Mariton: Hitting the Road

by Tim Burris, Preserve Manager.  Photos by Carole Mebus.

Least Flycatcher

Mariton’s bird group took a road trip to northern New Jersey for this week’s field trip. I love this location for its Least Flycatchers.  We saw a lot, but they were pretty quiet.  While we did hear their “che-bek” call, it didn’t seem to be as prominent as past visits.  Least Flycatchers are one of the Empidonax flycatchers that are nearly identical and can only be distinguished by their calls, and partly by habitat. This year they were probably quieter because they were actively nesting.  The group of birders saw a Least Flycatcher land on the nest pictured below.

A Least Flycatcher on its nest. Notice the triangular shape of the flycatcher’s beak. It aids in catching insects “on the fly”.

American Redstart

We started the walk with an American Redstart singing on a low branch and everyone got to see it.  We saw lots of Redstarts on our walk.

Prairie Warbler

Everyone loves to hear Prairie Warblers sing, and it is even better to get a good view of them.

It wasn’t a bird, but everyone got the thrill of watching a Beaver patrolling the lake.

I was pretty elated to get a great view of a Swainson’s Thrush.  Conversely, I was frustrated by several Cerulean Warblers that sang but stayed out of sight.  Some of the other birds we saw included:  Ovenbirds, Black-throated Blue Warblers, Yellow Warblers, a Blackburnian Warbler, and Yellow-throated Vireos.

A lunch spot with a view.