some ferocious birds

[summerbug23]

Hi everyone,

Such a hot day! Are everybody heading toward the beach?

Here are pitures of some "ferocious" birds that are common in the Pine Barrens. I have to quote "ferocious" because I think they only look big and strong, but they could be easily bullied by small birds. And they are easy to be scared by people, so the pictures are not very clear...

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus):
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/da...Bald_Eagle_Haliaeetus_leucocephalus_small.jpg

For quite a long time I thought their name was "bold eagle", until one day I was laughed at by a friend who saw me wrote down the name. Then the other day in the Pine Barrens I heard an eagle was crying bitterly. I looked up and found he was chased by two kingbirds, one of them was actually sitting on the eagle's back (when he was flying) and pecking on his head! So I know they are not "bold" at all. Actually my supervisor said people should use turkey instead of eagle as the sign of the country because turkeys are much wiser and more dilligent than eagles, who are quite lasy and coward.

Northen Harrier (Circus cyaneus):
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/data/500/medium/Northern_Harrier3_small.jpg

They are kind of abundant in open areas such as farmlands. I always see them hovering elegantly close to the ground, looking for small animals. And they are quite easy to be IDed because of the white patch on the rump.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus):
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/data/500/medium/pic_065_Osprey_small.jpg

The first time I saw them in the cranberry bogs I was quite surprised because I thought you can only see them along the shore. I guess it's because of the successful rescue project that really increased osprey's population. Another very elegant bird. Their flying/hovering always reminds me a ballet dancer. And their high pitch calling is so cute!

 

[Boyd]

Nice photos and write-up Summerbug!

Headed to the shore? Naaw, not me... I'm going to stay off the roads as much as possible this weekend

Happy Memorial Day Weekend all!

 

[summerbug23]

Either am I going to the shore. Driving won't be fun. However my study sites are all kind of located along Rt. 70 and 72. I am sure I will see half of New Jersey people heading toward the shore during the weekend. On the bright side, the fudge place will be re-opened!

Hope you have a good weekend too!

 

[Boyd]

Speaking of Rt 72... did anyone else notice that the traffic reports said there was a delay due to a bad accident at Stevenson Road yesterday?

 

[Teegate]

Yea...a bee or wasp flew into a man's car and as he was swatting at it he veered into the other lane.

Summerbug...very nice photo's and text. Thanks for posting.

Guy

 

[dragoncjo]

Summerbug what kind of work you in, if you don't mind me asking? I love the norther harriers they are the easiest hawk to photograph because they seem to not mind hunting when people are around. I've seen a few hunting rodents along salt marshes in cumberland county. As for the ospreys they are a bird I'm starting to see quite frequently inland. I've seen them on streams in central pa, always thought the shore thing also.

 

[BEHR655]

Ben Franklin actually wanted to make the turkey the national symbol for the very same reason. Probably where your Prof got the idea from.

Steve

 

[summerbug23]

I study wild birds and anurans around living and abandoned cranberry farms, as well as the plant succession (a little bit of this, a little bit of that). I enjoy the pine barrens' habitat a lot. It's really hard to believe, before I saw it by myself, that such a unique forest with such a high wildlife diversity could exist so close to one of the most densely populated area in this country.

Well, as the summer has gotten here and all the mosquitos are coming back, the pineland has just started to get less charming...

 

[Teegate]

Well, as the summer has gotten here and all the mosquitos are coming back, the pineland has just started to get less charming...

As much as I hate the winter, it is nice to explore in the pines then. The summer as you say is at times frustrating and annoying.

Guy

 

[james ungehajer]

The pesticide DDTalmost drove the osprey to extinction in the state.

 

[LongIslandPiney]

As much as I hate the winter, it is nice to explore in the pines then. The summer as you say is at times frustrating and annoying.

Guy

And don't forget the pine flies. And ticks. I got a tick on me walking along a regular road the other day, I must've brushed up against some grass. I flung it off my pants with a piece of paper.
October-April is the main hiking season for me, there's just too many bugs in the summer.
And the inchworms are starting too, I saw them all hanging from the oaks.
I assume you guys also have tent caterpillars in NJ too, they are all over the place here, the tents are everywhere!
But the biting bugs bother me more than the inchworms, nothin like swatting at some pine flies and seeing ticks crawling up your pant leg.

 

[woodjin]

Great photos Summerbug!! If you don't mind me asking...are you a boy or girl? Not that it matters or anything.

Jeff

 

[Teegate]

Just a guess I would say Female. Lets see if I am correct.

I say that because some of the words in Summerbugs text are frequently used by Females I know. Such as elegantly, rump, and cute. In any event, no matter what sex, the posts are very interesting and informative. A nice addition for sure.


Guy

 

[summerbug23]

Guy is correct, I am a girl! So if one day you knock into a girl with binoculars, a camera and a clip board wandering around cranberry farms, that's me!

Talking about bugs, ticks are annoying because they carry disease that you don't want to get, so you always have to check thoroughly after a nice hiking. It's especially annoying for girls because if you have dark hair, it's impossible to see them! And showers usually don't help. I sometimes find ticks enjoying my blood after like three showers. One friend told me he once put a drop of hydrochlorin on a tick, and after a while the tick was still running around like nothing had happened. Their body is just incredibly tough!

But I agree, the most annoying bugs are not ticks but biting flies and mosquitoes. They don't cause disease or kill, but they distract me so much that I want to kill myself . And they bite through jeans and shirts, so I have to wear rain gear all the time and put a mosquito mesh on my head. It's like a free sauna inside the mesh all the time. Plus I am always afraid that I will scare somebody to death at night while I am doing surveys. I look a lot like a Jersey devil with that funny mesh, and I usually don't use flash light. So if you see somebody with a weird shaped head in the pines at night, don't freak out! That's probably me!

 

[james ungehajer]

You didn't happen to be on bombing range road later this afternoon in the parking area looking thru binoculars,were you?

 

[Teegate]

You didn't happen to be on bombing range road later this afternoon in the parking area looking thru binoculars,were you?

That apparently is a very popular place to bird watch. A group of us were there years ago from this site, and an older woman drove by on Bombing Range Road. Ed's wife said she looked like a birder. We could not see how she could have thought that. A few minutes later she came by again and asked what we were doing, and we responded that we (Bob) were looking at plants. She said she was looking for birds. We all turned and looked at Ed's wife who had a big smile on her face.


Guy

 

[woodjin]

Just a guess I would say Female. Lets see if I am correct.

I say that because some of the words in Summerbugs text are frequently used by Females I know. Such as elegantly, rump, and cute. In any event, no matter what sex, the posts are very interesting and informative. A nice addition for sure.


Guy

It was the reference that an osprey's high pitched call was "cute" that I thought was a dead giveaway, I figured girl but did not want to say in case it was a dude.
Of couse, the name "Summerbug" should probably be enough to draw that conclusion. Anyway, mystery solved. Don't matter none, just curious. Very interesting posts!!

 

[woodjin]

But I agree, the most annoying bugs are not ticks but biting flies and mosquitoes. They don't cause disease or kill, but they distract me so much that I want to kill myself . :

I would say, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that chiggers are the worst!!! flying insect bites affect me little and, yeah, ticks are a pain in the a$#, but chiggers are the devil incarnate!!

Jeff

 

[Sue Gremlin]

I vote for chiggers too. I have a chigger bite right on my belly button that's driving me insane.

 

[woodjin]

I vote for chiggers too. I have a chigger bite right on my belly button that's driving me insane.

Thats bad. Back of the knee is real bad also, just itchy all the time!!