Wednesday, May 31, 2017

May--Migration, Rarities, Lifers

Almost every day of this month's birding was interesting. I made "migration trips" to Middlesex County and Cape May County, did a Big Day for the World Series of Birding at Brig, found a number of rarities, and even added two lifers to the list on the same day! This added up to 180 species for the month, spent entirely in New Jersey. All of this has been recounted in the posts below.

And yet...many times I'd be walking around Cloverdale Farm or Colliers Mills, or else driving to a spot that was suddenly "hot" and I'd be thinking, "Boy, this seems like a peculiar way to spend your time." I don't know that I could ever explain it to someone not already sympathetic to the obsession.

Being a birder is nothing more than being a fanatical collector with the advantage that you don't end up cluttering your house with matchbooks or vases or antiques or cast iron toys or motorcycles.

I also took a few good pictures this month:
Eastern Bluebirds, Bright View Farm
Common Yellowthroat, Assunpink
Brown Thrasher, Cloverdale Farm
Least Tern, Shark River Inlet
Counties Birded: Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset
Species             First Sighting
Snow Goose   Brig
Brant   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Canada Goose   Colliers Mills WMA
Mute Swan   Forsythe -Barnegat
Wood Duck   Brig
American Black Duck   Forsythe -Barnegat
Mallard   Colliers Mills WMA
Blue-winged Teal   Brig
Northern Shoveler   Forsythe -Barnegat
Northern Pintail   Brig
Green-winged Teal   Brig
Ring-necked Duck   Bunker Hill Bogs
Lesser Scaup   Heislerville WMA
Bufflehead   Island Beach SP
Hooded Merganser   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-breasted Merganser   Brig
Ruddy Duck   Brig
Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd
Common Loon   Island Beach SP
Horned Grebe   Heislerville WMA
Double-crested Cormorant   Double Trouble State Park
Great Blue Heron   Eno’s Pond
Great Egret   Eno’s Pond
Snowy Egret   Forsythe -Barnegat
Little Blue Heron   Forsythe -Barnegat
Tricolored Heron   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Cattle Egret   New Egypt
Green Heron   Whitesbog
Black-crowned Night-Heron   Island Beach SP
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron   Meadowedge Park
Glossy Ibis   Island Beach SP
Black Vulture   Jumping Brook Preserve
Turkey Vulture   Colliers Mills WMA
Osprey   Colliers Mills WMA
Mississippi Kite   Waretown
Northern Harrier   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Sharp-shinned Hawk   Island Beach SP
Cooper's Hawk   Double Trouble State Park
Bald Eagle   Double Trouble State Park
Broad-winged Hawk   Brig
Red-tailed Hawk   Brig
King Rail   Mercer Corporate Park
Clapper Rail   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Virginia Rail   Brig
Purple Gallinule   Ocean Grove
Common Gallinule   Mercer Corporate Park
Black-necked Stilt   Brig
American Oystercatcher   Brig
Black-bellied Plover   Island Beach SP
Semipalmated Plover   Forsythe -Barnegat
Piping Plover   Shark River Inlet
Killdeer   Holly Lake
Whimbrel   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Ruddy Turnstone   Brig
Red Knot   East Point Lighthouse
Stilt Sandpiper   Brig
Dunlin   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Least Sandpiper   Holly Lake
White-rumped Sandpiper   Brig
Semipalmated Sandpiper   Forsythe -Barnegat
Short-billed Dowitcher   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Wilson's Snipe   Colliers Mills WMA
Spotted Sandpiper   Colliers Mills WMA
Solitary Sandpiper   New Egypt
Greater Yellowlegs   Forsythe -Barnegat
Willet   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Lesser Yellowlegs   Forsythe -Barnegat
Black-headed Gull   Brig
Laughing Gull   Forsythe -Barnegat
Ring-billed Gull   Brig
Herring Gull   Forsythe -Barnegat
Great Black-backed Gull   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Least Tern   Brig
Gull-billed Tern   Brig
Caspian Tern   Brig
ROSEATE TERN   Shark River Inlet
Common Tern   Brig
Forster's Tern   Forsythe -Barnegat
Black Skimmer   Brig
Rock Pigeon   New Egypt
Mourning Dove   Colliers Mills WMA
Yellow-billed Cuckoo   Island Beach SP
Black-billed Cuckoo   Colliers Mills WMA
LESSER NIGHTHAWK   Lord Stirling Park
Chuck-will's-widow   Island Beach SP
Eastern Whip-poor-will   35 Sunset Rd
Chimney Swift   Brig
Ruby-throated Hummingbird   35 Sunset Rd
Belted Kingfisher   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Downy Woodpecker   Brig
Hairy Woodpecker   Forest Resource Education Center
Northern Flicker   Colliers Mills WMA
Merlin   Brig
Peregrine Falcon   Island Beach SP
Eastern Wood-Pewee   Double Trouble State Park
Acadian Flycatcher   Belleplain State Forest
Willow Flycatcher   Island Beach SP
Eastern Phoebe   Colliers Mills WMA
Great Crested Flycatcher   Colliers Mills WMA
Eastern Kingbird   Colliers Mills WMA
White-eyed Vireo   Colliers Mills WMA
Blue-headed Vireo   Island Beach SP
Warbling Vireo   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-eyed Vireo   Eno’s Pond
Blue Jay   Colliers Mills WMA
American Crow   Island Beach SP
Fish Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Common Raven   Brig
Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Cloverdale Farm
Purple Martin   Brig
Tree Swallow   Colliers Mills WMA
Bank Swallow   Brig
Barn Swallow   Colliers Mills WMA
Carolina Chickadee   Colliers Mills WMA
Tufted Titmouse   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-breasted Nuthatch   Island Beach SP
White-breasted Nuthatch   Colliers Mills WMA
House Wren   Cloverdale Farm
Marsh Wren   Island Beach SP
Carolina Wren   Colliers Mills WMA
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Colliers Mills WMA
Eastern Bluebird   Colliers Mills WMA
Veery   Double Trouble State Park
Swainson's Thrush   William Warren County Park
Wood Thrush   Double Trouble State Park
American Robin   Colliers Mills WMA
Gray Catbird   Colliers Mills WMA
Brown Thrasher   Cloverdale Farm
Northern Mockingbird   Colliers Mills WMA
European Starling   Colliers Mills WMA
Cedar Waxwing   Island Beach SP
Ovenbird   Colliers Mills WMA
Worm-eating Warbler   Brig
Northern Waterthrush   Brig
Blue-winged Warbler   Manasquan River WMA
Black-and-white Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA
Prothonotary Warbler   Belleplain State Forest
Nashville Warbler   William Warren County Park
Common Yellowthroat   Colliers Mills WMA
Hooded Warbler   Double Trouble State Park
American Redstart   Double Trouble State Park
Cape May Warbler   Ernest L. Oros Wildlife Preserve
Northern Parula   Double Trouble State Park
Magnolia Warbler   Island Beach SP
Blackburnian Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA
Yellow Warbler   Forsythe -Barnegat
Chestnut-sided Warbler   Island Beach SP
Blackpoll Warbler   Ernest L. Oros Wildlife Preserve
Palm Warbler   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Pine Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Yellow-throated Warbler   Belleplain State Forest
Prairie Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA
Black-throated Green Warbler   William Warren County Park
Yellow-breasted Chat   Assunpink WMA
Grasshopper Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Saltmarsh Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Seaside Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Chipping Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Field Sparrow   Brig
White-throated Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Savannah Sparrow   Brig
Song Sparrow   Forsythe -Barnegat
Swamp Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Eastern Towhee   Colliers Mills WMA
Summer Tanager   Belleplain State Forest
Scarlet Tanager   William Warren County Park
Northern Cardinal   Colliers Mills WMA
Blue Grosbeak   Colliers Mills WMA
Indigo Bunting   Belleplain State Forest
Red-winged Blackbird   Colliers Mills WMA
Common Grackle   Jumping Brook Preserve
Boat-tailed Grackle   Meadowedge Park
Brown-headed Cowbird   Colliers Mills WMA
Orchard Oriole   Brig
Baltimore Oriole   Colliers Mills WMA
House Finch   35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd
House Sparrow   Wawa Rt 70 & CR 530

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