Pygmy Pines & Brig Ducks 11/19

New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the country. Part of the reason for that is that 23% of the state is basically wilderness--the Pine Barrens. It is hard for people even in northern NJ to understand the extent of the Pine Barrens--something like a million acres given over to state parks and WMA's, federal wildlife refuges, and military bases. Today we went exploring again; we wanted to see the pygmy pines.

Within the Pine Barrens are huge tracts of forest including the East and West Pine Plains, where the pine tree don't grow more than 10 feet tall and most are much smaller than that--they top out at 5 feet.

Photo: Shari Zirlin

You can't tell much from the above photo--you need something for perspective.

Like Shari walking through "the woods." I was a little nervous while we were taking these photos. We were parked on the corner of County Rd 539 &

Note the bullet hole--nice touch!
Photo: Shari Zirlin

The road leads to the area of the pines where the Air Force practices bombing. I wasn't afraid of getting bombed, but I was concerned that we might be taken for spies.

We also hit Brigantine again today--we were looking for ducks and we found them--11 species including some of our favorites--Blue and Green-Winged Teal and Hooded Mergansers. However, the most impressive scenes today were in the air--crows chasing harriers until the harrier fought back. Then the harrier decided to chase a Bald Eagle and a few minutes later we saw 3 harriers and a Red-tailed Hawk and, of course, the red-tail took a swipe at the harrier. Then a Peregrine Falcon decided to get into the action and that even stirred up the Tundra Swans.

There were, conservatively 1500 Dunlins in the impoundments, along with a few Black-bellied Plovers. Not too many passerines today, it might have been too windy and they were all clinging to the branches of the trees. No matter, I can see plenty of those at our feeders.

34 species for the 8 mile trip around the wildlife drive. Plus we figured out that not only is it faster to drive down 539 and pick up the parkway down there, but it also avoids the tolls.
Snow Goose  400
Brant  50
Canada Goose  75
Tundra Swan  20
Gadwall  50
American Black Duck  500
Mallard  100
Blue-winged Teal  1
Northern Shoveler  25
Northern Pintail  75
Green-winged Teal  150
Bufflehead  100
Hooded Merganser  25
Red-breasted Merganser  4
Ruddy Duck  12
Pied-billed Grebe  3
Double-crested Cormorant  25
Great Blue Heron  4
Great Egret  7
Bald Eagle  2
Northern Harrier  4
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Peregrine Falcon  2
American Coot  25
Black-bellied Plover  6
Dunlin  1500
Ring-billed Gull  50
Herring Gull  50
Great Black-backed Gull  3
American Crow  3
American Robin  15
Yellow-rumped Warbler  1
Red-winged Blackbird  10
Common Grackle  1