New Egypt 3/15--A 7 Sparrow Day

Savannah Sparrow, Emson Preserve

To get away from the relentlessly bad news and to get out of the house while I'm still allowed to, I decided to finally explore the entire trail at the newest set aside land in Ocean County, the Ephraim P. Emson Preserve, which is on the well-known American Kestrel hot spot, West Colliers Mills Road, in New Egypt. I've birded the long driveway and parts of the woods, but today I decided that this would be where I did the bulk of my birding instead of treating it as an auxiliary to Colliers Mills.

Savannah Sparrow in greenbriar

And it was a very happy experience. Spring is not the time of year that I usually think about sparrows, but the driveway which is about 2/10 of a mile long and lined with thickets the whole length, was teeming with sparrows, as well as other birds. The Song Sparrows were a given, of course, but immediately upon exiting the car I had Field Sparrow, then a small flock of Chipping Sparrows (eBird only allows me 5, but there were probably more), juncos, still hanging in there, a couple of White-throated Sparrows, and probably best of all, 3 very pretty hopping through the greenbriar and low brush.

Eastern Bluebird

Other birds of note at the preserve were Eastern Meadowlarks in the field adjacent to the preserve (meadowlarks have been a very easy bird in the county this year), a kestrel hunting over the field across the road, a few bluebirds around the birdhouses at the head of the driveway, and, in the woods, a Hairy Woodpecker. I keep hoping for a Pileated in there, but no luck as of yet.

I had 30 species in my time there and while I enjoyed the walk in the woods, and even found a small pond that looks promising, more than half the birds I saw were along or around the driveway. That is one productive stretch of gravel.

Canada Goose  4    Flyover

Mourning Dove  2

Killdeer  1

Black Vulture  1

Turkey Vulture  3

Bald Eagle  1    flying low over field to west of driveway

Red-bellied Woodpecker  3    Heard

Downy Woodpecker  1    forest

Hairy Woodpecker  1     deep in hardwood forest

American Kestrel  1    In field across the road

Blue Jay  2

American Crow  1    Heard

Fish Crow  2

Carolina Chickadee  3

Tufted Titmouse  2    Heard

White-breasted Nuthatch  2

Carolina Wren  2    Heard

European Starling  2

Eastern Bluebird  3   

American Robin  30

Chipping Sparrow  5

Field Sparrow  3

Dark-eyed Junco  20

White-throated Sparrow  2

Savannah Sparrow  3

Song Sparrow  5

Eastern Meadowlark  4    

Red-winged Blackbird  3    In trees along driveway with a mixed flock

Brown-headed Cowbird  2    In trees along driveway with a mixed flock

Northern Cardinal  3    Saw two along driveway, heard one in woods

But wait...that's only 6 kinds of sparrows. Yes, the seventh species of sparrow was found in the usual spot on Brymore Road in New Egypt across from the muddy pastures, a White-crowned Sparrow that seems to hang out with the White-throated Sparrows that fly out of the tangles along the fence line to pick seeds out of the black dirt. Today was a good day to spot the sparrow because the sun was not glaring into my eyes, nor was it too gloomy and overcast which is the long way of saying that the light was perfect. (I'm not counting the House Sparrows that inhabit the dead trees and weeds around Lone Silo Farm as a species of sparrow--technically, I think they're finch-weavers.) I only got about 15 species there because I didn't drive on Inman. I knew I had to put the car in the garage today and didn't want it smelling like manure which it would have if I had driven through the muck and mire of that road. As it was, the stench was almost overwhelming. 

Red-headed Woodpecker, Colliers Mills

Even though it was Sunday and I knew Colliers Mills would be a lot more crowded than I like it (meaning somebody else is there besides me) I went over there to finish my "steps" and to amuse myself by looking for the Red-headed Woodpecker in the fields north of the burnt fields off Success Road. It took me a little while shuffling through what's left of the leaf litter after the burn in the woods but one of the pair popped up eventually. Once you find one they seem to stay still, contemplating the branch they're on as if they're deciding whether pecking is worth the effort. It give me, with my less than optimal photographic equipment, half a chance to get a photo. 

And that was it for me. Once I found the woodpecker, I scooted out of there as the pickup trucks zoomed down Success, kicking up clouds of dust.