June Birding--9 year birds

Black-billed Cuckoo, Whitesbog

For an historically slow month, post-migration June provided some spectacular results. True, the drop-off in year birds was steep, from 34 to a mere 9, but of those 9 almost all were rarities and what rarities they were: Dickcissel in Burlco, which is regular but rare & sought after, then the amazing surprise of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher on the playing fields of Toms River HS East (not exactly Eton, but what rare birds has Eton produced lately?), then the two forays in seldom visited Somerset County to get what was probably the rarest bird in the state this month, the Henslow's Sparrow, topped off with Friday's first occurrence in Ocean County of a duo of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. Without those rarities, I don't know what I'd have done.

Actually, I do know what I'd have done, because I did it anyway--I wandered around obscure parts of Burlington and Monmouth Counties, places I was pretty certain not to run into a horde of other birders, and enjoyed myself and whatever birds I happened upon. It's called "birding" as opposed to "chasing." Probably the happiest of my finds which wasn't a year bird, was coming upon the Black-billed Cuckoo picture above at the back of Union Pond at Whitesbog. While I had heard a number of cuckoos this year, this was the first Black-billed I'd come upon and I was lucky enough to get close enough to have photos showing the red orbital ring. And frankly, ever since I got scolded about an out of season Black-billed Cuckoo that I listed as "heard" when it was most likely a chipmunk (!), I have been reluctant to list all the cuckoos I think I hear--especially when that scolding is reinforced by the knowledge that the Yellow-billed Cuckoo learns its cousin's song and vice versa. Which is a long way of saying, "Boy, was I happy to see this one!"

For the month I had 143 species in 6 counties
Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset

Species                    First Sighting

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck   Cedar Run Dock Rd.

Snow Goose   Brig

Canada Goose   Cloverdale Farm

Mute Swan   Brig

Wood Duck   Brig

Blue-winged Teal   Brig

Mallard   Forsythe-Barnegat

American Black Duck   Brig

Common Eider   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Surf Scoter   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

White-winged Scoter   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Black Scoter   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Red-breasted Merganser  Brig

Wild Turkey   Brig

Mourning Dove   Cloverdale Farm

Yellow-billed Cuckoo   Double Trouble State Park

Black-billed Cuckoo   Whitesbog

Common Nighthawk   35 Sunset Rd

Eastern Whip-poor-will   35 Sunset Rd

Chimney Swift   Brig

Ruby-throated Hummingbird   Lochiel Creek County Park

Clapper Rail   Brig

American Oystercatcher   Brig

Black-bellied Plover   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Semipalmated Plover   Brig

Piping Plover   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Killdeer   Cedar Bonnet Island

Ruddy Turnstone   Brig

Dunlin   Brig

Least Sandpiper   Brig

Semipalmated Sandpiper   Forsythe-Barnegat

Western Sandpiper   Brig

Short-billed Dowitcher   Brig

Spotted Sandpiper   Brig

Greater Yellowlegs   Brig

Willet   Brig

Lesser Yellowlegs   Brig

Laughing Gull   Meadowedge Park

Herring Gull   Meadowedge Park

Great Black-backed Gull   Forsythe-Barnegat

Least Tern   Great Bay Blvd WMA

Gull-billed Tern   Brig

Caspian Tern   Brig

Common Tern   Brig

Forster's Tern   Forsythe-Barnegat

Black Skimmer   Brig

Double-crested Cormorant   Brig

Brown Pelican   Island Beach SP

Great Blue Heron   Cloverdale Farm

Great Egret   Cloverdale Farm

Snowy Egret   Forsythe-Barnegat

Little Blue Heron   Island Beach SP

Tricolored Heron   Brig

Green Heron   Whitesbog

Black-crowned Night-Heron   Double Trouble State Park

Glossy Ibis   Meadowedge Park

Black Vulture   Lake Enno

Turkey Vulture   Crestwood Village

Osprey   Brig

Sharp-shinned Hawk   Brig

Cooper's Hawk   Butterfly Bogs

Bald Eagle   GSP MM42

Red-tailed Hawk   Colliers Mills WMA

Red-headed Woodpecker   Cloverdale Farm

Red-bellied Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd

Downy Woodpecker   Cloverdale Farm

Hairy Woodpecker   Cloverdale Farm

Northern Flicker   Cloverdale Farm

Peregrine Falcon   Cedar Bonnet Island

Eastern Wood-Pewee   Cloverdale Farm

Acadian Flycatcher   Double Trouble State Park

Alder Flycatcher   Negri-Nepote Grasslands

Willow Flycatcher   Brig

Eastern Phoebe   Double Trouble State Park

Great Crested Flycatcher   Cloverdale Farm

Eastern Kingbird   Cloverdale Farm

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher   Toms River High School East

White-eyed Vireo   Double Trouble State Park

Yellow-throated Vireo   Baldpate Mt

Warbling Vireo   Colliers Mills WMA

Red-eyed Vireo   Lochiel Creek County Park

Blue Jay   Cloverdale Farm

American Crow   Cloverdale Farm

Fish Crow   Meadowedge Park

Common Raven   Negri-Nepote Grasslands

Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Lake Enno

Purple Martin   Brig

Tree Swallow   Cloverdale Farm

Bank Swallow   Laurel Run Park

Barn Swallow   Cloverdale Farm

Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd

Tufted Titmouse   Cloverdale Farm

White-breasted Nuthatch   Cloverdale Farm

House Wren   Cloverdale Farm

Marsh Wren   Forsythe-Barnegat

Carolina Wren   Meadowedge Park

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Cloverdale Farm

Eastern Bluebird   Cloverdale Farm

Veery   Double Trouble State Park

Wood Thrush   Cloverdale Farm

American Robin   Cloverdale Farm

Gray Catbird   Cloverdale Farm

Brown Thrasher   Cloverdale Farm

Northern Mockingbird   Colliers Mills WMA

European Starling   Meadowedge Park

Cedar Waxwing   Cloverdale Farm

House Finch   Cloverdale Farm

Pine Siskin   35 Sunset Rd

American Goldfinch   Cloverdale Farm

Grasshopper Sparrow   Laurel Run Park

Chipping Sparrow   Cloverdale Farm

Field Sparrow   Double Trouble State Park

White-throated Sparrow   Island Beach SP

Seaside Sparrow   Brig

Saltmarsh Sparrow   Great Bay Blvd WMA

Henslow's Sparrow   Negri-Nepote Grasslands

Song Sparrow   Cloverdale Farm

Swamp Sparrow   Whitesbog

Eastern Towhee   Cloverdale Farm

Yellow-breasted Chat   Brig

Orchard Oriole   Brig

Baltimore Oriole   Double Trouble State Park

Red-winged Blackbird   Cloverdale Farm

Brown-headed Cowbird   35 Sunset Rd

Common Grackle   Meadowedge Park

Boat-tailed Grackle   Brig

Ovenbird   Cloverdale Farm

Worm-eating Warbler   Lochiel Creek County Park

Black-and-white Warbler   Double Trouble State Park

Prothonotary Warbler   Huber Preserve

Common Yellowthroat   Cloverdale Farm

Hooded Warbler   Double Trouble State Park

American Redstart   Double Trouble State Park

Yellow Warbler   Forsythe-Barnegat

Pine Warbler   Lochiel Creek County Park

Prairie Warbler   Double Trouble State Park

Summer Tanager   Huber Preserve

Scarlet Tanager   Garden State Parkway N

Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd

Blue Grosbeak   Colliers Mills WMA

Indigo Bunting   Cloverdale Farm

Dickcissel   Laurel Run Park House Sparrow   Brig

Wood Duck, Ditch Meadow, Whitesbog