Island Beach SP 12/13--Snowy Owl

© Peggy Cadigan

Snowy Owl can cause all kinds of ethical anxieties. Should we look for one in the dunes? How close should we get? How much time should we spend observing it? Are we stressing the bird? How secretive do we want to be about this bird? Did everyone get their photograph? 

So today's sighting was a guilt-free, exciting, and genuinely surprising experience. A group of us on Scott's and Linda's NJ Audubon field trip at Island Beach were standing on dune, scoping the ocean for ducks and loons and gannets when Scott suddenly called out, "Snowy Owl!" and there, flying fast in front of us, pursued by 3 or 4 Herring Gulls,  was the owl. It flew a little north and landed in the dunes about  1000 feet up the beach, the gulls peeled off, and the group got to view the owl for a minute or so before it squatted down deeper into the sand and grass. For a few in the group it was even more thrilling since it was a life bird for them. For me the first thought was, "Good, now I don't have to trek down Holgate and search for one until next year. 

© Peggy Cadigan

While the owl was sitting atop the dune I tried to take a photo only to find that my camera battery was dead. Fortunately, Peggy Cadigan was able to fire off some shots as the owl zipped by then landed and with her permission I'm using them to illustrate this entry.

Other birds of note today, the last NJA trip of the year (Christmas counts start next week and trips would create conflicts) were an immature Laughing Gull flying south--there have been a large number hanging around late, perhaps because the weather has stayed warm for the most part, a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls that I would have probably ignored but that Scott picked out of Herring Gull flocks, and an Orange-crowned Warbler that he heard at Spizzle Creek and that then popped up in a cedar where, amazingly, I was able to spot it almost immediately. Usually, I'm looking too far left, or right, or up, and the bird escapes me.  

The weather was ridiculously warm for mid-December or at least for those of us who remember when December was a cold month. That won't last as the first major storm of the season is about to hit the area this week. Too bad, because there a few interesting birds around that I'd like to get a chance to see but the bad weather will make that unlikely. 

For the trip I wound up with 39 species; not a lot, but many tasty specimens on the list. 

Brant  100    In flight, bayside

American Black Duck  2

Common Eider  35

Surf Scoter  30

Long-tailed Duck  30

Bufflehead  150    Bayside

Red-breasted Merganser  5    Bayside

Horned Grebe  5    Bay

Sanderling  80

Dunlin  8

Laughing Gull  1    Late, immature

Ring-billed Gull  1

Herring Gull  100

Lesser Black-backed Gull  3

Great Black-backed Gull  12

Red-throated Loon  6

Common Loon  10

Northern Gannet  20

Great Blue Heron  2

Northern Harrier  1    Gray Ghost

Red-tailed Hawk  1

Snowy Owl  1    

Downy Woodpecker  2

Peregrine Falcon  2   Spizzle Creek

Carolina Chickadee  1    Heard Spizzle Creek

Winter Wren  1    Heard Spizzle

Carolina Wren  3    Heard

Gray Catbird  2

Northern Mockingbird  3

Hermit Thrush  1    Heard Johnny Allen Cove Trail

American Robin  2

House Sparrow  1    Heard Entrance

House Finch  5

American Goldfinch  2    Heard

White-throated Sparrow  1    Dump

Song Sparrow  2

Swamp Sparrow  1    Heard Spizzle

Orange-crowned Warbler  1    Spizzle Creek

Yellow-rumped Warbler  20