Leucistic hawk

One day about a month ago, Chris was driving home from having a nice lunch with Mike. Close to our exit off of Route 18, she saw something very large and white perched in a tree. She called Mike and said, I think I just saw an all white hawk. He suggested she put on warmer clothes and take another drive around to see if she could get pictures. No luck that day. Another day Mike thought he saw it, and it was around the same time in the afternoon on another sunny day. So, one day Chris and Mike went out together on a sunny afternoon specifically looking for this curious specimen. No luck that day either, but we did get chased off by the police for parking along the side of the road. Mike is persistent and dedicated to the mission, so today when we were heading out for the movies, he suggested we bring the camera and make a scan for the hawk since it was sunny and around the same time again. Well, weren't we lucky today! He is likely a leucistic red-tailed hawk.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Mr. Cardinal

 

The Northern Cardinal is one of our favorite winter birds in New Jersey.

Winter birds: Tufted Titmouse, Goldfinch and Blue Jay

 

A heated bird bath, some nyjer seed, and some peanuts help the birds get through a cold winter. The backyard birds help us get through the winter.

Sharp-shinned Hawk For Pat

Chris' sister Pat complained that we haven't been posting recently. It's been cold and cloudy and the usual birds have been around: finches, cardinals, woodpeckers, titmice, juncos, etc. However, they all leave when the sharp-shinned hawk comes by.

Canvasback Ducks at DeKorte

We went to the DeKorte Park's Lyndhurst Nature Reserve today. We didn't see the northern shrike that has been reported there, but we did see quite a few canvasback ducks. Most were resting with their heads on their backs, but we found a male (top photo) and a female (second photo) that were awake. The male's head looks brilliant when the sun catches it.

Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers

This time of year is ideal for sapsuckers. When it's freezing at night and above freezing in the day, the sap flows the most. It's also a good time for making maple syrup.

The sapsucker opens up holes in the tree that benefit him and other birds. We've seen red-bellied woodpeckers, goldfinch, and chickadees eat either sap or insects from these holes.