Whitesbog 3/11--Tree Swallows

Whitesbog: Tundra Swans

After a trip to the Manchester Dump (11 Turkey Vultures overhead and sitting on piles of landfill), I decided to take my vigorous walk down the road at Whitesbog. It's getting late in the season for Tundra Swans; a guy I spoke to there said they might be gone by the end of this week. There were plenty today, 94 by my count and more flying in. We usually think of arrivals, not departures, as a herald of a new season. So it was a happy sight to see five Tree Swallows snatching bugs over one of the bogs. I'm not certain what kind of flying insects they were snagging, but there were plenty of the thin black bugs attaching themselves to my windshield and swirling around my face as I walked the dikes between the bogs. Whitesbog isn't exactly Capistrano, but the signal is the same.

22 species (+1 other taxa)Canada Goose  100
Tundra Swan  94
Wood Duck  2
Gadwall  1
Mallard  15
Ring-necked Duck  12
Bufflehead  2    On bog very far in back, probably in Ocean County
Turkey Vulture  7
Killdeer  1
Belted Kingfisher  1
Northern Flicker  1    Heard
Blue Jay  1
American Crow  1    Heard
Fish Crow  1
crow sp.  5
Tree Swallow  5
Carolina Chickadee  1    Heard
Field Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  4
Northern Cardinal  2    Near store
Red-winged Blackbird  2
Common Grackle  2
Brown-headed Cowbird  1    Atop water tower