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| The Dawn of a New Year Photo: Shari Zirlin |
Then Shari & I set off for our annual Kick Off the Year trip with Scott & Linda at Sandy Hook and down the North Shore. On the drive up we ticked off Turkey Vulture and the inevitable pigeons. The weather seemed mild when we stepped outside the house, but a stiff wind was blowing at the Hook, which discouraged land birds--and me. I hate wind more than I hate rain. We got a nice assortment of ducks at the Hook including the scoter trifecta, but the highlight of the trip was refinding one of the 2 or 3 Ash-throated Flycatchers that have remarkably been hanging around the northern end of the peninsula for more than a month. Shari & I were lucky enough to see it right away (use this birding strategy: stick close to the leader), but with a group of over 30, it took probably most of an hour for everyone on the trip to get a good look at it. This shortened our list as not a lot of other birds were in the area, though a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was goodie.
Late in the morning we caravanned down to some new (for me) spots to look at the ocean in Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach where we added a few ocean-going species, but nothing rare. We then birded another new park for me--Jackson Woods--where Scott had found a Yellow-breasted Chat last year but probably the sight and sound of 30 birders discouraged it from showing itself if it was still there.
A stop at Lake Takanassee to look for the Barnacle Goose was unsuccessful too. Last week, when Scott and Linda reported this bird in the area, my reaction was I already have Barnacle Goose for the year and not only for the year but for that county so I'm not about to rush up there for it--especially in the rain on Monday. But today I really really wanted that goose. Now I have to figure out when my and the goose's vectors can intersect.
The group's final stop was at Roosevelt Avenue in Deal where we added Purple Sandpiper to the day, month, year, and county list. I was fine with that being the last birding stop as I felt like a very long day though it was only around 2:45. Shari & I stopped at the Lakewood Wawa on the way home where the last two birds of the day, a Red-tailed Hawk and a Red-bellied Woodpecker, were added to the list. Alas, the once great Killdeer field next to the parking lot is now a barren, muddy construction site, yet still not crappy enough for birds like Horned Lark. It was the only down note of the day.
For our first day of birding we tallied 41 species:
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Species First Sighting
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Brant
Sandy Hook
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Canada Goose
Lake Takanassee
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Gadwall
Lake Takanassee
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American Wigeon Lake Takanassee
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Mallard
Jackson Woods
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Common Eider
Sandy Hook
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Surf Scoter
Sandy Hook
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White-winged Scoter Sandy Hook
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Black Scoter
Sandy Hook
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Long-tailed Duck Sandy Hook
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Bufflehead
Jackson Woods
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Hooded Merganser Lake Takanassee
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Red-breasted Merganser Sea
Bright Pavilion
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Ruddy Duck
Lake Takanassee
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Rock Pigeon
Brick
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Mourning Dove
35 Sunset Rd
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American Coot
Lake Takanassee
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Sanderling
Sandy Hook
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Purple Sandpiper Deal
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Ring-billed Gull Lake Takanassee
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Herring Gull
Sandy Hook
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Great Black-backed Gull Sandy Hook
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Red-throated Loon Sandy Hook
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Common Loon
Monmouth Beach
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Northern Gannet Sandy Hook
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Black Vulture
Sandy Hook
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Turkey Vulture Toms River
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Bald Eagle
Sandy Hook
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Red-tailed Hawk Wawa Lakewood
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Yellow-bellied
Sapsucker Sandy Hook
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Red-bellied Woodpecker Wawa
Lakewood
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Ash-throated
Flycatcher Sandy Hook
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Blue Jay Jackson Woods
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American Crow
35 Sunset Rd
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Carolina Wren
Jackson Woods
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Northern Mockingbird Sandy Hook
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American Robin 35 Sunset Rd
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American Goldfinch Lake Takanassee
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Dark-eyed Junco Sandy Hook
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White-throated Sparrow Jackson Woods
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Yellow-rumped
Warbler Sandy Hook
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