Migration May

Piping Plover on nest, Barnegat Light SP

May is the peak of spring migration and I made it my business to put myself where the birds were--for the most part. A few time I went somewhere just because I like it even though I knew the possibility of finding anything new was remote. Today was an example of that--I went to Barnegat Light SP to walk on the beach and hoped to find a Piping Plover, even though I "have" them for the year. I finally found one on my way back, sitting on a nest within a protect cage.

I got more warblers than I usually do and of course, as the previous post recounts, I finally got my life KENTUCKY WARBLER even if it was a heard only bird. I also had some rarities for the month, that is birds that are rare for the location or time, not real rarities like the Roseate Spoonbill that is up in northern NJ. The last rarity I listed was today--2 Common Eiders in the surf off the beach at Barnegat Light. These are probably the 2 birds that have been reported off the tip of Island Beach SP.

Here it is the end of May and I have yet to have visited Cape May. And Cape May in the summer, what with traffic can be daunting, so unless something amazing shows up, it may be fall migration until I get there.

Aside from my Jersey birding, I spent parts of 2 days in Central Park, where I didn't find much in my rushing around, and 2 days with Shari in Delaware where, despite the weather, we got our avocets, stilts, and other hard to find birds.

I listed 174 species this month and 53 year birds, by far the most this year in the United States--last month's list included a lot of Mexican birds. June & July are historically "slow" months--I'll get my walks in and hope for odd birds to show up, but I don't expect any more large lists until the birds start heading south again.

Counties birded:
Delaware: Kent
New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean
New York: New York

Species   First Sighting Brant   Island Beach SP Canada Goose   Forsythe-Barnegat Mute Swan   Island Beach SP Wood Duck   Forest Resource Education Center Blue-winged Teal   Forsythe-Barnegat Northern Shoveler   Brig Gadwall   Forsythe-Barnegat Mallard   Forsythe-Barnegat American Black Duck   Forsythe-Barnegat Green-winged Teal   Forsythe-Barnegat Common Eider   Barnegat Lighthouse SP Red-breasted Merganser   Forsythe-Barnegat Ruddy Duck   Brig Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd Common Loon   Sandy Hook Horned Grebe   Bombay Hook Double-crested Cormorant   Forsythe-Barnegat Least Bittern   Mercer Corporate Park Great Blue Heron   Forsythe-Barnegat Great Egret   Forsythe-Barnegat Snowy Egret   Forsythe-Barnegat Little Blue Heron   Forsythe-Barnegat Tricolored Heron   Great Bay Bvld Green Heron   Oros Preserve Black-crowned Night-Heron   Oros Preserve Glossy Ibis   Forsythe-Barnegat White-faced Ibis   Brig Black Vulture   Sandy Hook Turkey Vulture   Island Beach SP Osprey   Forsythe-Barnegat Mississippi Kite   Waretown Sharp-shinned Hawk   Sandy Hook Cooper's Hawk   Island Beach SP Bald Eagle   Sandy Hook Red-shouldered Hawk   Reeves Bogs Red-tailed Hawk   Forest Resource Education Center Clapper Rail   Great Bay Bvld Sora   Mercer Sod Farm IBA Common Gallinule   Bombay Hook Black-necked Stilt   Bombay Hook American Avocet   Bombay Hook American Oystercatcher   Sandy Hook Black-bellied Plover   Island Beach SP Semipalmated Plover   Great Bay Bvld Piping Plover   Barnegat Lighthouse SP Killdeer   Sandy Hook Whimbrel   Brig Ruddy Turnstone   Great Bay Bvld Red Knot   Great Bay Bvld Dunlin   Island Beach SP Least Sandpiper   Forsythe-Barnegat White-rumped Sandpiper   Brig Semipalmated Sandpiper   Island Beach SP Short-billed Dowitcher   Great Bay Bvld Red-necked Phalarope   Whitehall Neck Rd. Spotted Sandpiper   Oros Preserve Solitary Sandpiper   Cloverdale Farm Greater Yellowlegs   Forsythe-Barnegat Willet   Forsythe-Barnegat Lesser Yellowlegs   Forsythe-Barnegat Bonaparte's Gull   Brig Laughing Gull   Wawa South Toms River Herring Gull   Forsythe-Barnegat Great Black-backed Gull   Island Beach SP Least Tern   Great Bay Bvld Gull-billed Tern   Brig Caspian Tern   Brig Common Tern   Sandy Hook Forster's Tern   Forsythe-Barnegat Black Skimmer   Brig Rock Pigeon   Wawa South Toms River Mourning Dove   Forsythe-Barnegat Yellow-billed Cuckoo   Cranberry Bogs--Dover Rd Black-billed Cuckoo   Manasquan River WMA Chuck-will's-widow   Collinstown Rd Eastern Whip-poor-will   35 Sunset Rd Chimney Swift   William Warren County Park Ruby-throated Hummingbird   Double Trouble State Park Belted Kingfisher   Island Beach SP Red-bellied Woodpecker   Oros Preserve Downy Woodpecker   Manasquan River WMA Hairy Woodpecker   Forest Resource Education Center Northern Flicker   Double Trouble State Park Pileated Woodpecker   William Warren County Park Merlin   Double Trouble State Park Peregrine Falcon   Brig Eastern Wood-Pewee   Huber Preserve Acadian Flycatcher   Evert Trail Alder Flycatcher   Assunpink WMA Willow Flycatcher   Brig Eastern Phoebe   Island Beach SP Great Crested Flycatcher   Island Beach SP Eastern Kingbird   Island Beach SP White-eyed Vireo   Island Beach SP Yellow-throated Vireo   Baldpate Mt Blue-headed Vireo   Island Beach SP Warbling Vireo   Sandy Hook Red-eyed Vireo   Forest Resource Education Center Blue Jay   Oros Preserve American Crow   Island Beach SP Fish Crow   Forsythe-Barnegat Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Colliers Mills WMA Purple Martin   Forsythe-Barnegat Tree Swallow   Oros Preserve Bank Swallow   Reeves Bogs Barn Swallow   Island Beach SP Carolina Chickadee   Forsythe-Barnegat Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd White-breasted Nuthatch   Forest Resource Education Center House Wren   Sandy Hook Marsh Wren   Island Beach SP Carolina Wren   Forsythe-Barnegat Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Island Beach SP Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Island Beach SP Eastern Bluebird   Forest Resource Education Center Veery   Island Beach SP Swainson's Thrush   Sandy Hook Hermit Thrush   Oros Preserve Wood Thrush   Oros Preserve American Robin   Oros Preserve Gray Catbird   Oros Preserve Brown Thrasher   Island Beach SP Northern Mockingbird   18 Aberdeen Avenue European Starling   Oros Preserve American Pipit   Sandy Hook Cedar Waxwing   William Warren County Park Ovenbird   Island Beach SP Worm-eating Warbler   Huber Preserve Northern Waterthrush   Sandy Hook Blue-winged Warbler   Manasquan River WMA Black-and-white Warbler   Island Beach SP Prothonotary Warbler   Huber Preserve Nashville Warbler   Manasquan River WMA KENTUCKY WARBLER   Baldpate Mt Common Yellowthroat   Island Beach SP Hooded Warbler   Forest Resource Education Center American Redstart   Island Beach SP Northern Parula   Island Beach SP Magnolia Warbler   Sandy Hook Bay-breasted Warbler   Double Trouble State Park Yellow Warbler   Island Beach SP Chestnut-sided Warbler   Sandy Hook Blackpoll Warbler   Brig Black-throated Blue Warbler   Sandy Hook Palm Warbler   Oros Preserve Pine Warbler   35 Sunset Rd Yellow-rumped Warbler   Oros Preserve Prairie Warbler   Oros Preserve Black-throated Green Warbler   Forest Resource Education Center Wilson's Warbler   William Warren County Park Grasshopper Sparrow   Bombay Hook Saltmarsh Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld Seaside Sparrow   Island Beach SP Chipping Sparrow   Island Beach SP Field Sparrow   Wawa South Toms River White-crowned Sparrow   Sandy Hook White-throated Sparrow   Oros Preserve Savannah Sparrow   Manasquan River WMA Song Sparrow   Forsythe-Barnegat Swamp Sparrow   Sandy Hook Eastern Towhee   35 Sunset Rd Scarlet Tanager   Sandy Hook Northern Cardinal   Oros Preserve Rose-breasted Grosbeak   Island Beach SP Blue Grosbeak   Manasquan River WMA Indigo Bunting   Sandy Hook Bobolink   Mercer Sod Farm IBA Eastern Meadowlark   Mercer Sod Farm IBA Orchard Oriole   Island Beach SP Baltimore Oriole   Island Beach SP Red-winged Blackbird   Forsythe-Barnegat Brown-headed Cowbird   Forsythe-Barnegat Common Grackle   Sandy Hook Boat-tailed Grackle   Forsythe-Barnegat House Finch   Island Beach SP American Goldfinch   Forsythe-Barnegat House Sparrow   Oros Preserve