After dropping off my taxes with the man, I decided to drive on down to Oberly Road in Alpha, NJ. Oberly Road is a birding hotspot for wintering raptors, Snow Buntings, Horned Larks and the much sought-after Lapland Longspur. Of course, I was hoping for Snow Bunting and the elusive Longspur. While I got neither, there was a flock of dozens of Horned Larks swirling around and many sparrows. It was a male Northern Harrier, however, that stole the show.
He appeared out of nowhere, made a few preliminary passes then dove onto a small dark something but then dropped it. He coursed back and forth over the field intent on finding a meal. After some minutes he wheeled off to cross the road to search in another field. I was finally able to breathe again. I do love the gray ghost. I don’t see them often enough.
Oh yeah, and the Horned Larks were nice too.
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