Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Year in Review

Since I doubt I'll add any new birds to the list tomorrow, I may as well sum up the year now. I had 323 species this year, which beats last year's total handily. Lifers totaled 11 species, not counting the rather dubious Egyptian Geese of this month.

I birded virtually every day--there are only a handful of blank spots on the calendar where I did not list a bird, so it isn't surprising that I had a good year, especially with a trip to New Mexico and to the Delmarva Peninsula.

Rufous Hummingbird
Photo: Shari Zirlin
A quick month by month review of the highlights:
January: We started the year down in Cape May where we had an amazing day. When you find a Painted Bunting on one side of a tree and White-winged Dove on the other side--before noon, you're doing pretty well. Other great birds that day were a Rufous Hummingbird at a feeder near the first two rarities, a Eurasian Wigeon on the Lighthouse Pond and our first Snowy Owl of the year, one of the many from the record-setting influx that looks to be continuing this winter, if to a somewhat lesser degree.


February: After a trip to Barnegat Light, where we picked up the two specialties of the house--Harlequin Duck and Purple Sandpiper--a few of us drove over to the mainland at dusk to search the marshes around the Bridge to Nowhere for Short-eared Owls. While waiting for them to arise from the reeds, Shari found another Snowy Owl--which was harassed by a Peregrine Falcon. After that show was over, the Short-ears did indeed start to fly over the reeds, looking for whatever little mammals they could find.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Photo: Shari Zirlin
March: We got our first lifer of the year. After many trips around the Mercer Sod Farm IBA on multiple occasions, we finally found the ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK that had been hunting those fields. The oddity of the month occurred while we were on the dikes at Brig. A text message came through that a Eurasian Tree Sparrow had been found in (where else) Cape May. Since this bird was about 1200 miles from where it "should" be (St. Louis) we headed down there and got the bird.

ROSS'S GOOSE
Photo: Shari Zirlin
Earlier in the month we'd gone down to Cape May so I could tick off ROSS'S GOOSE, a bird Shari had on her list for a long time, but one I'd always missed. It was just about the easiest lifer you could have. I saw it before we even got out of the car, which, considering that one usually has to sort through thousands of Snow Geese to find the one Ross's, is amazing.

April brought in the warblers and with trips to Estell Manor and Belleplain Forest we got lots of them, including the very beautiful Yellow-throated and Prothonotary Warblers. I was also able to add Louisiana Warbler to my Ocean County list, thanks to my friend Greg who found it in Double Trouble SP and was patient enough to help me find it. It is a very rare bird for this county.

BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE
Photo: Shari Zirlin
May: New Mexico. Here we got the largest number lifers for the year: BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, NORTHERN GOSHAWK, EVENING GROSBEAK, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, PINYON JAY, AMERICAN DIPPER and WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER.

June: This is the month that we get onto the Lakehurst Naval Base to search for Upland Sandpiper, which we were successful at finding. It is just about the only reliable spot in New Jersey to get this endangered sandpiper. We also made our first trip up to Old Mine Road in Warren County with Pete & Mike, a place we'd always wanted to go but seemed "just too far" until Mike kindly drove us up there. We still had to get up at 4 in the morning though!

Whimbrel
Photo: Greg Prelilch
July: I made the first of what became practically weekly trips with Greg in his canoe to explore Great Sedge Island off Island Beach. We had remarkable birds  out there all summer, including American Bittern, Black Tern, multiple Marbled Godwits multiple times, and out of season Common Eider and Red-breasted Merganser.

August is the month to start looking for "grasspipers." We found American Golden-Plover on an out-of-the-way sod farm in Monmouth County and Buff-breasted Sandpiper at both Brig and Whitesbog. A trip down to Bombay Hook yielded our lifer SEDGE WREN, as well as American Avocet and Black-necked Stilt.

September: The big event of this month was probably the rarest bird to hit New Jersey since the Northern Lapwings of last year--a WHISKERED TERN, a European species, was found on the beach at Cape May (naturally) and brought in birders from literally across the land. We, fortunately, only had to travel about an hour and half, on a drizzly Saturday afternoon and were lucky enough to spot it both on the beach and hunting over Bunker Pond in the company of a Black Tern.

October: This is the month for sparrows. I was able to add 2 sparrows to my Ocean County list--a Clay-colored Sparrow down on Great Bay Blvd, and a Lincoln's Sparrow mixed in with a large flock of other sparrows at Colliers Mills.

Brown-headed Nuthatch
Photo: Shari Zirlin
November: We went on the Audubon field trip to the Delmarva Peninsula. I only expect to add two birds for the year--White Ibis and Brown-headed Nuthatch, so I was happily surprised to add Black-headed Gull at a waste treatment plant in southern Delaware (what's a vacation without one visit to a waste treatment plant?) many calling Virginia Rails (in Virginia, I just realized) and a Golden Eagle at the extreme southern tip of the peninsula. Not to mention a Western Kingbird, but we already had that from New Mexico.

December turned out to be "goose month." It seemed like when I wasn't doing a Christmas count (Shari & I did the revived Island Beach count mid-month and I helped Mike on the Barnegat count on Sunday), I was looking for rare geese. I successfully chased the Pink-footed Goose in Wall Twp, the Barnacle Goose and Greater White-fronted Geese in both Monroe Twp and at Duke Island Park, and a Cackling Goose at the Duke Island Park, as well as the can't-quite-count-em-but-fun-to-see Egyptian Geese at Spring Lake.

Below is the full list for the year in all its taxonomicaly eye-glazing glory.

ALL CAPS BOLD are lifers.
Italics are rarities.



Species                                    First Sighting 
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck     Patriot Lake      
Pink-footed Goose     Allaire Community Farm  
Greater White-fronted Goose     Applegarth Road         
Snow Goose     Assunpink WMA 
ROSS'S GOOSE     Sea Grove Ave.       
Brant     Sunset Lake          
Barnacle Goose     Applegarth Road       
Cackling Goose     Duke Island Park       
Canada Goose     Cape May Point SP    
Mute Swan     Cape May Point SP          
Trumpeter Swan     Assunpink WMA      
Tundra Swan     Whitesbog          
Egyptian Goose*    Spring Lake Park      
Wood Duck     Central Park           
Gadwall     Cape May Point SP    
Eurasian Wigeon     Cape May Point SP           
American Wigeon     Cape May Point SP           
American Black Duck     Riverfront Landing      
Mallard     Cape May Point SP      
Blue-winged Teal     Brig   
Northern Shoveler     Cape May Point SP          
Northern Pintail     Cape May Point SP  
Green-winged Teal     Brig
Canvasback     Riverfront Landing          
Redhead     Cape May Point SP  
Ring-necked Duck     Cape May Point SP         
Greater Scaup     Little Silver Lake           
Lesser Scaup     Cape May Point SP      
King Eider     Nummy Island         
Common Eider    Cape May          
Harlequin Duck     Barnegat Lighthouse SP     
Surf Scoter     Two Mile Beach     
White-winged Scoter     Cape May          
Black Scoter     Two Mile Beach   
Long-tailed Duck     Two Mile Beach       
Bufflehead     Sunset Lake           
Common Goldeneye   Lily Lake   
Hooded Merganser     Cape May Point SP        
Common Merganser     Assunpink WMA           
Red-breasted Merganser     Great Bay Blvd WMA        
Ruddy Duck     Cape May Point SP        

Northern Bobwhite     Bombay Hook       
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  
Eared Grebe     Sandy Hook         

Northern Gannet     Manasquan Inlet     
Double-crested Cormorant     Cape May Point SP       
Great Cormorant     Two Mile Beach        
American White Pelican     Prime Hook NWR   
Brown Pelican    Great Sedge Island      

American Bittern    Great Sedge Island   
Great Blue Heron     Cape May Point SP           
Great Egret     Brig   
Snowy Egret     Brig
Little Blue Heron     Cattus Island County Park 
Tricolored Heron     Cattus Island County Park 
Green Heron     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)
Black-crowned Night-Heron     Island Beach SP          
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron     Great Bay Blvd WMA
White Ibis     Chincoteague NWR            
Glossy Ibis     Brig   

Black Vulture     New Egypt          
Turkey Vulture     Cape May Point SP    
Osprey     Brig          
Golden Eagle     Eastern Shore of Virginia NWR         
Northern Harrier     Cape May Point SP  
Sharp-shinned Hawk     Colliers Mills WMA      
Cooper's Hawk     Cape May Point SP    
NORTHERN GOSHAWK     Santa Fe NF         
Bald Eagle     Cape May    
Red-shouldered Hawk     Cape May Point SP  
Broad-winged Hawk     Estell Manor Park          
Red-tailed Hawk    Cape May       
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK     Mercer Sod Farm IBA     

Clapper Rail     Heislerville WMA 
Virginia Rail     Saxis WMA           
Common Gallinule     Cape May Point SP         
American Coot     Cape May Point SP    

Black-necked Stilt     Prime Hook NWR  
American Avocet     Bombay Hook          
American Oystercatcher     Nummy Island         
Black-bellied Plover     Great Bay Blvd WMA     
American Golden-Plover     Reed's Sod Farm   
Semipalmated Plover     Stone Harbor Point     
Piping Plover     Barnegat Lighthouse SP         
Killdeer     Great Bay Blvd WMA   
Spotted Sandpiper     Whitesbog 
Solitary Sandpiper     Butterfly Bogs        
Greater Yellowlegs     Eno's Pond           
Willet     Villas--Miami Ave. beach
Lesser Yellowlegs     Heislerville WMA   
Upland Sandpiper     Lakehurst NAES   
Whimbrel     Brig      
Marbled Godwit    Great Sedge Island     
Ruddy Turnstone     Two Mile Beach      
Red Knot    Great Sedge Island    
Stilt Sandpiper     Brig        
Sanderling     Two Mile Beach     
Dunlin     Two Mile Beach 
Purple Sandpiper     Two Mile Beach      
Least Sandpiper     Brig     
White-rumped Sandpiper     Brig  
Buff-breasted Sandpiper     Brig   
Pectoral Sandpiper     Whitesbog
Semipalmated Sandpiper     Brig 
Western Sandpiper     Brig
Short-billed Dowitcher     Heislerville WMA       
Long-billed Dowitcher     Brig       
Wilson's Snipe     Eno's Pond      
American Woodcock     Whitesbog          
Wilson's Phalarope     Brig

Common Murre     Sunset Lake   

Bonaparte's Gull     Two Mile Beach       
Black-headed Gull     Wolfe Neck WTP  
Laughing Gull     Palmyra Cove Nature Park    
Ring-billed Gull     Cape May Point SP   
Herring Gull     Cape May Point SP         
Lesser Black-backed Gull     Great Bay Blvd WMA       
Glaucous Gull     Brig         
Great Black-backed Gull     Nummy Island         
Least Tern     Double Trouble State Park
Gull-billed Tern     Brig       
Caspian Tern     Brig          
Black Tern     Brig    
WHISKERED TERN     Cape May Point SP     
Common Tern     Barnegat Lighthouse SP        
Forster's Tern     Cattus Island County Park      
Royal Tern     Barnegat Lighthouse SP  
Black Skimmer     Brig        

Rock Pigeon     Warren Grove      
Eurasian Collared-Dove     Santa Fe River Park          
White-winged Dove    Cape May 
Mourning Dove     Cape May        

Yellow-billed Cuckoo     Colliers Mills WMA      
Black-billed Cuckoo     Ernest L. Oros Wildlife Preserve         

Eastern Screech-Owl     35 Sunset Rd   
Great Horned Owl     35 Sunset Rd         
Snowy Owl     Two Mile Beach      
Short-eared Owl   Bridge to Nowhere     

Common Nighthawk     Lakehurst NAES           
Chuck-will's-widow     Brig
Eastern Whip-poor-will     35 Sunset Rd

Chimney Swift     Brig        
White-throated Swift     Bandelier NM     

Ruby-throated Hummingbird     Belleplain State Forest          
Black-chinned Hummingbird     Randall Davey Audubon Center    
Broad-tailed Hummingbird     Delgado St           
Rufous Hummingbird     Cape May          

Belted Kingfisher     Horicon Lake           

Red-headed Woodpecker     Ernest L. Oros Wildlife Preserve           
Acorn Woodpecker     Bandelier Entrance Rd   
Red-bellied Woodpecker     35 Sunset Rd         
WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER     Santa Fe NF           
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker     Crestwood Village
Downy Woodpecker     Cape May Point SP       
Hairy Woodpecker     Assunpink WMA   
Northern Flicker     GSP MM 30    

American Kestrel     Assunpink WMA     
Merlin     East Windsor       
Peregrine Falcon     Brig    

Monk Parakeet     Carteret 

Olive-sided Flycatcher     The Celery Farm        
Eastern Wood-Pewee     Colliers Mills WMA     
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher     Sandy Hook           
Acadian Flycatcher     Double Trouble State Park        
Willow Flycatcher     Ernest L. Oros Wildlife Preserve 
Least Flycatcher     Old Mine Road IBA  
Gray Flycatcher     Bandelier NM 
Black Phoebe     Cerillos   
Eastern Phoebe     Great Bay Blvd WMA           
Great Crested Flycatcher     Double Trouble State Park          
Western Kingbird     Cerillos         
Eastern Kingbird     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)     

Northern Shrike     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)       

White-eyed Vireo     Whitesbog    
Yellow-throated Vireo     Allaire State Park        
Plumbeous Vireo     Cibola NF     
Blue-headed Vireo     Cattus Island County Park         
Warbling Vireo     Santa Fe River Park   
Red-eyed Vireo     Island Beach SP        

PINYON JAY     Pecos       
Steller's Jay     Randall Davey Audubon Center           
Blue Jay     Cape May Point SP   
Western Scrub-Jay     Randall Davey Audubon Center          
BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE     Santa Fe River Park       
American Crow     Cape May Point SP   
Fish Crow     Pandora Diner parking lot 
Common Raven     Whitesbog     

Horned Lark     East Windsor        

Northern Rough-winged Swallow     Whitesbog           
Purple Martin     Brig           
Tree Swallow     Brig           
Violet-green Swallow     Randall Davey Audubon Center      
Bank Swallow     Sandy Hook      
Barn Swallow     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)          
Cliff Swallow     Cerillos     

Carolina Chickadee    Cape May 
Black-capped Chickadee     Cape May   
Mountain Chickadee     Randall Davey Audubon Center      
Juniper Titmouse     Santa Fe Canyon Preserve          
Tufted Titmouse     35 Sunset Rd
Bushtit     Delgado St         

Red-breasted Nuthatch     Cape May      
White-breasted Nuthatch     35 Sunset Rd        
Pygmy Nuthatch     Santa Fe NF 
Brown-headed Nuthatch     Chincoteague NWR         

Brown Creeper     Assunpink WMA         

Rock Wren     Bandelier NM         
House Wren     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)
Winter Wren     Ocean County Parks Offices    
SEDGE WREN     Bombay Hook 
Marsh Wren     Brig 
Carolina Wren     35 Sunset Rd   

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher     Colliers Mills WMA    

AMERICAN DIPPER     Santa Fe NF     

Golden-crowned Kinglet     Whiting        
Ruby-crowned Kinglet     Crestwood Village     

Eastern Bluebird     Assunpink WMA      
Western Bluebird     Leonora Curtin Wetland Preserve           
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD     Cerillos        
Townsend's Solitaire     Santa Fe NF      
Veery     William Warren County Park     
Gray-cheeked Thrush     William Warren County Park
Swainson's Thrush     William Warren County Park    
Hermit Thrush     Crestwood Village        
Wood Thrush     FREC      
American Robin     Cape May Pt College Streets         

Gray Catbird     Cape May Point SP        
Brown Thrasher     Brig      
Northern Mockingbird     Cape May         

European Starling     Cape May Point SP          

Cedar Waxwing     Cape May       

Lapland Longspur     Stone Harbor Point           
Snow Bunting     Stone Harbor Point      

Ovenbird     Belleplain State Forest         
Worm-eating Warbler     Belleplain State Forest           
Louisiana Waterthrush     Belleplain State Forest        
Northern Waterthrush     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)        
Blue-winged Warbler     Colliers Mills WMA      
Black-and-white Warbler     Colliers Mills WMA
Prothonotary Warbler     Belleplain State Forest           
Tennessee Warbler     Ernest L. Oros Wildlife Preserve          
Orange-crowned Warbler     Santa Fe NF          
Nashville Warbler    Reed's Road
Virginia's Warbler     La Cueva Valley     
MacGillivray's Warbler     Bandelier NM--Falls Trail      
Mourning Warbler     Ernest L. Oros Wildlife Preserve 
Common Yellowthroat     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)       
Hooded Warbler     Evert Memorial Nature Trail
American Redstart     Double Trouble State Park         
Cerulean Warbler     Old Mine Road IBA
Northern Parula     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)      
Magnolia Warbler     Double Trouble State Park           
Bay-breasted Warbler     Island Beach SP         
Blackburnian Warbler     Eno's Pond      
Yellow Warbler     Brig        
Chestnut-sided Warbler     William Warren County Park        
Blackpoll Warbler     Island Beach SP    
Black-throated Blue Warbler     Island Beach SP         
Palm Warbler     Double Trouble State Park      
Pine Warbler     35 Sunset Rd      
Yellow-rumped Warbler     Cape May Point SP 
Yellow-throated Warbler     Estell Manor Park   
Prairie Warbler     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)        
Black-throated Gray Warbler     La Cueva Valley          
Black-throated Green Warbler     Reed's Road  
Canada Warbler     Island Beach SP      
Wilson's Warbler     Santa Fe Canyon Preserve           
Yellow-breasted Chat     Assunpink WMA         

Green-tailed Towhee     Santa Fe NF     
Spotted Towhee     Delgado St     
Eastern Towhee     Assunpink WMA      
Canyon Towhee     Santa Fe Canyon Preserve           
American Tree Sparrow     Cape May      
Chipping Sparrow     Crestwood Village 
Clay-colored Sparrow     Great Bay Blvd WMA  
Field Sparrow     Brig          
Savannah Sparrow     Brig
Grasshopper Sparrow     Colliers Mills WMA     
Nelson's Sparrow     Sandy Hook
Saltmarsh Sparrow     Great Bay Blvd WMA      
Seaside Sparrow     Brig    
Fox Sparrow     Assunpink WMA 
Song Sparrow     35 Sunset Rd    
Lincoln's Sparrow     Colliers Mills WMA
Swamp Sparrow     Horicon Lake 
White-throated Sparrow     35 Sunset Rd           
White-crowned Sparrow     Assunpink WMA     
Dark-eyed Junco     Cape May     

Hepatic Tanager     Randall Davey Audubon Center  
Scarlet Tanager     FREC  
Western Tanager     Santa Fe River Park           
Northern Cardinal     Cape May   
Rose-breasted Grosbeak     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)   
Black-headed Grosbeak     Randall Davey Audubon Center 
Blue Grosbeak     Prospertown Lake       
Indigo Bunting     Assunpink WMA         
Painted Bunting    Cape May       
Dickcissel     Negri-Nepote Grasslands  

Bobolink     Bombay Hook 
Red-winged Blackbird     Assunpink WMA        
Eastern Meadowlark     Lakehurst NAES           
Rusty Blackbird     Prospect Park 
Brewer's Blackbird     Pecos          
Common Grackle     Great Bay Blvd WMA         
Boat-tailed Grackle     Nummy Island      
Great-tailed Grackle     DFW         
Brown-headed Cowbird     Assunpink WMA     
Orchard Oriole     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)         
Baltimore Oriole     Central Park   

House Finch     Cape May            
Purple Finch     Great Bay Blvd WMA     
Pine Siskin     Delgado St Feeder
Lesser Goldfinch     Cerillos          
American Goldfinch     35 Sunset Rd     
EVENING GROSBEAK     Delgado St    

House Sparrow    Cape May    
Eurasian Tree Sparrow     Cape May        

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