Sightings & Reports

Here are some of the more recent sightings, reports and pictures from our area. These can include birds, butterflies and moths, other insects, flowers, etc. Please send in your sightings, observations and photos. Include as much information as you can. Also, do you have a question, or perhaps a picture you can’t identify? Send it in. We have a very well versed group of readers who would be more than willing to help.

10/21/2009 Elaine Long and I went to Sandy Hook today looking for the Sage Thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus) that was discovered there yesterday. This bird’s usual range is throughout the west and only east to mid-Texas. So, it’s quite rare here. We arrived shortly after 10 AM and joined a group of about 8 at the spot designated (on Plum Island). The thrasher had been seen about 10 minutes earlier but we were told that it was making repeated appearances about 50 feet away. There were 2 Hermit Thrushes feeding in the same area so conditions seemed good for our bird to appear. At around 10:20 AM, I spotted the Sage Thrasher emerge from the shrubs and begin to feed on a distant open sandy patch that was partly surrounded by vegetation. There were several brief appearances and returns to the sidelines before it finally came out into the open shortly after 11 AM. Patience was the key here and it paid off. Below are several good shots of the thrasher, Hermit Thrush, a Swamp Sparrow and an immature White-crowned Sparrow. Another great day with a life bird.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Please send your entries to us.

Use the ‘Email Me’ button at the bottom of this page.

Recent sightings and reports:

11/24/2009 A big day for Red-winged Blackbirds in my yard. At least 50 were here, many working the pond and stream for a bath. Also had at least 25 (probably many more) Robins in the yard, doing the same. Problem is that many of both of these species were in the woods around the yard and in the trees. So, there probably were many more.

Also had 4 Cedar Waxwings in the yard, sometimes (nervously) making it to the stream to bathe. That’s a new house bird.

11/8/2009 Steve Albert reports a Great-horned Owl near his home pre-dawn today.

With slightly warmer temps this evening, there were relatively good numbers of moths around. (I really must start entering onto a moth page here.) Also, forgot to report this. Several days ago, I checked on the 4 Bluebird Boxes at the detention basin at the Dunham’s Corners Road entrance to the East Brunswick Cultural Center. From the road, I could see at least a pair of Bluebirds hanging around. Apparently they like their new digs and decided to stay. Now to clean out the boxes for the winter to allow groups of Eastern Bluebirds to use each as a roost for the night. As many as a dozen may pack the box, taking advantage of collective warmth during the Winter. Rich

10/31/2009 My pond has been without frogs for 16 months. The chipmunks have eaten them all. Yes, the chipmunks. And they seem to scour the rocks looking for any new comers. However today I saw a single small frog in the stream, that finally made its way into the pond after I cleaned out some leaves from the stream and (apparently) disturbed it. I hope we get lots more and the chipmunks forget about eating frogs. Couldn’t tell what kind as it moved to quickly and was out of sight almost immediately.

10/29/2009 Spent two hours looking for the LeConte's Sparrow today. Mike Britt's directions were right on…thanks, but as of shortly after noon, no one had seen it today. (Addendum several days later: it was never relocated at that location.)

There were plenty of White-throats, Song, Swamp, Field, and Fox Sparrows, and maybe a Savannah. Both kinglets showed up in good numbers in two spots around the field. An immature Bald Eagle made a pass overhead and several Flickers were there. Also seen were at least 2 Palm Warblers and a possible female Yellowthroat. But, alas, no LeConte's Sparrow for the dozen or so of us who were there at the time.

Went from there to DeKorte only to find a very non-birdy day. Some Mallards, Black Ducks, several Widgeon, and perhaps 15 Ruddys, two Great Egrets and a few distant, not very distinguishable yellowlegs. The impoundment that had been so nicely lowered a few weeks ago was much deeper today. Don't know if it was just the recent rain or deliberate filling.

Oh well. It happens. But it was better than not trying at all.

Continued, next column —>

If you’ve enjoyed these photos, there are many more (often much larger and more detailed) on the Flickr site.

Click here to see them.

From The Effective Club

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written,with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Do you wonder why this brief article is here?

Read it first, then see the text to the right of the article.

Then you will begin to understand.

Now that you have the gist of the article, apply this to nature, the outdoors, the sky.

- What have you NOT seen when it was presented to you?

- What are you missing?

Go outside to notice and enjoy nature, flowers, trees, hills and mountains, dragonflies, butterflies and moths, and the night sky. Smell the forest in Autumn and the grass in Spring and Summer. Listen to the wind as it weaves through tall grass, or trees, or leaves on the forest floor. Feel snowflakes sting your face. Look for sun dogs and frogs, notice the tiny flowers that never get much larger than this capital “O”. These things are there all right. You just have to see them, listen for them, feel them. How many times was the sky crystal clear at night, but you were chilly and didn’t lift your head?

What have you missed?

What are you still missing?

This world offers us myriad wonders just for noticing. Few ever see birds, flowers, butterflies or clouds with any curiosity. You don’t have to be a naturalist to see the beauty there. Take the time to see, hear and feel them. What you take away no poet can truly write. What you take away will uniquely be your own.

Enjoy life and nature…always!

This website is managed by the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission and will report on the activities and events of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission.