Robert Francis, a terrific writer and avian historian, posted a fascinating article today on owls as omens.

  You can read it here (I hope):

   https://birdhistory.substack.com/p/ominous-owls

    On Monday I wrote:

   I took this photo at Crestwood Lake in Allendale last week.

    See any birds? If so, what species?

    Answer: Wilson's Snipe, encircled below.

   More on Wilson's Snipes here.

    I took this photo at Crestwood Lake last week.

    See any birds? If so, what species?

   I'll post the answer on Thursday.

   My latest column is all about a cool bird-feeder designed by the late Stiles Thomas' son-in-law, David LaLima, that you can build yourself.

Looking for a DIY project?
Make a 'magic' bird feeder

By Jim Wright

Special to The Record | USA TODAY NETWORK - NEW JERSEY

  Now that fall is here, more of us backyard birders are putting up our feeders. For the past few years, I’ve been test-driving a feeder designed and built by my friend David LaLima.

     I’ve never seen a feeder quite like this one, and here’s why: It’s made from scrap wood and window-screen mesh, and it has a small-bird-size opening so that little birds can dine inside (like some bluebird feeders) and larger birds can dine from a perch on the outside.

                      Photo by Brian Welsh

I went to the Warden's Watch with my spotting scope today in hopes of seeing an unusual bird or two. To my surprise, I spied what turned out to a Wilson's Snipe (Thanks, Chris Takacs) on the mudflats directly north of the Warden's Watch. I had originally ID'd it as an American Woodcock, based on sme faulty assumptions.

Even better, photographer Brian Welsh arrived with a camera and large lens and took some terrific photos.  This bird was far away. Thank you, Brian!

I would have posted a few more shots, but my blog provider's software is acting up.

More on Wilson's Snipes here:

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/wilsons-snipe