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Fun at Forsythe

Posted: February 8th, 2014, 10:22 pm
by intermedius
I recently began Birding this fall, and ever since I saw my first Red-Tail Hawk, I was hooked. Now with the Snowy Owl Invasion and me finding out about Ebird and ABA, Forsythe was on my bucket list of places to visit. While we didn't see any Snowies, It was a blast!

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Uncommon Sparrow apparently, found only on a few coastlines. Spent a while trying to ID it because I thought it was a pure Savannah, but it seems like an Ipswich. I'm still a novice birder so I could easily be wrong. *song sparrow*

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Hooded Mergansers (Male + Female)

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Brant in flight

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Immature Peregrine Falcon pretending to be a Buteo. Seeing him flying was an amazing experience.

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Northern Harrier and Atlantic City

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Too many Snow Geese to count

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When we got home...

So overall, a fantastic trip to get some things off the enormous life list of US Birds. I hope to be going out again soon. Thank you for viewing.

Intermedius

Re: "Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow + Fun at Forsythe

Posted: February 9th, 2014, 7:47 am
by J-Miz
Your sparrow looks more like a Song Sparrow and your Brant looks to be a female Bufflehead.

That said, I am jealous of your location. Try Barnegat Lighthouse next...harlequin ducks, scoters, long-tailed ducks...and I think there may be a snowy owl or two hanging out there. Not far from Forsythe!

Re: "Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow + Fun at Forsythe

Posted: February 9th, 2014, 8:26 am
by monklet
J-Miz wrote:Your sparrow looks more like a Song Sparrow and your Brant looks to be a female Bufflehead.
My thoughts as well.

Happy Birding out there!

Re: "Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow + Fun at Forsythe

Posted: February 9th, 2014, 9:45 am
by intermedius
J-Miz wrote:Your sparrow looks more like a Song Sparrow and your Brant looks to be a female Bufflehead.

That said, I am jealous of your location. Try Barnegat Lighthouse next...harlequin ducks, scoters, long-tailed ducks...and I think there may be a snowy owl or two hanging out there. Not far from Forsythe!
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While I did think it was a Song Sparrow, my friend did a check and added filters to the photo (i use a bad camera for birding). I believe that it is still a Ipswich. However I'm not 100% sure. Thank you so much! I will try and make it down there.

Intermedius

Re: "Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow + Fun at Forsythe

Posted: February 9th, 2014, 8:31 pm
by cbernz
It's definitely a Song Sparrow. Savannah is more finely streaked, with a smaller bill. Ipswich Savannah should be much paler overall than your bird. Sparrows can be tough even for experienced birders. Nice shot of the Cooper's Hawk at the end.

Re: "Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow + Fun at Forsythe

Posted: February 9th, 2014, 8:50 pm
by intermedius
cbernz wrote:It's definitely a Song Sparrow. Savannah is more finely streaked, with a smaller bill. Ipswich Savannah should be much paler overall than your bird. Sparrows can be tough even for experienced birders. Nice shot of the Cooper's Hawk at the end.
Thank you. Nice to know it wasn't that much of a blunder