Cattus Island CP 4/19--Forster's Tern

Little Blue Heron

A walk of just under 2 hours in Cattus Isalnd County Park found 33 species today--it helps to hear a lot of birds. I was limited in where I could go by both dog walkers on the peninsula (dogs=no shorebirds) and by a continuing reconstruction project on Scout Island which today involved many youthful volunteers pushing wheelbarrows of mulch for the trails.

Still, I was happy with what I saw, though I did miss Tricolor Heron. Last year a few birders from the northern part of the state were emailing me about where to get Tricolor (it rarely gets north of Ocean County) and I simply suggested Cattus Island--go to the first marsh, look left, there's usually at least one. The other day in Linden a birder asked me to email him when the Tricolors came in--"They're already there," I told him, "Saw 2 on Monday."

So of course, I didn't see one today.

Glossy Ibis

                                           
Before I went out I checked my records from last year, looking to see what potential gaps in the year list I might fill today. Last year, coincidentally, I was at Cattus Island too. And just as I had last year, today I saw 2 Forster's Terns, plunge diving in the big marsh by the Nature Center as I was walking out. One more little gap in the year list filled.

List:
Canada Goose  1    Heard in marsh
Mute Swan  1
Bufflehead  43
Horned Grebe  2    
Great Egret  3
Snowy Egret  5
Little Blue Heron  2
Glossy Ibis  5
Osprey  8
Greater Yellowlegs  1
Laughing Gull  3
Herring Gull  10
Great Black-backed Gull  1
Forster's Tern  2
Mourning Dove  2    Heard
Belted Kingfisher  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1    Heard
Northern Flicker  1    Heard
Blue Jay  2    Heard
American Crow  1    Heard
Fish Crow  2
Tree Swallow  5
Barn Swallow  1
Carolina Chickadee  6
Tufted Titmouse  2    Heard
Carolina Wren  1    Heard
American Robin  1
Eastern Towhee  1    Heard
Chipping Sparrow  1    Heard
Song Sparrow  1
Northern Cardinal  1    Blue trail
Red-winged Blackbird  10
American Goldfinch  2