Northern Waterthrush
A couple weeks ago I ran across a bird I don't usually see, a Northern Waterthrush . At least I'm pretty sure that's what it was; the Louisianna Waterthrush is an awfully similar bird. With a name like "waterthrush", you're probably thinking that this bird is related to thrushes like the American Robin ... but you'd be wrong. The waterthrushes (both Northern and Louisianna) are a type of warbler . Though the "thrush" part of their name is a little misleading, the "water" part is a more helpful description of the bird; they are usually found around still waters. There's a pretty good chance that this waterthrush was just passing through during migration. It looks like northwestern NJ is just barely in their breeding range. Still, we're probably close enough to their breeding range that if a male/female pair met here, they might consider staying. (We are more firmly in the breeding range for the Louisianna Waterthrush, though ...