January or February: Alpha Grasslands (Oberly Road)

with Fred Pfeifer

Located in Pohatcong Township in Warren County, 1.5-mile Oberly Road is designated an Important Bird and Birding Area by NJ Audubon. Comprising mostly pasture and agricultural fields, the area supports wintering snow buntings, horned larks, northern harriers, and short-eared owls.

The date of this trip will be set to take advantage of recent snowfall, which pushes seed-eating birds to the bare field edges, making for easier roadside viewing. Other species we can hope to see include American tree, field, Savannah, white-throated, and song sparrows, as well as many snow geese flying over. Alpha Grasslands is close to Merrill Creek Reservoir, so those who want to can visit there as well as Alpha.

Dress warm and bring binoculars and a scope, if you have one. There is no bathroom at

this site. To register, email mbcoutings@gmail.com. You will be notified when conditions are right for us to name a date for this trip.

From the Montclair area, take the Garden State Parkway south to 78 West, toward

Springfield. At Exit 3, take US 22 toward NJ-122/Phillipsburg/Alpha. Turn right onto New

Brunswick Avenue, left onto Hawk Avenue, and continue onto 3rd Avenue; turn right onto

High Street and turn left onto Carpentersville Road.

Tuesday, February 4: The Meadowlands

A birder's meet-up in conjunction with Leaderless Walks.

Meet at 9:30 am in the parking lot at the Meadowlands Environmental Center, 2 DeKorte Plaza, Lyndhurst, New Jersey. Some of us may want to start earlier; contact

Beni for further information.

Bordering the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers, the Hackensack Meadowlands comprises 21

parks where over 285 species of birds have been sighted. We will meet at DeKorte Park and bird the trails there, then decide whether to continue at DeKorte or check out some

other Meadowlands locations. We expect to see a variety of wintering waterfowl, including canvasbacks, northern pintail, mergansers, and gadwall, along with various sparrows and, hopefully, northern harriers and other birds of prey.

There is a porta-san at the DeKorte parking lot. Expect cold and wind, and dress warm. Bring binoculars, a scope if you have one, water, and a snack. We expect to finish by 1:00.  

A map of DeKorte Park is here. From the Montclair area, take Route 3 east to the Polito Avenue/Orient Way exit. Continue straight onto Polito Avenue. At the stop sign, turn left onto Valley Brook Avenue. Follow Valley Brook approximately 1½ miles to its end. Cross the railroad tracks and enter the park on your left. Bear right into the parking lot at the little guardhouse.

February 19–21: Cape Ann, Massachusetts

with Donna Traylor 

The Montclair Bird Club will be visiting Cape Ann again this year. This 3-day outing takes us to Amesbury, Gloucester, Rockport, Plum Island, Bass Rocks, and more. It’s a cold and windy trip that often turns up some very interesting birds: white-winged gulls, alcids, scoters and other ducks, both loons, or snowy and short-eared owls. Register by writing montclairbirdclub1920@gmail.com.