northeast-flora-and-fauna

During the spring quite a few birds migrate through New Jersey including but not limited to shorebirds like this Solitary Sandpiper . But it's not just New Jersey that's flyover country for these birds; other than a few that overwinter in southern Texas, the lower 48 states are all basically just used during migration. This bird was no doubt hoping to get a bite to eat as it journeyed north to its mostly Canadian breeding grounds. As their name implies, they're frequently seen alone. Though they mostly eat small invertebrates, I wouldn't be surprised if things like tadpoles and small fish get eaten if the opportunity presents itself. Without a strong beak or talons to tear stuff up, they probably only eat what they can swallow whole, and their options are presumably much more limited than those of a much larger bird like a Great Blue Heron . The sandpipers are a fairly large family of birds distributed across the world and consisting of 13 genera. Many of the species d...

Here's someone I didn't expect to see (and barely did see, as you'll be able to tell from my photo): an American Woodcock . I have to admit I'm not sure how these birds operate. They eat worms and other invertebrate from the ground, using their long beaks to explore under leaves and other debris. And they are apparently in NJ during the winter. But they're supposed to be susceptible to starvation if there's snow cover or temperatures that freeze the ground, so I'm not sure how they make it through a historical NJ winter. [1] They're known for the male's elaborate courting ritual , though that's more of an early spring activity. I'm skeptical I'd see that in December even if a male and female were in this area. Woodcocks are technically shorebirds , but that indicates who their relatives are, not how they live. Their closest North American relative is the Wilson's Snipe . Here's my picture of the little fella, surprisingly well ca...