New Egypt 1/20--Wild Turkey

There was a brief window of birding opportunity today between the precipitation and the precipitous temperature drop. I wasn't certain when I left the house if the rain was completely finished (it wasn't) so, wanting to stay close to home, I headed out to New Egypt to see if I could snag any relatively common birds that I still don't have on my year list.

The first bird I saw was a Bald Eagle, sitting in the big dead tree just before the driveway but eagles aren't that interesting to me. I wanted birds like grackles or cowbirds that are usually abundantly associating with the longhorns and there were none, again, to be found.

If not those birds, then perhaps an unusual sparrow in the tangles along Brynmore and I did find one Fox Sparrow in with the White-throated and Song Sparrows, but no White-crowned Sparrow, this being one of the few places in the county where you might find one. All this time it was either showering or drizzling but when that slackened off, I got out of the car and took a brief walk along the tree line that screens the big cornfield. Finally, in the driveway of the Lone Silo farm, I got a year bird: 25 Wild Turkeys. Turkey is a common bird hereabouts but last year it took me 'til March to see some, so I was happy for the entertainment. Unfortunately, I wasn't burdening myself with my camera, so I only could take photos with my phone.

By the time I was walking back on Brynmore the wind was picking up so even though the air temperature was still in the mid 40's the "real feel" was getting low. I decided to driver over and scout out Whitesbog to see if the bogs were frozen over. Next week is the Pinelands Survey and Whitesbog comprises most of  my territory. The water there is about 50% frozen and 99% birdless. I walked from the village out to the Upper Reservoir and it was on the reservoir that I finally tracked down the Tundra Swans, mostly sitting on the ice though a few seemed to have fallen through into the water. But those were the only birds I saw on the Ocean County side of Whitesbog and in Burlco I didn't do very much better, racking up a whole 7 species, though one was a Brown Creeper, a bird I always like to see. Yesterday I saw my first two at Colliers Mills.

But 8 species in 4 miles of walking? This does not bode well for my survey.

The New Egypt list is a little interesting:

15 species
Canada Goose 8
Wild Turkey 25
Rock Pigeon 55
Turkey Vulture 1
Northern Harrier 2
Bald Eagle 1
Blue Jay 1 Heard
American Crow 2
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 50
Fox Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 10
Song Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 6
House Sparrow 10