A Black-and-White Warbler pours out its song. Photo: Rich Ditch
Spring in the Northeast is a season of cool misty mornings, sweet air and an endless stream of birdsong. Deciphering the myriad of sounds in a May dawn chorus is a challenging endeavor but one that brings heightened pleasure to this season of rejuvenation. With their mix of forest, meadows, cedar swamps and spruce-tamarack bogs the mountains of northern New Jersey have a wide diversity of birds and are an ideal place to learn or brush up on birdsong identification.
From our accommodation near the northern tip of New Jersey we’ll visit some of the state’s most pristine forest reserves, such as Stokes State Forest and High Point State Park, and search for breeding species as they begin to set up territories. We’ll also visit Garret Mountain, New Jersey’s best-kept secret and one of the finest locations in the country to see concentrations of northbound passerine migrants, many in full song. For those who wish to delve into more advanced birdcall identification, there will be optional evening outings to listen to night sounds including the nocturnal flight calls of migrants passing overhead.
On this tour we’ll focus on identifying birds by sound in general while paying particular attention to some of the most similar species groups. Among others, we’ll work on the relatively straightforward distinctions between American Robin, Scarlet Tanager and Rose-breasted Grosbeak as well as the more subtly distinct Cape May and Bay-breasted Warblers or Worm-eating Warbler, Chipping Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco. In our travels we’ll also hear such bizarre and unique sounds as those of American Bittern, Ruffed Grouse and American Woodcock and such heartwarming melodies as those of Veery, Hermit Thrush and Vesper Sparrow.
Just as in visual bird identification, recognizing birds by sound is largely a matter of comparison with something familiar. To build a framework of familiarity we’ll explore a variety of learning tools from mnemonics and phonetics to “benchmark” sounds, always emphasizing comparison. We’ll reinforce what we learn in the field by listening to tapes, and we’ll discuss the use of sonograms in bird sound identification. We’ll also gain a healthy respect for variation and realize that some sounds must be left unidentified.
Day 1: The tour begins at 5:30 p.m. at our hotel near Newark International Airport. After the short drive to Paterson we’ll make a brief late-afternoon visit to Garret Mountain. Night in Newark.
Day 2: We’ll spend much of the day at Garret Mountain, a forest oasis amid the sprawl of the New York metropolitan area. Situated at the northeast end of the First Watchung Mountain ridge, Garret is the end of the line for northbound migrants and as a result consistently holds an abundance of passerines, many of which sing all morning and well into the afternoon. A full day’s effort there could produce 20 or more species of warblers including Tennessee, Cape May, Bay-breasted, Blackpoll and Wilson’s. In the afternoon we’ll head northwest to the quiet back roads of North Jersey. Night in Port Jervis, NY.
Day 3: We’ll spend two days exploring a variety of sites including Stokes State Forest, High Point State Park, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and other local hotspots. Our time here will be spent on quiet roads and forest trails, where listening conditions are excellent. We’ll explore all major habitats in the region and search for such resident breeders as Ruffed Grouse, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Blue-headed and Yellow-throated Vireos, Veery, up to 24 species of warblers including Golden-winged, Blackburnian, Cerulean, Worm-eating and Canada, Grasshopper Sparrow, Bobolink and Purple Finch. Night in Port Jervis, NY.
Day 4: After spending the morning birding in the New Jersey highlands we’ll return to Newark in the afternoon. Night in Newark.
Day 5: The tour ends this morning in Newark.
Updated: 05 June 2006
Prices
- 2007 price about $1,160
- Single Occupancy Supplement $220
Notes
Group size limited to eight participants with one leader.