Sunday, September 30, 2012

September Summary--The One That Got Away

Despite 136 species for the month (last one was today, an immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on a backyard tree); despite two great trips each to Brigantine and Cape May; despite the highly unlikely appearance of a Crested Caracara in Mercer County; despite seeing a slew of warblers and vireos, it was a frustrating month of birding due to one bird--our official nemesis bird, the Elegant Tern. Four (count 'em, four) death marches we made through miles of sand to the tip of Sandy Hook, trying to get this life bird and all for naught.

It seemed like each time we had a variation on, "Ooh, you just missed it!" The last time we ventured out there with a large group we saw a couple standing on the other side of the inlet, searching, we assumed, for the same elusive tern we were. Returning home that day, I read a post on Jerseybirds that the Elegant Tern had been spotted at exactly the same time as we were there, by those two birders, who had a different angle on the large flock of Common Terns in which it was "hiding." No consolation that the poster said it was easily absorbed into the flock and was difficult to find, nor that he only saw the bird for about 10 seconds. It was there and we didn't find it.

Piping Plovers, Sandy Hook
Photo: Shari Zirlin
On the positive side, each time this month I went out I felt like I was learning something new about identification by sight, sound, or behavior and that's a satisfying feeling. October tomorrow; I'm up for the challenge.

11 FOY for the month.
Counties Birded
New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean
New York: New York
Species
First Sighting
Canada Goose
Brigantine
Mute Swan
Brigantine
Wood Duck
Brigantine
Gadwall
Brigantine
American Wigeon
Cape May Hawkwatch
American Black Duck
Brigantine
Mallard
Brigantine
Blue-winged Teal
Brigantine
Northern Shoveler
Brigantine
Northern Pintail
Brigantine
Green-winged Teal
Brigantine
Ruddy Duck
Brigantine
Wild Turkey
35 Sunset Rd
Pied-billed Grebe
Cape May Hawkwatch
Double-crested Cormorant
Brigantine
Brown Pelican
Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Great Blue Heron
Brigantine
Great Egret
Brigantine
Snowy Egret
Brigantine
Little Blue Heron
Wetlands Institute
Tricolored Heron
Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Green Heron
Eno’s Pond
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Brigantine
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Brigantine
Glossy Ibis
Brigantine
Black Vulture
Cape May Hawkwatch
Turkey Vulture
White's Bogs
Osprey
Brigantine
Northern Harrier
Brigantine
Sharp-shinned Hawk
35 Sunset Rd
Cooper's Hawk
White's Bogs
Bald Eagle
Cape May Point SP
Red-shouldered Hawk
Cape May Hawkwatch
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandy Hook
Clapper Rail
Brigantine
Sora
Brigantine
Common Gallinule
Brigantine
Black-bellied Plover
Brigantine
Semipalmated Plover
Brigantine
Piping Plover
Sandy Hook
Killdeer
Cape May Point SP
American Oystercatcher
Brigantine
Spotted Sandpiper
Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Solitary Sandpiper
Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Greater Yellowlegs
Brigantine
Willet
Brigantine
Lesser Yellowlegs
Brigantine
Ruddy Turnstone
Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Sanderling
Sandy Hook
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Brigantine
Western Sandpiper
Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Least Sandpiper
Brigantine
Pectoral Sandpiper
Cape May Meadows
Dunlin
Brigantine
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Sandy Hook
Short-billed Dowitcher
Brigantine
Laughing Gull
Brigantine
Ring-billed Gull
Brigantine
Herring Gull
Brigantine
Great Black-backed Gull
Brigantine
Caspian Tern
Brigantine
Black Tern
Sandy Hook
Common Tern
Sandy Hook
Forster's Tern
Brigantine
Royal Tern
Brigantine
Black Skimmer
Brigantine
Rock Pigeon
Central Park
Mourning Dove
Brigantine
Common Nighthawk
35 Sunset Rd
Eastern Whip-poor-will
35 Sunset Rd
Chimney Swift
Sandy Hook
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
35 Sunset Rd
Belted Kingfisher
Eno’s Pond
Red-bellied Woodpecker
35 Sunset Rd
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
35 Sunset Rd
Downy Woodpecker
Cattus Island County Park
Hairy Woodpecker
Brigantine
Northern Flicker
Brigantine
Crested Caracara
Village Road East Sod Farm
American Kestrel
Cape May Hawkwatch
Merlin
Central Park
Peregrine Falcon
Brigantine
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Central Park
Eastern Phoebe
White's Bogs
Great Crested Flycatcher
Central Park
Eastern Kingbird
Brigantine
Philadelphia Vireo
Central Park
Red-eyed Vireo
Brigantine
Blue Jay
Brigantine
American Crow
Brigantine
Fish Crow
Brigantine
Tree Swallow
Brigantine
Barn Swallow
Brigantine
Cliff Swallow
Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Carolina Chickadee
Brigantine
Tufted Titmouse
Cattus Island County Park
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Cape May Point SP
White-breasted Nuthatch
White's Bogs
House Wren
Brigantine
Marsh Wren
Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Carolina Wren
Brigantine
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Brigantine
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Cape May Point SP
Eastern Bluebird
Whiting WMA
Veery
Central Park
American Robin
Brigantine
Gray Catbird
Brigantine
Northern Mockingbird
Central Park
Brown Thrasher
Central Park
European Starling
Brigantine
Cedar Waxwing
Sandy Hook
Northern Waterthrush
Cape May Point SP
Black-and-white Warbler
Cape May Point SP
Nashville Warbler
Cape May Point SP
Common Yellowthroat
Great Bay Bvld. WMA
American Redstart
Central Park
Blackburnian Warbler
Cape May Point SP
Yellow Warbler
Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Cape May Point SP
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Cape May Point SP
Palm Warbler
Cape May Point SP
Pine Warbler
Double Trouble State Park
Canada Warbler
Central Park
Yellow-breasted Chat
Central Park
Eastern Towhee
35 Sunset Rd
Chipping Sparrow
Brigantine
Savannah Sparrow
Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Saltmarsh Sparrow
Sandy Hook
Song Sparrow
Cattus Island County Park
Northern Cardinal
Brigantine
Red-winged Blackbird
Brigantine
Common Grackle
35 Sunset Rd
Boat-tailed Grackle
Great Bay Bvld. WMA
House Finch
Cattus Island County Park
American Goldfinch
Brigantine
House Sparrow
Central Park


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Geology on the 6 O'clock News

During a report on the construction of new housing on Harlem's Coogan's Bluff (site of the storied Polo Grounds), the reporter, referring to difficulties the developer was encountering, said that it wasn't easy digging "the decades old bedrock." Yes, about five hundred million decades.

This reminded me of the time when Clinton Street, in Brooklyn, was being dug up to put in new water lines and the road crew extracted from the ground a gigantic boulder that was in the way. They left it on our corner. Marveling at the size of it and intrigued that it had been hidden only a few feet below ground, one of my neighbors said that it was amazing that it had been there since "before the Revolutionary War." Yes, way before.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Cape May 9/16--Warbler Mania: Nashville, Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, & Black-throated Blue Warblers

Yesterday, during our ill-fated attempt at the Elegant Tern, someone mentioned that the northwest winds boded well for raptors down at the Cape May Hawkwatch, so we decided to go down there this morning. Naturally, the winds shifted to the east and there was a dearth of raptors (though we did see a few--it's Cape May after all).

However, warblers were abundant in the state park. We walked along the trails for a bit and immediately found (with a little help) Nashville Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler (female), Chestnut-sided Warbler (immature), and American Redstart (female). 3 FOY in the first 10 minutes (not to mention a Killdeer in the parking lot) was good enough for me, but better still was when we drifted over to the East Shelter next to the Hawkwatch. We sat on the ground in front of a small stand of cedars and just let the birdies come to us: Northern Waterthrush, Black-and-White Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Black-throated Blue Warblers, and Palm Warblers, along with the birds in the "not a warbler category" like Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. It was amazing what turned up in just a tiny area.

Up on the Hawkwatch things were slow, though in the 15 or 20 minutes we were there we did see Cooper's Hawk, American Kestrel and a couple of Bald Eagles. Not much else turned up at our next 2 stops, the CMBO Northwoods Center and the Beanery. A walk around the Cape May Meadows produced a flock of Black Skimmers, always amusing to watch, a few Green-winged Teal and a couple of species of peeps.

On the way home we turned off the Parkway at Shellbay Avenue and drove down to the pier. There we found a lot of Shari's favorite, American Oystercatchers, a profusion of egrets & Black-bellied Plovers, a few Royal Terns and 1 Caspian Tern plunging into the still waters of the bay to grab a fish. I also watched a Herring Gull try to swallow an eel. It would get the eel about halfway down and then the eel would slither back up out of its gullet. The gull would tilt its back as far as it good to try to force the eel to slide down but the eel was in "I don't think so" mode. This little fandango was repeated 3 or 4 times before I lost interest in who would eat or be eaten.

In all we had 56 species for the day:
Species          Count     First Sighting
Canada Goose     6     Cape May Point SP
Mute Swan     10     Cape May Point SP
Gadwall     10    Cape May Hawkwatch
Mallard     5    Cape May Hawkwatch
Northern Shoveler     7     Cape May Point SP
Green-winged Teal     3    Cape May Meadows
Double-crested Cormorant     3     Cape May Point SP
Great Blue Heron     1    Cape May Meadows
Great Egret     1    Cape May Hawkwatch
Snowy Egret     1    Cape May Meadows
Turkey Vulture     4     Cape May Point SP
Osprey     2     Cape May Point SP
Sharp-shinned Hawk     2     Cape May Point SP
Cooper's Hawk     1    Cape May Hawkwatch
Bald Eagle     3     Cape May Point SP
Black-bellied Plover     60     Shell Bay Landing
Killdeer     1     Cape May Point SP
American Oystercatcher     17     Shell Bay Landing
Semipalmated Sandpiper     1    Cape May Meadows
Least Sandpiper     8    Cape May Meadows
Laughing Gull          Cape May Point SP
Ring-billed Gull     2    Cape May Meadows
Herring Gull          Cape May Point SP
Great Black-backed Gull     2     Shell Bay Landing
Caspian Tern     1     Shell Bay Landing
Forster's Tern     10    Cape May Hawkwatch
Royal Tern     3     Shell Bay Landing
Black Skimmer     25    Cape May Meadows
Mourning Dove     2    CMBO Northwood Center
Red-bellied Woodpecker     1    The Beanery
American Kestrel     1    Cape May Hawkwatch
Red-eyed Vireo     1     Cape May Point SP
Blue Jay     1     Cape May Point SP
American Crow     1     Cape May Point SP
Fish Crow     1     Cape May Point SP
Carolina Chickadee     2     Cape May Point SP
Red-breasted Nuthatch     1     Cape May Point SP
Carolina Wren     3     Cape May Point SP
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher     1     Cape May Point SP
Ruby-crowned Kinglet     2     Cape May Point SP
Gray Catbird     3     Cape May Point SP
Northern Mockingbird     4     Cape May Point SP
European Starling     3    Cape May Meadows
Northern Waterthrush     1     Cape May Point SP
Black-and-white Warbler     2     Cape May Point SP
Nashville Warbler     1     Cape May Point SP
Common Yellowthroat     1     Cape May Point SP
American Redstart     5     Cape May Point SP
Blackburnian Warbler     1     Cape May Point SP
Yellow Warbler     1     Cape May Point SP
Chestnut-sided Warbler     2     Cape May Point SP
Black-throated Blue Warbler     3     Cape May Point SP
Palm Warbler     4     Cape May Point SP
Northern Cardinal     1    CMBO Northwood Center
Common Grackle     4    CMBO Northwood Center
House Sparrow     5    CMBO Northwood Center