The Whitesbog 100 Challenge Redux

Baird's Sandpiper

By the middle of the month I thought perhaps I'd set the bar too low. I was already at 95 species for the month at Whitesbog and it looked like 100 was an easy target. But then there was a fallow week where it was the same shorebirds every day--even the rarities like White-rumped Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, or Stilt Sandpiper, were repeating themselves.

It wasn't until the remnants of Hurricane Henri blew easterly winds into the Pine Barrens that things started to pick up with the arrival of a Wilson's Phalarope. More exciting to me was the arrival of three species that I'd never seen at Whitesbog. First there was the Sanderling that was way off course from the beaches the same day as the phalarope. Then there was a Prothonotary Warbler (& #100) that flew into the cedars behind the parking area noticed by bird magnet Scott Barnes. Always stand close to Scott Barnes is my motto. The other was the duo of Baird's Sandpipers that appeared in the Lower Bog for a few hours the next day. Over the weekend I added Buff-breasted Sandpiper and a Baltimore Oriole to bring the total up to 103. 

Tomorrow is the last day of the month and I'll probably stop by the bogs but I don't plan to devote all my birding time to them. Still the possibility of adding new species but 103 is short of last year's 105. What did I miss? Great Horned Owl stands out to me because I was there quite a few days pre-light listening. I did hear one on on 'Opening Day' which was July 31. Last year we also had Cliff Swallows, Blue-winged Teals, and a Broad-winged Hawk. And a Ruff. And American Golden-Plover. 

But this year there was Biff the Bufflehead staying into August and for the first 12 days of the month one or two immature Black-crowned Night-Herons, very unusual for the spot. So it evens out. The point is that Whitesbog, given enough time and coverage, produces a lot of interesting birding days. The two drawn-down bogs aren't all that large so very often you can really study the shorebirds up close.  I have finally gotten to the point where I am confident in my identification of White-rumped Sandpiper because all month there have been one, two, or three in the bogs and close enough to study the field marks in detail. And, as someone observed, while there are a lot of species (a dozen shorebirds species every day in two bogs is pretty good) there aren't thousands of peeps to pick through. There are 30 Semi Sands and 20 Leasts and somewhere in there you're going to find the White-rumped and anything else is going to stick out nicely only a dozen yards away. And without the heat shimmer I might add. And without the greenheads. 

The Whitesbog List for August 2021:

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
American Black Duck
Green-winged Teal
Bufflehead
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Common Nighthawk
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Stilt Sandpiper
Sanderling
Baird's Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson's Phalarope
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Laughing Gull
Herring Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Little Blue Heron
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Eastern Screech-Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Merlin
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Common Raven
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
House Wren
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Bobolink
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Ovenbird
Black-and-white Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak

Black-crowned Night-Heron