Tuesday, February 28, 2017

February: Rare Geese

Raptors in high places: Bald Eagle, Double Trouble 
The highlights of February were a series of literal wild goose (and  one swan) chases. Mike and I, early in the month, got the Trumpeter Swan at Assunpink (my second look of the year, his first) then managed to pick out a Cackling Goose from well over a thousand Canada Geese at Corine's Millpond in Allentown.

Merlin, Cranberry Bogs
Cooper's Hawk, Cranberry Bogs
Later in the month we made an unfruitful foray down to Cape May, stopping twice at the Cape May Zoo. A couple of weeks later we tried again and on my fourth visit and his fifth (or possibly sixth) we finally found the Pink-footed Goose that had been wandering about that section of the county, sometimes at the zoo, sometimes on soccer fields, sometimes in a veteran's cemetery. I also went to the Mercer Corporate Park in Robbinsville this month when a Greater White-fronted Goose was reported and found it pretty easily. A few days later, I returned with Mike and again, it was right there, a drive up bird. So for the year I have all 11 geese and swans you might expect to find (and count) in New Jersey.

Immature Bald Eagle, Double Trouble 
I was also happy to get Northern Bobwhite onto the list for the year (and to have it "accepted" by the eBird reviewer). That's a bird I missed last year. I think I also missed Short-eared Owl last year and was glad to see that they have made their return to Cedar Run Dock Road, an historical location for them but one, that after Superstorm Sandy, they had disappeared from, presumably because all their little mammal food had been drowned. The biggest disappointment of the month was missing the Red Crossbills that spent a couple of days at nearby Double Trouble Park (practically my backyard). A flock has since been reported in Burlington County, answering the question of "where the heck did they all disappear to?"

For the month I had 121 species (one less than last month) and again, I did not venture outside of the state.

Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean
Species                         First Sighting
Pink-footed Goose   Cape May Co. Zoo
Greater White-fronted Goose   Mercer Corporate Park
Snow Goose   Brig
Brant   Manasquan Inlet
Cackling Goose   Corines Millpond
Canada Goose   Wells Mills Park
Mute Swan   Forsythe--Barnegat
Trumpeter Swan   Assunpink WMA
Tundra Swan   Double Trouble State Park
Wood Duck   Jumping Brook Preserve
Gadwall   Forsythe--Barnegat
Eurasian Wigeon   Sylvan Lake
American Wigeon   Forsythe--Barnegat
American Black Duck   Wells Mills Park
Mallard   Wells Mills Park
Northern Shoveler   Sylvan Lake
Northern Pintail   Forsythe--Barnegat
Green-winged Teal   Deer Head Lake
Canvasback   Assunpink WMA
Redhead   Brick
Ring-necked Duck   Wells Mills Park
Greater Scaup   Brig
Lesser Scaup   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
Black Scoter   Cape May - Lewes Ferry Terminal
Long-tailed Duck   Manasquan Inlet
Bufflehead   Wells Mills Park
Common Goldeneye   Colliers Mills WMA
Hooded Merganser   Deer Head Lake
Common Merganser   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
Red-breasted Merganser   Manasquan Inlet
Ruddy Duck   Deer Head Lake
Northern Bobwhite   Colliers Mills WMA
Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd
Red-throated Loon   Barnegat Municipal Dock
Common Loon   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
Pied-billed Grebe   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
Horned Grebe   Nummy Island
Northern Gannet   Manasquan Inlet
Double-crested Cormorant   Riverfront Landing
American Bittern   Brig
Great Blue Heron   Forsythe--Barnegat
Great Egret   Absecon
Black Vulture   Colliers Mills WMA
Turkey Vulture   Waretown
Northern Harrier   Assunpink WMA
Sharp-shinned Hawk   Colliers Mills WMA
Cooper's Hawk   Assunpink WMA
Bald Eagle   Wells Mills Park
Red-shouldered Hawk   Assunpink WMA
Red-tailed Hawk   Assunpink WMA
Rough-legged Hawk   Brig
American Coot   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
American Oystercatcher   Brigantine Island
Black-bellied Plover   Villas
Killdeer   Colliers Mills WMA
Sanderling   Villas
Dunlin   Villas
Purple Sandpiper   Manasquan Inlet
Wilson's Snipe   Brig
American Woodcock   Crestwood Village
Willet   Brigantine Island
Razorbill   Manasquan Inlet
Bonaparte's Gull   Villas
Ring-billed Gull   Lake Barnegat
Herring Gull   Deer Head Lake
Great Black-backed Gull   Cattus Island County Park
Forster's Tern   Villas
Rock Pigeon   New Egypt
Mourning Dove   35 Sunset Rd
Short-eared Owl   Motts Creek
Belted Kingfisher   Corines Millpond
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Assunpink WMA
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Colliers Mills WMA
Downy Woodpecker   Deer Head Lake
Hairy Woodpecker   Assunpink WMA
Northern Flicker   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
American Kestrel   E. Colliers Mills Rd
Merlin   Mercer Corporate Park
Peregrine Falcon   Brig
Blue Jay   Deer Head Lake
American Crow   Deer Head Lake
Fish Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Common Raven   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
Horned Lark   Stafford
Carolina Chickadee   Wells Mills Park
Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd
Red-breasted Nuthatch   Wells Mills Park
White-breasted Nuthatch   Wells Mills Park
Brown Creeper   Colliers Mills WMA
Carolina Wren   Wells Mills Park
Golden-crowned Kinglet   Deer Head Lake
Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Trenton Sewage Ponds
Eastern Bluebird   Assunpink WMA
Hermit Thrush   Cattus Island County Park
American Robin   Cattus Island County Park
Gray Catbird   Higbee Beach WMA
Brown Thrasher   Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Mockingbird   New Egypt
European Starling   35 Sunset Rd
Cedar Waxwing   Brig
Orange-crowned Warbler   Brig
Palm Warbler   Trenton Sewage Ponds
Pine Warbler   Trenton Sewage Ponds
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Trenton Sewage Ponds
American Tree Sparrow   Assunpink WMA
Field Sparrow   Mercer Corporate Park
Fox Sparrow   New England Rd
Dark-eyed Junco   35 Sunset Rd
White-crowned Sparrow   New Egypt
White-throated Sparrow   Wells Mills Park
Savannah Sparrow   New Egypt
Song Sparrow   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
Eastern Towhee   Brig
Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd
Red-winged Blackbird   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
Common Grackle   Assunpink WMA
Boat-tailed Grackle   Motts Creek
Brown-headed Cowbird   New Egypt
House Finch   Double Trouble State Park
American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd
House Sparrow   Asbury Park

Bald Eagle, Wells Mills Park

Immature Bald Eagle, Cranberry Bogs


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