Great Bay Blvd WMA 10/21--Hudsonian Godwit

Hudsonian Godwit

I was determined to go down to Great Bay Blvd this morning and little issue of fog thick as a steel wall wasn't going to stop me, though I did take the Parkway most of the way instead of braving Rt 539, one of the most dangerous roads in southern NJ. My first stop was Holly Lake, just north of where the WMA begins and there was a brief moment of despair when all I saw was murk, but then I made out of the forms of ducks and could see that anything in the middle distance or closer would be identifiable. Including the Pied-billed Grebe that drifted into view. 

Boat-tailed Grackles

Starting at the mitigation bulwark right after the first bridge I could see it was going to be a good day for Boat-tailed Grackles. The tide was low and they were substituting for the shorebirds you'd expect to find feeding in the mud. I started driving down the road, stopping and walking along the cedars that line parts of the road, scoping out the marshes for anything unusual. Just before the new fenced-in terrapin nesting habitat, I spent some time scoping hoping for the bird Mike told me he'd seen there yesterday but there were no shorebirds to be found there. 

In fact, aside from a couple of Greater Yellowlegs, I didn't see any shorebirds until I got down to the inlet, where in the marsh behind the beach, I found Dunlins, Semipalmated Plovers, Black-bellied Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, a Least Sandpiper, and best of all, a Long-billed Dowitcher. A little of everything, but not a lot of anything. 

Dunlin

Long-billed Dowitcher

Greater Yellowlegs

Nelson's Sparrow

At the inlet the much sought after Nelson's Sparrow was easy to find and for once were posing in the beach grass. Saltmarsh Sparrow and one Seaside Sparrow were in the mix too. I took my walk from the inlet to the south end of the first wooden bridge, a round trip of about 3 miles. Plenty of egrets and herons, and there past the waders, were about 150 Black-bellied Plovers. I scanned them carefully for the Golden-Plover Mike had yesterday but none were good candidates and when they up and flew, all had the diagnostic black "armpit" of the Black-bellied variety. 

Hudwit

When I was driving north I stopped again at the spot north of the terrapin pen. There were more BB Plovers and as I was counting them I stumbled upon the bird of the day, just where Mike said he'd had it yesterday and just about the same time of day, allowing for the hour difference in tides: a Hudsonian Godwit. Frankly, I was surprised there weren't more birders down there looking for it. Hudwits are not common in Ocean County. Last year, when there was one at the Barnegat Impoundments, there was a frenzy to see it. I guess we're getting jaded. Still, I was happy to find it. As cars passed me, I wanted to stop and show them the rarity, though those guys wouldn't have cared in the least. A shame, sometimes, to have a nice bird and not be able to share it. 

My travels up and down the boulevard of phragmites yielded 43 species for the day

Mallard  1

American Black Duck  4

Clapper Rail  1    Heard

Black-bellied Plover  197

Semipalmated Plover  4

Hudsonian Godwit  1    

Ruddy Turnstone  2

Dunlin  4

Least Sandpiper  1

Short-billed Dowitcher  1

Long-billed Dowitcher  1

Greater Yellowlegs  15

Lesser Yellowlegs  1

Herring Gull  25

Great Black-backed Gull  1

Double-crested Cormorant  17

Great Blue Heron  10

Great Egret  32

Snowy Egret  3

Little Blue Heron  1

Tricolored Heron  1

Black-crowned Night-Heron  5

Black-crowned Night-Heron (imm)

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (imm)

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  1

Bald Eagle  1

Belted Kingfisher  3

Blue Jay  1

Tufted Titmouse  2    Cedar at inlet and utility pole on road

Golden-crowned Kinglet  1

Red-breasted Nuthatch  1

White-breasted Nuthatch  1    Heard

European Starling  200

Northern Mockingbird  1

House Finch  4

Pine Siskin  2

American Goldfinch  1

Seaside Sparrow  1    Gray as opposed to the salt marsh and Nelson’s

Nelson's Sparrow  2

Saltmarsh Sparrow  4

Savannah Sparrow  1

Song Sparrow  11

Red-winged Blackbird  3

Boat-tailed Grackle  275

Yellow-rumped Warbler  12