August Wrap Up--Mostly Whitesbog

American Golden-Plover, Whitesbog
(digiscope)

August found me at Whitesbog 20 times: A fifteen minute drive to see if any rare shorebirds are around is just too tempting for me, plus I know I'll enjoy the company of the few regulars who make it out there. My best find of the month was the American Golden-Plover I found on the Middle Bog Monday, just as I was getting ready to call it a day.  I regret that it didn't stick for my birding buddies. Other notable rarities this month on the bogs were the Buff-breasted Sandpiper (it, or a couple of others, has been seen off and on since the middle of the month), White-rumped Sandpipers close enough to really study, Short-billed Dowitchers, and Stilt Sandpipers, the last 3 rare for Burlington, a county with way more pines than mud flats. While you don't get the huge numbers of shorebirds you might at Brig (which is good, because sorting through 5000 sandpipers gets old real fast), you do get nice diversity--12 species of shorebirds in a small area is common.

Pied-billed Grebe, Whitesbog

Another cool bird that showed up was Upland Sandpiper, 3 of them, in mowed field of the Mercer Sod Farm (which, perplexingly is in Burlington County). It took me two tries to find them (the first day was a miserably rainy one), but I found them almost immediately on my 2nd try, thin-necked, small-headed, upright sandpipers. It was the first time I've seen the species outside of the Lakehurst jump circle.

Of course, the Wood Stork at Sandy Hook was the highlight of the month. The day I saw it had a semi-holiday vibe to it due to the partial eclipse.

Two species of phalaropes at Brig, along with two species of godwits there were also notable. Yes, I did go to Brig a few times on the weekends--Whitesbog after about 8 o'clock  A.M. on a summer Saturday or Sunday gets a little too busy with the retriever people, the dirt bike people, and the let's drive around the dikes aimlessly people for birding to be productive or pleasant.

For the month I added 7 year birds (2 more than in July) and managed 143 species (30 species of shorebirds!), all but two in NJ. I listed pigeon and House Sparrow on the mean streets of Manhattan.

Green Heron, Whitesbog

Counties birded:
New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Monmouth, Ocean
New York: New York

Species             First Sighting

Snow Goose   Brig

Canada Goose   Whitesbog

Mute Swan   Cape May

Wood Duck   Whitesbog

Blue-winged Teal   Brig

Northern Shoveler   Brig

Mallard   Whitesbog

American Black Duck   Cape May

Northern Pintail   Brig

Green-winged Teal   Whitesbog

Black Scoter   Island Beach

Hooded Merganser   Brig

Northern Bobwhite   Cape May

Wild Turkey   Crestwood Village

Pied-billed Grebe   Whitesbog

Wood Stork   Sandy Hook

Double-crested Cormorant   Island Beach

Brown Pelican   Island Beach

Great Blue Heron   Whitesbog

Great Egret   Whitesbog

Snowy Egret   Island Beach

Little Blue Heron   Brig

Tricolored Heron   Scotch Bonnet

Green Heron   Whitesbog

Black-crowned Night-Heron   Brig

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron   Scotch Bonnet

White Ibis   Brig

Glossy Ibis   Island Beach

Turkey Vulture   Brig

Osprey   Island Beach

Cooper's Hawk   Whitesbog

Bald Eagle   Whitesbog

Red-tailed Hawk   Whitesbog

Clapper Rail   Brig

American Oystercatcher   Island Beach

Black-bellied Plover   Island Beach

American Golden-Plover   Whitesbog

Semipalmated Plover   Island Beach

Piping Plover   Island Beach

Killdeer   Cape May

Upland Sandpiper   Mercer Sod Farm IBA

Whimbrel   Brig

Hudsonian Godwit   Brig

Marbled Godwit   Brig

Ruddy Turnstone   Cape May

Stilt Sandpiper   Brig

Sanderling   Island Beach

Dunlin   Brig

Least Sandpiper   Whitesbog

White-rumped Sandpiper   Brig

Buff-breasted Sandpiper   Whitesbog

Pectoral Sandpiper   Whitesbog

Semipalmated Sandpiper   Island Beach

Western Sandpiper   Brig

Short-billed Dowitcher   Island Beach

Long-billed Dowitcher   Brig

Wilson's Snipe   Whitesbog

Wilson's Phalarope   Brig

Red-necked Phalarope   Brig

Spotted Sandpiper   Whitesbog

Solitary Sandpiper   Whitesbog

Greater Yellowlegs   Whitesbog

Willet   Brig

Lesser Yellowlegs   Whitesbog

Laughing Gull   Island Beach

Ring-billed Gull   Island Beach

Herring Gull   Island Beach

Great Black-backed Gull   Island Beach

Least Tern   Cape May

Gull-billed Tern   Brig

Caspian Tern   Brig

Black Tern   Brig

Common Tern   Island Beach

Forster's Tern   Island Beach

Royal Tern   Island Beach

Black Skimmer   Brig

Rock Pigeon   901 Lexington Ave, New York

Mourning Dove   Whitesbog

Common Nighthawk   35 Sunset Rd

Eastern Whip-poor-will   Whiting WMA

Chimney Swift   Whitesbog

Ruby-throated Hummingbird   35 Sunset Rd

Belted Kingfisher   Cranberry Bogs--Dover Rd

Red-bellied Woodpecker   Whitesbog

Downy Woodpecker   Crestwood Village

Hairy Woodpecker   Brig

Northern Flicker   Cape May

Peregrine Falcon   Brig

Eastern Wood-Pewee   Whitesbog

Least Flycatcher   Whitesbog

Eastern Phoebe   Whitesbog

Great Crested Flycatcher   Whitesbog

Eastern Kingbird   Whitesbog

White-eyed Vireo   Whitesbog

Red-eyed Vireo   Brig

Blue Jay   35 Sunset Rd

American Crow   Cape May

Fish Crow   35 Sunset Rd

Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Whitesbog

Purple Martin   Cape May

Tree Swallow   Whitesbog

Barn Swallow   Whitesbog

Carolina Chickadee   Whitesbog

Tufted Titmouse   Whitesbog

White-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd

House Wren   Cape May

Marsh Wren   Brig

Carolina Wren   Cape May

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Whitesbog

Eastern Bluebird   Cranberry Bogs--Dover Rd

American Robin   Cape May

Gray Catbird   Whitesbog

Brown Thrasher   Whitesbog

Northern Mockingbird   Cape May

European Starling   35 Sunset Rd

Cedar Waxwing   Whitesbog

Ovenbird   Cranberry Bogs--Dover Rd

Black-and-white Warbler   Whitesbog

Common Yellowthroat   Whitesbog

American Redstart   Brig

Yellow Warbler   Cape May

Pine Warbler   Whitesbog

Prairie Warbler   Whitesbog

Canada Warbler   Whitesbog

Saltmarsh Sparrow   Brig

Seaside Sparrow   Brig

Chipping Sparrow   Whitesbog

Field Sparrow   Cape May

Song Sparrow   Whitesbog

Swamp Sparrow   Whitesbog

Eastern Towhee   Whitesbog

Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd

Blue Grosbeak   Brig

Indigo Bunting   Cape May

Bobolink   Brig

Orchard Oriole   Whitesbog

Red-winged Blackbird   Whitesbog

Brown-headed Cowbird   Whitesbog

Common Grackle   Whitesbog

Boat-tailed Grackle   Island Beach

House Finch   35 Sunset Rd

American Goldfinch   Whitesbog

House Sparrow   485 Lexington Ave, New York