Shark River Inlet 1/8--Tufted Duck

Tufted Duck (hen) in front of Greater Scaup (drake)
Photos: © Peggy Cadigan

Serendipity. Shari & I, for reasons too boring to explain, had to be up at her office in Ocean this morning. While she was attending to business, I got an alert on my phone--the hen Tufted Duck, reported yesterday, was still there, at the Shark River Inlet, a mere 13 minutes away. Traffic lights, all ill-timed, probably slowed us down to 16 minutes; arriving, and parking next to a snow bank, we saw the expected bird mob looking intently out to the ocean. Half the birders there we knew, and it didn't take them very long to get on us this really rare Aythya species. A drake would have been nicer, especially since I got skunked last year on one, but the hen is distinct enough not to cause any second thoughts--the little tuft (much more prominent in the drake) was easily viewed, the very dark back and the chocolate flanks, all added up to good field marks even from a fair distance. However, getting a photo of this constant diver with my slow-focusing camera and very cold hands was another story.

Fortunately for us, our friend, and very fine photographer, Peggy was among the crowd and she was able to take some really good pictures that permit me to illustrate this entry.

The water was full of ducks, fairly close in, mostly scaup, and mostly Greater Scaup. I know there were Lesser Scaup mixed in, but it still isn't warm enough for me to sift through scaups, judging head shape. Shari found a couple of Black Scoters, farther out, beyond the breakers, and Scott got us on the hen Harlequin Duck (also reported yesterday) that was near one of the jetties. Harlequin Duck is a rarity in Monmouth County (yet, practically a gimme at Barnegat Light SP) so that, along with the Tufted Duck gave me 2 new life birds for Monmouth. There were other ducks and waterfowl there and had weather, time, and freezing wife allowed, I probably would have a longer list, but the theme so far this year seems to be rarities (or at least hard to find birds) over quantity.

14 species
Brant 15
Canada Goose 1
Tufted Duck 1
Greater Scaup 200
Harlequin Duck 1
Black Scoter 2
Long-tailed Duck 5
Bufflehead 10
Common Goldeneye 2
Common Loon 5
Black-bellied Plover 2
Sanderling 3
Ring-billed Gull 10

Herring Gull 5