February Wrap-up

Northern Pintail, Shelter Cove Park

It was a tough month of birding. While I added 20 species to the year list and while some of them were exciting birds to find (particularly the Ross's Geese at Whitesbog, the Pink-footed Goose at Warinanco Park, and the Long-eared Owl at Pole Farm), there were many days of remarkably crappy birding, where I would find very few species on my walks through the woods and fields and on the beaches of the Garden State. Granted, I have been going to some out of the way spots in an attempt to add variety to my walks; some of these locations seem underbirded to me. Perhaps not. There may be a reason not many birders go there--there ain't no birds. Or it's the wrong time of year for where I'm walking. Manasquan River WMA is a for instance: great spot in the spring; in the winter, something of a bird-free zone, though, I have to remember that I did get my FOY Hermit Thrush there.

Whatever the reasons I'm not getting more birds this year, I'm way behind last year's list, when, at this time I had 10 more species than my current 127.

The highlight of the month, however, only had to do with birding tangentially. Last Saturday, Shari & I went on the first of Mike's Birds of Jackson trips, as we do each year. It's a great concept: Go to the same locations 5 times from mid-winter to mid-spring and watch how the bird populations change with the season. There's usually a core group of local birders who do this trip, but on Saturday, we had a new addition in Cheryl, who has recently taken up this hobby/obsession.

And it seems it is already something of a fever for her, because she went out to Minnesota to join Mike and Kim's trip out there and birded in 25 degrees below zero. When Shari & I made the trip a few years ago we were lucky and never had temperatures approaching that. Cheryl is soon to retire from her job in IT at...WAWA! Mike, of course, informed her of my, let's call it, deep, abiding interest in all things Wawa, so when we met on Saturday, Cheryl came with a couple of Wawa gift baskets for Shari & me containing valuable Wawa accessories like mugs, cups, and lunch bag. She made the delightful presentation in the Jackson Memorial High School parking lot. She also told us there is a new, two-story Wawa in Media, Pennsylvania. Media is only about 2 hours from here. Road trip!

For the month I finished with 114 species. I'm hoping to get back on track in March.
Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Union

Species            First Sighting

Snow Goose   Brig

Ross's Goose   Whitesbog

Pink-footed Goose   Warinanco Park

Brant   Manasquan Inlet

Cackling Goose   Assunpink WMA

Canada Goose   Horicon Lake

Mute Swan   Lake of the Lilies

Trumpeter Swan   Assunpink WMA

Tundra Swan   Whitesbog

Wood Duck   Bunker Hill Bogs

Northern Shoveler   Lake Como

Gadwall   Lake of the Lilies

American Wigeon   Lake of the Lilies

Mallard   Horicon Lake

American Black Duck   Horicon Lake

Northern Pintail   Forsythe-Barnegat

Green-winged Teal   Brig

Canvasback   Assunpink WMA

Redhead   Lake of the Lilies

Ring-necked Duck   Assunpink WMA

Tufted Duck   Wreck Pond

Greater Scaup   Manasquan Inlet

Lesser Scaup   Lake of the Lilies

Common Eider   Island Beach SP

Harlequin Duck   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Surf Scoter   Manasquan Inlet

Black Scoter   Manasquan Inlet

Long-tailed Duck   Manasquan Inlet

Bufflehead   Manasquan Inlet

Common Goldeneye   Maclearie Park

Hooded Merganser   Horicon Lake

Common Merganser   Horicon Lake

Red-breasted Merganser   Lake of the Lilies

Ruddy Duck   Lake of the Lilies

Ring-necked Pheasant   New Egypt

Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd

Red-throated Loon   Barnegat Municipal Dock

Common Loon   Manasquan Inlet

Pied-billed Grebe   Ocean County Parks Offices

Horned Grebe   Manasquan Inlet

Red-necked Grebe   Manasquan Inlet

Great Cormorant   Manasquan Inlet

Double-crested Cormorant   Maclearie Park

Great Blue Heron   Meadowedge Park

Black Vulture   Brig

Turkey Vulture   Horicon Lake

Northern Harrier   Brig

Sharp-shinned Hawk   Motts Creek

Cooper's Hawk   Horicon Lake

Bald Eagle   Brig

Red-shouldered Hawk   Whitesbog

Red-tailed Hawk   Brig

American Coot   Lake of the Lilies

Sandhill Crane   New Egypt

American Oystercatcher   Brigantine Island

Killdeer   Shelter Cove Park

Ruddy Turnstone   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Sanderling   Shark River Inlet

Dunlin   Great Bay Blvd

Purple Sandpiper   Manasquan Inlet

Greater Yellowlegs   Brigantine Island

Willet   Brigantine Island

Ring-billed Gull   Horicon Lake

Herring Gull   Lake of the Lilies

Lesser Black-backed Gull   Sylvan Lake

Great Black-backed Gull   Lake of the Lilies

Rock Pigeon   Lake of the Lilies

Mourning Dove   35 Sunset Rd

Snowy Owl   Brig

Long-eared Owl   Pole Farm

Belted Kingfisher   Ocean County Parks Offices

Red-bellied Woodpecker   Cloverdale Farm

Downy Woodpecker   Cloverdale Farm

Hairy Woodpecker   Cloverdale Farm

Northern Flicker   Assunpink WMA

American Kestrel   Brigantine Island

Merlin   Highway 35, Wall

Peregrine Falcon   Brig

Blue Jay   Brig

American Crow   Horicon Lake

Fish Crow   Assunpink WMA

Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd

Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd

White-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd

Brown Creeper   35 Sunset Rd

Carolina Wren   Horicon Lake

Golden-crowned Kinglet   Cloverdale Farm

Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Ocean County Parks Offices

Eastern Bluebird   Brig

Hermit Thrush   Manasquan River WMA

American Robin   Horicon Lake

Brown Thrasher   Shelter Cove Park

Northern Mockingbird   Brig

European Starling   Manasquan Inlet

Cedar Waxwing   Riverfront Landing

Yellow-rumped Warbler   Cloverdale Farm

American Tree Sparrow   Assunpink WMA

Chipping Sparrow   Forest Resource Education Center

Field Sparrow   Assunpink WMA

Fox Sparrow   Shelter Cove Park

Dark-eyed Junco   35 Sunset Rd

White-throated Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd

Savannah Sparrow   Shelter Cove Park

Song Sparrow   Cloverdale Farm

Eastern Towhee   Brig

Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd

Eastern Meadowlark   Pole Farm

Red-winged Blackbird   Brig

Brown-headed Cowbird   New Egypt

Common Grackle   Manasquan Inlet

Boat-tailed Grackle   Manasquan Inlet

House Finch   35 Sunset Rd

American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd

House Sparrow   Galloway