Island Beach SP 9/19--Philadelphia Vireo, Swainson's Thrush, Purple Finch, Northern Waterthrush, Nashville Warbler, Connecticut Warbler

Connecticut Warbler

When I got out of the car at the Island Beach Marina with the wind whipping around, it did not look like promising conditions for my first NJ Audubon field trip since the pandemic began. But I did hear a Red-breasted Nuthatch there, so that was a hint that there might be birds around. I was really early for Scott's & Linda's trip, so I drove back to the parking area just outside the gate and walked on a trail that runs between the backs of houses and the park itself. It was pretty muddy in there, as if a big mower had just run through, but it was full of birds to my delight. I got my FOY Northern Waterthrush, a Cape May Warbler, a Blackpoll Warbler, and 3 or 4 Black-throated Green Warblers. The warblers must have been young because they showed no apprehension of me as I lumbered by. They stayed in the puddles created by the tractor, picking at who knows what. One BT Green kept inching toward me until it was literally poking at the mud just underneath my boot.  

Black-throated Green Warbler

I was about 2/3 of the way down the trail when I had to turn back to meet the group. I told Scott there were a lot of birds in there so that was our first stop. I figured that of course all the birds would disappear and I'd have wasted the group's time but no indeed, they were abundant--warblers, phoebes, hummingbirds, and other birds, feeding everywhere. 

Normally, our next stop would be Reed's Road in the park proper, but since the pandemic affects where the restrooms are open, we found ourselves down a couple of miles, across from the smaller, less-birded, Tidal Pond Trail. It was surprisingly birdy in there with all kinds of warblers again. Just as we were about leave Scott found a Connecticut Warbler--county lifer for me--and it was surprisingly cooperative giving the group eventual good looks as it skulked in the grass.  As we were going to leave again, in the same place as the Connecticut but about 20 feet higher, Scott came up with a Philadelphia Vireo. It has been 363 days since I've seen a Philadelphia Vireo, the last one being the 21st of September last year when Scott found one on Reed's Road. Then it was a three tick bird (year, county, county lifer), this year just a two tick bird. We also saw a Tennessee Warbler. Last week, I'd never seen one in the county. This week: two. 

We poked around the dump area that has enough weeds and scrub to attract birds and Purple Finch and White-throated Sparrows (rare now, common next week) were among our finds. Then we made our way down to this little trail that runs to the bay. In there we had a female Indigo Bunting, more vireos, more warblers, and my first Swainson's Thrush of the year along with a returning Brown Creeper also rare for the moment. 

Making our way south, we next walked the Johnny Allen Cove Trail and what did Scott find almost immediately?--another Connecticut Warbler. For a rare bird there were at least 6 found today at the park and if 6 were discovered, there were probably a few more than that escaping observation. I managed to get an identifiable picture of this one--the first time I ever saw a COWA long enough to manage a photograph. 

Fall is coming early this year it seems because not only are there a lot of Red-breasted Nuthatches around, and not only are the White-throated Sparrows popping up all over, but that quintessential winter sparrow, the Dark-eyed Junco was on the Spizzle Creek Trail. It took us a while to convince ourselves we were seeing them (because of the light, not our birding skills), but there were two and we kept pushing them up the trail and we walked along. 

There were a few herons and egrets in the marsh, but the most interesting bird was one that has to go under the old name of Traill's Flycatcher which was used to be before it was split into Alder and Willow. Without calling, it is just a guess what bird it truly is.

Willow/Alder Flycatcher (Traill's)

The only real disappointment of the day was scoping down at the Winter Anchorage. We were hoping for a much lower tide to expose the sand bars around the sedge islands, but there was very little exposed and the only birds I added for the day were a couple of Willets. 

With that, after close to 9 hrs of birding, we wrapped it up. I haven't had a day like that, in terms of my list, since pre-Covid. I put 6 more birds on to the year list, 10 on to the county list, and one more for the county life list. Not that I'm keeping score this year. For the day: 69 species + the "sp." 

Pied-billed Grebe  1    Johnny Allen Cove Trail

Mourning Dove  1

Ruby-throated Hummingbird  2

American Oystercatcher  25

Willet  2

Laughing Gull  10

Herring Gull  6

Great Black-backed Gull  20

Royal Tern  1

Common Loon  1    Flyover

Double-crested Cormorant  15

Great Blue Heron  2

Great Egret  4

Snowy Egret  1

Little Blue Heron  1

Tricolored Heron  2

Osprey  1

Belted Kingfisher  2

Northern Flicker  10

Merlin  5

Eastern Wood-Pewee  3

Alder/Willow Flycatcher (Traill's Flycatcher)  1    Spizzle Creek Blind Trail. 

Eastern Phoebe  11

Eastern Kingbird  1    Flyover Swimming Lot 1

White-eyed Vireo  1

Philadelphia Vireo  1    Tidal Pond Trail

Red-eyed Vireo  8

Carolina Chickadee  1

Tree Swallow  1000

Golden-crowned Kinglet  1    Heard zeezeet on Spizzle Creek Trail

Ruby-crowned Kinglet  2    Tidal Pond Trail

Red-breasted Nuthatch  6    Easily

Brown Creeper  1    Small brown little football of a bird with a pointy bill creeping up tree 

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1    Spizzle

House Wren  2

Carolina Wren  3

Gray Catbird  7

Brown Thrasher  1    Heard

Northern Mockingbird  1

Veery  2

Swainson's Thrush  1

American Robin  2

Cedar Waxwing  5

House Sparrow  3

House Finch  1

Purple Finch  2

American Goldfinch  1    Heard Flyover

Chipping Sparrow  4

Dark-eyed Junco  2    Black sparrows with white bellies and white outer tail feathers

White-throated Sparrow  9    Yellow lores white throat

Song Sparrow  3

Eastern Towhee  1    Heard Spizzle

Red-winged Blackbird  4

Boat-tailed Grackle  1    Spizzle

Northern Waterthrush  4

Black-and-white Warbler  1

Tennessee Warbler  1

Nashville Warbler  1

Connecticut Warbler  2  Greenish back with eye ring.

American Redstart  4

Cape May Warbler  2

Northern Parula  4

Bay-breasted Warbler  2

Chestnut-sided Warbler  1

Blackpoll Warbler  1

Black-throated Blue Warbler  2

Palm Warbler  2

Black-throated Green Warbler  5

Rose-breasted Grosbeak  1    Female Tidal Pond Trail

Indigo Bunting  1    Female Johnny Allen Cove Trail

A much better picture of the Connecticut Warbler ©️ Pam Hines