Absolutely gorgeous October day--cloudless skies, temperature around 80, a great day to be at Sandy Hook and that was the problem--everyone else had the same idea. The Hook was as busy as mid-August, or at least it seemed that way. We tried to bird a couple of areas but we couldn't even find a parking space. There was a bike race, a motorcycle club picnic, lots of beach goers, plus numerous other birders. We should have gotten there earlier in the morning but didn't arrive until around 10:30 when the heat was starting to put the birds into hiding.
Still, we did find a few First of Season birds, the "best" being one of my faves, a Brown Creeper near the Sandy Hook Bird Observatory which we watched while we were eating lunch. At K lot, where we did most of our birding we also found a few first for Fall Savannah Sparrows and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Ruby-crowned Kinglets were around and they always bring to mind Peterson's illustration on his Confusing Fall Warblers page where the kinglet is labeled "Not a Warbler." Only a few warblers showed themselves. A few hawks circling above. Geese. Couldn't get to the water to find any ducks or herons. Only 18 species in 3 hours before we gave up as the cars continued to stream into the park.
Canada Goose 140
Turkey Vulture 2
Northern Harrier 1
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull 5
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Brown Creeper 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
American Robin 4
Gray Catbird 3
Northern Mockingbird 6
Common Yellowthroat 1
Pine Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Eastern Towhee 1
Savannah Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 10
No comments:
Post a Comment