July Recap--Meager Additions Edition

The best day of the month was the last day of the month. After a few days of gradual drawdown on the Lower Bog, today was deemed, by Jim S., the "official" opening of shorebird season at Whitesbog. I met Jim, Steve, and Matt well before dawn for the four nocturnal/crepuscular species (Eastern Screech Owl, Great Horned Owl, Eastern Whip-poor-will, and Common Nighthawk) and then, as dawn softly arose, we started a winding 7 mile hike through the various habitats with the goal of meeting Steve's 65 species challenge. I thought that unrealistic, but with their sharp ears and eyes we easily surpassed that number by the time we quit about 8 hours later. As to shorebirds, nothing spectacular or rare, but we did have 7 species (Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpiper, and Solitary Sandpiper), so not a bad start.  But now I'm conflicted. Should I start this year's Whitesbog 100 Challenge with today's list (67), or do I have to wait until tomorrow to start? 

As evidenced by the dearth of entries this month, very few additions to the year list were made--5 to be exact and that includes the flyover Bobolink we had today. I never get Bobolink on my own there because I am not attuned to it's plink as better ear-birders are. I did hear Black-billed Cuckoo earlier this month over by Big Tank on the Ocean County side of Whitesbog and finally tracked down a Royal Tern or two, a bird that shouldn't have been as difficult to list as it turned out to be this summer, but that was partly because I don't relish a lot of time walking the beaches in the broiling sun. 

August starts to bring in the variety as the migration south starts. If the bogs are as kind as they were last year, it has the potential to be a very interesting month. 

Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean.

Species                                Location
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck   Brig
Snow Goose   Brig
Canada Goose   Cattus Island County Park
Mute Swan   Cattus Island County Park
Wood Duck   Whitesbog
Mallard   Meadowedge Park
American Black Duck   Whitesbog
Ring-necked Duck   Jumping Brook Preserve
King Eider   Island Beach SP
Common Eider   Island Beach SP
Bufflehead   Whitesbog
Ruddy Duck   Brig
Northern Bobwhite   Waretown
Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd
Rock Pigeon   Toms River
Mourning Dove   Tilton Point
Yellow-billed Cuckoo   Whitesbog
Black-billed Cuckoo   Whitesbog
Common Nighthawk   Jumping Brook Preserve
Eastern Whip-poor-will   35 Sunset Rd
Ruby-throated Hummingbird   35 Sunset Rd
Clapper Rail   Brig
American Oystercatcher   Island Beach SP
Semipalmated Plover   Great Bay Blvd WMA
Killdeer   Meadowedge Park
Stilt Sandpiper   Brig
Least Sandpiper   Great Bay Blvd WMA
Pectoral Sandpiper   Brig
Semipalmated Sandpiper   Brig
Short-billed Dowitcher   Brig
Spotted Sandpiper   Great Bay Blvd WMA
Solitary Sandpiper   Whitesbog
Greater Yellowlegs   Whitesbog
Willet   Brig
Lesser Yellowlegs   Brig
Laughing Gull   Colliers Mills WMA
Ring-billed Gull   Brig
Herring Gull   Cattus Island County Park
Great Black-backed Gull   Cattus Island County Park
Least Tern   Brig
Gull-billed Tern   Brig
Caspian Tern   Brig
Common Tern   Island Beach SP
Forster's Tern   Forsythe-Barnegat
Royal Tern   Island Beach SP
Black Skimmer   Brig
Wilson's Storm-Petrel   Manasquan Inlet
Double-crested Cormorant   Island Beach SP
Brown Pelican   Island Beach SP
Great Blue Heron   Whitesbog
Great Egret   Cattus Island County Park
Snowy Egret   Forsythe-Barnegat
Little Blue Heron   Cloverdale Farm
Tricolored Heron   Great Bay Blvd WMA
Green Heron   Whitesbog
Black-crowned Night-Heron   Brig
Glossy Ibis   Island Beach SP
Black Vulture   Jumping Brook Preserve
Turkey Vulture   Cattus Island County Park
Osprey   Cattus Island County Park
Cooper's Hawk   Whitesbog
Bald Eagle   GSP MM 48
Red-shouldered Hawk   Jumping Brook Preserve
Red-tailed Hawk   Colliers Mills WMA
Eastern Screech-Owl   Whitesbog
Great Horned Owl   Whitesbog
Belted Kingfisher   Eno's Pond
Red-headed Woodpecker   South Park Rd
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Tilton Point
Downy Woodpecker   Tilton Point
Hairy Woodpecker   Whitesbog
Northern Flicker   Cattus Island County Park
Peregrine Falcon   Island Beach SP
Eastern Wood-Pewee   Cattus Island County Park
Acadian Flycatcher   Double Trouble State Park
Willow Flycatcher   Brig
Eastern Phoebe   Whitesbog
Great Crested Flycatcher   Tilton Point
Eastern Kingbird   Cattus Island County Park
White-eyed Vireo   Whitesbog
Warbling Vireo   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-eyed Vireo   Tilton Point
Blue Jay   Tilton Point
American Crow   Cattus Island County Park
Fish Crow   Tilton Point
Common Raven   Whiting Commons
Carolina Chickadee   Tilton Point
Tufted Titmouse   Tilton Point
Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Whitesbog
Purple Martin   Brig
Tree Swallow   Cattus Island County Park
Bank Swallow   South Park Rd
Barn Swallow   Whitesbog
White-breasted Nuthatch   Tilton Point
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Whitesbog
House Wren   Cattus Island County Park
Marsh Wren   Cattus Island County Park
Carolina Wren   Crestwood Village
European Starling   Whitesbog
Gray Catbird   Tilton Point
Brown Thrasher   Cloverdale Farm
Northern Mockingbird   Meadowedge Park
Eastern Bluebird   Cattus Island County Park
Veery   Double Trouble State Park
Wood Thrush   Whitesbog
American Robin   Crestwood Village
Cedar Waxwing   Cattus Island County Park
House Sparrow   Cattus Island Blvd
House Finch   Cattus Island Blvd
Red Crossbill   Whitesbog
American Goldfinch   Cattus Island County Park
Chipping Sparrow   Cattus Island County Park
Field Sparrow   Wawa South Toms River
Seaside Sparrow   Cattus Island County Park
Saltmarsh Sparrow   Cattus Island County Park
Song Sparrow   Crestwood Village
Swamp Sparrow   Reeves Bogs
Eastern Towhee   Cattus Island County Park
Bobolink   Whitesbog
Orchard Oriole   Double Trouble State Park
Baltimore Oriole   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-winged Blackbird   Cattus Island County Park
Brown-headed Cowbird   Reeves Bogs
Common Grackle   Whitesbog
Boat-tailed Grackle   Great Bay Blvd WMA
Ovenbird   Whitesbog
Black-and-white Warbler   Greenwood Forest WMA
Common Yellowthroat   Cattus Island County Park
Yellow Warbler   Great Bay Blvd WMA
Pine Warbler   Tilton Point
Prairie Warbler   Whitesbog
Scarlet Tanager   Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Cardinal   Tilton Point
Blue Grosbeak   Brig
Indigo Bunting   Brig

Brig 7/28--Black-bellied Whistlling Duck

Since I got a message yesterday that the boards were being pulled on the Lower Bog, today was the last day I could get down to Brig without experiencing Whitesbog FOMO. And since one of my favorite ducks has been reported sporadically for the last couple of weeks, I was down there very early this morning. 

My first stop at the dogleg pool was unsuccessful. I ran into a birder I hadn't seen for quite a while (pandemic and all) and he told me that the duck tended to come out in the afternoon. Of course. And here I was rushing to the spot, blowing off flocks of shorebirds because I was on a mission. We did tease out a Pectoral Sandpiper on a mud flat for our troubles, and as I walked back to where I'd parked the car, I picked up the Stilt Sandpipers he told me were in the water near the cedar stand but I didn't drive down there for them.

On my second go-round I added the "lingering" probably injured Snow Geese and a Gull-billed Tern at GM 5, along with a lone Bank Swallow. On the east dike I saw a familiar vehicle and it was Greg with a couple of other birders. We formed a very loose caravan and made our way up to the dogleg. I was a little ahead of them, scanning all the rose mallow which the duck was said to favor, but I was only finding Mallards. Greg pulled up and immediately had the Black-bellied Whistling Duck in a little channel that I couldn't see from where I stood. I walked back to where they were and got the duck in my scope but I didn't think I would get any photographs. It looked, from our angle, that it would be hidden behind the phragmites from the road. But upon driving up to where we saw it, we found that the vegetation wasn't really all that thick and the duck had decided to swim into the middle of the pool anyway, affording us our photo op. 

Since I had a target bird my list is lighter (68 species) than it would have been had I stopped and scanned every flock of shorebirds. I would also have more fly bites. Frankly, I would have been happy to just have the Whistling Duck on my day list--it is such an interesting looking bird with it's bright red bill and startled look around the eye. And they do whistle, though I've only heard that once. Happy to have it on the list, since I missed it last year. 

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck  1       

Snow Goose  2

Canada Goose  60

Mute Swan  20

Wood Duck  8

Mallard  25

American Black Duck  3

Mourning Dove  10

Yellow-billed Cuckoo  1     Heard Jen’s Trail

Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1

Semipalmated Plover  1

Stilt Sandpiper  3

Least Sandpiper  6

Pectoral Sandpiper  1

Semipalmated Sandpiper  150

Short-billed Dowitcher  20

Greater Yellowlegs  10

Lesser Yellowlegs  5

Laughing Gull  300

Ring-billed Gull  1

Herring Gull  50

Great Black-backed Gull  5

Least Tern  9

Gull-billed Tern  1

Caspian Tern  5

Common Tern  1

Forster's Tern  45

Black Skimmer  23

Double-crested Cormorant  110

Great Blue Heron  10

Great Egret  25

Snowy Egret  26

Black-crowned Night-Heron  4

Glossy Ibis  60

Osprey  13

Red-bellied Woodpecker  1     Heard

Eastern Wood-Pewee  2     Heard

Great Crested Flycatcher  1     Heard

Eastern Kingbird  6

White-eyed Vireo  4

Blue Jay  1     Heard

American Crow  4

Carolina Chickadee  3     Heard

Tufted Titmouse  2     Heard

Purple Martin  20

Tree Swallow  25

Bank Swallow  1

Barn Swallow  5

White-breasted Nuthatch  2     Heard

House Wren  1     Heard

Marsh Wren  5

Carolina Wren  6     Heard

European Starling  12

Gray Catbird  15

Brown Thrasher  2

Northern Mockingbird  1

American Robin  2

House Finch  1

American Goldfinch  4

Field Sparrow  4

Seaside Sparrow  1     Heard

Song Sparrow  2

Eastern Towhee  1     Heard

Red-winged Blackbird  30

Boat-tailed Grackle  1

Common Yellowthroat  6

Yellow Warbler  1

Northern Cardinal  2     Heard

With Glossy Ibis

Manasquan Inlet 7/19--Wilson's Storm-Petrel

For reasons too uninteresting to relate, I was in Point Pleasant Beach this morning and while I had no interest in paying $11 to get onto the beach, I did have a very strong interest in seeing Wilson's Storm-Petrels, which have been reported off the jetty sporadically this last month. Seeing them again on my eBird "Needs" alert, I drove over there and compromised with myself. I paid 5 bucks for parking but I figured if I was going to see them I could see them just as well from the boardwalk at the back end of the jetty as I could by going on the beach and then clambering up to end of the jetty. In any event, they were going to be small in the scope and a 100 yards or so wouldn't make much difference. 

Years ago, when Shari & I made an expedition to Machias Seal Island for the life-changing experience of seeing thousands of puffins, guillemots, and terns all nesting on one small dot in the Bay of Fundy, we saw Wilson's Storm-Petrels from the lobster boat taking us out there. The word "petrel" is interesting as it is derives from French and is a diminutive for "Petre," Peter, who walked upon the water and that is how I vividly remember them, small sea-birds skipping along the tops of the waves, seemingly walking on the bay. 

So, it was pretty easy to eliminate from consideration the diving terns as well as the big clunky gulls flying around out in the ocean and when I saw two relatively tiny birds which, if I had been looking on land I might have thought were swallows, hopping along the surface, I knew I had my petrels. Seeing the white rump on one of them clinched the ID. I knew it was a state and county bird, but it wasn't until I got back to the car that I realized I'd also notched a country bird, as Machias Seal Island is in Canadian waters despite what the USA says. 

As long as I was in the neighborhood as I never am during the summer, I figured I might as well take a look at Lake of the Lilies, a great winter spot but not birded much in the summer from what I can tell. Continuing the "Winter Ducks in July" theme, there among the 60 or so pond pigs were 3 Ruddy Ducks. Too far out for me tell whether drakes or hens or both, but the coincidence of summering ducks continues. 

Stiff tails

Winter Ducks in July

Biff the Bufflehead, Whitesbog

This seems to be the summer of winter ducks. This month I have encountered 4 species of ducks that, if they were behaving by the book, wouldn't be here. For instance, there is a drake Bufflehead that has been in the Middle Bog of Whitesbog so long that I've named him Biff. He has been drifting around there since early June. He isn't starving, obviously. He is looking bedraggled either from molting or the tannin in the water or perhaps a combination. Flagged as rare, I find him every time I'm there, the only duck in the vicinity. I feel a little guilty reporting him each time because it's just more work for the reviewer. I got tired of taking lousy pictures of Biff. He manages to stay just enough distance out in the bog to make my photos low res and blurry. 

Common and King Eiders, Island Beach SP

King hen

Then last week, walking along the jetty at the southern end of Island Beach SP toward the "back" of Barnegat Inlet, I flush a big flock of Common Eiders. It isn't that remarkable for the occasional eider not to the make the migration north. Usually it is an immature drake who hasn't gotten the signal straight. But this flock was 60 strong with a mix of drakes and hens with all age ranges from immature to fully adult. And, there were 4 King Eiders scattered around in the flock. King Eider is a rarity in winter--it's notable when there's one in an eider flock. Now four is the default report, 1 drake, 3 hens. (They really ought to eliminate gender in the common names of birds because a "hen King" just sounds stupid.) Again, these eiders, Common & King, have been floating off the jetty for months. Maybe they aren't "rare" anymore. 

Ring-necked Duck, Jumping Brook Preserve

Finally, yesterday I was walking around the underbirded bogs of Jumping Brook Preserve in New Egypt, hard up against the boundary with Fort Dix. I decided to walk back to some bogs I haven't investigated in years because the trail looked like it had been recently mowed. That was a good idea because in one of those bogs (or reservoirs, I don't know the history of this parcel) was a drake Ring-necked Duck, which should have left for cooler climes months ago. He too, like Biff, was looking a little shabby, again probably from all the tannin in the cedar water. And again, like Biff, there are probably enough little fish, crustaceans, bugs, and plants for him to survive but he may be at the end of his genetic line. I'm not a "month" birder but if it was, all these ducks would be good July birds. 

Oh, and I almost forgot the two Ruddy Ducks we saw at Brig last week. Along with the two presumably injured Snow Geese. Half the month to go. Anyone know the whereabouts of, say, a Common Goldeneye? 

Ruddy Duck, Brig

Lawn Ornaments

Fawn Lawn