Heislerville WMA 4/27--Least Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Phalarope, Glaucous Gull

Heislerville Rookery
Photos: Shari Zirlin

After lunch we caravanned over to the Heislerville WMA, a series of impoundments on the Delaware Bay shore, sort of southwest NJ's answer to Brigantine. The sight of the rookery was impressive, the trees at the bottom and in the middle looking like they had huge cotton balls of egrets stuck on them, while at the top, Double-crested Cormorants sat, preened, and dried their feathers. While I've seen a number of heron rookeries, I've never seen one shared with cormorants. In fact, I've never seen cormorants nesting at all.

Thousands of shorebirds were on the mud flats--mostly Dunlins, which are coming into the their very attractive rufous and black breeding plumage, and Short-billed Dowitchers, a few of them of hendersoni sub-species, looking as red on their breasts as a robin.

There were three rarities on the flats, the rarest being, I suppose, the Wilson's Phalarope, always a good bird to find. That one we knew about and with the help of some other birders who were already "on" the bird, we didn't have too much trouble finding it. It also came in close enough to for Shari to get some pretty good photos of it:

Scoping the huge flocks of shorebirds, Pete started picking out the much rarer (for NJ) and very early arrival, Long-billed Dowitchers, best described as looking like hump-back dowitchers that have swallowed, depending on who you're talking to, a basketball, a grapefruit, or a softball. Pete said there were about 100 out there. I was happy to be able to confidently identify three. 

Also, loafing on a piling, was a very white, presumably 2nd winter, Glaucous Gull, another rare find for NJ at any time of the year. This is the kind of gull I'd easily overlook on my own. I don't usually  have the patience or sitzfleisch to sort through hundreds of common gulls, looking for the rarity. That's why it's good to go with those who do. 

Toward the end of the day we were all getting a little goofy, trying to build up the day list, so birds that normally would be barely noted, like Mallard, Mute Swan, and Boat-tailed Grackle, were each greeted with a cheer and its number on the list called out by Mike Mandracchia, the official tallier on these outings. I think the cumulative number for the group was about 83. Shari & I finished the day with 74, which is a fine number any day.

Heislerville WMA list:

36 species

Canada Goose  10
Mute Swan  1
American Black Duck  1
Mallard  1    North Impoundment
Blue-winged Teal  1    Main Pool
Northern Shoveler  3
Green-winged Teal  1
Red-breasted Merganser  3
Double-crested Cormorant  50
Great Blue Heron  1    North Impoundment
Great Egret  50
Snowy Egret  10
Black-crowned Night-Heron  4    North Impoundment rookery
Turkey Vulture  1
Osprey  4
Bald Eagle  2
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Clapper Rail  1    Heard
Black-bellied Plover  1
Greater Yellowlegs  25
Lesser Yellowlegs  3
Least Sandpiper  1
Dunlin  2000
Short-billed Dowitcher  500
Long-billed Dowitcher  3    
Wilson's Phalarope  1   
Laughing Gull  2
Herring Gull  50
Glaucous Gull  1    
Great Black-backed Gull  6
Forster's Tern  10
Barn Swallow  1
Eastern Towhee  1    Heard
Song Sparrow  1  Heard
Red-winged Blackbird  1
Boat-tailed Grackle  1

Tomorrow: Brigantine.