March Summary

It's gray and misty this last day of the month so it looks like my birding ended yesterday with my only look at Pier One this month and not much shaking there. So I may as well sum up the month now. In a  word: unsatisfactory.

Life intruded this month and while I was happy to discover some woods in Iselin (where I spent the majority of the month) where I could escape for an hour to look for birds, aside from Eastern Phoebe (first Middlesex County record of the year) I found only the expected, common birds.

Donaldson Park in Highland Park was a little treat and I enjoyed my walks in Mount Loretto, but frankly, my mind was elsewhere much of the time and birding often seemed a guilty pleasure.  I'm hoping April, with migration starting, will be a better month, both for birds and especially for my mother.

Counties birded:
NJ: Middlesex
NY: Kings, Queens, Richmond
Species total for March: 65

Species	First Location
Snow Goose	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Brant	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Canada Goose	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Mute Swan	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--East Pond
Wood Duck	Prospect Park
Gadwall	Mount Loretto Unique Area
American Black Duck	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Mallard	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Northern Shoveler	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Northern Pintail	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Green-winged Teal	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Ring-necked Duck	Prospect Park
Greater Scaup	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Lesser Scaup	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--East Pond
Bufflehead	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Hooded Merganser	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--East Pond
Common Merganser	Donaldson Park
Red-breasted Merganser	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Ruddy Duck	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Pied-billed Grebe	Marine Park--West
Horned Grebe	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Double-crested Cormorant	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Great Cormorant	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Great Blue Heron	Iselin
Black-crowned Night-Heron	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Turkey Vulture	Iselin
Northern Harrier	Marine Park--West
Red-tailed Hawk	Mount Loretto Unique Area
American Coot	Prospect Park
American Oystercatcher	Marine Park--West
Greater Yellowlegs	Marine Park--West
Ring-billed Gull	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Herring Gull	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Great Black-backed Gull	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Rock Pigeon	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Mourning Dove	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Barn Owl	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--East Pond
Belted Kingfisher	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Red-bellied Woodpecker	Iselin
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	Prospect Park
Downy Woodpecker	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Northern Flicker	Iselin
Eastern Phoebe	Iselin
Blue Jay	18 Aberdeen Avenue
American Crow	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Fish Crow	Gurley Ave
Tree Swallow	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Black-capped Chickadee	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Tufted Titmouse	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Carolina Wren	Iselin
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	Prospect Park
American Robin	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Northern Mockingbird	Iselin
European Starling	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Yellow-rumped Warbler	Marine Park--West
Song Sparrow	Iselin
White-throated Sparrow	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Dark-eyed Junco	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Northern Cardinal	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Red-winged Blackbird	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Common Grackle	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Brown-headed Cowbird	18 Aberdeen Avenue
House Finch	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
American Goldfinch	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
House Sparrow	18 Aberdeen Avenue

Prospect Park 3/28

Making up for lost time, I went to Prospect Park today for the first time in well over a month. I was crunching through snow last time I was there. It was frosty this morning and windy--not the kind of day to stand around waiting for the birds to appear in one spot. I entered at 9th Street and kept going at a fairly steady pace, walking from the Upper Pool, around the The Boathouse, along the Lullwater, around the lake and over to the Vale of Cashmere, exiting at Grand Army Plaza about two & a half hours later.

The Upper Pool had a drake Ring-necked Duck. There seems to be one every spring in this water--no way to know if its the same one. I do remember a couple of years ago one hung around well into May and looked pretty raggedy by then. Also a fine drake Wood Duck was in the back of the pool.

The most fun I had was walking circles in the Vale. I kept circumambulating the frozen pools, turning up something new and interesting with each pass: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, a couple of calling Tufted Titmice, two male American Goldfinches pecking at seeds on the ice and the lone Dark-eyed Junco for the day, along with the usual cardinals, doves, jays and so forth.

32 species and two frozen hands:
Canada Goose    16
Mute Swan    5
Wood Duck    1    Upper Pool
Mallard    70
Northern Shoveler    15
Ring-necked Duck    1    Upper Pool
Ruddy Duck    80
Double-crested Cormorant    3
Black-crowned Night-Heron    1    Duck Island
Red-tailed Hawk    1
American Coot    4
Ring-billed Gull    100
Herring Gull    10
Rock Pigeon    9
Mourning Dove    15
Red-bellied Woodpecker    4
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker    1    Vale
Blue Jay    8
American Crow    1
Black-capped Chickadee    6
Tufted Titmouse    2    Vale
Ruby-crowned Kinglet    1    Vale
American Robin    125
European Starling    50
Song Sparrow    5
White-throated Sparrow    8
Dark-eyed Junco    1    Vale
Northern Cardinal    20
Red-winged Blackbird    8
Common Grackle    20
American Goldfinch    2    Vale
House Sparrow    10

Marine Park--West 3/27: Shorebirds

I arrived at MP-W at 9:01; low tide was around 9:30. As I walked in I heard a Song Sparrow trilling, alternating with a blackbird calling. I found both pretty quickly (birding by ear is okay to build up the list, but generally, I want to see the birds); 3 hours later that sparrow was in the same tree, same branch, still singing. Indefatigable.

Notable were two birds I saw and one I didn't. There were no Canada Geese. It seems impossible that I walked 2 miles along a creek without seeing one CAGO. Plenty of Brant were in evidence and 5 Mute Swans, which are a little unusual there, but not one Canadian. Department of Agriculture starting early?  http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/

The two new-for-the-year species I did see were Greater Yellowleg and American Oystercatcher (return of the big-nosed birds!).  As I was scanning the end of the creek I saw one yellowleg walking along the rocks, pretty far off. I really didn't feel like walking over to the other side of the creek to the Salt Marsh Nature Center to see if it was greater or lesser. Then another one flew in, calling, and I knew from the 3 note call that it was the greater species.  The oystercatchers were, of course, much easier. I first spotted 3 flying around  on the creek, their unmistakable bills glowing in the sun. Later, about 2 miles away on the beach where the creek begins I saw two more.

Continuing my series, "The Abandoned Cars of Marine Park-West," I found two more, deep, deep, in the phragmites of a trail I hadn't (to my memory) walked on before. This is also a subset to the motif--these cars are both flipped over. I cannot figure out how these cars were driven through the muck this far away from a road to be ditched (and just for the hell of it, turned over) and why--if a car can be driven this far over such terrain, isn't it good enough to sell? There's probably some crime angle that I just don't get as to why these cars end up in a city park.

30 species for the day:
Brant    350
Mute Swan    5
American Black Duck    9
Mallard    2
Bufflehead    40
Hooded Merganser    2
Red-breasted Merganser    2
Ruddy Duck    35
Pied-billed Grebe    2
Northern Harrier    1
Red-tailed Hawk    1
American Oystercatcher    5
Greater Yellowlegs    2
Ring-billed Gull    140
Herring Gull    25
Great Black-backed Gull    4
Mourning Dove    1
Downy Woodpecker    5
Eastern Phoebe    1
Blue Jay    2
American Crow    2
Fish Crow    1
Black-capped Chickadee    5
American Robin    35
Northern Mockingbird    2
Yellow-rumped Warbler    5
Song Sparrow    4
White-throated Sparrow    1
Northern Cardinal    6
Red-winged Blackbird    15

Mount Loretto 3/26--FOY BCNH

My Jersey sojourn is over.

We left Iselin this morning and the first thing I did upon hitting Staten Island was to bird Mount Loretto. As I was coming in, around 10:30, I met a group of birders who were leaving. Their early start got them 3 Wilson's Snipes on the Wetlands Trail and Ring-necked Ducks out on the bay, an odd place for them. But the snipes were flushed and the ducks had flown off, naturally.

However, I was happy to walk around the area, but disturbed by all the habitat that has been chopped down or destroyed. I'm not seeing as many birds as I usually do, and I'm wondering if all the bulldozers, backhoes and dumpsters scattered around, laying down mysterious roads tearing up the fields for no good reason I can see, has something to do with the scarcity. Of course, a perfectly fine natural area can't be left that way--somehow it has to be improved. And now the fields are off limits--a guy who appeared to be some kind of foreman told me to stay on the roads when he saw me sloshing through the muddy tread tracks one of his machines had made. Apparently it's dangerous to walk by idle machinery--or are they afraid of eco-vandalism. I'd like to know what all this digging and wrecking is for--and why a large garage type building was constructed last summer. Something's up and I don't like it.

Improvement

The happy moment was when I saw my first of year Black-crowned Night Heron skulking in the reeds of one of the ponds. Other than that, nothing I hadn't seen before. Good to be back in NY though.
Number of species:    22
Brant    75
Canada Goose    16
American Black Duck    10
Mallard    8
Northern Shoveler    7
Green-winged Teal    8
Bufflehead    2
Red-breasted Merganser    24
Horned Grebe    10
Double-crested Cormorant    3
Black-crowned Night-Heron    1
Turkey Vulture    1
Red-tailed Hawk    1
Ring-billed Gull    10
Herring Gull    10
Eastern Phoebe    2
Blue Jay    2
Carolina Wren    1
American Robin    7
European Starling    8
Northern Cardinal    1
Red-winged Blackbird    2

No Problem

Final Feeder Filling

After the birds went  through 120 pounds of bird seed since the end of January, Shari & I decided not to buy any more seed because

A) We didn't want to encourage any migrating birds to hang around and

B) We're leaving on Saturday.

But we had a spring snow overnight, so while we were at the supermarket, we bought one more small  bag, just enough for one final fill. And I  put  the last cake of suet  in  the cage.

And here are pictures of the ancestral home's backyard where a lot of my Middlesex County life list has been seen. 

The  angle from the sidewalk  where I used the  hedges as a  blind

View from the back door

Happiness is Iselin in the rear view mirror

Iselin 3/18--Great Blue Heron

I took a walk into the township woods (forgive us our trespasses) which I've decided to call Blue Jay Woods due to the large numbers of jays calling and flying tree to tree. As I approached the little creek a Great Blue Heron rose from the bank and slowly flew upstream. Nothing unusual for me to see a great blue, but I've never seen one here; thus a new species for my Middlesex County list. I might have a decent county list by the time I leave here next week.

Also got a great look a couple of times at a Carolina Wren calling  exuberantly.

14 species on  the walk.
Canada Goose    9
Great Blue Heron    1
Mourning Dove    5
Red-bellied Woodpecker    3
Blue Jay    10
Carolina Wren    2
American Robin    10
European Starling    2
Song Sparrow    3
White-throated Sparrow    10
Dark-eyed Junco    1
Northern Cardinal    3
Common Grackle    15
House Sparrow    15

Donaldson Park

Today I drove to Donaldson Park in Highland Park, a place I've seen listed on eBird a few times. I thought it might be a good spot since it is on the Raritan River.  It  always pays to be near water when you're looking for birds.

I arrived around 11:30 in the morning and it turned out to be a decent spot. Geese, of course, were all over the lawns, and gulls were abundant on the river and in the parking lots.  I walked up the muddy river bank for a while and found 2 Ruddy Ducks and then farther off  a  handsome drake Common Merganser,  which was a happy surprise.

There are plenty of snags and phragmites for birds to hide in and careful examination all along the outer perimeter of the park yielded the expected species. It was a good way to spend an hour and a half and I think it if the weather stays warm, it may attract some early migrants, like the lone Tree Swallow I found in, appropriately, a tree.

It also has the advantage of not having "No Trespassing" signs as the little patch of woods I've been  going to a few blocks from here--approaching them from a different direction a couple of days ago I noticed them for the first time. They don't say who owns  the woods  though I  suspect it is township land used for drainage.  Probably the signs won't stop me from going,  but I'll be a little more  trepedatious  when I do.

Donaldson Park
Number of species:    23
Canada Goose    75
Mallard    9
Common Merganser    1
Ruddy Duck    2
Red-tailed Hawk    1
Ring-billed Gull    200
Herring Gull    10
Great Black-backed Gull    6
Mourning Dove    4
Red-bellied Woodpecker    3
Blue Jay    4
American Crow    1
Fish Crow    4
Tree Swallow    1
Tufted Titmouse    4
Carolina Wren    2
American Robin    3
European Starling    1
Song Sparrow    7
White-throated Sparrow    1
Northern Cardinal    5
Red-winged Blackbird    3
Common Grackle    1

Iselin 3/14--First Phoebe

I'm starting to look forward to my morning walks along these suburban streets to "my" little patch of woods. There always seems to be a surprise. House Finch calling from the top of a tree. Four deer running through the woods. (I know they're 4-legged pigeons, but it's still a surprise to see them here in the development.) And just as I was leaving the woods today my first Eastern Phoebe of the year. Flicking its tail, flying from branch to ground and up again. What flies this flycatcher will find right now I don't know, but phoebes are back. It may actually warm up and become spring, hard as that is to believe.

15 species on my 1 mile jaunt this morning:
Canada Goose    29
Mallard    12
Red-tailed Hawk    1
Ring-billed Gull    1
Mourning Dove    10
Red-bellied Woodpecker    3
Eastern Phoebe    1
Blue Jay    10
American Robin    4
White-throated Sparrow    1
Dark-eyed Junco    1
Northern Cardinal    3
Common Grackle    50
House Finch    1
House Sparrow    10

JBWR 3/13

I  felt like I was on an extended jail break this morning as we walked around the West Pond. Nothing was very different from last week--if anything it was windier but this time I was able to find a protect spot and examine the scaup in enough detail to decide that they were mostly of the greater persuasion. The number of Snow Geese was tremendous--someone counted 3500 a couple of weeks ago and I'm certain that there were at least 2500 today,  in the pond and in the marshes, even if  eBird questions  the count.

Some goldfinches, blackbirds, and sparrows were about. And the first Tree Swallow of the year. A decent day, but I'm looking forward to spring, warblers, and warmth.

Number of species:    25
Snow Goose    2500
Brant    125
Canada Goose    100
Mute Swan    1
American Black Duck    12
Northern Shoveler    75
Green-winged Teal    1
Greater Scaup    1000
Bufflehead    15
Red-breasted Merganser    10
Ruddy Duck    100
Horned Grebe    1    Bench 1
Ring-billed Gull    X
Herring Gull    5
Great Black-backed Gull    1
American Crow    4
Tree Swallow    1
Black-capped Chickadee    1    Feeders
European Starling    2
Song Sparrow    5
White-throated Sparrow    4    Blind
Dark-eyed Junco    1
Northern Cardinal    3
Red-winged Blackbird    16
American Goldfinch    10    Feeders

Mount Loretto 3/12--Great Cormorant

I took a day off from Jersey duties today. Shari dropped me off at Mount Loretto and I took a 2 1/2 hour walk while she attended to other business. It was breezy at times and later in the morning it clouded up making it feel like was tramping wind-swept moors--if only the cell phone would stop ringing.

I went first to the pond on the west side of the park where I ran into 2 birders who advised me that one of them had just spotted a Common Redpoll.  His friend hadn't seen it and they were hoping it would reappear but with the strong breeze, were pessimistic they'd find it again. I hung around looking for a bit, meanwhile finding the expected ducks. At one point Dave, who hadn't seen the redpoll exclaimed, "I hate wind!" and I heartily agreed with him. Then my cellphone rang and that somehow was a signal to move on.

I walked up the hill and down the bluffs to bird along the shore of Raritan Bay. Brants were about all I saw at first, but I decided to continue on.  After a bit I saw a cormorant on a rock near the shore that didn't meet the GISS (General Impression Size & Shape) for a Double-crested Cormorant and I hurried on. When I got closer, I saw the distinctive white patch on the flank of a breeding Great Cormorant. Pretty cool; I don't see them that often and I've never see one in New York. As I was basking in the satisfaction of finding a new year bird and new state bird the cell phone rang and I sat down on a big log and talked while the cormorant flew away.

Moving up the beach I heard rattling sound and looked up to find a Belted Kingfisher flying in off the bay. That surprised me although I've seen them many times at Mount Loretto. I guess they have to get there from somewhere. I was near the turnoff on the beach where you go back to the fields when the cell phone rang, again. It was one of my brothers. "Are you doing something fun?" he asked.

"Well, I would be if people would leave me alone for five f***ing minutes." (Why didn't I just turn off the cell phone? Obviously, there's too much stuff going on for me to do that). So I spoke to him for a time while I walked back up the hill. The kingfisher flew overhead again. After that I didn't see anything particularly unusual for Loretto, although walking again toward the western pond I looked to my left to see a Turkey Vulture on the ground about 20 feet from me. It lifted off like a Klingon warship, scaring 4 mallards in a developing vernal pond.

After Shari picked me up we ate lunch at the Dove Diner as we did 2 weeks ago. This time, instead of a Cooper's Hawk on top of the light pole there were 2 Fish Crows sitting on poles calling their laryngitical caw.  Gurley Avenue is getting to be a little hot spot for us.

List for
Mount Loretto Unique Area
Number of species:    26
Brant    32
Canada Goose    3
Gadwall    6
American Black Duck    38
Mallard    27
Northern Shoveler    4
Green-winged Teal    6
Bufflehead    1
Hooded Merganser    4
Red-breasted Merganser    2
Horned Grebe    4
Double-crested Cormorant    2
Great Cormorant    1    On rock in Raritan Bay
Turkey Vulture    1
Red-tailed Hawk    1
Ring-billed Gull    10
Herring Gull    1
Great Black-backed Gull    10
Mourning Dove    2
Belted Kingfisher    1    Flew in over Raritan Bay.
Downy Woodpecker    1
Blue Jay    1
Carolina Wren    1
Song Sparrow    1
Red-winged Blackbird    1
Common Grackle    6