Princeton NJ (1 Viewer)

I will be spending a limited amount of time in Princeton NJ at the end of this month and would be interested in any good birding areas that are local to the area and would be worth getting out for.

Any recommendations would be most appreciated.

Regards
Robin

At this time of the year most of the action is along the shore, a two to three hour drive from Princeton. If you are going to be confined to the town a good place is the Institute Woods and the adjacent Charles Rogers Wildlife Refuge, see this link:
http://www.princetontwp.org/instwoods.html
You will find woodland birds typical of the winter season.
The institute in Institute Woods is the famous Institute for Advanced Study, not connected to Princeton University and the place where Albert Einstein worked till his death in 1955.
Discussions about birding in New Jersey can be found at
http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NJBD.html
and rare bird alerts can be found at
http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NJBC.html

Dalcio

Much appreciated KCFoggin and dacol. I will see what I can find.

Regards
Robin

Try this link to NJAS birding places.... http://www.njaudubon.org/Sites/
(and scroll to winter birding spots)

Princeton woods in in there but much better in spring for migrants. But as mentioned the better spots are at the shore at this time of year.... Perhaps a trip to Sandy Hook or North shore.

Also here is a link with the updated sighting list for this week.... http://www.njaudubon.org/Tools.Net/Sightings/VoiceOf.aspx

Good luck

Also the pond s of the North shore will be frozen with this ridiculously cold weather recently so Sandy Hook may be the better option.... was there earlier this week and got suprised with a find of 3 Harbor seals as a bonus!

Robin,
Greetings
I have birded this area fairly often and agree that birding princeton at this time of year is not that great. This being said there is a nice walking area and pond overlook near the junction of alexander road and west drive.

We'll be returning to Princeton this fall for a couple of years at least, and are eager to connect with those birding the area. Not sure where we'll be living yet (let me know if you have any inside info!), but should fall pretty quickly back into our statewide birding habits.
Looking forward to meeting many of the new guard,

Rick Wright and Alison Beringer
Princeton and Tucson

Seems like I will be back in Princeton in early December and will have some free time over the weekend of 5th and 6th to catch up with some birds.

Species that from the Sibley guide might be in-range and possible to see which would be new for me would be :-

Wood Duck
Red-headed Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Brown Creeper
White-breasted & Red-breasted Nuthatches
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Field Sparrow
Pine Siskin

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Robin

Princeton

Wood Duck: if there is still open water, you might run across them at Rogers Refuge (the water company marsh). They often linger late on Gull Pond at Brigantine, too.

Red-headed Woodpecker: a couple of sites are reporting this species right now on the NJ birding list. An old standby is Great Swamp.

Hairy Woodpecker: should be easy at the Institute Woods.

Brown Creeper: ditto.

White-breasted Nuthatch: ditto.

Red-breasted Nuthatch: don't know whether they're around this winter or not.

Golden-crowned Kinglet: should be easy just about anywhere.

Yellow-rumped Warbler: will be common at the coast, and there should still be birds around Princeton, too.

Field Sparrow: try the brambles at the back of the state park on Mercer Street, between the road and the Institute.

Pine Siskin: don't know whether any are around this winter.

My December plans are still unsettled, but if I'm in Princeton, I'd be happy to get to bird with you.

All the best from Tucson,

Rick Wright

Thanks for the feedback Rick - much appreciated.

If you're around the princeton area on the weekend of 5th & 6th December and fancy a trip out then ping me a PM.

Cheers
Robin

Robin Edwards said:

I will be spending a limited amount of time in Princeton NJ at the end of this month and would be interested in any good birding areas that are local to the area and would be worth getting out for.

Any recommendations would be most appreciated.

Regards
Robin

Click to expand...

Sandy Hook, about an hour and a half east of Princeton, is just starting to see its normal range of wintering ducks (there have been quite a few eiders the past couple weekends). It's worth the trip if you have transportation.

Robin Edwards said:

Seems like I will be back in Princeton in early December and will have some free time over the weekend of 5th and 6th to catch up with some birds.

Species that from the Sibley guide might be in-range and possible to see which would be new for me would be :-

Wood Duck
Red-headed Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Brown Creeper
White-breasted & Red-breasted Nuthatches
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Field Sparrow
Pine Siskin

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Robin

Click to expand...

I bird Princeton quite a lot and can comment on the below:

Wood Duck -- fairly common at the Pond in the Refuge

Red-headed Woodpecker -- I have yet to see one in Princeton for the past 5 years (but that could be my bad luck).

Hairy Woodpecker - Failry common, though not as common as downy. There are also quite a few Pileated around and can be heard calling regularly at the refuge.

Brown Creeper - Common in the refuge in the winter. They can be seen running up and down tree trunks like little mice. Usually not hard to find in the winter.

White-breasted & Red-breasted Nuthatches - White-breasted, common. Red-breasted: I have yet to see one at the refuge, but have seen them in the area (mostly at my backyard feeder).

Golden-crowned Kinglet - Common at the refuge and can be found traveling with Chickadees, Titmice and Nuthatches. I usually find these birds traveling together, so if you hear Chickadees or Titmice (both quite vocal), chances are, Kinglets or White-breasted Nuthatches will be in tow.

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Pretty common as well, but more can be found at the shore (these are abundant at Sandy Hook). I see more of these at the Refuge-end of the Institute woods.

Field Sparrow - I see these more frequently at the "Pole Farm" in Lawrenceville, about 5 minutes away from Princeton. Pole farm is also good for wintering short-eared owls, meadowlark and harriers.

Pine Siskin - I see more of these at my feeder than I do the refuge. Not common, but sometimes present. I have not seen any yet this season.

Thanks for the advice.

Just got back from a work-filled trip and managed to watch the woodland around the College Road East area close to the office. I didn't mange time or transportation to get to the coast or the refuge unfortunately.

I did manage White-breasted Nuthatch, Hairy Woodpecker, Yellow-rumped warbler and a single Cedar Waxwing which were life birds. Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, several Red-tailed Hawks were also in evidence. The yr warblers were in what I deemed to be a roosting group of about ten birds that were hanging around a strip of conifers late one afternoon. At other times I didn't see them at all.

Regards
Robin