Great Bay Blvd 5/8--Saltmarsh Sparrow

Saltmarsh Sparrow, in flight

In baseball, you hit 'em where they ain't. In birding, I go where it ain't raining. A crescent of precipitation was encroaching on my favorite spots this morning from Pemberton to Pt. Pleasant, but Tuckerton, on the radar, looked dry. I didn't expect much warbler activity, but there might be a few interesting birds down there to see. 

I drove the 4+ miles from the first bridge down to the inlet and, while the waders and shorebirds were in good numbers both in quantity and diversity, it wasn't until I was walking the mud flats at the in lets where I kicked up one of the birds I usually find there, a Saltmarsh Sparrow.  The one photo I managed shows the bird flying away, but that's more than I usually get. 

Red Knots

This time of year also provides a good window for Red Knots, and while they were on my list, they were lousy looks from Brig, so when I saw three foraging around the feet of lingering Brant I was happy. Other interesting sights included two Clapper Rails running across the road right in front of my, luckily, slow moving car; an unusual for the spot Blue-winged Teal; and a couple of small groups of Gull-billed Terns. The only warblers I found were the expect Common Yellowthroats, Yellow Warblers, and one Magnolia Warbler just before the 2nd wooden bridge. 

I spent over 5 hours at Great Bay Blvd, driving its length and walking from the inlet up to the first wooden bridge and back. I managed 53 species on the cool, breezy, but essentially dry day. 

Brant  122

Canada Goose  4

Mute Swan  1

Blue-winged Teal  1

Mallard  1

American Black Duck  4

Mourning Dove  5

Clapper Rail  9

American Oystercatcher  1

Black-bellied Plover  230

Semipalmated Plover  22

Red Knot  5

Dunlin  280

Least Sandpiper  7

Semipalmated Sandpiper  1

Short-billed Dowitcher  25

Greater Yellowlegs  20

Willet  12

Lesser Yellowlegs  2

Laughing Gull  25

Herring Gull  75

Great Black-backed Gull  4

Gull-billed Tern  9

Forster's Tern  50

Common Loon  1

Double-crested Cormorant  19

Great Blue Heron  1

Great Egret  45

Snowy Egret  25

Tricolored Heron  3

Black-crowned Night-Heron  5

Glossy Ibis  8

Turkey Vulture  2

Osprey  8

Bald Eagle  1

Blue Jay  1

Fish Crow  5

Tree Swallow  5

Barn Swallow  25

Gray Catbird  1

Northern Mockingbird  1

American Robin  2

House Finch  2

Seaside Sparrow  5

Saltmarsh Sparrow  2

Savannah Sparrow  1

Song Sparrow  6

Red-winged Blackbird  50

Boat-tailed Grackle  30

Common Yellowthroat  7

Magnolia Warbler  1

Yellow Warbler  2

Northern Cardinal  3

Clapper Rail