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| Ruff, DeKorte Park
For a change of pace, Shari & I went up to north Jersey with our pal Bob Auster and birded DeKorte Park in the Meadowlands. Shari & I hadn't been there since we lived in Brooklyn (when it was an easier drive) and Bob had never birded it. While most of the birds that are found on the mudflats can be found closer to home, there were a couple of specialties I was hoping for (Least Bittern and Sora) that I missed, though Bob did get a brief look at the bittern.
For the last week or so the park has also had a male Ruff, molting out of breeding plumage. Birding can sometimes be a little like collecting baseball cards--if you already have a Mickey Mantle, you don't need another. We three already had a Ruff down in Heislerville and since this bird was in a restricted area, we weren't too upset if we saw it or not. However, we ran into a birder we knew who was doing a survey in that area and she kindly let us in to see the bird. I have to say that this was far and away the best view of a Ruff I've ever had and also, by far, the best looking one. A lot of times these birds just look like shabby yellowlegs, but this bird had colorful plumage still extant. It was, unfortunately, back lit, so photography was a problem despite it's proximity, but I did manage to digiscope with the iPhone the halfway decent picture above.
 Speaking of phones, on Disposal Road (one of the great road names in NJ) we found these relics of pay phones. Bob tried to call in the Ruff to the NJ Rare Bird Hotline, but he wasn't able to get through.
When you don't bird a place often, you're always surprised at what's supposedly rare there. Bob & I had a Caspian Tern fly over us, identified it immediately, and then, when I went to list it in eBird, found that it was a rarity. According to regular there, it isn't all that rare, but was notable. While walking a boardwalk trail that winds through a marsh we heard a Clapper Rail. Again, supposedly rare. Bob also found a Green Heron while we were looking at the Ruff. Not a rare bird there, but one that was passing through on migration. Still, it was a bird we hadn't expected.
My last foray of the month was a more usual trip--my eighth go-round of Brig in the last 31 days. Nothing special there to report; shorebird numbers are increasing and--hurrah--they won't be shutting it down for reconstruction in August as previously threatened. Contractor scheduling conflicts--whoever heard of that? Still, the water levels seem high--whether it is due to all the recent rain or because the water control systems need work is unclear. But the big area by the dogleg, where all the rarities seem to turn up, is, instead of mud and grass, full of water and gulls and geese and not much else.
July was another slow month, with only 7 year birds. I started using up "easy" birds for Bird A Day. If I get through August with the contest it will be an accomplishment. I suppose the biggest highlight of the month was the Red-necked Phalarope at Brig, but I also liked getting birds in Ocean County, like the Brown Pelican on Great Sedge Island and the Lesser Black-backed Gull along the beach at IBSP.
For the month I ticked 127 species all in NJ save for one trip to Central Park in NY.
Counties birded:
New Jersey: Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Ocean, Union
New York: New York
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Sunday, July 31, 2016
Richard W. DeKorte Park 7/30 + July Wrap-up
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Brig 7/20--White-faced Ibis
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| White-faced Ibis (not that you can tell) |
I had made two loops of the Wildlife Drive as well as walked a couple of trails, had about 60 species, and was close to the exit when I got an alert that a White-faced Ibis was off the north dike, close to where the recent Red-necked Phalarope had been seen for a couple of weeks. There are few things more aggravating than 6 miles of one-way dirt road with a speed limit of 15 mph when you are going for a rare bird. It took me about a half hour to get back to where I had just been. And it wasn't as if I hadn't been looking for a WFIB. In the perimeter ditch on the outside of the north dike were about 50 ibises and I looked every one of them in the eye. But this ibis was standing in some reeds on the other side and was easily overlooked.
I actually, in my haste and distraction, overshot the mark and realized that by concentrating on not speeding I had passed the spillway. I parked the car and walked back about 1/4 mile at first only seeing the terns and gulls that usually roost at the spot. Then I saw two ibises. I walked toward them, put down my scope and one of them flew away! The remaining ibis continued to feed and came out a little into the shallow water. I scoped it, but, ironically, in the strong sunlight, I couldn't see a thing on it. It was just a silhouette of an ibis in the harsh light. After a minute or so of picking at the water, it turned its head and I saw it--red eyeball! That's the field mark you need, since the "white-face" of a White-faced Ibis isn't always so obvious. After a little more observation I was able to see some white around the eye, but not well enough to distinguish it from its more common glossy cousins. But then again I saw the red eye and was reasonably satisfied I had the bird. I took photos but, as you can see, at that distance, in that light, no details, much less field marks, were picked up by the camera. After about 5 minutes, the bird squawked, lifted off and flew toward Tuckerton.
White-faced Ibis was my 400th bird for the year and my fourth ibis of the year (Glossy in NJ, White in NJ & FLA, and Scarlet in T&T). While I was watching the ibis, a Willet came in a fed with it. The only Willet of the day when last week they were ubiquitous. But, I suppose, since they are local nesters, they've moved out already, making room for the birds coming down from the Arctic.
My list for 24 miles (3 loops) of Wildlife Drive:
62 species (+1 other taxa)
Canada Goose 100
Mute Swan 33
Wood Duck 2 Exit Pond
American Black Duck 2 Dog Leg
Mallard 10
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Great Blue Heron 4
Great Egret 60
Snowy Egret 20
Little Blue Heron 1
Glossy Ibis 50
White-faced Ibis 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 10
American Oystercatcher 9
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Willet 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 4
Least Sandpiper 50
Semipalmated Sandpiper 700
Western Sandpiper 1
Short-billed Dowitcher 50
Laughing Gull 100
Ring-billed Gull 1
Herring Gull 75
Great Black-backed Gull 15
Least Tern 2
Gull-billed Tern 2
Caspian Tern 1
Common Tern 1
Forster's Tern 50
Black Skimmer 15
Mourning Dove 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Heard, Jen's Trail
Peregrine Falcon 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1 Leeds Eco Trail
Eastern Phoebe 1 Heard, upland
Eastern Kingbird 1
Blue Jay 1 Heard, parking lot
crow sp. 3
Purple Martin 20
Tree Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 15
Carolina Chickadee 1 Heard, upland
Tufted Titmouse 1 Heard, upland
White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Heard, Akers Trail
House Wren 2
Marsh Wren 4
Carolina Wren 2 Heard
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 Heard, upland
Gray Catbird 7
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 50
Common Yellowthroat 3 Heard
Seaside Sparrow 4
Chipping Sparrow 1 Heard, parking lot
Song Sparrow 2
Eastern Towhee 1 Heard, upland
Northern Cardinal 1 Upland section
Indigo Bunting 1 Upland section
Red-winged Blackbird 10
American Goldfinch 2
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Island Beach SP 7/17--Lesser Black-backed Gull
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| Lesser Black-backed Gull |
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| Piping Plover (imm) |
Even though it was a Sunday in mid-summer, I decided to do my walk there this morning. I remembered from trips there with my parents that the traffic wasn't bad early in the morning, so at 7:57 I was rolling through the gates with my senior citizen pass (I also remember the delight my father took in using it) and at 8:10 I was heading for the beach.
I saw Piping Plovers earlier in the year along this beach, so I was indifferent as to seeing them again (I missed them last week when I walked there). I wanted something new for the year, the county, or, if all else failed, Bird A Day. Up ahead of me I saw three birders I knew and caught up with them. Al was "on duty" looking for the Piping Plovers as a volunteer for NJ Fish & Wildlife. I was more interested in the Lesser Black-backed Gull he'd reported the other day.
Lesser Black-backs used to be exceedingly rare this side of the Atlantic, but their occurrence is picking up. However, you really expect to see them in the winter, and up in northern NJ. To have one on the beach in mid-summer rates it a rarity. As we were walking along Al said that it was just around this spot that he seen the bird. How he could tell one spot from another on that undifferentiated beach, I don't know, but a minute later he pointed out the bird among a small flock of Herring Gulls. Lesser Black-backs are distinguished by yellow (not pink) legs, size (about the same as a Herring Gull) and mantle color (charcoal, not black). This bird had all the characteristics (the legs don't show as yellow in the photo as they appeared in "real life."). I was happy and we continued the walk, looking for the plovers, which we were pretty certain were up ahead about a 1/4 of a mile where two birders with scopes and camera were peering intently at the sand. Sure enough the birds were there, two chicks and an adult. The story I got was that there were 4 eggs, one of which got predated (that's the word Fish & Wildlife uses) and we know of two chicks. Chick # 3 is not accounted for as far as I know.
After watching the birds for a while (the chicks are adorable), and noting my first NJ Royal Tern flying overhead, I caught up with Al and company at the inlet, where the plovers had also run to, so we got to watch them again. They're tiny birds, but they can cover a lot of ground without flying.
A couple of Brown Pelicans flying overhead were a welcome addition to the day list.
On the way back we found another Piping Plover (pictured above) no longer a chick and not yet an adult. It's origin unknown, whether it is from nearby Barnegat Light, passing through from some more distant point, or even Chick #3, it was neat to find and record it.
Not a lot of birds along the strand (beaches are deserts with water) but a good few hours and a 4 mile walk.
15 species
Double-crested Cormorant 4
Brown Pelican 2
Osprey 1
American Oystercatcher 4
Piping Plover 4
Sanderling 150
Semipalmated Sandpiper 15
Laughing Gull 5
Herring Gull 100
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 25
Common Tern 2
Royal Tern 1
Common Yellowthroat 2 Heard
Song Sparrow 2
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Brig 7/16--White-rumped Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Bobolink
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| Obligatory American Oystercatcher photo |
Our first year bird was found by Bob off the East Dike as we were sorting through peeps. Least Sandpipers in the back on the mud, Semipalmated Sandpipers in the shallow water, segregating themselves just as Sibley shows, and in with the semis was a very fresh, very rufous Western Sandpiper showing its diagnostic chevron pattern in its feathers.
Yesterday a few rarities had been reported while I was frustrating myself in Cape May: a White Ibis, a few American Avocets, and a Pied-billed Grebe. I didn't "need" any of them, so I didn't rush up to Brig, knowing I'd be there the next day. I hoped they'd hang around. The ibis flew off a half hour after it was reported, no one saw the avocets today, so when we reached the Exit Pond, where the grebe had been reported, I mentioned it to Shari & Bob and almost immediately, Shari found it. Then Bob found it. Larry couldn't find it, despite explicit, copious instruction from both my wife and my friend as to which green patch in the back it was in front of. At first I was... annoyed, then I was... frustrated, then I started questioning whether birding was truly a waste of time, and just about when the black dogs of depression was clawing at my throat, Bob located the grebe in the scope, I saw it. and everything was fine again. Just as I have trouble hearing anyone in a noisy restaurant, lately I have been having trouble picking out birds against a "noisy" background.
We were just finishing lunch and getting ready for another go-round when who should pull into the parking lot but Mike. He and his family group had already made one circuit ahead of us and were returning from lunch. So we made it a mini-field trip and started around again. Usually I don't add many birds on the 2nd trip around, but today another 16 were added to the list, including two more year birds. First Mike found a couple of White-rumped Sandpipers in the same area that we'd previously had the Western Sandpiper. I don't think we missed them the first time, but it's certainly possible, as they are only subtly different than the more common peeps.
Then, on the North Dike, Mike stopped the car, got out and asked, "Did you see the Bobolink?" No we hadn't, but a few seconds later we did, as it flew out of the tall grass along the outside ditch and flew west, showing nicely what Peterson dubbed its "reverse tuxedo." (Most birds are dark on the back, lighter on the stomach; Bobolinks are the opposite." Bobolinks are not common at Brig--they are more of a grassland bird than one found in marshes, but they do move through in migration, though they are more commonly heard overhead than seen.
We stopped at the Exit Pond again to try to get the grebe for Mike and his party. Looking through his scope Mike came up with Wood Ducks (even I saw one on the first trip around), and both night-herons, but the grebe was not showing in the reeds.
I came up with 63 species for the day (contrasted to 38 yesterday in Cape May), which proves that it pays to bird with others and that Brig is really one of the best places to bird on the East Coast if not all of the country.
Canada Goose 50
Mute Swan 20
Wood Duck 5 Exit Pond
Mallard 15
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 10
Great Blue Heron 4
Great Egret 75
Snowy Egret 25
Little Blue Heron 3
Black-crowned Night-Heron 4
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 2
Glossy Ibis 50
Turkey Vulture 3
Osprey 15
Bald Eagle 1
Clapper Rail 3
American Oystercatcher 10
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Willet 10
Lesser Yellowlegs 6
Whimbrel 3
Least Sandpiper 25
White-rumped Sandpiper 2 Larger shorebirds with longer wings going past tail
Semipalmated Sandpiper 50
Western Sandpiper 2
Short-billed Dowitcher 3
Laughing Gull 125
Ring-billed Gull 2
Herring Gull 75
Great Black-backed Gull 20
Least Tern 3
Gull-billed Tern 10
Caspian Tern 1
Common Tern 1
Forster's Tern 25
Black Skimmer 30
Mourning Dove 1 Heard upland section
Peregrine Falcon 1
Eastern Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 1 Heard, Exit Pond
American Crow 1 Heard
Fish Crow 5
Purple Martin 15
Tree Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 4
House Wren 2 Heard
Marsh Wren 1 Heard, North Dike
Carolina Wren 1 Heard
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 2
European Starling 50
Common Yellowthroat 2 Heard
Seaside Sparrow 5
Chipping Sparrow 1 Heard
Song Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 1 Heard Upland section
Blue Grosbeak 1 Upland section
Indigo Bunting 1 Heard Parking Lot
Bobolink 1 North Dike, black bird with creamy nape.
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle 1
Boat-tailed Grackle 1
Friday, July 15, 2016
Cape May 7/15--I Came, I Looked, I Failed. Twice
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| Black Scoter, Cape May |
But I was in search of a specific species, far from the beach. For at least 2 weeks, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, in numbers ranging from 1 to 14, have been reported on a small, private pond in what I guess is North Cape May. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks are a favorite of mine. Not beauties, like Wood Ducks, but goofy looking birds that amuse upon sight. So, last night, seeing that they were still being reported, I determined to make the 87 mile drive down there.
My hope was that I'd drive up to the pond, see at least one duck, then do some real birding, most likely at the Cape May Meadows and the State Park. Hope is a thing without feathers. I had to detour through the main part of Cape May because Rt 109 was blocked for road work, but my GPS got me there without any problem. I pulled up to the pond and saw lots of ducks and geese, along with Laughing Gulls and some crows. All the ducks were Mallards. I looked at every Mallard, sitting on the edge of the pond or resting beneath a willow tree. No whistling ducks.
They had also been seen at the Cape May Meadows, so that was my next stop. I figured, if nothing, else, I'd find a goodly number of shorebirds, one of which I could use for Bird A Day. There wasn't that much at the meadows, every shorebird there I'd already used, and of course, not a whistling duck to be seen.
The most interesting bird I saw, above, was an an out-of-season Black Scoter, but it doesn't even rate as a rarity as a few of these ducks, like Common Loons, seem to not make the northerly flight each year.
I went over to the State Park. The hawk-watch pond was great if you like Mute Swans--there were around 70 of them and not much else. I don't like Mute Swans. Lighthouse Pond had some Mallards.
The plover ponds were empty except for some geese. Toward the back of the 2nd pond I saw two oystercatchers with a chick. The trails through the woods were closed for construction, not that I felt like walking through them, knowing that they'd likely be unproductive.
After lunch I drove back to Shunpike Road for a 2nd look at the pond, hoping that the ducks would have flown in from wherever they were hiding. They hadn't. It didn't help my spirits that I got a text alert that two were in Salem County.
I gave up, but still needed something for Bird A Day. I gave Shell Bay Avenue a try and found various gulls. I drove to the Wetlands Institute, hoping that the marshes would contain some shorebirds, but again, everything in there I'd already used. The best I could do was a Snowy Egret. I guess I have to use it eventually, but I was hoping for a less common bird to justify all the driving. So unless something unusual flies over the house this afternoon, that's the bird I'm stuck with.
Should you hear a high-pitched whine tonight, that would be me, reading that the whistling ducks have returned to the pond for the evening.
My pathetic day list:
Species Location
|
Canada Goose Cape May
Meadows
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Mute Swan Cape May
Meadows
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American Black Duck Cape
May Point SP
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Mallard Cape May Meadows
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Black Scoter Cape May
Meadows
|
Great Egret Cape May
Point SP
|
Snowy Egret Wetlands
Institute
|
Glossy Ibis Cape May
Meadows
|
Osprey Cape May Meadows
|
Clapper Rail Wetlands
Institute
|
American Oystercatcher Cape
May Meadows
|
Killdeer Cape May
Meadows
|
Spotted Sandpiper Cape
May Meadows
|
Greater Yellowlegs Cape
May Meadows
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Willet Wetlands
Institute
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Lesser Yellowlegs Cape
May Meadows
|
Least Sandpiper Cape May
Meadows
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Short-billed Dowitcher Cape
May Meadows
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Laughing Gull Cape May
Meadows
|
Herring Gull Cape May
Meadows
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Great Black-backed Gull Cape
May Point SP
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Common Tern Cape May
Meadows
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Forster's Tern Cape May
Meadows
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Mourning Dove Cape May
Meadows
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Fish Crow Wetlands
Institute
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Purple Martin Cape May
Meadows
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Tree Swallow Cape May
Point SP
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Barn Swallow Cape May
Meadows
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Carolina Chickadee Cape
May Point SP
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Carolina Wren Cape May
Meadows
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Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Cape
May Point SP
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American Robin Wetlands
Institute
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Northern Mockingbird Cape
May Meadows
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Common Yellowthroat Cape
May Meadows
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Song Sparrow Cape May
Meadows
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Northern Cardinal Cape
May Point SP
|
Red-winged Blackbird Cape
May Meadows
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Common Grackle Cape May
Point SP
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