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