June Wrap-up: COVID Curtailed Edition

Yellow Warbler, Boundary Creek

 A month that started out just ducky, with a Garganey on its first day, lost a lot of its momentum when, after more than two years, COVID finally made its way into the Zirlin household. And it came in just as I always suspected it would: Shari caught it in New York (as best as we can figure) and infected me. Ironically, she was in New York to visit the last doctor she has there. We're quadrupled vaccinated, so the symptoms were mild yet lingering and annoying, like having a cold you can never shake. And while I tried to get out in the field as soon as I could, there was a stretch of days where I had no energy. Unfortunately, for me, that stretch included the days that Roseate Terns were showing up in numbers on Island Beach but there was just no way I could drag myself out there to chase them. 

I spent a lot of time at my favorite cranberry bogs, Whitesbog and Jumping Brook, both before, during, and after (hopefully, I'm in the after stage), and they produced Least Bittern, Common Nighthawk, and Black-billed Cuckoo, all new for the year.  While I was sitting in the house, bored, I got to thinking about how many cranberry bogs I traipse around and, as you can do in eBird, built a "patch list" of all of them to see what my total number of birds was. Impressive at 212 species. And since I like lists, they are:

Bunker Hills Bogs

Budd's Bogs

Cloverdale Farm

Cranberry Bogs on Dover Road

Double Trouble SP

Franklin Parker Preserve

Jumping Brook Preserve

Reeves Bogs and of course

Whitesbog.

I can't guess the total acreage but that's a lot of ground to have covered. 

Only 9 new species for the month, but 138 species in total which is pretty good for a doldrums month.

Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean

Species                First Sighting
Canada Goose  National Guard Training Ctr
Mute Swan  Sylvan Lake
Wood Duck  Whitesbog
Garganey  National Guard Training Ctr
Mallard  National Guard Training Ctr
American Black Duck  Whitesbog
Wild Turkey  35 Sunset Rd
Rock Pigeon  Shark River Inlet
Mourning Dove  35 Sunset Rd
Yellow-billed Cuckoo  35 Sunset Rd
Black-billed Cuckoo  Whitesbog
Common Nighthawk  Whitesbog
Eastern Whip-poor-will  35 Sunset Rd
Chimney Swift  Jumping Brook Preserve
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  35 Sunset Rd
Clapper Rail  Great Bay Blvd
Sora  Brig
Black-necked Stilt  Manahawkin WMA
American Avocet  Barnegat Lighthouse SP
American Oystercatcher  Island Beach SP
Black-bellied Plover  Island Beach SP
Semipalmated Plover  Island Beach SP
Piping Plover  Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Killdeer  National Guard Training Ctr
Ruddy Turnstone  Island Beach SP
Ruff  Brig
Sanderling  Island Beach SP
Least Sandpiper  Jumping Brook Preserve
White-rumped Sandpiper  Brig
Semipalmated Sandpiper  Island Beach SP
Short-billed Dowitcher  Island Beach SP
Spotted Sandpiper  Island Beach SP
Greater Yellowlegs  National Guard Training Ctr
Willet  Great Bay Blvd
Lesser Yellowlegs  National Guard Training Ctr
Laughing Gull  Island Beach SP
Ring-billed Gull   Belmar
Herring Gull  Island Beach SP
Great Black-backed Gull  Island Beach SP
Least Tern  Great Bay Blvd
Gull-billed Tern  Brig
Common Tern  Island Beach SP
Forster's Tern  Island Beach SP
Royal Tern  Island Beach SP
Black Skimmer  Great Bay Blvd
Double-crested Cormorant  Island Beach SP
Brown Pelican  Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Least Bittern  Jumping Brook Preserve
Great Blue Heron  Cranberry Bogs
Great Egret  Cranberry Bogs
Snowy Egret  Great Bay Blvd
Little Blue Heron  Cranberry Bogs
Tricolored Heron  Island Beach SP
Green Heron  Whitesbog
Black-crowned Night-Heron  Great Bay Blvd
White Ibis  Great Bay Blvd
Glossy Ibis  Island Beach SP
Black Vulture  Rt. 70 Pemberton Twp
Turkey Vulture  Cranberry Bogs
Osprey  Island Beach SP
Cooper's Hawk  Reeves Bogs
Bald Eagle  Brig
Red-tailed Hawk  Cranberry Bogs
Belted Kingfisher  Island Beach SP
Red-headed Woodpecker  South Park Rd
Red-bellied Woodpecker  Burrs Mill Brook
Downy Woodpecker  35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker  Evert Trail
Northern Flicker  Cranberry Bogs
Peregrine Falcon  Cedar Bonnet Island
Eastern Wood-Pewee  Island Beach SP
Acadian Flycatcher  Double Trouble SP
Willow Flycatcher  Island Beach SP
Eastern Phoebe  Whitesbog
Great Crested Flycatcher  35 Sunset Rd
Eastern Kingbird  Island Beach SP
White-eyed Vireo  Island Beach SP
Yellow-throated Vireo  Reeves Bogs
Warbling Vireo  Colliers Mills WMA
Red-eyed Vireo  Jumping Brook Preserve
Blue Jay  35 Sunset Rd
American Crow  35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow  Shark River Inlet
Carolina Chickadee  35 Sunset Rd
Tufted Titmouse  35 Sunset Rd
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  Wesley Lake
Purple Martin  Laurel Run Park
Tree Swallow  Island Beach SP
Bank Swallow  Burrs Mill Brook
Barn Swallow  Island Beach SP
Cliff Swallow  Wesley Lake
White-breasted Nuthatch  Burrs Mill Brook
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  Whitesbog
House Wren  35 Sunset Rd
Marsh Wren  Great Bay Blvd
Carolina Wren  Island Beach SP
European Starling  Island Beach SP
Gray Catbird  Island Beach SP
Brown Thrasher  Island Beach SP
Northern Mockingbird  Island Beach SP
Eastern Bluebird  Cranberry Bogs
Veery  Colliers Mills WMA
Wood Thrush  Jumping Brook Preserve
American Robin  Island Beach SP
Cedar Waxwing  Whitesbog
House Sparrow  Island Beach SP
House Finch  35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch  35 Sunset Rd
Grasshopper Sparrow  Laurel Run Park
Chipping Sparrow  35 Sunset Rd
Field Sparrow  Whitesbog
Seaside Sparrow  Great Bay Blvd
Saltmarsh Sparrow  Brig
Savannah Sparrow  Jumping Brook Preserve
Song Sparrow  35 Sunset Rd
Swamp Sparrow  Whitesbog
Eastern Towhee  Island Beach SP
Yellow-breasted Chat  Brig
Orchard Oriole  Jumping Brook Preserve
Baltimore Oriole  Burrs Mill Brook
Red-winged Blackbird  Island Beach SP
Brown-headed Cowbird  Whitesbog
Common Grackle  National Guard Training Ctr
Boat-tailed Grackle  Island Beach SP
Ovenbird  Whitesbog
Worm-eating Warbler  Evert Trail
Louisiana Waterthrush  Evert Trail
Black-and-white Warbler  Whitesbog
Prothonotary Warbler  Evert Trail
Common Yellowthroat  Island Beach SP
Hooded Warbler  Colliers Mills WMA
American Redstart  Island Beach SP
Yellow Warbler  Island Beach SP
Pine Warbler  35 Sunset Rd
Prairie Warbler  Whitesbog
Northern Cardinal  Island Beach SP
Blue Grosbeak  Laurel Run Park
Indigo Bunting  Colliers Mills WMA

Baby Barn Swallows, Boundary Creek

Brig 6/28--Ruff (& Reeve)

Ruff

I was kicking around Double Trouble this morning, not finding anything new or particularly interesting when I saw that for the 3rd day, a pair of Ruffs were at Brig. Since the Parkway is only a minute away from DT, I cut short my walk and drove down there, figuring my chances were pretty good. The attraction, for me, was that the male Ruff was still pretty much in breeding plumage, which meant it actually had a ruff. Had it been in basic plumage, or just the female (Reeve), I might not have made the trip, but only once have I seen a Ruff decked out and that was years ago, up in the Meadowlands. 

The birds were reported at Goose Marker 14, which is about 2/3 of the way around the Wildlife Drive at the dogleg. I had no intention of stopping along the way to look at the egrets, terns, sandpipers, sparrows, etc.; I can see those birds anytime. Instead, I steadily drove along just a bit over the speed limit until I got to the right spot, where a number of cars were parked. Naturally, the Ruff was not showing. The view of the pool that it was in was partially blocked by a stand of very high phragmites, and some of the folks who had already seen it said that it was out of sight beneath those reeds. All I saw was a trio of Greater Yellowlegs. I asked if the Reeve was in sight, but the birder next to me didn't really know what a Reeve was. A couple of guys I know showed up, so we just waited, not what I like to do.

Reeve

The birder who didn't know what a Reeve was came by a few minutes later and showed up photos of a bird in the other pool that was, sure enough, the female. We walked over there and found it pretty it easily with a few dowitchers. I was thinking that it was kind of a consolation prize, another checkmark on the year list, but not what I wanted to see. 

We walked back and took up our positions at the other pool when one of the guys found the bird, sort of in the open, if being in the open meant that you caught a glimpse of it through the waving phragmites. It was with an ibis and a yellowlegs. It was black bird with a white ruff. Ruffs are highly variable (part of their attraction) and with the wind, the ruff of the Ruff was all fluffed out. There was no way to get a picture though. 

The advantage of the breeze was that there were no greenhead flies around, so I decided to finish my walking for the day by going up to Jen's Trail and back. I was banking on better looks when I got back instead of waiting impatiently for the bird to come out in the open. Everything was fine until I got to Jen's Trail where, despite all the repellent I had applied, the deer flies were swarming. That's how it goes: greenheads on the road, deer flies in the woods. I killed about 20 as I walked the horseshoe trail. 

With dowitchers and yellowlegs

As I was walking back to the Ruff spot, one of the guys I'd been hanging with told me that it had moved to where the Reeve had been and was out in the open. We'd been speculating about whether it would walk through the reeds from one pool to the next (they apparently don't connect), but he could have flown there too. In any event, it was out in the clear with dowitchers and yellowlegs, much bigger than the Reeve, and though it was molting, a pretty magnificent bird. I managed distant photos. 

By the time I finished my driving and walking I had 47 species on the refuge, not bad considering I blew through 2/3 of the place without really looking. 

Canada Goose  50
Mute Swan  16
Mallard  4
Mourning Dove  6
Clapper Rail  1     Heard
American Oystercatcher  4
Ruff  2     Reeve Orange legs white face short black bill. Male black with white ruff.
Short-billed Dowitcher  3
Greater Yellowlegs  5
Willet  1
Laughing Gull  40
Herring Gull  25
Great Black-backed Gull  1
Common Tern  1
Forster's Tern  15
Black Skimmer  10
Double-crested Cormorant  20
Great Blue Heron  2
Great Egret  6
Snowy Egret  3
Glossy Ibis  1
Turkey Vulture  1
Osprey  5
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Willow Flycatcher  1     Overlook
Great Crested Flycatcher  2     Jen's Trail
White-eyed Vireo  1     Jen's Trail
Red-eyed Vireo  1     Heard Jen’s Trail
American Crow  1
Fish Crow  1
Carolina Chickadee  2
Purple Martin  10
Tree Swallow  20
Marsh Wren  2
Carolina Wren  1
European Starling  15
Gray Catbird  12
American Robin  10
House Finch  6
Field Sparrow  1
Seaside Sparrow  2
Yellow-breasted Chat  2     Heard, one on each side of overlook
Red-winged Blackbird  100
Brown-headed Cowbird  10
Common Yellowthroat  8
Yellow Warbler  1
Pine Warbler  1

Delaware in Ocean County 6/14--Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet

American Avocet

Barnegat Light seemed like the most interesting place to go this morning; the prospect of some county year birds was the attraction. The forecast was for cloudy skies all day. Cloudy is good when you're looking at water--cuts down on the glare. 

I knew that an American Avocet had been reported the last couple of days. Easy to see in Delaware, a rarity most parts of this state, including Ocean County. Since it is Piping Plover nesting season, the pond that was created in the dunes a few years back is stringed off and can only be viewed from some openings in the dunes. But if you go into the maritime forest and stop at its highest point, there is a good panoramic view of the pond, and I found the bird almost immediately.  I took a few digiscope photos, then walked the beach. As it happened, I was also able to see the bird through one of the gaps, framed by two Great Black-backed Gulls. 

I walked down to the end of the jetty, hoping to find some Great Shearwaters, also reported of late, but despite diligent scoping of the many gulls (and a few terns) flying around the fishing boats, none turned up for me. Nor did any of the bigger terns like Caspian or Royal. 

I was going to walk the beach down to the sunken mast about 1/2 mile north when I noticed that it seem a little cloudier than before. And windier. And colder. I looked at weather map on my phone and saw that a big blotch of rain was heading right at me and I had maybe 20 minutes to get back to the car. I started walking back, when I saw a big bolt of lightning crack the gray sky. Oh great, and here I am with a big metal object on my shoulder (the scope and tripod). Why don't I just walk the beach with a lightning rod? 

The 20 minutes I thought I had turned out to be more like 10 and by the time I got back to the car I was thoroughly soaked, though unelectrocuted. At least I got the avocet, along with 30 or so expected species.

By the time I got off the island, the storm had passed. I briefly thought about stopping at Manahawkin, but 1) I was soaked and 2) I was soaked in short pants and Manahawkin this time of year is like a loud clock: TICK TICK TICK TICK.

I got home, walked in the WMA behind the house, had lunch, read a book, when an alert came in that another Delaware specialty had shown up in county: 2 Black-necked Stilts at, where else, Manahawkin (although everyone was listing it as Bridge to Nowhere, which is wrong, since the impoundment is in the WMA and the Bridge to Nowhere marsh is the other side of the road, but I seem to be the only one to make the distinction).

Normally, I wouldn't rush out of the house and go all way back to Manahawkin for a rarity. I might hope that it stuck around for tomorrow, but I could already tell, I didn't feel like going there tomorrow, plus the symmetry was too appealing of having two birds I normally go to Bombay Hook to see be in the county on the same day. I changed into my permethrin treated pants, put on my muck boots and drove down. They weren't hard to find. They were standing on a sandbar in the middle of the impoundment. I could have ticked them from the little hill at the entrance to the path, but I wanted a picture, so I walked into the waist-high and higher vegetation until I could find a space between the waving phragmites and took some decent photos. Thank the birding gods for permethrin, because I seem to have come back without any ticks clinging to me.

Black-necked Stilts

Interestingly, I think the only other sighting I've had of Black-necked Stilt in this county was at Manahawkin a number of years ago. That day it was in the back impoundment. I thought today that as long as I was there, I might as well walk back there and see if there was anything else interesting, but I looked down at my tick-free pants and decided not to press my luck.

Brig 6/11--Sora, Gull-Billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Shari & I met our buddy Bob Auster down at Brig this morning. It was only my second trip of the year there, and though June is a "shoulder month" in terms of migration, we still figured to get a few interesting species as we looped the refuge. Our first stop, as usual, the Gull Pond, yielded immediate results. When he got out of the car, Bob thought he heard a Sora, but it wouldn't respond to our bad imitations. After looking around for a few minutes and the fairly slim pickings, I heard something from the reeds. Bob did too. It was a Sora. A stubborn Sora who once again would not call for Shari. 

Common Tern at the NE turn

Then, flying over, we spotted our first Gull-billed Tern for the year. And that was it, for me, for year birds. Bob picked up a few more, but the rest of the time was spent looking the usual place for the usual birds which is both one of the pleasures of Brig and one of my objections. I just know that at the northeast corner by the sluice gate I'm going to see a Common Tern and sure enough, there it was when we went by today. 

Drive along the beach side of the south dike and you're going to come across American Oystercatchers and there, Shari, are your American Oystercatchers. I wasn't expecting a slew of shorebirds today and we didn't get many species, though a White-rumped Sandpiper, all by its lonesome on the north dike was a slight surprise. What was disappointing was the dearth of waders--not many white egrets of either species, a couple of Great Blue Herons, and only 3 Glossy Ibises. No night-herons of either variety. I did a lot better than that from Great Bay Blvd a few days ago, which is only a few miles north through the same salt marshes. 

On the upland trail we stopped at "Pete's Pishing Place" about a 1/2 mile beyond Jen's Trail, where the late Pete Bacinski used to stop on field trips and pish so vigorously for birds that the car would start rocking. It worked today without actually moving the vehicle: towhee, catbird, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren. Further on, past the road to the overlook, we stopped a few times and listened for chat. There was at least one calling "blatt blatt blatt." On our second trip around, at the same spot, the same "blatt," but like the Sora, it wasn't particularly chatty, though at least Shari did get to hear this one. 

I came up with 58 species on a slow day, Shari a few less, Bob a few more. Despite our best efforts, every Marbled Godwit turned out to be a Willet. 

Canada Goose  100
Mute Swan  4
Mallard  15
American Black Duck  3
Mourning Dove  3
Clapper Rail  5
Sora  1     
American Oystercatcher  3
Black-bellied Plover  1
White-rumped Sandpiper  1
Semipalmated Sandpiper  60
Greater Yellowlegs  2
Willet  25
Laughing Gull  275
Herring Gull  25
Great Black-backed Gull  5
Least Tern  1
Gull-billed Tern  18
Common Tern  1
Forster's Tern  20
Black Skimmer  15
Double-crested Cormorant  22
Great Blue Heron  2
Great Egret  8
Snowy Egret  5
Glossy Ibis  3
Osprey  10
Bald Eagle  1
Willow Flycatcher  2     Heard
Eastern Phoebe  1
White-eyed Vireo  2     Heard
Blue Jay  1     Heard
American Crow  12
Fish Crow  4
Carolina Chickadee  2     Heard
Purple Martin  17
Tree Swallow  4
Barn Swallow  5
White-breasted Nuthatch  1     Heard
House Wren  1     Heard
Marsh Wren  6
Carolina Wren  1     Heard
European Starling  4
Gray Catbird  7
American Robin  3
House Finch  1     Heard
Chipping Sparrow  1     Heard
Field Sparrow  3     Heard
Seaside Sparrow  15
Saltmarsh Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  2
Eastern Towhee  1     Heard
Yellow-breasted Chat  1     Heard upland
Red-winged Blackbird  70
Common Yellowthroat  6
Yellow Warbler  3     Heard
Northern Cardinal  2
Indigo Bunting  2     Heard

Evert Trail 6/7--Worm-eating Warbler

A great place to hear, but not necessarily see some of the harder to find warblers is the Dot and Brooks Evert Memorial Trail on Ong's Hat Road in Burlco. It is densely wooded and through it winds Stop The Jade Run. I love these names. There is a boardwalk covered in chicken wire for traction, because often the trail is under Stop The Jade Run. Today it was relatively dry. I had two target warblers, one of which (Kentucky Warbler) I knew was a long shot. The first warbler I came across was a Prothonotary Warbler just where the boardwalk starts--there's a nest box in the stream. I heard the bird and then it very cooperatively flew onto a branch right above my head. It was the last warbler I saw there. 

Ovenbirds were of course calling all over the place and of course all went unseen. At one spot which looked like every other spot on the trail I stopped and heard Worm-eating Warbler. It is a distinct trill, halfway between a Chipping Sparrow and a Pine Warbler and I suspect that lot of WEWA reports are one of the other two. I've posted a video with the bird's song (for some peculiar reason this interface doesn't have a way to post audio). I would have loved to have eyeballed the bird, but as you can see, the vegetation is pretty dense, and the bird would not emerge from its thicket. Still, this is the kind of thing that gets me excited at 6:48 in the morning. (As an aside, I've always thought "Worm-eating Warbler" sounds like something Yosemite Sam would call Bugs Bunny in a Looney Tunes Cartoon--"Why you danged Worm-eating Warbler you, I'll get you yet!")

Because the footing is precarious on much of the trail and one misstep puts you in Stop The Jade Run, it is not a place to look up and scan the trees, so almost of all the birding is by ear. I was also relieved to see that one of the branches of the trail was closed off--this meant less chance of me getting lost as it forced me to walk a loop of 1.837 miles (eBird), though it did rule out going to the observation tower that is somewhere in there. 

Other warblers I heard were a couple of Hooded Warblers, an apparently infrequent (according to eBird again) American Redstart, and a Louisiana Waterthrush. Except for the redstart, all the others are breeders in those woods. 

If I knew the place better and was a better ear birder, I'd have a bigger list, but I got what I'd hoped for and managed to come out dry and unscathed. 

22 species
Wood Duck  3
Mourning Dove  2
Great Blue Heron  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  3
Hairy Woodpecker  2
Eastern Wood-Pewee  1
Great Crested Flycatcher  2
White-eyed Vireo  3
Red-eyed Vireo  1
Tufted Titmouse  6
White-breasted Nuthatch  3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  2
Carolina Wren  4
Eastern Towhee  1
Ovenbird  6
Worm-eating Warbler  1
Louisiana Waterthrush  1
Black-and-white Warbler  1
Prothonotary Warbler  1
Hooded Warbler  2
American Redstart  1     
Northern Cardinal  4

Swallows in Odd Places

A couple of years ago, during the height of the pandemic, I was looking for places to bird that weren't overrun with people biking, jogging, or dog-walking; since all the parks were closed (ridiculous since your chance of getting COVID outside was vanishingly small), everyone was desperate for a place to be outside and that meant my usual spots, mostly WMA's which weren't closed, were getting awfully crowded. Looking at Google Maps, I noticed a trail in Burlco, right off Rt 70 that ran along a waterway called Burrs Mill Brook. When I drove down there, I found it to typical Pine Barrens topography-- a sandy road, a stream with old wooden sluices, pines and jack oak. The stream had Green Herons in it, the pines some warblers and flycatchers, and the trail was about a mile long before it ended at the property line of a sand quarry.

Bank Swallow

Sand quarries are scattered throughout the pine barrens. They're filled with water, but because no vegetation grows on the bottom and because they are very deep, they're duck deserts. Because it is all sand, there is no food for passerines. But the walls of the quarries are perfect habitat for Bank Swallows. It wasn't until last year that I climbed over some dead trees to the edge of the property and looked out over the quarry. On the far shore I could see the swallows going in and out of the holes they'd dug into the quarry wall. 

I don't go there very much, but this Sunday, I returned, curious to see if the Bank Swallow colony was an ongoing event. The answer was very much YES. This time they had dug their holes (how these little birds dig such deep holes in sand and not have it collapse on them is one of nature's engineering feats) a little closer to where I stood, though still too far to get any really good pictures. 

Since these sand quarries are scattered throughout the pine barrens, there are probably lots of Bank Swallow nest in them, but this is the only quarry I know of where you can get a good look. I have been told, and I hope it is true, that when they make their nests in sand piles on the quarry grounds, the quarrymen have instructions to leave the mounds alone until the swallows leave. And why not? I can't imagine that one pile of sand is more vital than another pile of sand. 

A couple of days prior to my visit, I was up in Monmouth County for a dental appointment. As the dentist's office was only about 10 minutes away from Ocean Grove, I drove over to Wesley Lake for my annual visit to the arched, stone bridge that crosses the lake, and where, for the last number of years, Cliff Swallows have nested underneath. There are two almost identical bridges on the lake, but they only nest in the one near the swan pedal boats. And why, out of all the possible nesting sites in the area, this is the only place they're found is another enduring mystery. 

When I got there, I found a lot of swallows flying about, but they were of the Barn variety. Then two birders I know pulled up, also on the hunt and in a few minutes, we were able to spot the Cliff Swallows, flying high over the apartment building across the street. Usually, I see them going under the bridge but that day they were feeding at altitude. Although I would like to see their nests, they manage to build them just out of sight due to the overhang of the bridge; it might be worth renting a pedal boat, just to get a look at the nests which are made of dried mud that it require hundreds of trips to build up. 

Brielle 6/1--Garganey

I was walking through the mist and fog near the jetty at IBSP this morning when my phone started pinging with messages from friends about a Garganey in an obscure marshy area up in Brielle. Not much I could do about it right then. I have to be up in Monmouth tomorrow, so I was kind of planning to go look for it early in the morning. But once I got home, ate some lunch, watched some Mets, I began to get itchy for the bird. I'd only seen one before, when we were in South Africa. Mike, Kim, and I took an early morning walk in St. Lucia and Kim spotted a hen. So, it was on my list, tucked in with a couple of hundred other life birds. But it was definitely BVD.

I was just about to launch myself off the couch and drive up to Manasquan/Brielle/Sea Girt (it all more or less blends together up there), when I realized that Shari had slept in that morning in SA and I didn't think she had the duck on her life list. I checked her eBird account (I have to keep two accounts running, since she has no interest in eBird itself) and, indeed, it would be a lifer for her. 

However, she wasn't here. What to do? I tracked her phone and saw she'd be home shortly, so I impatiently waited--now I really wanted the bird. When she pulled into the driveway I said, "Do you want to go see a lifer?"

"Sure," she replied.

"Do you want to know what it is?" 

She thought for a second or two, then said, "OK, what is it?" 

Shari doesn't care about year list, month list, day list, country list, state list, county list, patch list, backyard list. The only list she gives priority to is Life List. The rest of the time she's just enjoying the birds without worrying about what listing categories they fall into. She's like a vegetarian who makes an exception for burgers. 

It's about a 40-minute drive up to Manasquan from here, then a little longer since neither Google or Apple navigation was aware that one of the drawbridges was out and we had to feel our way over to the Manasquan/Brielle Little League fields, from which, peering through a chain link fence that separates them from a National Guard training facility, you could see the marsh the duck was in. Except when we got there, 30 or so birders were staring glumly through the fence where no duck was dabbling. In the rush to get on the road, I'd forgotten to take our scope out of my car and put in Shari's, but that wasn't going to be a problem as there were plenty of scopes and familiar faces waiting for the Garganey to re-emerge from the reeds.

Which it finally did after about 15 minutes. Our buddy Bob Auster was there, and we peered at the duck through his scope, but it was easily seen with binoculars and even naked eye. The marshy area was enclosed with a wood fence, so we were actually viewing the bird through two fences. Still, I got a decent doc shot by putting my camera lens against the metal fence and shooting through the diamond-shaped opening. You can tell its a Garganey.

Shari had her Life Bird. And I had, let's see...Year Bird, Hemisphere Bird, ABA Area Bird, Country Bird, State Bird, County Bird.