Whitesbog 8/4--Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

A post-ablation celebration! Today was the first day Shari & I felt comfortable going birding, so after seeing that there were a lot shorebirds reported at Whitesbog, we decided to take a quick spin around the bog. I'd been there yesterday and saw a few shorebirds so I knew the habitat was improving for them.  And while we didn't find as many species as I'd hoped, it was still pretty good birding. There were a couple of candidates for Western Sandpiper and we were looking for a Pectoral, but the light was harsh, and in the scope the peeps seem to resolve to just Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers.

I also wanted Shari to see the huge pitcher plant a guy I know there pointed out to me yesterday. This is a southern variety, he told me, that Ms White, who was the co-creator of the modern high-bush blueberry, probably transplanted from a pine barren down south. It is in the garden next to her house. Our native pitcher plants have all pretty much "gone by" so I didn't know how long this one was going to last and I wanted to be sure Shari saw this beauty.

 However, the big excitement occurred as we were leaving. As I was driving out on Whitesbog Road, I saw the proverbial bird on the wire. "That's not a dove," I said and Shari immediately called out "Scissor-tailed Flycatcher!" This is a rare bird for New Jersey (only a few a year are reported) and, from what I can tell, the first one ever reported in Burlington County--or at least as far back as eBird's records go, which is 1950.  Too bad it wasn't in my home county of Ocean.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Photos: Shari Zirlin

For the record, here's our list:
Canada Goose  7
Mallard  20
Wild Turkey  6    
Great Blue Heron  1
Great Egret  2
Turkey Vulture  10
Killdeer  2
Greater Yellowlegs  1
Lesser Yellowlegs  2
Semipalmated Sandpiper  20
Least Sandpiper  10
Gull-billed Tern  2
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher  1