Monday, April 25, 2016

Spizzle Creek 4/25--Eastern Kingbird

Eastern Kingbird
Another trip to Island Beach SP in search of migrants. This time there were very few to be found. Reed's Road was extremely quiet; however, I did finally log my first county Gray Catbird of the year--two actually. With a Brown Thrasher and a couple of mockers, I had the mimids swept.

Seeing that no warblers of any significance were around (I even walked the another, lesser known trail with practically zero results), I drove on down to my favorite spot in the park--Spizzle Creek. There were enough birds in the marsh and in the pools to keep me interested, but I was happiest when I turned a corner and saw my first Eastern Kingbird of the year perched up on a branch.

The wind started to pick up, so any plans to walk the beach were abandoned. I could see from the end of the Spizzle Creek trail that the Winter Anchorage wouldn't be too rewarding, so I left the park mid-morning and drove once again to Cloverdale Farm. I stopped yesterday, hoping to get Shari the Prothonotary Warbler but we just missed it, though it seems like all the other county birders got a look at it. I was hoping to see it today, if only to use it for Bird A Day (I used Barred Owl on Saturday), but what I was really hoping was to find at least one of the two Solitary Sandpipers reported there yesterday. Nope on both birds.

So, sifting through today's lists, looking for a Bird A Day candidate, I was surprised to find that it filtered down to Willet as the bird I'm likely to see the fewest times of all the Spring/Summer/Fall birds still available on today's list. And considering the Brig closure, it seems like a good choice to me.

Today's Spizzle Creek list:
27 species
Brant  15
Canada Goose  2
Mallard  1
Bufflehead  6
Red-breasted Merganser  2     In pool off left hand side of trail
Common Loon  1
Great Blue Heron  2
Great Egret  3
Snowy Egret  5
Osprey  8
American Oystercatcher  1
Black-bellied Plover  7
Greater Yellowlegs  3
Willet  2
Dunlin  30
Herring Gull  10
Forster's Tern  5
Eastern Kingbird  1     
White-eyed Vireo  1     Heard
Fish Crow  2
Gray Catbird  1
Northern Mockingbird  2
Common Yellowthroat  2     Heard
Yellow-rumped Warbler
 2
Song Sparrow  1
Red-winged Blackbird  10
Boat-tailed Grackle  2

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