We went on a long Audubon field trip led by Lloyd Shaw, hitting several stops in Monmouth County. The main attraction, for us, was a chance to bird Manasquan Reservoir, a place we'd never been to. It's always good to go to a new place with someone who knows where to look. We weren't disappointed. The reservoir is part of the Monmouth County park system and is well maintained with many fine view areas. This is definitely another place we'll put on the birding list, especially in spring when, we were told, it is a great place for warblers.
We started the day, for the 3rd time this week, at Assunpink. While the group felt obligated to look for the Northern Shrike, it was already close to 11 when we set off, so I wasn't optimistic about finding it and we didn't. Two new birds for the year there though were Field Sparrow and a Red-shouldered Hawk whose very clear call Lloyd pointed out twice. Hearing counts, but I didn't want to use that bird for Bird A Day, because it seemed tenuous, as did the Field Sparrow which I only got a brief look at. (I missed a few good birds here that Shari saw, like Pileated Woodpecker and Winter Wren.)
Assunpink WMA
22 speciesCanada Goose 25
Ruddy Duck 100
Great Blue Heron 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Heard
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Ring-billed Gull 10
Rock Pigeon 1
Mourning Dove 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 3
Carolina Wren 3
Eastern Bluebird 7
European Starling 25
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5
American Tree Sparrow 1
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 5
Dark-eyed Junco 10
Northern Cardinal 3
Red-winged Blackbird 200
American Goldfinch 2
As we walked along at the various spots, Lloyd let drop some Amazing Bird Factoids. Here are 2 that I found most interesting:
Ospreys have to migrate because, unlike most hawks, they have no insulating feathers on their breasts, which would only get wet and weigh them down when they plunge dive for fish.
Drake ducks, unlike most species of birds in which both species have cloaca (Latin=sewer) they employ for sex and evacuation, have penises (this I knew) and the Ruddy Duck, during mating season, has a penis as long as the drake itself. There once was a Ruddy from Nantucket...
Our 2nd stop was the reservoir. There is no way to thoroughly bird this area in less than a full day, but the couple of places we set up our scopes turned out to be very productive. The 2 new species for the year here were a couple of Gadwalls and many American Coots locomoting through the water with their "Walk like an Egyptian" head bobs. The most astonishing sight on the water was a massive flock of Common Mergansers. I thought seeing over 30 yesterday at Assunpink was a lot, but this flock numbered at least 2000. That's more Common Mergansers than I've ever seen in one place; indeed, that's more Common Mergansers than I've seen in the aggregate.
Manasquan Reservoir
28 species
Canada Goose 5
Mute Swan 2
Gadwall 2
American Black Duck 20
Ring-necked Duck 15
Greater Scaup 1
Lesser Scaup 200
Bufflehead 5
Common Merganser 2000
Ruddy Duck 100
Pied-billed Grebe 3
Double-crested Cormorant 25
Cooper's Hawk 1
Bald Eagle 2
American Coot 50
Ring-billed Gull 20
Herring Gull 1
Mourning Dove 3
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
American Crow 1 Heard
Carolina Chickadee 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird 5
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 2
We continued the day going east to the coast, stopping at the Shark River. Many Brants, the two other mergansers species and FOY American Wigeons were the highlights.
Shark River
10 species
Brant 1000
Mute Swan 200
American Wigeon 5
Bufflehead 25
Hooded Merganser 5
Red-breasted Merganser 10
Great Blue Heron 1
Ring-billed Gull 100
Herring Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 10
We rounded out the day on the jetty along the Shark River Inlet. Here's where I got my Bird A Day--a Razorbill seen well and high in the water right in the inlet. Even though there's been an irruption of Razorbills this winter, extending all the way south to Florida, I haven't seen that many since getting to the coast is a chore, as evidenced by the meandering route our caravan had to take through the storm-damaged streets of Belmar just to find a way out to Ocean Avenue to access the beach. I was hoping for a Dovekie, but you can't have everything. Maybe tomorrow at Barnegat Light.
Shark River Inlet
8 species
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Red-throated Loon 1
Common Loon 15
Ring-billed Gull 300
Herring Gull 20
Great Black-backed Gull 10
Razorbill 1
Rock Pigeon 9
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