August Recap--4 Year Birds

American Golden-Plover--BC Fairgrounds
(digiscope)

I spent the majority of my birding time at Whitesbog this month, doing my figure 8 loop around the lower and middle bogs looking at the shorebirds and looking for birds that are rare, either in the county (like Little Blue Heron), or just plain rare (like American Avocet). Those 2, plus Black Tern and White-rumped Sandpiper were the sum of the rarities that showed up in the bogs that I saw. I missed Willet (Western) and I'm kicking myself for it because I was there the day it was in the middle bog. On my way back from Delaware I made a quick side trip to Whitesbog and of the 8 corners of the two bogs, I went to 7 of them. Naturally, the Willet was in a little pool in the one corner I didn't look at. But Whitesbog did produce some very interesting birds for me. A couple of mornings I got there before dawn, hoping for owls. The first morning was a bust, but the 2nd time I went pre-dawn (very pre-dawn) I heard a chilling alarm call of a Great Horned Owl as well as a couple of whip-poor-wills calling. I had never heard whip-poor-will in Burlington County. It was my 199th bird in that county.

Dawn at Whitesbog, Upper Bog

My 200th Burlco bird was a real oddity. The Burlington County Fairgrounds parking lot is the vantage point to look out over the fields of the old Mercer Sod Farm. This year a vast swath has been mowed and some say herbicided, making ideal condition (sans the alleged herbicide) for grasspipers.  This is where my year American Golden-Plover has been hanging out for the last couple of weeks, including today when Shari was able to see it with me. Other birds of note there have been Upland Sandpipers (long-staying, though now long gone), Black-bellied Plovers (which I missed, "only" the Golden-Plover was there when I searched last Sunday), and the real oddity--Sanderling. What a shorebird that you rarely see more than 50 feet from the wrack line along the ocean was doing in the brown grass and dirt of Burlington County, 36 miles from the nearest sandy beach is an utter mystery. And why it stayed it for more than 10 minutes is an even bigger mystery. I also missed that bird last Sunday, but returning on Thursday I was able to locate it foraging in the stubble along with about 150 Killdeers. The very whiteness of the bird stood out against the drab background.

Down in Delaware I got one year bird, the flock of 10 Hudsonian Godwits, which I was pleased and proud to find on my own. The 4th year bird of the month was the least pleasing of all because it was only retrospect that I (along with Mike) realized what we'd seen. At Sandy Hook, on the boardwalk of Spermaceti Cove, Mike and I saw a rather unprepossessing sparrow, with no stripes and not much color. I thought maybe Chipping Sparrow, he thought maybe Field. It was hard to get a view of the whole bird down in the reeds and even harder when it flew into a tree and then impossible when it got chased by a yellowthroat. We just let it go. A few hours later we found that we were right as to genus (Spizella) but wrong in our guesses, because, looking at the rare bird reports we found that one of the regular birders of the Hook had seen a Clay-colored Sparrow in the same spot as our mystery bird. So, with a mutual slap of the foreheads, we listed the bird, but it sure didn't make me feel great about my i.d. skills.

All 4 of the birds added to the year list were rarities this month, which isn't uncommon in a slow summer month when rarities add just about all the spice to the menu. Migration has started and already I'm hearing how disappointing it is--just not as many birds flying through as the good old days. This yearly kvetch both amuses and amazes me since I assume that those making the complaints read the same articles about the population crashes of so many species (this species down 50%, this species down 80% [really]) due to habitat loss, climate change, not to mention the billions (!) of birds supposedly killed by feral cats, yet they never seem to make the connection as to why there aren't as many birds in the trees or in the fields at their favorite hot spot as there use to be. Here's my advice to new birders: See 'em while you can.

For the month I garned 147 species.
Counties Birded
Delaware: Kent
New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Monmouth, Ocean

Species                First Sighting

Snow Goose   Brig

Canada Goose   Whitesbog

Mute Swan   Brig

Wood Duck   Whitesbog

Blue-winged Teal   Brig

Northern Shoveler   Brig

Mallard   Whitesbog

American Black Duck   Brig

Green-winged Teal   Brig

Black Scoter   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Ruddy Duck   Brig

Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd

Pied-billed Grebe   Whitesbog

Rock Pigeon   BC Fairgrounds

Mourning Dove   35 Sunset Rd

Yellow-billed Cuckoo   Whitesbog

Common Nighthawk   35 Sunset Rd

Eastern Whip-poor-will   Whitesbog

Chimney Swift   Whitesbog

Ruby-throated Hummingbird   35 Sunset Rd

Clapper Rail   Brig

American Avocet   Whitesbog

American Oystercatcher   Brig

Black-bellied Plover   Brig

American Golden-Plover   BC Fairgrounds

Semipalmated Plover   Whitesbog

Killdeer   Whitesbog

Upland Sandpiper   BC Fairgrounds

Whimbrel   Brig

Hudsonian Godwit   Bombay Hook

Marbled Godwit   Brig

Ruddy Turnstone   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Stilt Sandpiper   Bombay Hook

Sanderling   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Dunlin   Brig

Least Sandpiper   Whitesbog

White-rumped Sandpiper   Brig

Pectoral Sandpiper   Brig

Semipalmated Sandpiper   Whitesbog

Western Sandpiper   Brig

Short-billed Dowitcher   Brig

Long-billed Dowitcher   Brig

Wilson's Snipe   Whitesbog

Spotted Sandpiper   Whitesbog

Solitary Sandpiper   Whitesbog

Greater Yellowlegs   Whitesbog

Willet   Brig

Lesser Yellowlegs   Whitesbog

Laughing Gull   Brig

Ring-billed Gull   Brig

Herring Gull   Brig

Great Black-backed Gull   Brig

Least Tern   Brig

Gull-billed Tern   Brig

Caspian Tern   Brig

Black Tern   Whitesbog

Common Tern   Brig

Forster's Tern   Brig

Royal Tern   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Black Skimmer   Brig

Double-crested Cormorant   Brig

Brown Pelican   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Great Blue Heron   Whitesbog

Great Egret   Whitesbog

Snowy Egret   Brig

Little Blue Heron   Brig

Tricolored Heron   Great Bay Blvd

Green Heron   Whitesbog

Black-crowned Night-Heron   Brig

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron   Brig

White Ibis   Brig

Glossy Ibis   Brig

Black Vulture   Brig

Turkey Vulture   Crestwood Village

Osprey   Brig

Northern Harrier   Bombay Hook

Cooper's Hawk   Brig

Bald Eagle   GSP MM 52

Red-tailed Hawk   Colliers Mills WMA

Great Horned Owl   Whitesbog

Belted Kingfisher   Whitesbog

Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA

Red-bellied Woodpecker   Whitesbog

Downy Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd

Hairy Woodpecker   Whitesbog

Northern Flicker   Whitesbog

American Kestrel   Whitesbog

Peregrine Falcon   Brig

Eastern Wood-Pewee   Whitesbog

Eastern Phoebe   Whitesbog

Great Crested Flycatcher   Whitesbog

Eastern Kingbird   Whitesbog

White-eyed Vireo   Whitesbog

Red-eyed Vireo   Whitesbog

Blue Jay   35 Sunset Rd

American Crow   Whitesbog

Fish Crow   Crestwood Village

Common Raven   Colliers Mills WMA

Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd

Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd

Horned Lark   Reed Sod Farm 526 Spur

Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Brig

Purple Martin   Whitesbog

Tree Swallow   Whitesbog

Bank Swallow   Whitesbog

Barn Swallow   Whitesbog

White-breasted Nuthatch   Whitesbog

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Whitesbog

House Wren   35 Sunset Rd

Marsh Wren   Brig

Carolina Wren   Whitesbog

European Starling   Brig

Gray Catbird   Whitesbog

Brown Thrasher   Whitesbog

Northern Mockingbird   Wawa Rt 70 & CR 530

Eastern Bluebird   Whitesbog

American Robin   Whitesbog

Cedar Waxwing   Great Bay Blvd

House Sparrow   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

House Finch   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd

Chipping Sparrow   Whitesbog

Clay-colored Sparrow   Sandy Hook

Field Sparrow   Bombay Hook

Seaside Sparrow   Brig

Saltmarsh Sparrow   Great Bay Blvd

Savannah Sparrow   Reed Sod Farm 526 Spur

Song Sparrow   Whitesbog

Swamp Sparrow   Whitesbog

Eastern Towhee   Whitesbog

Bobolink   BC Fairgrounds

Eastern Meadowlark   BC Fairgrounds

Orchard Oriole   Colliers Mills WMA

Red-winged Blackbird   Whitesbog

Brown-headed Cowbird   Brig

Common Grackle   35 Sunset Rd

Boat-tailed Grackle   Great Bay Blvd

Ovenbird   Bunker Hill Bogs

Black-and-white Warbler   Whitesbog

Common Yellowthroat   Whitesbog

American Redstart   Bunker Hill Bogs

Yellow Warbler   Brig

Pine Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA

Prairie Warbler   Whitesbog

Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd

Blue Grosbeak   Brig Indigo Bunting   Union Transportation Trail

Great Egrets in Cranberry Run, Whitesbog

Bombay Hook 8/28--Hudsonian Godwits

Hudsonian Godwit with Short Billed Dowitcher
(digiscope)

This morning, around 7:30, I texted the picture on the left to Scott with the question, "What this?" I was standing on the road next to the Raymond Pool at Bombay Hook, getting a head start on the 2nd day of birding on the NJ Audubon trip. I was pretty sure I knew what I was seeing, but I always want confirmation. Scott texted back almost immediately, 'HUGO!' short for Hudsonian Godwit. Rare in New Jersey and just as rare in Delaware. And I had a flock of 10 of them in front of me. Scott told me to hold them down until he, Linda, Carole and the rest of the group got there. I looked in the car for the Superglue, but it wasn't in the glove compartment where I left it.

This was my third day on the impoundments and while the birding had been fine since Monday afternoon when I arrived, the two species I was hoping for were no shows. A Sedge Wren had been reported in the field on the road to Raymond, but it looked like that field had been recently mowed--hence, no wren. And a big flock of American White Pelicans had been reported for a couple of weeks when the tide was high at Leatherberry Flats across from the Shearness Pool but those birds seem to have wandered off. So we were left to look at hundreds of American Avocets and a building flock of
which today reached over 250!

Avocets, godwits and dowitchers

Plus thousands of peeps to sort through, looking for the elusive Western Sandpiper, not a game I'm very good at--it requires patience which I don't have because the line was too long when they were handing it out. But thanks to Scott, Linda, and Carole, I did see a few.

So the godwits were definitely the highlight of the trip. They were, though, what I call "Dr John birds," since I found them only because I was at the right place at the right time. Skill had little to do with it. Unfortunately, two of our group didn't get to see them because they arrived late, about 20 minutes after a Peregrine Falcon came buzzing through putting up all the birds. Most of them came and settled back into the pool after the threat was gone--the Hudwits, however, didn't.

I made one trip around the pools by myself Monday afternoon, a couple of partial forays before the official start of the day's birding on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a couple of loops around with the group, plus we made a stop at Port Mahon Road to the south of us on Tuesday and a quick trip a few miles north to Woodland Beach today. Other than the godwits, the most pleasing bird for me to see on the trip was a very pretty Bobolink female perched up on a stem in Bear Swamp Pool. A few Bobolinks had been flying overhead both days, giving their "plink" call, but that is so unsatisfactory to me that I didn't bother to count them. Seeing one was much better. And it was about the only interesting bird in that whole impoundment which despite its name has

NO BEAR NO SWAMP NO POOL

For my 3 days out of state I listed 82 species. Surprisingly, Dunlin and Boat-tailed Grackle were both flagged as rare, whether for time of year or for location I don't know.

Species               First Sighting

Canada Goose   Bombay Hook

Mute Swan   Bombay Hook

Wood Duck   Bombay Hook

Blue-winged Teal   Woodland Beach

Mallard   Bombay Hook

Green-winged Teal   Bombay Hook

Mourning Dove   Bombay Hook

Chimney Swift   Bombay Hook

Clapper Rail   Bombay Hook

American Avocet   Bombay Hook

Black-bellied Plover   Bombay Hook

Semipalmated Plover   Bombay Hook

Hudsonian Godwit   Bombay Hook

Stilt Sandpiper   Bombay Hook

Sanderling   Port Mahon Rd.

Dunlin   Bombay Hook

Least Sandpiper   Bombay Hook

Pectoral Sandpiper   Bombay Hook

Semipalmated Sandpiper   Bombay Hook

Western Sandpiper   Bombay Hook

Short-billed Dowitcher   Bombay Hook

Long-billed Dowitcher   Bombay Hook

Greater Yellowlegs   Bombay Hook

Willet   Bombay Hook

Lesser Yellowlegs   Bombay Hook

Laughing Gull   Bombay Hook

Ring-billed Gull   Bombay Hook

Herring Gull   Bombay Hook

Great Black-backed Gull   Bombay Hook

Caspian Tern   Bombay Hook

Forster's Tern   Bombay Hook

Royal Tern   Port Mahon Rd.

Double-crested Cormorant   Bombay Hook

Great Blue Heron   Bombay Hook

Great Egret   Bombay Hook

Snowy Egret   Bombay Hook

Little Blue Heron   Bombay Hook

Black-crowned Night-Heron   Bombay Hook

Glossy Ibis   Bombay Hook

Black Vulture   Bombay Hook

Turkey Vulture   Bombay Hook

Osprey   Bombay Hook

Northern Harrier   Bombay Hook

Bald Eagle   Bombay Hook

Red-bellied Woodpecker   Bombay Hook

Downy Woodpecker   Bombay Hook

Northern Flicker   Bombay Hook

Peregrine Falcon   Bombay Hook

Eastern Wood-Pewee   Bombay Hook

Great Crested Flycatcher   Bombay Hook

Eastern Kingbird   Bombay Hook

White-eyed Vireo   Bombay Hook

Red-eyed Vireo   Bombay Hook

Blue Jay   Bombay Hook

American Crow   1654 N Dupont Hwy, Dover

Purple Martin   Bombay Hook

Tree Swallow   Bombay Hook

Bank Swallow   Bombay Hook

Barn Swallow   Bombay Hook

Marsh Wren   Bombay Hook

Carolina Wren   Bombay Hook

European Starling   Bombay Hook

Gray Catbird   Bombay Hook

Brown Thrasher   Bombay Hook

Northern Mockingbird   Bombay Hook

Cedar Waxwing   Bombay Hook

House Sparrow   Bombay Hook

American Goldfinch   Bombay Hook

Field Sparrow   Bombay Hook

Seaside Sparrow   Bombay Hook

Song Sparrow   Port Mahon Rd.

Swamp Sparrow   Port Mahon Rd.

Eastern Towhee   Bombay Hook

Bobolink   Bombay Hook

Orchard Oriole   Bombay Hook

Red-winged Blackbird   Bombay Hook

Boat-tailed Grackle   Port Mahon Rd.

Common Yellowthroat   Bombay Hook

Yellow Warbler   Bombay Hook

Northern Cardinal   Bombay Hook

Blue Grosbeak   Bombay Hook

Indigo Bunting   Bombay Hook