Double Trouble | Whitesbog | Collinstown Road 5/6--Chuck-will's-widow, Veery, Blackpoll Warbler

 One of the things I like to do this time of year is to stand on a cross-dike at Whitesbog and let the swallows swirl around me. If you've ever done something like that, you'll understand how Twitter got its name.* I had 4 species of swallows swooping over the reservoirs on the Ocean County side--Purple Martin, Northern Rough-wing, Barn, and Tree Swallows. Couldn't find a Bank. 

Ovenbird, Whitesbog

I wound up there after spending the early morning at Double Trouble. I had intended to spend all morning there, but a screw-up with an appointment at the house cut my visit short, so after dealing with that matter, I drove over to Whitesbog where I was pleasantly surprised at how many birds were still active mid-morning. Whitesbog is not the warbler hot spot that Double Trouble can be, and yet I did just as well there as I did at DT, including getting my year Blackpoll Warbler while standing at the spot where Yellow Warblers tend to nest. I also had good looks at Black-throated Blue Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Northern Parula, American Redstart, and finally, after hearing and hearing and hearing dozens of Ovenbirds over the last few weeks, I got more than a fleeting glimpse of one, singing on a branch, eye-high, as they tend to be. You'd think a bird that you don't have induce warbler neck to see would be easier to find. Well, as I used to say to my employer: You'd think that and you'd be wrong. 

Solitary Sandpiper, Double Trouble

Double Trouble just seemed to be getting started when I had to leave. There were a few happy surprises while I was there--a Solitary Sandpiper in the bogs behind the packing house, along with a couple of Glossy Ibises, the singing Hooded Warbler heard in its usual place on Mud Dam Road, and my first Veery of the year, also on Mud Dam Road. 

With the Mets having played a day game (a win that felt like a loss, because the Cards played so poorly the Mets should have beaten them by 10 runs) the evening looked pretty empty. So after Jeopardy (a dismal performance from the challengers), Shari & I drove down to Collinstown Road in Barnegat. Sunset was 7:56 tonight but it wouldn't be dark for 20 or 25 minutes after that. The dimming of the light gives me a chance to use one of favorite words: Crepuscular. About 15 minutes after sunset, we heard Chuck-will's-widow calling from the woods. Unlike our persistent Whip-poor-will, Chucks are crepuscular, calling as the light fades or dawns so the timing is important. A Great Horned Owl also hooted making for an interesting duet. 

*How did a word that, when applied to human speech, means speaking inanely and foolishly, come to be the name of a gigantic communications platform? I understand that the name is apt and appropriate, but I don't believe Jack Dorsey really understood the meaning of the word when they trademarked the name.