As is always the case, by the end of the year it becomes a chore to add anything new to the year list, both because the lowing hanging and the middle hanging fruit has been picked and because I get damned tired of chasing around after birds in the winter cold. I added 5 year birds this month, all supposed rarities, but only two--Common Redpoll and Bullock's Oriole--truly rare in the state. The other three--Sandhill Crane, Rough-legged Hawk, and Snowy Owl are usually around; you just have to go to where they are.
So, while I was glad to find them this month, the two real happy moments I had this month didn't involve rarities. Both occurred, naturally, at Whitesbog.
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| American Pipit |
On a Saturday after our first and so far only snowstorm, I went to Whitesbog to walk in the fields, looking for sparrows and maybe some rare finches. Next to the parking lot in the Village there is a small, abandoned bog that was frozen over. I usually walk the edge of this bog and this day I noticed some birds picking seeds off the ice, running through the grass sticking up out of the ice and pumping their tails when they halted. My first thought was Palm Warblers (the pumping tails) but I quickly discarded the notion. Then, when I could position myself away from the sun glare, I saw that they were
American Pipits. I have American Pipit on the list from the BC Fairgrounds in October, but they were birds that just zipped by. That's usually how I see pipits. Someone cries out "Pipit!" I hear some little chip note and see a bird moving quickly away from me. So to actually find 10 of them on this little patch of ice was a thrill, particularly since I'd spent part of the morning the day before fruitlessly looking for them at Shelter Cove Park.
The second happy moment came a few days ago, when, unable to sleep, I arrived in Whitesbog Village predawn. It was a windless morning, cold, and as I walked toward the bogs I heard first one Great Horned Owl hooting and then after a while, another calling in response. As I walked, the hoots got louder; they were somewhere in the woods to my left but there was no chance, or even purpose, of seeing them. It was enough just to start the day with owls calling.
For the month: 123 species
Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean
Species First Sighting
Snow Goose Brig
Brant Bayview Ave
Park
Canada Goose
Assunpink WMA
Mute Swan Assunpink
WMA
Trumpeter Swan
Assunpink WMA
Tundra Swan Whitesbog
Wood Duck Wells
Mills Park
Northern Shoveler Etra
Lake
Gadwall Brig
American Wigeon
Marshall's Pond
Mallard Conines
Millpond
American Black Duck
Cattus Island County Park
Northern Pintail Brig
Green-winged Teal Brig
Ring-necked Duck
Assunpink WMA
Greater Scaup Brig
Lesser Scaup
Assunpink WMA
King Eider Barnegat
Lighthouse SP
Common Eider
Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Harlequin Duck
Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Surf Scoter Island
Beach SP
White-winged Scoter
Island Beach SP
Black Scoter Island
Beach SP
Long-tailed Duck
Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Bufflehead
Assunpink WMA
Common Goldeneye
Waretown - Bay Pkwy
Hooded Merganser Etra
Lake
Common Merganser
Assunpink WMA
Red-breasted Merganser
Island Beach SP
Ruddy Duck
Assunpink WMA
Wild Turkey Pinewald Keswick Rd
Pied-billed Grebe
Assunpink WMA
Horned Grebe Brig
Eared Grebe Brig
Rock Pigeon Bayview
Ave Marina
Mourning Dove
Assunpink WMA
American Coot
Assunpink WMA
Sandhill Crane
Pemberton Twp MUA Fields
Black-bellied Plover
Brig
Killdeer Waretown
Sanderling Island
Beach SP
Dunlin Brig
Purple Sandpiper
Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Long-billed Dowitcher
Brig
Greater Yellowlegs Brig
Laughing Gull Island
Beach SP
Ring-billed Gull
Double Trouble State Park
Herring Gull Bayview
Ave Park
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Island Beach SP
Great Black-backed Gull
Bayview Ave Park
Red-throated Loon
Barnegat Light Bayview Ave Marina
Common Loon
Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Northern Gannet Island
Beach SP
Great Cormorant
Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Double-crested Cormorant
Conines Millpond
American White Pelican
Brig
Great Blue Heron
Assunpink WMA
Great Egret Brig
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Bayview Ave Park
Black Vulture BC
Fairgrounds
Turkey Vulture
Assunpink WMA
Northern Harrier BC
Fairgrounds
Cooper's Hawk
Cloverdale Farm
Bald Eagle Whitesbog
Red-shouldered Hawk
Whitesbog
Red-tailed Hawk
Assunpink WMA
Rough-legged Hawk
BC Fairgrounds
Great Horned Owl Whitesbog
Snowy Owl Island
Beach SP
Belted Kingfisher
Assunpink WMA
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Manasquan Reservoir IBA
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Assunpink WMA
Downy Woodpecker
Assunpink WMA
Hairy Woodpecker
Assunpink WMA
Northern Flicker Etra
Lake
American Kestrel BC
Fairgrounds
Peregrine Falcon Brig
Eastern Phoebe
Assunpink WMA
Blue Jay Assunpink
WMA
American Crow
Assunpink WMA
Fish Crow Union
Transportation Trail
Common Raven
Schoolhouse Rd.
Carolina Chickadee
Assunpink WMA
Tufted Titmouse
Assunpink WMA
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Whitesbog
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Whitesbog
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Crestwood Village
White-breasted Nuthatch
Assunpink WMA
Brown Creeper Whitesbog
Winter Wren Island
Beach SP
Carolina Wren
Assunpink WMA
European Starling
Assunpink WMA
Gray Catbird Brig
Northern Mockingbird
Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Eastern Bluebird
Assunpink WMA
Hermit Thrush Whitesbog
American Robin Whitesbog
House Sparrow Wawa
Rt 70 & CR 530
American Pipit Whitesbog
House Finch
Assunpink WMA
Common Redpoll Chestnut Point Field
Red Crossbill
Brig
Pine Siskin 35 Sunset
Rd
American Goldfinch
Assunpink WMA
Chipping Sparrow
Bamber Lake
Field Sparrow
Assunpink WMA
American Tree Sparrow
Assunpink WMA
Fox Sparrow Union
Transportation Trail
Dark-eyed Junco Assunpink
WMA
White-crowned Sparrow
Assunpink WMA
White-throated Sparrow
Assunpink WMA
Savannah Sparrow Whitesbog
Song Sparrow
Assunpink WMA
Swamp Sparrow Whitesbog
Bullock's Oriole
Chestnut Point Field
Red-winged Blackbird
Cattus Island County Park
Brown-headed Cowbird
New Egypt
Boat-tailed Grackle
Manahawkin WMA
Orange-crowned Warbler
Island Beach SP
Common Yellowthroat
Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Pine Warbler 35
Sunset Rd
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Union Transportation Trail
Northern Cardinal Assunpink WMA
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