Double Trouble SP 5/30--Yellow-breasted Chat

Sandy Recovery Area panorama

A couple of years ago, Mike & I were walking through the Sandy Recovery Area in Double Trouble. Where once a cedar forest stood, it was, after having been blown down by Superstorm Sandy, now replanted with cedar saplings. A lot of other miscellaneous shrub and scrub was growing in there too. The day before, I'd been at Brig, where I'd spent an inordinate amount of time tracking down a Yellow-breasted Chat, so, when I heard "Blatt, blatt, blatt...whee zip boop...blatt blatt blatt burp" etc, (imagine a demented mockingbird singing) I had no doubt of what species we were hearing. Chat's a big whoop in Ocean County and this was the first record for Double Trouble. The habitat was perfect for the bird, which can be a bitch to actually see, and finding it there was better than tromping through the tick-laden Aviation Beacon fields at Assunpink.

Last year, though, it wasn't there. The habitat hadn't grown up significantly, so that wasn't the problem. A couple of days ago, though, chat was again reported at Double Trouble. While I'm not on any social media alert platforms, I didn't have to ask for specifics, since I just knew where it would be. I also know that once a chat sets up shop, it tends to stick around, so I wasn't in a hurry to get over there on Sunday. 

I got over there early this morning, hoping to beat the dogwalkers and cyclists. Instead of my usual route, which starts with a walk up to the big reservoir called Ore Pond, I walked straight through the village out into the recovery area. Within a minute I heard "Blatt blatt blatt...chick chick whee...zip boop burp!" I walked deeper into the area, hoping that maybe the bird would actually tee up on one of the snags. Instead, I came upon a second bird chattering away on the other side of the road. Despite looking for longer than I like to look, I couldn't get eyes on either one. The chat was my 300th species for year; I've blasted past last year's total, but last year I didn't go to Mexico.

Swamp Doghobble

Mountain Laurel

Shari was more fortunate. Yesterday, while I was at Colliers Mills, I noticed that the mountain laurel was coming into bloom. Shari & I like to take a mountain laurel walk one day in the spring, and there are stands of it at DT, too. I suggested she meet me there later in the morning. We walked out to the area, but the birds, while "singing" were more subdued, not truly belting it out as they will. But Shari, walking up the trail past where I thought they were, scared two of them out of a bush for a quick look. Steve came along and he heard one bird. Later, after Shari & I went to seek out more mountain laurel, Steve managed not only to see one bird, as wished for, perched up on a snag, but also managed a distant photo.

Along Mud Dam Road is where most of the mountain laurel grows, and there were also examples of fetterbush (also known as swamp sweetbells or swamp doghobble) and sheep laurel with its little pink blossoms. As has been the case for years, this is one of the best spots to hear Hooded Warbler, and though I missed it on my first walk up the lane, with Shari there, it very cooperatively sang. 

By the time 10 o'clock rolled around it was getting very hot and very quiet. The parking lot was full of kayakers and canoeists getting ready to tackle the mighty Cedar Creek, so Shari & I, having notched target plants and birds, headed out, while everyone else seemed to be heading in. 

37 species
Canada Goose
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Laughing Gull
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Acadian Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tufted Titmouse
Tree Swallow
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Carolina Wren
Gray Catbird
Veery
Wood Thrush
American Robin
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Yellow-breasted Chat
Red-winged Blackbird
Ovenbird
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Northern Cardinal

Prairie Warbler