Rose-breasted grosbeak in Ocean Grove. 2012. Our backyard. Paul Goldfinger photo.
Bird watcher.
By Eileen and Paul Goldfinger. Blogfinger.net editors. We have been birders for many years. Spring and fall are the best seasons for this hobby. Those seasons bring migrating birds, and seeing one of those is exciting.
We’ve been watching backyard birds everywhere we lived. We used to live in a semi-rural area in Chester, Morris County where there was a large variety of birds to feed and watch. We especially enjoyed blue birds and yellow finches (NJ State bird) in our back yard.
We didn’t think that we would have much luck in OG, but we have seen quite a few interesting birds here.
Today, 2012, however, we saw a species that we have never seen before. We looked into our backyard, and at our feeders were two pair of rose-breasted grosbeaks. The male is black with a startling splash of red in front. They are about 7 inches long. The female is a light tan with white stripes. She is smaller and doesn’t look anything like her male counterpart. These birds are found in Canada and across the US, but they are uncommon in backyards.
Something weird happened a few days later: We also saw four grey catbirds and one male rufous towhee. We also heard a report that someone in a nearby town also spotted the grosbeaks
rufous towhee (internet photo)
Let us know if you see any unusual birds in town. Maybe there is something special going on in the bird world. We also heard that there is a vast migration of Admiral butterflies in the area. They are heading north.
2024 update. Seen this year in OG. : Cardinals, junco, yellow/red winged blackbird, Cooper hawk, wren, catbird
Prior OG sightings: wild turkey, falcon, purple Martin, rose breasted grosbeak, Rufus towhee, and water fowl—-blue heron, great white egret.
Bird watching is still a challenge in the Grove, but if you put out some seed now, in the spring, you may have some surprises. Let us know about your sightings, and try to get photos. And don’t forget if you have kids, putting out feeders can become a passion and a wild-life learning experience.
Note that those who pursue an interest in bird watching are called “birders.”
A NYC birder wrote about this passion of his in today’s NY Times. His name is Christian Cooper, and this is a bit from his piece:
“One of the things I love most about birding is how it shifts your perceptions, adding layers of meaning and brokering connections — between sounds and seasons, across far-flung places and between who we are as people and a wild world that both transcends and embraces us. In my life, it has been a window into the wondrous, and I feel excited and grateful to get to share that wonder with others.”
2025 update. It is now April in the Grove, and we have had a rufous towhee. (one) yesterday, purple finches. (plentiful if you provide a seed feeder.), robins (love worms), 2 ducks in our pond, woodpeckers. (they like suet), cardinals (the prettiest, but skittish), a Cooper’s hawk, a cat from Mt. Tabor named “Jack” who caught a mouse in our backyard, a junco, catbird (has a grey yarmulke ), red wing blackbird, Carolina wren. (small but loud), many sparrows, and grackles (large, black.)
You can sometimes see shore birds like egrets, herons , cormorants, and hooded mergansers in Wesley and Fletcher Lake
We spotted some special birds on the A. Park boards:
Paul Goldfinger photo on the Asbury boards. They are Asbury Boardbirds.
A singer named Birdy recorded a song called “Not About Angels.” From the movie The Fault in Our Stars
“Cause what about, what about angels?They will come, they will go, make us special…”
Hi – we too have seen birds this year that have not frequented our birdfeeders before. Especially some of the bigger ones that you would think would be eating the insects instead of the feeder. We have been enjoying especially a couple of cowbirds (picture attached). The male comes up to our kitchen window and pecks as if he sees another male in the window. Always enjoy your photos.
Today a bright yellow goldfinch showed up for about 10 seconds in our backyard and then vanished. This is a sight to savor if one shows up at your house. They tend to come in early spring and to travel in flocks. So before they get the flock out of here, hang a thistle (Niger) seed feeder to attract them. If they land in a tree, it can look like a Christmas tree.
I wasn’t sure about capitalization either. Thought the capitalization made it easier to read, though, especially for Eastern Towhee. Please tell those grosbeaks that I’ve got food over here. I’d love to see them.
Kathy: Are these bird names capitalized or not? It seems to be done both ways. Our towhee is a male. Our grosbeaks are eating voraciously at our feeders. They are very skittish and they fly away at the slightest provocation.
Thanks for confirming these sightings in OG. Paul
I had some Catbirds at my feeder today, too. And I’ve had a fair number of Towhees–all females–pecking around all week. (The one in your photo is a male; the females are brown where the males are black. Oh, and they’re also known as Eastern Towhees.) For several years I’d see a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak here, though usually in late March. They’re beautiful birds.