Here & There in Ocean County 1/22--Ring-necked Pheasant, Greater Yellowlegs, Brown-headed Cowbird

Brown-headed Cowbird, New Egypt

I got a late start today as I waited for the wind chill temperature to at least rise to double digits. Yesterday was just too cold for me--fortunately, I had things to do so in a way I was happy that birding was untenable since I couldn't bird anyway.  Finally, around 10:30 it was around 20 degrees air temperature and with the wind finally ceasing, I drove up to New Egypt to test the weather. Amazingly comfortable, wearing 4 layers of shirts plus my coat. At the "feed lot" on Inman Road (those who have been there see the joke within the scare quotes--those who haven't are lucky) I was greeted by easily 1500 starlings, but within that ever-moving flock I was able to pick out, at last, a few Brown-headed Cowbirds who were gleaning seeds off the frozen mud. I'd heard about Rusty Blackbirds out there, but I hear about Rusty Blackbirds out there every winter and never see them and today was no exception.

Ring-necked Pheasant, New Egypt

On Brynmore, beneath the tangles which are always a good sparrow spot, I saw a much larger bird which I at first took for a raptor resting on the ground but instead turned out to be a Ring-necked Pheasant. As I've said before, I won't count a pheasant in a WMA, but if one has survived the hunting season and made it all the way over to New Egypt, it's free-roaming and wild enough for me. Besides, Ma, everyone else counts them!

The farmer was busy dumping vegetables for the cattle to eat with a front-loader so I didn't want to be too much in the way. As I was driving back on Inman, I looked up in the dead tree there, where often an eagle is found and saw much smaller raptor. I was looking directly into the sun through the windshield. I got out and found an angle where I could get a look at the bird without destroying my retinas and decided that it was not a Merlin but rather a Sharp-shinned Hawk. When I walked back to my car I saw that a white Helmeted Guineafowl was inspecting my door handle. I didn't count it.

I then decided to to head down toward the bay, thinking I might put together enough short walks to equal one of my regular ones. At Bamber Lake I was surprised to see find some open water and even more surprised to find around 80 Tundra Swans on the ice in the water, swimming with a big flock of geese. There was also a separate draw of water that had a big group of Ring-necked Ducks with some Hooded Mergansers mixed in. Unfortunately, no Merlins or sapsuckers there, the birds I was kinda sorta looking for.

42 Tundra Swans by my count on the ice of Bamber Lake

I scanned the bay from Bay Parkway in Sands Point and was surprised to find a two Black Scoters and a Surf Scoter, birds I usually expect to find in the ocean. The end of Bay Parkway is one of those spots where guys go to read the paper in their car to get away from their wives, guys in trucks park there and do their paperwork or just goof off, and some people just like to drive down to the end of the road to assure themselves that it actually ends, look at the water and turn around. I ignore all these people, usually not looking up at the sounds of their vehicles approaching. Today a woman got out of a big Denali, looked at the water and asked if I'd seen any eagles. I wanted to say, "Sure, I always see eagles swimming in the bay," or "Shouldn't you be driving a pick-up truck?" but a curt no was sufficient to make her go away.

Greater Yellowlegs, Poplar Street Boat Launch

I drove over to the Poplar Street boat launch not expecting much beyond common ducks, so I was very happy to find my FOY Greater Yellowlegs calling and running around on the far shore. I had planned to go over to Eno's Pond to look for them, though with so much water frozen I didn't think my chances were good.

It turns out I was wrong, because the pond and creek were mostly open and in that little spot I had two more yellowlegs, more Mallards, black ducks, hoodies, and 2 Pied-billed Grebes as well as a Belted Kingfisher.

Greater Yellowlegs, Enos Pond

Pied-billed Grebe, Enos Pond

It took a couple of loops around the trails at Enos but I was able to get my four miles of walking in, something I didn't expect when I woke up to minus 3 wind chill. I also managed 42 species for the day, including the backyard list I did while waiting for more temperate conditions.