December Finale

Wood Stork, Anhinga, Double-crested Cormorants, Brown Pelican, White Ibises
Sanibel Island

It was an excellent month for birding, with our trip to Florida giving us a little respite from the cold weather that I find more wearisome each year. The Florida trip has been exhaustively reported. The last couple of weeks since our trip have not, for the most part, been all that productive. I've had a hard time motivating myself to get out and bird. On the one hand, all my usual places I've been finding the usual birds and on the other hand, chasing birds in different parts of the state hasn't been all that appealing--in fact, it has seemed rather silly of late.

Savannah (Ipswich) Sparrow

The best day of birding I've had in the last couple weeks was a week ago when I made a trip to Long Beach Island. I was specifically seeking goldeneyes, which I did eventually find in the last place I looked but I also was very happy when a walk on the jetty at Barnegat Light (something I rarely do nowadays) turned up Snow Buntings, Savannah (Ipswich) Sparrows, a single drake Harlequin Duck and Purple Sandpipers.

Harlequin Duck

Purple Sandpiper

I've birded Whitesbog but aside from Tundra Swans the place is dead (and cold). I'm hoping things pick up for the 2nd Pinelands Survey next month as that's my territory. I walked the Union Transportation Trail with no surprises and even braved a walk at Colliers Mills (where the hunting seems to have subsided) but found nothing of note.

Still, with Florida's birds on the list I had the 2nd most number of species (173) of any month this year, exceeded only by April's staggering 290 total which was inflated by our trip to Trinidad & Tobago.

It all starts again tomorrow. I wish all the other slates could be wiped as clean as my bird list.
Counties birded:
Florida: Charlotte, Collier, Lee
New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean
New York: Nassau, Queens

Species                  First Sighting

Snow Goose   Cattus Island County Park

Brant   Brig

Canada Goose   Cattus Island County Park

Mute Swan   Cattus Island County Park

Tundra Swan   Brig

Muscovy Duck   Fort Myers-McGregor Blvd

Gadwall   Marshall's Pond

American Black Duck   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

Mallard   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

Mottled Duck   Ding Darling

Blue-winged Teal   Ding Darling--Bailey Tract

Northern Shoveler   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

Northern Pintail   Brig

Green-winged Teal   Brig

Ring-necked Duck   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

Greater Scaup   Sandy Hook

Lesser Scaup   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

Common Eider   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Harlequin Duck   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Surf Scoter   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

White-winged Scoter   Sandy Hook

Black Scoter   Sandy Hook

Long-tailed Duck   Sandy Hook

Bufflehead   Cattus Island County Park

Common Goldeneye   LBI Bayside--24th St

Hooded Merganser   Marshall's Pond

Red-breasted Merganser   Harvey Cedars--Sunset Park

Ruddy Duck   Cattus Island County Park

Wild Turkey   New Egypt--W. Millstream Rd

Red-throated Loon   Sandy Hook

Pacific Loon   Sandy Hook

Common Loon   Sandy Hook

Pied-billed Grebe   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

Wood Stork   Harns Marsh

Magnificent Frigatebird   East Gulf Drive

Northern Gannet   Sandy Hook

Great Cormorant   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Double-crested Cormorant   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Anhinga   Ding Darling

American White Pelican   Ding Darling

Brown Pelican   Sanibel Beach

American Bittern   Babcock-Webb WMA

Great Blue Heron   Cattus Island County Park

Great Egret   Brig

Snowy Egret   Ding Darling

Little Blue Heron   Ding Darling

Tricolored Heron   Ding Darling

Reddish Egret   Ding Darling

Cattle Egret   Harns Marsh

Green Heron   Ding Darling

Black-crowned Night-Heron   Bayview Ave Park

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron   Ding Darling

White Ibis   Ding Darling

Glossy Ibis   Harns Marsh

Roseate Spoonbill   Ding Darling

Black Vulture   Harns Marsh

Turkey Vulture   Crestwood Village

Osprey   Sanibel Beach

Snail Kite   Harns Marsh

Northern Harrier   Brig

Cooper's Hawk   Cattus Island County Park

Bald Eagle   Ding Darling

Red-shouldered Hawk   Harns Marsh

Short-tailed Hawk   Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Red-tailed Hawk   Cranberry Bogs--Dover Rd

Rough-legged Hawk   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

GRAY-HEADED SWAMPHEN   Harns Marsh

Common Gallinule   Ding Darling--Bailey Tract

American Coot   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

Limpkin   Harns Marsh

Sandhill Crane   Harns Marsh

American Avocet   Little Estero Lagoon

American Oystercatcher   Little Estero Lagoon

Black-bellied Plover   Sanibel Beach

Wilson's Plover   Bunche Beach

Semipalmated Plover   Ding Darling

Piping Plover   Bunche Beach

Killdeer   Ding Darling

Marbled Godwit   Bunche Beach

Ruddy Turnstone   Sanibel Beach

Red Knot   Bunche Beach

Sanderling   Sandy Hook

Dunlin   Ding Darling

Purple Sandpiper   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Least Sandpiper   Ding Darling

Western Sandpiper   Bunche Beach

Short-billed Dowitcher   Ding Darling

Spotted Sandpiper   Ding Darling

Greater Yellowlegs   Ding Darling

Willet   Sanibel Beach

Laughing Gull   Ding Darling

Ring-billed Gull   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

Herring Gull   Sandy Hook

Lesser Black-backed Gull   Sanibel Beach

Great Black-backed Gull   Sandy Hook

Common Tern   Bunche Beach

Forster's Tern   Point Ybel Lighthouse Beach Park

Royal Tern   Point Ybel Lighthouse Beach Park

Sandwich Tern   Sanibel Beach

Black Skimmer   Point Ybel Lighthouse Beach Park

Rock Pigeon   Toms River

Eurasian Collared-Dove   Sanibel

Common Ground-Dove   Sanibel Captiva Rd

Mourning Dove   Cattus Island County Park

Eastern Screech-Owl   Sanibel Inn

Burrowing Owl   Pelican Blvd. Baseball Fields

Belted Kingfisher   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

Red-bellied Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   35 Sunset Rd

Downy Woodpecker   Cattus Island County Park

RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER   Babcock-Webb WMA

Northern Flicker   Cattus Island County Park

Pileated Woodpecker   East Gulf Drive

American Kestrel   East Gulf Drive

Peregrine Falcon   Brig

Monk Parakeet   Pelican Blvd. Baseball Fields

Eastern Phoebe   Ding Darling--Bailey Tract

Great Crested Flycatcher   Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Loggerhead Shrike   Babcock-Webb WMA

White-eyed Vireo   Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Blue-headed Vireo   Point Ybel Lighthouse Beach Park

Blue Jay   35 Sunset Rd

FLORIDA SCRUB-JAY   Cape Coral

American Crow   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

Fish Crow   Union Transportation Trail

Horned Lark   Sandy Hook

Tree Swallow   Harns Marsh

Cave Swallow   Sandy Hook

Carolina Chickadee   Cattus Island County Park

Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd

Red-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd

White-breasted Nuthatch   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

Brown Creeper   Cattus Island County Park

House Wren   Sanibel Beach

Marsh Wren   Naples Botanical Garden

Carolina Wren   Cattus Island County Park

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   East Gulf Drive

Golden-crowned Kinglet   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Union Transportation Trail

Eastern Bluebird   Babcock-Webb WMA

Hermit Thrush   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

American Robin   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

Gray Catbird   East Gulf Drive

Northern Mockingbird   Union Transportation Trail

European Starling   18 Aberdeen Avenue

Snow Bunting   Sandy Hook

Black-and-white Warbler   Manatee Park

Orange-crowned Warbler   Cattus Island County Park

Common Yellowthroat   Sanibel Beach

Northern Parula   Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Palm Warbler   Point Ybel Lighthouse Beach Park

Pine Warbler   Babcock-Webb WMA

Yellow-rumped Warbler   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Yellow-throated Warbler   East Gulf Drive

Prairie Warbler   Ding Darling--Bailey Tract

American Tree Sparrow   Cattus Island County Park

Chipping Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd

Field Sparrow   Marshall's Pond

Fox Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd

Dark-eyed Junco   35 Sunset Rd

White-throated Sparrow   Cattus Island County Park

Savannah Sparrow   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Song Sparrow   Cattus Island County Park

Swamp Sparrow   Cattus Island County Park

Eastern Towhee   Babcock-Webb WMA

Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd

Red-winged Blackbird   Cattus Island County Park

Eastern Meadowlark   Babcock-Webb WMA

Common Grackle   East Gulf Drive

Boat-tailed Grackle   Bayview Marina

House Finch   35 Sunset Rd

American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd

House Sparrow   Long Branch Rt 36