October's Birds

Eurasian Wigeon with American Wigeons, Lighthouse Pond
Cape May

We ended the month with a trip to Cape May, meeting up with our buddy Bob Auster. Highlights were the beautiful drake Eurasian Wigeon on Lighthouse Pond, a juvenile White-faced Ibis at the meadows (any ibis is rare this time of year, let alone WFIB), and the many raptors picked out of the sky by the eagle-eyed Mr. Auster.

During the month I only added 4 new species for the  year, the rarest being the storm-tossed Red Phalarope in Mercer County, the most satisfying being the Nelson's Sparrow which I finally found for Ocean County and the least satisfying being the Parasitic Jaegers which zipped by both the

White-faced Ibis, Cape May

Avalon Seawatch and yesterday's aggressive specks far out on the sea.

Everyone seemed to complain that migration was pretty much a bust this year, so I'm not willing to wholly ascribe the dearth of warblers on my list to my incompetence. I think that, despite what we all read practically daily--that the populations of many species are declining rapidly--none of us wants to believe it even when we don't see the birds we think should be around.

For the month I managed 149 species, mostly in NJ with one foray to my old, beloved habitat of Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

Counties birded:
New Jersey: Atlantic, Cape May, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean
New York: Kings

Species            First Sighting

Snow Goose     Brig

Brant     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Canada Goose     Mercer Corporate Park

Mute Swan     Assunpink WMA

Wood Duck     Whitesbog

Gadwall     Brig

Eurasian Wigeon     Marshall's Pond

American Wigeon     Marshall's Pond

American Black Duck     Grounds for Sculpture

Mallard     Grounds for Sculpture

Blue-winged Teal     Brig

Northern Shoveler     Prospect Park

Northern Pintail     Marshall's Pond

Green-winged Teal     Brig

Redhead     Marshall's Pond

Ring-necked Duck     Brig

Lesser Scaup     Whitesbog

Surf Scoter     Avalon Seawatch

Black Scoter     Avalon Seawatch

Bufflehead     Crestwood Village

Ruddy Duck     Assunpink WMA

Wild Turkey     35 Sunset Rd

Red-throated Loon     Avalon Seawatch

Pied-billed Grebe     Colliers Mills WMA

Northern Gannet     Cape May Point SP

Double-crested Cormorant     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Brown Pelican     Island Beach SP

American Bittern     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Great Blue Heron     Assunpink WMA

Great Egret     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Snowy Egret     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Little Blue Heron     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Tricolored Heron     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Green Heron     Assunpink WMA

Black-crowned Night-Heron     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron     Great Bay Blvd WMA

White-faced Ibis     Cape May Meadows

Black Vulture     Forked River

Turkey Vulture     35 Sunset Rd

Northern Harrier     Assunpink WMA

Sharp-shinned Hawk     35 Sunset Rd

Cooper's Hawk     Marshall's Pond

Bald Eagle     Brig

Red-shouldered Hawk     Cape May Point SP

Broad-winged Hawk     Brig

Red-tailed Hawk     Whitesbog

Common Gallinule     Brig

American Coot     Prospect Park

American Oystercatcher     Wetlands Institute

Black-bellied Plover     Great Bay Blvd WMA

American Golden-Plover     Brig

Semipalmated Plover     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Killdeer     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Spotted Sandpiper     Brig

Greater Yellowlegs     Whitesbog

Willet     Wetlands Institute

Lesser Yellowlegs     Mercer Corporate Park

Ruddy Turnstone     Avalon 48th St Beach

Red Knot     Avalon 48th St Beach

Sanderling     Island Beach SP

Dunlin     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Least Sandpiper     Mercer Corporate Park

Pectoral Sandpiper     Brig

Semipalmated Sandpiper     Brig

Western Sandpiper     Brig

Short-billed Dowitcher     Wetlands Institute

Long-billed Dowitcher     Brig

Red Phalarope     Mercer Corporate Park

Parasitic Jaeger     Avalon Seawatch

Laughing Gull     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Ring-billed Gull     Island Beach SP

Herring Gull     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Great Black-backed Gull     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Forster's Tern     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Royal Tern     Island Beach SP

Rock Pigeon     Grounds for Sculpture

Mourning Dove     35 Sunset Rd

Black-billed Cuckoo     Brig

Chimney Swift     Assunpink WMA

Belted Kingfisher     Whitesbog

Red-headed Woodpecker     Colliers Mills WMA

Red-bellied Woodpecker     35 Sunset Rd

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker     35 Sunset Rd

Downy Woodpecker     35 Sunset Rd

Hairy Woodpecker     Colliers Mills WMA

Northern Flicker     Colliers Mills WMA

Merlin     Whitesbog

Peregrine Falcon     Brig

Eastern Wood-Pewee     Prospect Park

Eastern Phoebe     Whitesbog

White-eyed Vireo     Brig

Blue-headed Vireo     Union Transportation Trail

Blue Jay     35 Sunset Rd

American Crow     35 Sunset Rd

Fish Crow     Grounds for Sculpture

Common Raven     35 Sunset Rd

Tree Swallow     Mercer Corporate Park

Barn Swallow     Brig

Carolina Chickadee     35 Sunset Rd

Tufted Titmouse     35 Sunset Rd

White-breasted Nuthatch     35 Sunset Rd

Brown Creeper     Horicon Lake

House Wren     Whitesbog

Carolina Wren     Assunpink WMA

Golden-crowned Kinglet     Double Trouble State Park

Ruby-crowned Kinglet     Whitesbog

Eastern Bluebird     Assunpink WMA

Swainson's Thrush     Prospect Park

Hermit Thrush     Prospect Park

American Robin     35 Sunset Rd

Gray Catbird     Colliers Mills WMA

Northern Mockingbird     Assunpink WMA

European Starling     35 Sunset Rd

Cedar Waxwing     Double Trouble State Park

Black-and-white Warbler     Assunpink WMA

Common Yellowthroat     Whitesbog

Black-throated Blue Warbler     Assunpink WMA

Palm Warbler     Assunpink WMA

Pine Warbler     Colliers Mills WMA

Yellow-rumped Warbler     Colliers Mills WMA

Prairie Warbler     Prospect Park

Black-throated Green Warbler     Assunpink WMA

Nelson's Sparrow     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Saltmarsh Sparrow     Brig

Seaside Sparrow     Brig

Chipping Sparrow     35 Sunset Rd

Clay-colored Sparrow     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Field Sparrow     Assunpink WMA

Lark Sparrow     Brig

Dark-eyed Junco     Whitesbog

White-crowned Sparrow     Cattus Island County Park

White-throated Sparrow     Assunpink WMA

Vesper Sparrow     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Savannah Sparrow     Double Trouble State Park

Song Sparrow     Whitesbog

Swamp Sparrow     Whitesbog

Eastern Towhee     35 Sunset Rd

Northern Cardinal     35 Sunset Rd

Indigo Bunting     Union Transportation Trail

Red-winged Blackbird     Assunpink WMA

Rusty Blackbird     Brig

Common Grackle     Union Transportation Trail

Boat-tailed Grackle     Great Bay Blvd WMA

Brown-headed Cowbird     New Egypt

Baltimore Oriole     Prospect Park

House Finch     35 Sunset Rd

American Goldfinch     35 Sunset Rd

House Sparrow     Lakewood

Tri-colored Heron in salicornia (salt wort) Great Bay Blvd