Had a wonderful time on my 1st outing of the year to Garret Mtn (N NJ's premier spring migrant trap). Finally got my life Red-headed Woodpecker, exactly where advertised, and my 1st warbler of the spring. And I got to meet Chris (hi, Chris!). But this was definitely the sighting of the day. It was right by the side of the road, about waist high. It was spotted by a sharp-eyed passerby. I was walking with Chris when he came up to us because he saw Chris's camera. He didn't know the word for "bat" in English. "An animal I've only seen in a zoo, it faces downwards on the tree." "Is it a bird?" "Yes." "Oh -- it's probably a White-breasted Nuthatch." But we followed him to it. It was fast asleep &/or very tame; even when we accidentally disturbed its branch, it barely stirred. (NB: Bats can have rabies, so never try to touch one.)

This species migrates, so it may very well have been doing at Garret exactly what all those birds are doing -- following the forested Watchung Ridge at night until they get to the end of it overlooking the desolate concrete plain of Paterson, & deciding "this looks like a good place to spend the day."

I almost missed these shots. I was in such a hurry to get out of the house in the AM that I forgot my backpack, which had my good binocs & (I thought) my camera. But fortunately I had my little Eagle Optics compact binocs in the glove compartment, so it wasn't a wasted trip. And when I got back to the car, I discovered that I had thrown the camera in the car the previous day in the hopes of doing some moth photography that night.

Tree of Life link: tolweb.org/Vespertilionidae/16140 (that's the lowest level they have).

Interestingness: #7, 5 Apr 2006