March Wrap-up

Eastern Bluebird, Cloverdale Farm

It was a good month, with 14 out of the 118 species I recorded being year birds. But it was also a frustrating month as I missed--or "dipped" as the birders say--on some desirable birds, including American Woodcock and King Eider. It wasn't for a lack of trying, as I made numerous trips looking for both birds. Granted, I could have gone to other spots for the woodcock, but if I couldn't find it in what is practically my backyard, I didn't want to chase around looking for one in more distant, out of the way spots. In the dark.

My birding M.O. this years seems to have developed into Ocean County birding during the week and on the weekends going outside the county to locales like Brig, Sandy Hook, or even farther afield like the rarely visited Salem County. I've also been investigating less birded areas in my home county in the hopes of finding the off-beat. So far that hasn't been a particularly successful strategy, but it has been interesting going to places I seldom, if ever, visit.

I'd say the highlights of the months were:

• Flushing snipes at Shelter Cove Park
• Seeing the stunning drake Tufted Duck at Sandy Hook
• And the 4th nor'easter of the year which brought us both our first Pine Warbler of the year (after searching every available, likely habitat with no luck) as well as an army of Wild Turkeys

April should be an interesting month with migration activity getting into full swing. It means getting up earlier, since the warblers and other migrants don't keep banker's hours like the waterfowl. As to this month's list, it is presented below with the year birds thusly marked. The rarities (real and just flagged by eBird) are underlined.

Counties birded:

New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Monmouth, Salem

Pennsylvania: Philadelphia

Species             First Sighting

Snow Goose   Brig

Brant   Brig

Canada Goose   Colliers Mills WMA

Mute Swan   Brig

Tundra Swan   Whitesbog

Wood Duck   Whitesbog

Blue-winged Teal   Mannington Marsh

Northern Shoveler   Brig

Gadwall   Brig

Mallard   Colliers Mills WMA

American Black Duck   Colliers Mills WMA

Northern Pintail   Brig

Green-winged Teal   Brig

Redhead   Lake of the Lilies

Ring-necked Duck   Colliers Mills WMA

Tufted Duck   Sandy Hook

Greater Scaup   Great Bay Blvd

Lesser Scaup   Lake of the Lilies

Common Eider   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Harlequin Duck   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Surf Scoter   Shark River Inlet

White-winged Scoter   Sandy Hook

Black Scoter   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Long-tailed Duck   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Bufflehead   Brig

Hooded Merganser   Brig

Common Merganser   Sylvan Lake

Red-breasted Merganser   Brig

Ruddy Duck   Lake of the Lilies

Wild Turkey   Crestwood Village

Red-throated Loon   Great Bay Blvd

Common Loon   Great Bay Blvd

Pied-billed Grebe   Stanley H. 'Tip' Seaman County Park

Horned Grebe   Brig

Red-necked Grebe   Manasquan Inlet

Northern Gannet   Allenhurst

Great Cormorant   Spring Lake

Double-crested Cormorant   Lake of the Lilies

Great Blue Heron   Brig

Great Egret   Cattus Island County Park

Snowy Egret   Brig

Black-crowned Night-Heron   Shark River

Black Vulture   New Egypt

Turkey Vulture   Colliers Mills WMA

Osprey   Sandy Hook

Northern Harrier   Amasa Landing Rd.

Cooper's Hawk   Whitesbog

Bald Eagle   Brig

Red-shouldered Hawk   Whitesbog

Red-tailed Hawk   Colliers Mills WMA

American Coot   Lake of the Lilies

Sandhill Crane   Salem River WMA

American Oystercatcher   Great Bay Blvd

Black-bellied Plover   Sandy Hook

Piping Plover   Sandy Hook

Killdeer   New Egypt

Ruddy Turnstone   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Sanderling   Spring Lake

Dunlin   Great Bay Blvd

Purple Sandpiper   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Wilson's Snipe   Shelter Cove Park

Greater Yellowlegs   Bridge to Nowhere

Ring-billed Gull   Brig

Herring Gull   Brig

Lesser Black-backed Gull   Manasquan Inlet

Glaucous Gull   Long Branch.

Great Black-backed Gull   Brig

Rock Pigeon   New Egypt

Mourning Dove   Colliers Mills WMA

Snowy Owl   Brig

Red-bellied Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA

Downy Woodpecker   Bridge to Nowhere

Northern Flicker   Manahawkin WMA

American Kestrel   Sunset Dr, Salem

Merlin   Allenhurst

Peregrine Falcon   Brig

Eastern Phoebe   Whitesbog

Blue Jay   Colliers Mills WMA

American Crow   New Egypt

Fish Crow   Colliers Mills WMA

Horned Lark   Mannington Marsh

Tree Swallow   Whitesbog

Carolina Chickadee   Colliers Mills WMA

Tufted Titmouse   Colliers Mills WMA

White-breasted Nuthatch   Colliers Mills WMA

Brown Creeper   Cloverdale Farm

Carolina Wren   Colliers Mills WMA

Golden-crowned Kinglet   Horicon Lake

Ruby-crowned Kinglet   35 Sunset Rd

Eastern Bluebird   Colliers Mills WMA

American Robin   Colliers Mills WMA

Gray Catbird   Brig

Northern Mockingbird   New Egypt

European Starling   Colliers Mills WMA

Cedar Waxwing   Sandy Hook

Pine Warbler   35 Sunset Rd

Yellow-rumped Warbler   35 Sunset Rd

Prairie Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA

American Tree Sparrow   Brig

Chipping Sparrow   Cattus Island County Park

Field Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA

Fox Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd

Dark-eyed Junco   Colliers Mills WMA

White-crowned Sparrow   New Egypt

White-throated Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA

Savannah Sparrow   Brig

Song Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA

Swamp Sparrow   Meadowedge Park

Eastern Towhee   Supawna NWR

Northern Cardinal   New Egypt

Eastern Meadowlark   Bridge to Nowhere

Red-winged Blackbird   Colliers Mills WMA

Brown-headed Cowbird   Stafford Forge WMA

Common Grackle   New Egypt

Boat-tailed Grackle   Great Bay Blvd

House Finch   35 Sunset Rd

American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd

House Sparrow   New Egypt

White-crowned Sparrow, New Egypt