Oros Wildlife Preserve 5/1--Green Heron, Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

I was birding halfheartedly this morning down in Barnegat, looking for a White-faced Ibis that had reappeared. I thought I had it, but after examining my photos I can see that it most probably a Glossy with a little more white in the face than usual. The only interesting nugget I can report is that I saw more shore birds (a mix of Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs with a couple of Willets in the background) from the observation deck of Forsythe-Barnegat than I have in years.

My birding was interrupted by some sad news and I had to go up to Iselin to see my mother. After spending a few hours with her, I decided to go over to the Oros Wildlife Preserve, 3 miles or so from her house to do a little birding that might distract me. The preserve gets better each time I got there, which is only a couple of times a year--whoever is in charge has been restoring the wetlands around Woodbridge Creek which runs through it, clearing paths and building bridges to make access to more habitat easier.

Just as I parked, another birder was leaving. Since it was mid-afternoon, I asked him if it was worth going in and nodded yes, vigorously, listing some of the species he'd seen in just 15 minutes.

The first birds I noticed were Tree Swallows, dozens of them swooping above the mud flats, chasing insects on this first very warm day of the year. (I actually heard a weatherman on TV tonight say that we're going straight from winter into summer--every year the same cliche.) Geese on the paths hissed at me and grudgingly made way. Toward the back of the preserve I could see one shorebird and walked in its direction. Before I could see any field marks I knew had my FOY Spotted Sandpiper just by the way it was bobbing its tail. The only other shorebird I saw was nearby, a Lesser Yellowlegs.

Green Heron

As I was walking to the wooded area the bird I was really hoping to see flew out of the reeds and into a tree--my first Green Heron of the year. I thought I'd heard one calling before--they sound like Mick Jagger yelping at the beginning of Sympathy for the Devil--but I didn't want to take my first year bird by ear.

It was pretty lively in the woods, with Wood Thrush, Hermit Thrush, and Prairie Warbler all making appearances. I don't bird Middlesex County all that often, so a lot of birds I saw today were new for my county list. I spent just a tad over an hour there; that's all it takes to cover the preserve, and came away with 23 species.

Canada Goose 20
Green Heron 1
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Mourning Dove 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Heard
Blue Jay 3
Fish Crow 1 Heard
Tree Swallow 25 Some on nest boxes
Hermit Thrush 1
Wood Thrush 1
American Robin 15
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 6
Palm Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 6
Prairie Warbler 1
White-throated Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 1 Heard
Northern Cardinal 1 Heard
Red-winged Blackbird 15
House Sparrow 2