Stafford Forge WMA / Great Bay Blvd WMA 2/7

Stafford Forge WMA

I don't imagine the NJ Dept of Transportation gets many orders for this kind of sign. Stafford Forge is another huge WMA in the pine barrens (within it are the dwarf pine plains), and despite the seemingly remote location on the map, the road passes beneath the Parkway then makes a sudden curve, so the warning is needed for unsuspecting drivers. 

I went there this morning in the hopes of seeing the Tundra Swans that have been reported on the impoundment, but they weren't there, which was a disappointment. Had I felt like walking deep into the area, I suppose I might have turned up something unusual, but I'm always a little wary of WMAs this time of year, even if I wear my orange vest. 

Here's what I did find in about a half an hour scanning the water and looking in the nearby trees:

12 species
Canada Goose  3
Gadwall  4
American Black Duck  4
Mallard  25
Hooded Merganser  5
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1    Heard
Tufted Titmouse  1
Carolina Wren  1    Heard
Song Sparrow  3
White-throated Sparrow  1
Northern Cardinal  3

In order to get my walking in for the day, I drove about 20 minutes over to Great Bay Blvd, which I hadn't visited this year. I was hoping for a little more waterfowl variety than I got--it's a great place for black ducks and Brant right now--and there were, surprisingly to me, no sandpipers or plovers on the beach. The best bird was the last bird I saw on my way back--a Bald Eagle, just barely an adult, with some white mottling still on its back, snacking on something out in the marsh.  

I decided to use Red-breasted Merganser as my Bird A Day entry, thus using up all the mergansers for the year. I'm employing the winter ducks now. If I make it through to next winter in the contest, I'll worry about what to use then--with luck, I'll still have quite a few reliables to fill out the year. 

The list for marshes and inlet of Great Bay Blvd WMA:

14 species
Brant  125
American Black Duck  200
Bufflehead  3
Hooded Merganser  4
Red-breasted Merganser  8
Great Blue Heron  2
Northern Harrier  2
Bald Eagle  1    
Ring-billed Gull  100
Herring Gull  15
Great Black-backed Gull  4
European Starling  25
Yellow-rumped Warbler  2
Boat-tailed Grackle  75