[note: this was a post I previously shared on NextDoor for my area neighbors]
Ready for a thrill? Ok, maybe not so much a thrill, just something that’s arguably more interesting than watching the snow melt?
I thought you’d like to see this photo of a rare bird visitor to Bridgewater.
This is a female Dickcissel. She’s been calling my backyard “home” since mid-February (at least)—which is when I first noticed her sometime after our big snowfall. I was birding from my kitchen window, dutifully counting White-Throated sparrows, when I realized— {curse you, Sesame Street!}—one of these things is not like the others.
While Dickcissels are a somewhat uncommon bird in NJ (although they might be seen July-October), for them to be here in winter is very rare as they normally spend their winters in South America (with Venezuela being the most common location).
How rare? When I checked the eBird data in mid-March, only 8 Dickcissels (including mine) were confirmed & recorded anywhere north of the Mexico border!
As I’m a birder, I log my daily bird lists & counts into the eBird app. So, every time I add this Dickcissel to my list, a “Rare Bird Alert” gets sent out by the ABA (American Birding Association). I did not know this at the time. This has made my life very, very interesting over the last month.
I’ve received phone calls…voicemails…texts…emails…Twitter DMs! —all from people wanting to come see it. It’s humorous (and disconcerting) to receive texts from phone numbers you don’t know, with messages that start with “I’d like to see your Dickcissel…”
Uhh, EXCUSE ME?
I mean, for real, THIS BIRD HAS PAPARAZZI!
So far, I think 14 people have come to see it, with two more already scheduled for next week. I’ve given the same spiel to looky-loos so many times that if this bird stays much longer, I’ll need to record one of those self-guided audio tours! I can’t help but feel like some sort of booking agent, scheduling appointments and meet & greets with “The Bird.”
Overall, it’s been blast meeting so many different people from such diverse areas and backgrounds—all because of this wayward little bird. I don’t know how long she’ll stay, but I just wanted fellow Bridgewater folks to get a chance to see our own bona fide bird celebrity!