Eileen

I live at the beach in New Jersey, so I am not sure if I will see the same types of birds as most people in this class.  I always see cardinals, grackles, American goldfinch (New Jersey state bird), Purple finch, sparrows (not sure what kind yet) and crows...not to mention a lot of shore birds. I am sad that we never get hummingbirds though because they are my favorite.  I hang a feeder out every year, but I was told that we just don't have enough vegetation on our barrier island to sustain them.  I keep trying though.  I usually see one a year in September, probably migrating south.  There are plenty of them on the mainland nearby though. We have had an unusual visitor the past few years.  A group of yellow-crowned night herons hang out in a tree across the street from my house.  The first two years, they had nests, but storms blew it aways this year.  They still hang out by the tree, but have not rebuilt a nest.  I was told that they often build nests in several locations. Looking forward to learning a lot about local birds.  I need to get a good field guide, a good pair of binoculars and a better long distance lens for my camera.