January Wrap-up: A Good Month for Rarities

Out of the 112 species I saw this month, 8 of them were rarities, ranging from a few overwintering Pine Warblers in our backyard to the truly amazing rarities on either size of a stand of evergreens in Cape May--Painted Bunting on one side, White-winged Dove on the other.

Pine Warbler Male #2

Pine Warbler Male #1

The "Arctic Vortex" and a couple of snowstorms hampered my birding, restricting me many days to what I could find in the backyard--I was getting mighty tired of documenting the Pine Warblers for eBird. We did manage a couple of trips Brig (where we saw one of our two Snowy Owls for the month), I got down to Tuckerton a couple of times where there were a good amount of ducks, especially Hooded Mergansers congregating in the only open water for miles around, Whitesbog produced its Tundra Swans and there was one Saturday when we braved the blowing sand of Point Pleasant beach and nabbed our first Red-necked Grebe in years.

Hen Common Goldeneye (upper left) with Buffleheads & Hooded Mergansers, Great Bay Blvd, 1/31/14

The full month list with rarities underlined:
Counties birded:
New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean
New York: New York

Species               Location

Snow Goose     Assunpink WMA

Brant     Sunset Lake

Canada Goose     Cape May Point SP

Mute Swan     Cape May Point SP

Tundra Swan     White's Bogs

Wood Duck     Central Park

Gadwall     Cape May Point SP

Eurasian Wigeon     Lighthouse Pond

American Wigeon     Lighthouse Pond

American Black Duck     Riverfront Landing

Mallard     Cape May Point SP

Northern Shoveler     Lighthouse Pond

Northern Pintail     Cape May Point SP

Green-winged Teal     Brigantine

Canvasback     Riverfront Landing

Redhead     Lighthouse Pond

Ring-necked Duck     Lighthouse Pond

Greater Scaup     Little Silver Lake

Lesser Scaup     Lighthouse Pond

King Eider     Nummy Island--Free Bridge

Common Eider     Whilldin Ave. dune crossing

Surf Scoter     Two Mile Beach

Black Scoter     Two Mile Beach

Long-tailed Duck     Two Mile Beach

Bufflehead     Sunset Lake

Common Goldeneye     Lily Lake--Forsythe

Hooded Merganser     Cape May Point SP

Common Merganser     Assunpink WMA

Red-breasted Merganser     Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Ruddy Duck     Cape May Point SP

Ring-necked Pheasant     Warren Grove

Wild Turkey     Rt. 70

Red-throated Loon     Two Mile Beach

Common Loon     Sunset Lake

Pied-billed Grebe     Double Trouble State Park

Horned Grebe     Sunset Lake

Red-necked Grebe     Manasquan Inlet

Double-crested Cormorant     Cape May Point SP

Great Cormorant     Two Mile Beach

Great Blue Heron     Cape May Point SP

Black Vulture     Brynmore / Big Woods Rd. fields

Turkey Vulture     Cape May Point SP

Northern Harrier     Cape May Point SP

Cooper's Hawk     Lighthouse Pond

Bald Eagle     Cape May Bridge over canal

Red-shouldered Hawk     Cape May Point SP

Red-tailed Hawk     Whilldin Ave. dune crossing

American Coot     Lighthouse Pond

American Oystercatcher     Nummy Island--Free Bridge

Black-bellied Plover     Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Semipalmated Plover     Stone Harbor Point

Killdeer     Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Ruddy Turnstone     Two Mile Beach

Sanderling     Two Mile Beach

Dunlin     Two Mile Beach

Purple Sandpiper     Two Mile Beach

Bonaparte's Gull     Two Mile Beach

Ring-billed Gull     Cape May Point SP

Herring Gull     Lighthouse Pond

Lesser Black-backed Gull     Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Great Black-backed Gull     Nummy Island--Free Bridge

Rock Pigeon     Warren Grove

White-winged Dove     Whilldin Ave. dune crossing

Mourning Dove     Cape May Pt College Streets

Snowy Owl     Two Mile Beach

Rufous Hummingbird     Cape May Pt Coral & Cambridge

Belted Kingfisher     Horicon Lake

Red-bellied Woodpecker     35 Sunset Rd

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker     Crestwood Village

Downy Woodpecker     Cape May Point SP

Merlin     Imlaystown Road, East Windsor

Peregrine Falcon     Brigantine

Blue Jay     Lighthouse Pond

American Crow     Cape May Point SP

Horned Lark     Imlaystown Road, East Windsor

Carolina Chickadee     Whilldin Ave. dune crossing

Tufted Titmouse     35 Sunset Rd

Red-breasted Nuthatch     Cape May Pt College Streets

White-breasted Nuthatch     35 Sunset Rd

Brown Creeper     Assunpink WMA

Carolina Wren     35 Sunset Rd

Golden-crowned Kinglet     Whiting power line cut

Ruby-crowned Kinglet     Crestwood Village

Eastern Bluebird     Assunpink WMA

Hermit Thrush     Crestwood Village

American Robin     Cape May Pt College Streets

Gray Catbird     Cape May Point SP

Brown Thrasher     Brigantine

Northern Mockingbird     Cape May Pt College Streets

European Starling     Cape May Point SP

Cedar Waxwing     Cape May Pt College Streets

Snow Bunting     Stone Harbor Point

Pine Warbler     35 Sunset Rd

Yellow-rumped Warbler     Cape May Point SP

Eastern Towhee     Assunpink WMA

Savannah Sparrow     Brigantine

Fox Sparrow     Assunpink WMA

Song Sparrow     35 Sunset Rd

Swamp Sparrow     Horicon Lake

White-throated Sparrow     35 Sunset Rd

White-crowned Sparrow     Assunpink WMA

Dark-eyed Junco     Cape May Pt College Streets

Northern Cardinal     Cape May Pt College Streets

Painted Bunting     Whilldin Ave. dune crossing

Red-winged Blackbird     Assunpink WMA

Common Grackle     Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Boat-tailed Grackle     Nummy Island--Free Bridge

Brown-headed Cowbird     Assunpink WMA

Baltimore Oriole     Central Park

House Finch     Cape May Pt College Streets

American Goldfinch     35 Sunset Rd

House Sparrow     Whilldin Ave. dune crossing