-winged Blackbirds, Great and Snowy Egrets, Double-crested Cormorants, juvenile Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Nightherons, Great Blue Herons, Greater Black-backed Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, a Common Yellow-Throat and an American Kestrel on a light post.  We saw an Osprey snag a fish only to lose it.  Since it was high tide, we saw no shorebirds on the trip.

As we floated amongst the byways, a commuter train crossed the trestle.  I sat watching it go, reflecting on all the birds I used to see from the train windows when I commuted into the City every day to work; crossing this same marsh but not knowing it.  Now I was on this side of the glass.

The Meadowlands Commission has evening cruises and canoe paddling trips into the marshes.  Time is running out this year.  Call now if you are interested.

Jonathan Trouern-Trend will speak at the 5th NJ Meadowlands Festival of Birding

Knowing that I love all things birdy, a few years ago, a friend gave me a small birding book called Birding Babylon: A Soldier’s Journal from Iraq. Originally written by Sergeant First Class Jonathan Trouern-Trend during his time north of Bagdad as an online journal, parts were later published.  I found it fascinating to read of the war and the birds he was seeing.

He is going to be giving the keynote speech at the Meadowlands Festival of Birding this Saturday, Sept 13th.  I am looking forward to hearing what he has to say and maybe to get my book autographed.

Are you going to the festival?  Maybe I’ll see you there.  Sigh. If I don’t get lost.

Birding Jamaica Bay

Having heard stories of how wonderful birding was and then reading about the recent rarities being reported on the ListServ; when I saw the notice about the Jamaica Bay Shorebird Festival, I decided to go. I even convinced a few friends to go too.

Never having been to the refuge, of course we got lost, arriving an hour late. Oy. After dashing in to get the trail permits, we found the small group of festival birders was just moving off to another location when we finally got to the East Pond. We birded East Pond as far around as we could, but since the water was pretty high in places; we didn’t follow the trail all the way around. (If you go, knee-high waterproof boots are key. We didn’t know.) There were small flocks of sandpipers, dowitchers and plovers frantically feeding along the water’s edge fluttering off as we approached to resume chowing down when we were past. Whole families of Mute Swans lounged trailside; no protective hissing and flapping like the ones on my lake. Terns plunged into the still green water and overhead a Peregrine Falcon folded its wings diving at an Osprey. As I watched a Gull-billed Tern wing past, a Blue-winged Teal came flying over my head to settle on the water at the end of the pond. (I just love ducks.) We crossed the street to bird the West Pond behind the Visitor’s Center too. In the end, we came away with 30 species. I got no life birds, but one of my friends did. She was happy.

While I can see that it could be a very birdy location, it was not what I expected. I thought there would be loads of birds and birders. Not so. The participants were few and many of the birds had moved on. It was a better day at Brigantine and according to an email even the marsh by me was full of birds that day. Sigh. But that is how it goes. You just never know. That is the ups and downs of birding. Maybe the Meadowlands festival will be better.