June Wrap-up

I didn't expect to see nearly as many birds this month as last--migration was pretty much over and we didn't have any big birding trips like our excursion to California in May. However, we did find 2 unexpected life birds and discovered some good new birding areas like Negri-Nepote in NJ and a WMA down near Toms River that I suspect we'll spend quite a bit of time birding in the future.

The surprises, of course, were the the 2 lifers. I never really expected to see a DICKCISSEL. It just wasn't on my list of possibilities, so we were thrilled to find one in Negri-Nepote late one afternoon. It was a beautiful bird--I wish we had gotten a picture of it. The HOODED CROW was truly out of left field--it is such a weird bird that even eBird seems reluctant to acknowledge it. For all the reasons stated in my previous post about the bird, I'm considering it legit--it's my list.

The other interesting bird for the month was the oddball hybrid of Greater White-fronted & Snow Goose, but hybrids, while fun to find, don't count.

85 species for the month. I just noticed that I had the fewest bird lists for a month in June--only 23. That helps explain the paucity of birds too. I guess life got in the way of life birds this month.

Counties birded:
New Jersey: Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset
New York: Kings, Queens, Richmond

Species	Location
Brant	JBWR--West Pond
Canada Goose	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Mute Swan	Prospect Park
Wood Duck	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Gadwall	JBWR--West Pond
American Black Duck	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Mallard	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Greater Scaup	JBWR--West Pond
Red-breasted Merganser	Great Kills Park
Ruddy Duck	JBWR--West Pond
Double-crested Cormorant	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Great Blue Heron	Marine Park--Southwest
Great Egret	Prospect Park
Snowy Egret	Marine Park--Southwest
Little Blue Heron	JBWR--West Pond
Tricolored Heron	JBWR--West Pond
Black-crowned Night-Heron	Prospect Park
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron	JBWR--West Pond
Glossy Ibis	JBWR--West Pond
Turkey Vulture	Negri-Nepote Grasslands
Osprey	Marine Park--Southwest
Northern Harrier	Marine Park--Southwest
Clapper Rail	JBWR--West Pond
Semipalmated Plover	JBWR--West Pond
Killdeer	Marine Park--Southwest
American Oystercatcher	Marine Park--Southwest
Willet	Marine Park--Southwest
Semipalmated Sandpiper	JBWR--West Pond
Wilson's Phalarope	JBWR--West Pond
Laughing Gull	Marine Park--Southwest
Ring-billed Gull	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Herring Gull	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Great Black-backed Gull	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Least Tern	Marine Park--Southwest
Common Tern	Marine Park--Southwest
Forster's Tern	JBWR--West Pond
Rock Pigeon	Prospect Park
Mourning Dove	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Monk Parakeet	Marine Park--Southwest
Chimney Swift	Prospect Park
Belted Kingfisher	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Red-bellied Woodpecker	Prospect Park
Downy Woodpecker	Prospect Park
Northern Flicker	Prospect Park
Eastern Wood-Pewee	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Willow Flycatcher	Marine Park--Southwest
Eastern Kingbird	Prospect Park
Warbling Vireo	Marine Park--Southwest
Blue Jay	Prospect Park
American Crow	Marine Park--Southwest
Fish Crow	Marine Park--Southwest
HOODED CROW	Great Kills Park
Northern Rough-winged Swallow	Prospect Park
Tree Swallow	Prospect Park
Bank Swallow	Great Kills Park
Barn Swallow	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Carolina Chickadee	Crestwood Village
Black-capped Chickadee	JBWR--West Pond
White-breasted Nuthatch	Crestwood Village
Carolina Wren	JBWR--West Pond
House Wren	JBWR--West Pond
Marsh Wren	JBWR--West Pond
Wood Thrush	Mount Loretto Unique Area
American Robin	Prospect Park
Gray Catbird	Prospect Park
Northern Mockingbird	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Brown Thrasher	Marine Park--Southwest
European Starling	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Cedar Waxwing	Marine Park--Southwest
Yellow Warbler	Prospect Park
American Redstart	JBWR--West Pond
Common Yellowthroat	Marine Park--Southwest
Eastern Towhee	Marine Park--Southwest
Chipping Sparrow	Marine Park--Southwest
Song Sparrow	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One
Northern Cardinal	Prospect Park
Indigo Bunting	Mount Loretto Unique Area
DICKCISSEL	Negri-Nepote Grasslands
Red-winged Blackbird	Prospect Park
Common Grackle	Prospect Park
Boat-tailed Grackle	Marine Park--Southwest
Brown-headed Cowbird	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Baltimore Oriole	Marine Park--Southwest
American Goldfinch	Mount Loretto Unique Area
House Sparrow	Brooklyn Bridge Park--Pier One

Great Kills Park 6/25--HOODED CROW

Hooded Crow
Photo: Shari Zirlin

Is it countable? Is it a life bird?

HOODED CROW is a common Eurasian corvid that occasionally makes its way as far west as Greenland. There are 90 confirmed sightings in Iceland. But it has never been seen on the East Coast of North America until now. (There are some records from mid-continent, but at least one was traced back as a captive bird.)

No one really thinks this is an escapee; that leaves the two possibilities that it made it here on its own, jumping from Western Europe, to Iceland (perhaps) to Greenland to somewhere in North America where no one noticed it to a parking lot on the southern tip of Great Kills Park called Crooke's Point, which would make it legit; or was it "ship assisted?" In other words, did it somehow hitch a ride on a freighter and disembark somewhere around the Verrazano Bridge? In which case, the various records committees would probably disallow it as a countable bird. However, by the time they finish dithering about over the question it could be one or two years before they come to a decision and really, how will they ever know?

Here's my position: if a bird wasn't deliberately brought out of range, it's countable. Escapees are obviously no good--the Black Swan that occasionally visits Jamaica Bay obviously didn't fly here from Australia and it is very unlikely it flew onto a freighter so it is an escapee from a zoo. But if a bird flew on to a ship and decided to stay (or couldn't get back because of weather), then, who cares?  We're part of the natural world and what we do affects it and if that includes spreading species around then so be it.

Is it a life bird? In my guide book Birds of the Mediterranean by Paul Sterry, Hooded Crow (Corvus corone cornix) is considered a race of the nominate species Carrion Crow (Corvus corone corone), of which we saw many when we were in France in 2007. In which case it is just a cool bird to add to my US, NY, and Richmond County lists. However, the book mentions that some consider them as separate species and on my world checklist from the International Ornithologist Union, the two species are separate. In which case, lifer.

It was almost too easy finding the bird today. Just as we walk into the parking lot (we had to walk there because it is restricted to people with permits) I spotted the bird on the gravel. We got good looks, then it flew away, harassed by 3 mockingbirds. I said to Shari, "We just missed just missing it."

There were about 10 other birders there and we hung around for a while and suddenly it reappeared at the end of the lot where we got our "field guide" looks at it and Shari was able to get one decent photo (above).

Before we left we check out the peat flat at the northern end of the park. It was high tide so there weren't many shorebirds or wader there, though there were a lot of Bank Swallows. I had mentioned to another birder at the Crooke's Point lot that the peat flat always seem to have one weird duck in the summer months (we've seen out of season scoters, Bufflehead, and Common Eider there) and sure enough, today I spotted this very odd Red-breasted Merganser which I assume is leucistic, meaning reduced pigmentation, and differs from albinism in its cause.

Leucistic Red-breasted Merganser
Photo: Shari Zirlin

There were also a couple of way out of season scaup there, drake and hen, but as to lesser or greater I couldn't tell--they were sitting on the shore 1/2 a mile away.

23 species at Great Kills. 1 lifer.
Mallard  2
Greater/Lesser Scaup  2
Red-breasted Merganser  1    Leucistic
Double-crested Cormorant  6
Great Egret  1
American Oystercatcher  2
Laughing Gull  1
Ring-billed Gull  1
Herring Gull  1
Great Black-backed Gull  1
Rock Pigeon  15
Mourning Dove  1
HOODED CROW  1    Crooke's Point Parking Lot
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  5
Bank Swallow  25    Cliffs of peat flats
American Robin  1
Gray Catbird  5
Northern Mockingbird  6
Brown Thrasher  1
European Starling  5
Yellow Warbler  2
Eastern Towhee  2
Northern Cardinal  2
Red-winged Blackbird  5

Mount Loretto 6/25--Indigo Bunting

Bird diversity at Mount Loretto today wasn't great, but there was certainly enough to keep me interested in the almost 2 1/2 hours I spent walking all the trails.

The highlight was seeing two Indigo Buntings, males, singing. The first one I caught a long glimpse of in a pin oak soon after I arrived at the end of the grasslands trail. After he disappeared deeper into the trees I heard an unfamiliar song which I suspected was the bunting.

Later, on the wetlands trail, I saw another male, this time singing vociferously, and it was the same song as I had heard previously. I'm pretty certain I'll recognize it in the future, but I couldn't sing the song for you. I think the only birds I can imitate are cardinal, Carolina Wren, and Common Yellowthroat.

23 species for the walk.
Mallard  1
Double-crested Cormorant  3
Great Egret  5
Black-crowned Night-Heron  1
Turkey Vulture  2
Killdeer  1
Laughing Gull  2
Common Tern  3
Mourning Dove  1
Belted Kingfisher  2    One was juvenile, the other had its back turned toward me, couldn't tell age or sex
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  8
American Robin  9
Gray Catbird  5
Northern Mockingbird  1
Brown Thrasher  1
European Starling  10
Yellow Warbler  4
Common Yellowthroat  6
Song Sparrow  1
Northern Cardinal  4
Indigo Bunting  2    Singing
Red-winged Blackbird  23
Common Grackle  2

In our never ending search for typos

We find one on an awning on Forest Avenue, Staten Island.
The name of this restaurant is Crown Palace. Note the crown on the left side of the awning.

But look a little closer:

Closer:

Looks like the awning maker has a little trouble with "u" and "double-u."

Now, this restaurant is part of chain on SI. I know of at least one other on the island and the awning is spelled exactly the same. I guess they got a volume discount.

I cringe every time we pass the p(a)lace.

Typo in Neon

President & Court Streets, Brooklyn.
If I had any UTILITES, this is where I'd go to pay them.

JBWR 6/19--Wilson's Phalarope

A few notable birds on our walk around the West Pond:

Between bench 5 & 6 a couple of birders were scoping out pretty intensely the  western shore. We had just seen our FOY Tricolored Heron dancing around on the bay side on the spit off the (closed) Terrapin Trail. Upon inquiring, they told us there were 3 Wilson's Phalaropes among the many geese and ducks waddling and snoozing on the beach.

It is an event to see one WIPH, especially in the summer--3 is a bonanza, especially when the female is in breeding plumage. Phalaropes are an oddity in terms of sexual dimorphism in birds--unlike the vast majority of birds, it is the female that is the more colorful of the sexes while the males are the drabber sex. There was one female and two males scurrying about on the beach picking at who knows what while the geese snoozed and the ducks wandered aimlessly.

Phalaropes are also fun to watch when they're in the water--they spin wildly stirring up any little animal life to the surface where they can eat it. But these birds stayed on the beach.

Also on the same beach was what had been reported as Greater White-fronted Goose, which would be a true oddity at Jamaica Bay any time of the year and especially in the summer. It was hard to get a good look at for a while since it too was taking a siesta. Eventually though it raised its head and indeed did look like the a Greater White-fronted. However, after comparing it the field guide it just didn't look  "right." It wasn't dark enough for one thing, and it had a white belly instead of being barred brown. It also seem to show something of a "grin patch" on its orange beak. So we figured it must be a hybrid, probably with a Snow Goose, though a domestic goose can't be ruled out. Too bad. It would have been nice to add Greater White-fronted to my NY and Queens lists.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Photo: Shari Zirlin

Big John's Pond had 3 Yellow-crowned Night-Herons--2 adults and a juvenile. The East Pond was Swan City, with at least 95 swans on the water, but the only bird there we hadn't already seen was a Least Tern.

46 species + the weird hybrid:

Greater White-fronted x Snow Goose (hybrid)  1    

Canada Goose  325

Mute Swan  98
Gadwall  2
American Black Duck  11
Mallard  150
Double-crested Cormorant  10

Great Egret  6
Snowy Egret  15
Tricolored Heron  1
Black-crowned Night-Heron  1

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 3
Glossy Ibis  2
Osprey  6
Clapper Rail  1
Semipalmated Plover  1
Killdeer  1
American Oystercatcher  28
Willet  1
Semipalmated Sandpiper  10
Wilson's Phalarope  3   

Laughing Gull  100
Herring Gull  7
Great Black-backed Gull  2
Least Tern 1

Forster's Tern  9
Eastern Wood-Pewee  1
Willow Flycatcher  1
American Crow  2
Tree Swallow  100
Barn Swallow  1
Marsh Wren  1
American Robin  1
Gray Catbird  36
Northern Mockingbird  1
Brown Thrasher  2
European Starling  4
Cedar Waxwing  5
Yellow Warbler  15
Common Yellowthroat  4
Eastern Towhee  2
Song Sparrow  2
Northern Cardinal  3   

Red-winged Blackbird  15
Common Grackle  1
Boat-tailed Grackle  2
House Sparrow  2

Negri-Nepote Grasslands 6/18--DICKCISSEL

We were in NJ today down in Toms River house hunting so after looking at a few places we thought our eyeballs could be put to better use and decided to drive up to Somerset to the Negri-Nepote Grasslands and try for the reported DICKCISSELS there.

We had never been to the grasslands so I was hoping that another birder or two might be there to point us the way, but when we arrived at 5 o'clock, we were the only ones there. I'd printed out a map of the reserve and remembered reading on line that the birds had been seen between the pond and "the house" so I shouldered our scope and off we marched. Pretty humid and pretty buggy. We saw some interesting birds on the way like Cedar Waxwings and a House Wren and when we were past the pond I set up the scope and sighted on a line of distant trees where I, for whatever reason, assumed the birds would be perched. No soap. I scanned all the power lines and came up with doves and blackbirds. Just as I was about to chalk it up as a valiant effort I saw a bird flash by in the high grass and come to perch on a stalk. It sang; the song matched the song I'd researched last night. We quickly scoped it and got our lifer Dickcissel with "field guide looks." It swayed on that long stalk of grass for three or four minutes, so we were really able to study this handsome bird, one I never really thought about getting as they are common in the Midwest, but not around here. So that was a very satisfying way to end the day.

18 species
 Mallard  1
Great Blue Heron  1    Flyover
Turkey Vulture  1
Mourning Dove  4
Blue Jay  1
American Crow  1
Tree Swallow  10
House Wren  1
American Robin  2
Gray Catbird  1
Northern Mockingbird  1
Cedar Waxwing  10
Common Yellowthroat  2
Chipping Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  2
DICKCISSEL  1    Singing
Red-winged Blackbird  1
American Goldfinch  2

Some other birds seen today were 2 Eastern Kingbirds mobbing a crow at the Monmouth Rest Stop on the Parkway and the first White-breasted Nuthatch I've seen in quite a while in the woods behind a housing development in Whiting, NJ.