Waretown 7/1--Royal Tern, White Ibis

White Ibis

I had a mid-morning appointment which didn't leave me enough time to do any serious birding beforehand, so instead I did a little bit of chasing for a county rarity. I headed down to Bay Parkway in Waretown, which splits the Sands Point Preserve, a nice marsh which fronts onto Barnegat Bay. This is usually a winter spot--a good place to scope waterfowl--but obviously marshes attract waders and shorebirds in the summer. 

Unfortunately, it was high tide when I got there around 8 and the only two waders in the marsh were the Greats: Great Blue Heron (atop a tree), & a Great Egret. A few oystercatchers and Willets were chasing around the marsh, and of course lots of Laughing Gulls. Then I heard a screech, what Scott Barnes describes as paper being torn in half, and I looked up to find my FOY Royal Tern flying north up the bay. Not the bird I wanted, but at least a new bird for the year.

I took a short, uneventful walk around nearby Eno's Pond, went to my appointment, then home, by which time we were having a heavy thunderstorm, so I figured that killed the birding opportunities for the day. But about an hour later, the skies were sunny and an eBird alert came in that now, presumably at a lower tide, the bird I wanted--a White Ibis--was feeding in the marsh. It is about a half hour drive from here to Waretown depending on how many stop lights you hit on Lacey Road and Rte 9, and I was a little hesitant to make a 2nd trip, but I really like White Ibises and though they seem to be something of a New Jersey common rarity to make an oxymoron, they are still rare enough, so I put my shoes on and drove back down where I immediately found the two Greats again along with 3 Snow Egrets and no ibis. The rain had started again and I was not wearing rain gear so was I happy when another white wader deep in the high grass turned out to have a big, curved, red bill. 

I spent about 8 minutes there, which breaks the rule I adopted from another birder that you should stay in a place at least as long as it takes you to make the round trip, but the rain was heavier and the target bird checked off. 

For my two trips to Waretown I noted 20 species:

Mute Swan

American Oystercatcher

Willet

Laughing Gull

Herring Gull

Royal Tern

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

White Ibis

Osprey

Barn Swallow

European Starling

Northern Mockingbird

House Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Red-winged Blackbird

Boat-tailed Grackle

Common Yellowthroat