Barnegat Lighthouse SP 3/20--Dunlin, Snowy Egret, Osprey

Snowy Egret

Driving up interminable Central Ave on LBI to Barnegat Lighthouse this morning through what the weather report called "haze," and I call "rain," I thought, "This is not the day to be here." But by the time I pulled into the parking lot the haze stopped and behind the clouds the sun was a silver dollar. Still, I was not optimistic about scoping the ocean but there were other target birds that I thought I might find on the beach. I only found one of them, but I did come up with two surprise species, surprises only because I wasn't thinking about them on this first day of spring. 

The first surprise was a supposed rarity in the big pool--a Snowy Egret among the waterfowl. This is rare only because of the date and probably only by a couple of days. Still, a new bird for the year and one not at the top of my mind. The year bird I saw was another I wasn't considering--an Osprey that flew over me while I was at the ocean's edge, trying to scope ducks in the rolling waves.  At first, I was annoyed that I couldn't get a picture of this year bird and then I remembered, it's an Osprey, there are billions of pictures of Ospreys, the world doesn't need another photo of one. 

Dunlin

I was searching the beach for a Piping Plover, which I never found. I was hoping to get one early, before the beach is stringed-off for the breeding season. All the while I was scanning the two or three big flocks of Purple Sandpipers for something not a Purple Sandpiper. I listed 100 Purples only because that's as much as the eBird filter allows and I wasn't really counting, but I'm certain their numbers were double that. Finally, on my way back, I scanned a flock again and saw a bird with its head tucked in--but different color and clean breast told me it was a Dunlin, FOY. How I managed to go almost 3 months without a Dunlin I don't know--you'd think I'd run into one by accident, even not going to the shore very much. It spent all the time I was standing in front of it with its beak under its wings except for a few seconds when a Purple Sandpiper bothered it and I saw its curved beak, just to cinch the i.d.

I was hoping for Lesser Black-backed Gull today too, and thought I had a good candidate in an immature bird, but after I sent pix to better birders than me, it turned out to only be a Great Black-backed Gull. I like them better when they're adults with easily identifiable yellow legs and charcoal mantles. 

Because the waves were crashing up over the jetty, I couldn't look into the inlet to find the Harlequin Ducks that usually stay close to the rocks. I'll live with the disappointment. For the almost 3 hours I walked the beach I tallied 31 species.

Brant  120
Canada Goose  4
American Wigeon  2     Pool
Mallard  7
American Black Duck  11
Greater Scaup  2
Surf Scoter  4
Black Scoter  40
Long-tailed Duck  35
Red-breasted Merganser  15
Mourning Dove  3
American Oystercatcher  6
Dunlin  1
Purple Sandpiper  100     100+
American Herring Gull  50
Great Black-backed Gull  6
Common Loon  2
Great Cormorant  10
Double-crested Cormorant  2
Snowy Egret  1     Small white egret yellow feet black beak
Osprey  1
Blue Jay  1     Heard
American Crow  2
Carolina Wren  1
House Sparrow  2
House Finch  5
Song Sparrow  3
Red-winged Blackbird  5
Common Grackle  28
Yellow-rumped Warbler  2
Northern Cardinal  2

Barnegat Lighthouse SP 3/10--Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstone

My reasoning for avoiding the shore during the cold windy months beginning the year was that "I can see those birds in March, when it's warmer." Well, it's March and today was warmish, so I went to Barnegat Lighthouse SP for a little winter cleanup of birds I didn't have for the year. I really only had two particularly in mind, and I found both within a few minutes of each other. 

Standing on the jetty I had a Great Cormorant fly by me.  I saw Great Cormorants on January 1 at Sandy Hook, but they were so distant, roosting on a channel marker, that they were "if you say so" birds. Today, I had much better looks at them (and they're my first in the county this year). Great Cormorants can be difficult to distinguish from their year-round relative, Double-crested Cormorants most of the time, but in March there is an easy field mark to look out for, a white brood patch on the bird's "hip." Today, scoping the birds lined across the inlet on the Island Beach jetty, these white patches were prominent. While I was standing there, a birder I see at Whitesbog sometimes came up with his son. I said that I'd just seen a Great Cormorant fly by, and his son pumped his fist because that was confirmation that he'd just got a life bird. That's always fun to witness. 

The bird that had eluded me on my rare trips to the shore, Ruddy Turnstone, was next. I had to keep checking a flock of about 100 Purple Sandpipers that were not shy about my presence, in order to find the one turnstone amongst them. Then it was a question of having it stay still long enough to get a usable picture of it. 

Harlequin Ducks

Of course, the Harlequin Ducks were still there, another species that seem to have gotten used to having people peering at it. And most of the other winter ducks were there, though no White-winged Scoter (another for the county list) and certainly no King Eider. I also wanted gannets for the county. I remember 5 years ago, just before everything shut down in mid-March because of Covid, being there with Mike and couple of other birders trying to guesstimate how many thousands of Northern Gannets were flying by that day. So, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, "I coulda done better but I don't mind." 

Surf Scoter

Day list:

33 species
Brant  120
Canada Goose  4
American Wigeon  2
Mallard  20
American Black Duck  5
Greater Scaup  60
Common Eider  15
Harlequin Duck  20
Surf Scoter  3
Black Scoter  30
Long-tailed Duck  85
Bufflehead  35
Red-breasted Merganser  35
Mourning Dove  1
American Oystercatcher  5
Ruddy Turnstone  1
Sanderling  8
Purple Sandpiper  100
American Herring Gull  125
Great Black-backed Gull  2
Red-throated Loon  1
Common Loon  1
Great Cormorant  18
Double-crested Cormorant  1
American Crow  1
House Sparrow  2
House Finch  1
Savannah Sparrow (Ipswich)  2
Song Sparrow  3
Red-winged Blackbird  5
Common Grackle  20
Yellow-rumped Warbler  3
Northern Cardinal  2

Obligatory American Oystercatcher photo for Shari

Manahawkin WMA 3/6--Tricolored Heron

Rare today, common next month. Tricolored Heron is a seasonal rarity in these parts. For the last 5 or 6 years a few have overwintered (or returned really early) on Long Beach Island and this winter there have been reports from Spizzle Creek on Island Beach, but the two birds I saw flying in at the Manahawkin WMA this morning, which I initially took for Great Blue Herons, are the first I know of on the mainland.  These two birds flew into the back impoundment, stood there for a few minutes then left. To see them standing belly deep in water is unusual. 

It was a good walk with 25 species seen or heard on a wicked windy day.

Canada Goose  13
Mute Swan  2
American Wigeon  3
American Black Duck  18
Northern Pintail  17
Bufflehead  1
Hooded Merganser  47
Greater Yellowlegs  1     Heard
American Herring Gull  2
Tricolored Heron  2     
Great Blue Heron  4
Turkey Vulture  3
Northern Harrier  1
Belted Kingfisher  2
Northern Flicker  2
American Crow  4
Carolina Chickadee  2
Tufted Titmouse  1
Carolina Wren  2
Northern Mockingbird  1     Circular field
American Robin  4
House Finch  10
Song Sparrow  4
Red-winged Blackbird  8
Northern Cardinal  2

American Wigeons & Northern Pintails

Lake Carasaljo 3/1--Rusty Blackbird

Rusty Blackbird

The first of March and feeling like a spring day, I started thinking that it was getting late for some birds that I'd missed, and I might have to wait until winter rolled around again before I could get them on the list. The thought came to me about half-way around Lake Carasaljo which was of course ice-free but surprisingly, rather low on ducks. There were all the usual species, but not big numbers of them. Even the geese, which might number in the hundreds on the ice were down to a paltry estimate of 75. 

After my first circuit I decided to investigate the muddy areas along the shore where birds like to feed and hide in the woody tangles. One area attracted my attention with a lot of bird activity flitting in and out of the stalks, making it difficult to figure out just what was in there. But I had a feeling that one of those birds I was already pushing off to next winter might just be in there. I was trying to listen for a squeaky gate call, but the grackles and blackbirds all around were making such a racket that I couldn't distinguish it. Then beneath a jay I saw a mottled bird with a pale eye shining--that somewhat elusive icterid, Rusty Blackbird. It was screened by bushes in front of me and thick brush in the mud. Trying to take a photo the camera just focused on branches. Then, very cooperatively, it flew up into a tree in front of me where I was able to take some backlit photos of it. Always a hard bird for me to find, but Lake Unpronounceable just keeps on producing for me. I also added Northern Shoveler today to my patch list there, an infrequent bird for Ocean County. 30 species in all:

Canada Goose  75
Mute Swan  4
Northern Shoveler  1     
Mallard  14
American Black Duck  1
Ring-necked Duck  12
Lesser Scaup  15
Bufflehead  2
Hooded Merganser  5
Common Merganser  2
Ruddy Duck  7
Mourning Dove  5
Ring-billed Gull  65
Turkey Vulture  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  4
Blue Jay  3
American Crow  1
Carolina Chickadee  1
Carolina Wren  1
European Starling  4
Northern Mockingbird  1
House Sparrow  5
Dark-eyed Junco  10
White-throated Sparrow  6
Song Sparrow  7
Red-winged Blackbird  10
Rusty Blackbird  1
Common Grackle  15
Yellow-rumped Warbler  1
Northern Cardinal  4

Northern Shoveler, hen

February Summary--Rarities

Sandhill Cranes in Ditch Meadow

For a dreary month with under a hundred species I am pretty happy with my February birding mainly because of the three rarities on the list (chronicled here, here, & here). Two of them I found on my own, always more exciting than chasing after a bird, and the Sandhill Cranes at Whitesbog that I found have always been my dream bird for that spot. Although my listing is the first for Whitesbog that record has to have an asterisk attached since my informant, who does not list, has seen them there previously. 

Rome Pond

I was glad to get them on both sides of the county line and I was also happy this week to get close enough to them in Ditch Meadow to get decent photos. Yesterday I searched Ditch Meadow again, twice, and didn't find them, but when I was driving out on the road along Rome Pond I scanned for waterfowl and found them feeding there. Whitesbog is big and these birds seem determined to use as much of it as they can. 

Greater White-fronted Goose, Lake Carasaljo

A couple of days after I found the Greater White-fronted Goose at Lake Carasaljo I got a text from Steve that there were three of them at Shelter Cove, no, make that 10, then another text that there were over 20. He and some other birders finally settled on 24, which is a record flock for New Jersey. I didn't make the drive to Toms River for this spectacle because "you only need one." Steve's amusing tale of the rapidly expanding flock can be found here.

Today I ended my birding activities for the month at the Manasquan Reservoir. I still needed Pied-billed Grebe for the year and that's usually a reliable spot to get one or two. I got two. It has been a long time since I tallied under a 100 species for a month but sometimes weather and life work against you. 95 species this month but the list is sprinkled with year birds, including a backyard Pine Siskin and the rare goose, gull, and cranes.

Species                                       First Sighting
Greater White-fronted Goose   Lake Carasaljo
Brant   Manasquan Inlet
Canada Goose   Whitesbog
Mute Swan   Lake of the Lilies
Tundra Swan   Whitesbog
Wood Duck   Lake Carasaljo
Gadwall   Lake of the Lilies
Mallard   Country Lake Estates
American Black Duck   Whitesbog
Northern Pintail   Double Trouble SP
Green-winged Teal   Lake Carasaljo
Canvasback   Lake of the Lilies
Redhead   Lake of the Lilies
Ring-necked Duck   Country Lake Estates
Greater Scaup   Manasquan Inlet
Lesser Scaup   Double Trouble SP
Surf Scoter   Holgate
Black Scoter   Manasquan Inlet
Long-tailed Duck   Manasquan Inlet
Bufflehead   Double Trouble SP
Common Goldeneye   Hideaway Cove
Hooded Merganser   Double Trouble SP
Common Merganser   Lake Carasaljo
Red-breasted Merganser   Manasquan Inlet
Ruddy Duck   Lake of the Lilies
Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd
Rock Pigeon   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
Mourning Dove   35 Sunset Rd
American Coot   Lake of the Lilies
Sandhill Crane   Whitesbog
American Oystercatcher   Holgate
Killdeer   Whitesbog
Wilson's Snipe   Cranberry Bogs
Greater Yellowlegs   Bayview Ave Marshes
Sanderling   Manasquan Inlet
Purple Sandpiper   Manasquan Inlet
Black-headed Gull   Bayview Ave Marshes
Ring-billed Gull   Country Lake Estates
American Herring Gull   Whitesbog
Great Black-backed Gull   Lake of the Lilies
Pied-billed Grebe   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
Horned Grebe   Berkeley Island County Park
Red-throated Loon   Manasquan Inlet
Common Loon   Manasquan Inlet
Double-crested Cormorant   Lake of the Lilies
Great Egret   Lake of the Lilies
Great Blue Heron   Whitesbog
Black Vulture   Winding River Park
Turkey Vulture   35 Sunset Rd
Sharp-shinned Hawk   Whitesbog
Cooper's Hawk   Whitesbog
Northern Harrier   Double Trouble SP
Bald Eagle   Lake Carasaljo
Red-tailed Hawk   Pemberton
Eastern Screech-Owl   Whitesbog
Great Horned Owl   Whitesbog
Belted Kingfisher   Waretown
Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Whitesbog
Downy Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker   Whitesbog
Northern Flicker   Cranberry Bogs
American Kestrel   Pasadena Road
Blue Jay   Whitesbog
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Common Raven   Whitesbog
Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd
Tufted Titmouse   Whitesbog
Horned Lark   Jackson Liberty HS
Tree Swallow   Great Bay Blvd
Golden-crowned Kinglet   Cranberry Bogs
White-breasted Nuthatch   Whitesbog
Red-breasted Nuthatch   Whitesbog Road
Brown Creeper   Winding River Park
Carolina Wren   35 Sunset Rd
European Starling   35 Sunset Rd
Northern Mockingbird   Whitesbog
Eastern Bluebird   35 Sunset Rd
Hermit Thrush   Whitesbog
American Robin   Whitesbog
House Sparrow   Lake of the Lilies
House Finch   35 Sunset Rd
Pine Siskin   35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch   Whitesbog
Fox Sparrow   Whitesbog
Dark-eyed Junco   Whitesbog
White-throated Sparrow   Lake Carasaljo
Song Sparrow   Whitesbog
Swamp Sparrow   Double Trouble SP
Red-winged Blackbird   Lake of the Lilies
Common Grackle   Lake Carasaljo
Boat-tailed Grackle   Great Bay Bvld
Pine Warbler   35 Sunset Rd
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Union Transportation Trail
Northern Cardinal   Whitesbog 

Holgate 2/23--American Oystercatcher

Distant American Oystercatchers with Brant

"I'm gonna see 'em eventually, but I may as well see 'em today," was my philosophy for walking on the bayside of Holgate on the southern end of the aptly named Long Beach Island, because I was pretty certain I'd be able to find American Oystercatcher there--it's always been a good winter spot for them--and today's weather was the first time in a while that trekking down the beach didn't take on the aura of a polar expedition. At the first break in the dunes, I put down my scope and immediately found 6 oystercatchers probing for food on a sandbar. At the next break in the dunes there were more, and at the next one even more, until I decided to just count the ones I could see in one scope sweep--20, which is way more than the eBird filter accepts but is nothing compared to the numbers I've had in the past--years ago, from the end of Great Bay Blvd I was with Pete Bacinski when we counted around 400 of them!

I was hoping for more year birds, but I had to be content with just the oystercatchers. The problem with Holgate is that it is about 5 miles of FOMO. If you walk on the bayside, as I started out today, then you're continually wondering what you're missing on the ocean side and if you divert over to the ocean, you're afraid you're missing some wonderful birds in the dunes. And it doesn't help to walk south on the bayside then return north along the ocean, because there is still the very good chance that you're missing birds where you are not. It is an example of The Third Law of Birding to the max: Wherever you are, you should be somewhere else.

I walked down to the clamming trail and then turned around, a round trip of approximately 3 miles in which I listed 17 species:

Brant  60
Mallard  2
American Black Duck  15
Surf Scoter  7
Black Scoter  50
Long-tailed Duck  8
Bufflehead  25
American Oystercatcher  20     
Ring-billed Gull  1
American Herring Gull  100
Great Black-backed Gull  3
Red-throated Loon  1
Common Loon  3
Northern Mockingbird  1
House Finch  2
Song Sparrow  2
Red-winged Blackbird  1

Whitesbog (Ocean County) 2/20--Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes on Upper Reservoir with Tundra Swans

I finally tracked them down. And on the "right" side of the line. And in the last spot I'd expect to find them. "They," of course, are the Sandhill Cranes that I initially saw on February 7th flying out of Ditch Meadow on the Burlco side of Whitesbog, and again in flight on February 14th. On Monday I searched for them in Ditch Meadow without luck and looked for them in what I thought would be the most likely site on the Ocean County side in the grasslands of Otter Pond--if that sounds oxymoronic, it is--Otter Pond was drained of most of its water around 8 years ago when the Upper Reservoir breached and something like 17 million gallons of water tore through the old bogs and ponds that border Fort Dix. In fact, it was on the ice of the Upper Reservoir where I unexpectedly found them today, standing among a small flock of Tundra Swans. 

As has been usual of late, Whitesbog was pretty quiet today with all the water frozen. A lone Tundra Swan on the ice around the dog leg calling pathetically for company was the most interesting bird I saw until the cranes. I had walked back to the Antrim Bogs, where a few days ago I had seen swans, geese, and ducks in some open water, but they also were frozen. So, since I've never seen cranes standing on ice, I had given up on them when I was counting the swans on the Upper Reservoir which means the Second Law of birding had been invoked and of course, there they were at the left-hand side of the flock. Happily, that means I don't have to go searching for them in the smelly pastures of New Egypt this spring, where they used to be easy to find and now, not so much.