Rainy Day Birding 1/5--Sandhill Cranes + 4 Other Year Birds

Sandhill Cranes, Pemberton Twp (digiscope) 

The weather was not promising this morning--wet and dreary--so it didn't look like a day to walk around and try to make a big day list. Instead, I decided to go to a few places where I was pretty certain I could find birds I like, even if it meant a lot of driving, which I don't like to do.  This is more the thrill of the hunt than the thrill of discovery. 

I started out in Pemberton Township at the MUA field, where for the last month or so Sandhill Cranes have been grazing in the fallow cornfield. I got them late last year, as a Burlington County bird, and Shari & I tried for them on Thursday, but they weren't in evidence.  Yesterday, I saw a report that some were back in the field, so around 9  o'clock this morning I pulled into the gravel driveway. This is binary birding: they're either there or they're not (or really, they're probably always there but sometimes just not viewable) and today they were there. I counted 5 at first, but with the scope I could see that all seven were there with a couple of them hunkered down behind the dead corn stalks. I took some digiscopes with my phone which came out looking more like a paintings than photos.  I hope the cranes in New Egypt (which is not that far away from Pemberton, though in the home county) reappear, but if not, the bird is on the year list. 

Pine Warbler, Cloverdale Farm

Pine Siskin, Cloverdale Farm

My next stop was 30 miles away: Cloverdale Farm. Since Pine Siskins refuse this winter to come my feeder, I decided I might as well go over there and get them since last week I saw a whole flock at the thistle feeders by the Visitor's Center. All the usual feeder birds were there when I positioned myself in front of the feeders, but, unlike last week, the thistle sock wasn't covered in siskins. However, I did get a bonus bird: Pine Warbler on the suet feeder. I hadn't really been thinking about Pine Warblers. This is a bird that this winter has been frequenting our suet, but, hey you never know and it was good to get it on the list. Then, one solitary siskin made an appearance and was quickly run off by a surprisingly aggressive titmouse. It wasn't much of a look but I was willing to count it. Happily, the bird came back, though not to the sock but perched itself in a tree next to the center. In the gray murk of the day I managed to get a shot of it.

Cloverdale is also the best place to go to find Eastern Bluebirds. They have boxes set up for the bluebirds and are good stewards of the species, but it obviously too early for the birds to be nesting. Still, a walk along the bogs produced at least a dozen birds in a couple of small flocks, both males and females. I never tire of seeing bluebirds and especially on a dreary day like today, they do brighten your spirits.

Eastern Bluebird, Cloverdale Farm
(click any photo to enlarge)

It wasn't even a drizzle when I walking around the bogs at Cloverdale--more like very wet air. I intended to drive down to Great Bay Blvd, where I haven't been in months and this notion was reinforced by an alert about two rare warblers that had been found at the end of the road. I cut short my walk at Cloverdale and drove the 20 or so miles down to Tuckerton. 

Yesterday I had said to Mike that I usually see a lingering Great Egret in January, but hadn't yet. He said we'd need to go a little further south. Then, when I got home I saw that indeed, a little further south being Tuckerton, a few GREGs had been seen. On my way down to the end of the road I saw one in the marsh, but I didn't stop for it (in a few months I'll see a hundred Great Egrets in those marshes) but continued to the end of the road where I met another birder who said she'd had no luck with the warblers and neither did I. I walked up past the 2nd wooden bridge, without finding anything of note other than a Belted Kingfisher. There were lots of duck hunters standing in the marsh. At least one hen Bufflehead will not be mating this year. 

On my drive back up Great Bay I saw the egret again. I got out, figuring to take a picture but with all the phragmites and stunted cedar trees blocking the view, I couldn't get a good angle on it and when I did get a good angle on it I was too close for it's comfort and it squawked and flew off. Made me feel like a real dope.

The rain started again just as I hit Rt 539 but I was done anyway with 5 year birds making it a productive day. Count for the year: 90 species in 5 days.