July Wrap-up--Doldrums Edition

Hooded Merganser (hen), Pond on Schoolhouse Road

Until the last few days, when the Lower Bog at Whitesbog was completely drawn down and the shorebirds magically appeared, the highlight of my month, and the only new addition to the year list, was the Monk Parakeet that has been putting on a show up at Sylvan Lake in Monmouth County. I spent a goodly amount of time at my favorite spots--Whitesbog, Colliers Mills, and Jumping Brook Preserve--hoping to spot something unusual. Only the usual did I find. But, not one mile from here, while killing time waiting for a prescription to be filled, I found my own semi-rarity, a hen Hooded Merganser in a little pond on Schoolhouse Road. Not a bird that would get a MEGA on an eBird list, but at least it was something different. 

Then, as I've already written, the water was pumped out and suddenly, things got a whole lot more interesting. In the last 2 days of the month, I added 3 shorebirds to my year list: Pectoral Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, and today's Buff-breasted Sandpiper, one of the grasspiper specialties that we look for at Whitesbog. 

I went to the Manasquan Inlet a couple of times because I happened to be in the neighborhood. Each time I was hoping for a Roseate Tern. Each time I was disappointed. On a happier note, I went to Colliers Mills very early one weekday morning, figuring the hunters wouldn't be training their dogs then, and I walked along Success Road, listening and looking really hard. My reward: A Grasshopper Sparrow in Ocean County. I hadn't seen or heard one there in a few years, even though they're fairly easy to find on the Lakehurst base, just a bit to the south. A birder friend theorized that there might be "leakage" from the base after they finished nesting, and he apparently was right. I also made it a point one day at Colliers to find the Red-headed Woodpeckers this month and I was successful. It's these kinds of little games that keep me going as the summer months slog on. One of the saving graces for me is that I, at least, like the heat. For those birders who don't, this time of the year is truly a drag. 

Willet, Bay Parkway, Waretown

For the month I listed 123 species:

Counties birded: Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean

Species                 First Sighting
Canada Goose  Reeves Bogs
Mute Swan  Holly Lake
Wood Duck  Jumping Brook Preserve
Mallard  Holly Lake
Hooded Merganser  Pond on Schoolhouse Road
Wild Turkey  35 Sunset Rd
Pied-billed Grebe  Whitesbog
Rock Pigeon  Lake of the Lilies
Mourning Dove  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Yellow-billed Cuckoo  35 Sunset Rd
Eastern Whip-poor-will  35 Sunset Rd
Chimney Swift  Jumping Brook Preserve
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  35 Sunset Rd
Clapper Rail  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
American Oystercatcher  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Semipalmated Plover  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Killdeer  Jumping Brook Preserve
Least Sandpiper  Whitesbog
White-rumped Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Buff-breasted Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Pectoral Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Semipalmated Sandpiper  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Western Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Short-billed Dowitcher  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Spotted Sandpiper  Jumping Brook Preserve
Solitary Sandpiper  Reeves Bogs
Greater Yellowlegs  Manahawkin WMA
Willet  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Lesser Yellowlegs  Whitesbog
Laughing Gull  Holly Lake
Ring-billed Gull  Belmar
Herring Gull  Holly Lake
Great Black-backed Gull  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Least Tern  Manasquan Inlet
Common Tern  Manasquan Inlet
Forster's Tern  Holly Lake
Black Skimmer  Manasquan Inlet
Double-crested Cormorant  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Great Blue Heron  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Great Egret  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Snowy Egret  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Tricolored Heron  Cattus Island County Park
Green Heron  Reeves Bogs
Black-crowned Night-Heron  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Glossy Ibis  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Black Vulture  Whiting
Turkey Vulture  Colliers Mills WMA
Osprey  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Bald Eagle  Whitesbog
Red-shouldered Hawk  Jumping Brook Preserve
Broad-winged Hawk  Lakehurst Railroad Tracks
Red-tailed Hawk  Colliers Mills WMA
Belted Kingfisher  Whitesbog
Red-headed Woodpecker  Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker  Jumping Brook Preserve
Downy Woodpecker  35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker  Reeves Bogs
Northern Flicker  Jumping Brook Preserve
Monk Parakeet  Sylvan Lake
Eastern Wood-Pewee  Jumping Brook Preserve
Acadian Flycatcher  Budd’s Bogs
Willow Flycatcher  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Eastern Phoebe  Reeves Bogs
Great Crested Flycatcher  Jumping Brook Preserve
Eastern Kingbird  Jumping Brook Preserve
White-eyed Vireo  Reeves Bogs
Warbling Vireo  Colliers Mills WMA
Red-eyed Vireo  Colliers Mills WMA
Blue Jay  35 Sunset Rd
American Crow  35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow  35 Sunset Rd
Carolina Chickadee  35 Sunset Rd
Tufted Titmouse  35 Sunset Rd
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  Reeves Bogs
Purple Martin  Holly Lake
Tree Swallow  Holly Lake
Bank Swallow  Cranberry Bogs
Barn Swallow  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Red-breasted Nuthatch  Lakehurst Railroad Tracks
White-breasted Nuthatch  35 Sunset Rd
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  Reeves Bogs
House Wren  35 Sunset Rd
Marsh Wren  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Carolina Wren  35 Sunset Rd
European Starling  Jumping Brook Preserve
Gray Catbird  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Brown Thrasher  Jumping Brook Preserve
Northern Mockingbird  Colliers Mills WMA
Eastern Bluebird  Whitesbog
Veery  Colliers Mills WMA
Wood Thrush  Jumping Brook Preserve
American Robin  Jumping Brook Preserve
Cedar Waxwing  Jumping Brook Preserve
House Sparrow  deCamp WildlifeTrail
House Finch  35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch  Jumping Brook Preserve
Grasshopper Sparrow  Colliers Mills WMA
Chipping Sparrow  35 Sunset Rd
Field Sparrow  Reeves Bogs
Seaside Sparrow  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Song Sparrow  35 Sunset Rd
Swamp Sparrow  Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)
Eastern Towhee  Jumping Brook Preserve
Orchard Oriole  Colliers Mills WMA
Baltimore Oriole  Colliers Mills WMA
Red-winged Blackbird  Holly Lake
Brown-headed Cowbird  Reeves Bogs
Common Grackle  Jumping Brook Preserve
Boat-tailed Grackle  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Ovenbird  Jumping Brook Preserve
Louisiana Waterthrush  Budd’s Bogs
Black-and-white Warbler  Colliers Mills WMA
Prothonotary Warbler  Budd’s Bogs
Common Yellowthroat  Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Hooded Warbler  Colliers Mills WMA
Yellow Warbler  deCamp WildlifeTrail
Pine Warbler  Colliers Mills WMA
Prairie Warbler  Colliers Mills WMA
Scarlet Tanager  Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Cardinal  35 Sunset Rd
Blue Grosbeak  Colliers Mills WMA
Indigo Bunting  Colliers Mills WMA

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Great Bay Blvd

Whitesbog 7/31--Buff-breasted Sandpiper

If you drain it, they will come.

Already, draining the Lower Bog is paying big dividends.

Yesterday, one of the guys asked me when, now that shorebird season at Whitesbog is has begun, I'd be there next. 

"Monday," I replied.

"Really, not tomorrow?"

"It's not a job," I said. 

(digiscope)

But it is an obsession, so when, this afternoon, whilst watching the Mets game I got an alert that a Buff-breasted Sandpiper was in the Lower Bog, I said to Shari, "Gotta go," and was at Whitesbog within the half-hour. Fortunately, so was the birder who found it and more fortunately, so was the bird. It took a bit of time to get me on it, but eventually we found it again, running around on the mud. This is at least two weeks early for this species to appear. The bird was very fresh--a very buffy breast and crisp scalloped wings and backs. Very likely a first-year bird making its inaugural migration. 

The diversity of the bog was good again. Lots of Semipalmated Plovers and Semipalmated Sandpipers, the yellowlegs, the Solitary Sandpiper, and even the White-rumped Sandpiper continued. There were also 15 Glossy Ibis feeding alongside the apparently permanent flock of 7 Great Egrets. This morning, while I was at Colliers Mills, I got a text from another friend telling me that there were 3 Glossy Ibis there. Glossy Ibis is a good Burlco bird. But those only stayed a couple of minutes before flying off, saving me a trip there. I thought. 

In the one hour I spent standing on the western side of the Lower Bog, this is what I saw:

18 species
Mallard  9
Semipalmated Plover  20
Killdeer  4
Least Sandpiper  10
White-rumped Sandpiper  1     
Buff-breasted Sandpiper  1     
Pectoral Sandpiper  2
Semipalmated Sandpiper  20
Solitary Sandpiper  1
Greater Yellowlegs  1
Lesser Yellowlegs  2
Great Blue Heron  2
Great Egret  7
Green Heron  3
Glossy Ibis  15     
Turkey Vulture  1
Eastern Phoebe  1     
Red-winged Blackbird  1

Whitesbog 7/30--Pectoral Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper

 Possible subtitles for this entry:

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

      Or

Half a Loaf Is Better Than None.

The former because the Lower Bog at Whitesbog has been drawn down and it didn't take any time at all for the shorebirds and waders to find it and start feeding in the mud and the shallow channel of Cranberry Run. The latter because it looks like only the Lower Bog will be drawn down this season, since the extremely dry weather has made it necessary for the farmer to hold onto his water for the harvest season when he'll use it to flood the cranberry bogs. Even drawing down the Lower Bog was done differently than usual. In the past, as a favor, the farmer will pull a few boards in the sluice gates (this is 19th century technology) and in a couple of days the water is flows out into the stream and is gone. This year he pumped out the water and moved it to a dry area where he can store it for later. 

The Lower Bog as low as it gets

For the last few days, I've been walking around the bogs and Ditch Meadow, watching as the shorebird population slowly built up. As an example: Wednesday: 0 Semipalmated Plovers. Thursday: 5. Friday: 15. Today: 33. I also found a White-rumped Sandpiper in the bog yesterday, which, happily, continued today when I scanned the mud and hummocks with Jim, Matt, & Steve. (Shari refers to us as "The Bog Boys.") Along with the White-rump and Semi Plos, we saw the expected species: Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Killdeers, Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, along with two birds that were new for me for the year--4 Pectoral Sandpipers and at least one Western Sandpiper.  

The Pectorals are expected at Whitesbog but since they aren't found in large numbers around here, are always a welcome addition to the list. The Western Sandpiper (possibly 2) is a much rarer find and one that, by myself, I probably would not have found. Once Jim spotted it, deeper in the water than the surrounding Least and Semis, we four had a long discussion as to whether or not it was actually a Western. Part of the problem was that in that bog, no matter where you stand, the birds are equidistant from you, emphasis on the distant. So, in the harsh sunlight, it's difficult to get a really sharp look at any one bird, especially one that likes to skitter around and go out of sight. But with its longer curved bill, larger head, and distinctive feeding behavior, we finally came to this consensus: It had to be something; it wasn't a Least or Semi; it wasn't anything exotic (Occam's Razor was mentioned); ergo: Western Sandpiper. There was another bird near it, similar in appearance but not so much in behavior that may or may not have been another. We had to let that one go. 

We'll see how long the season lasts. Historically, the grass grows very fast in that bog, which is a double-edged sword--too dry for the shorebirds, but good habitat for the highly-desired "grasspipers." (Last year a Baird's Sandpiper was in that bog.) But by the time that bog gets played out, we have the Middle Bog to scan (the Upper Bog, alas, has not been drawn down for the last few years), and that bog offers both better vantage points and better habitat. This year, without it being drawn down, evaporation alone has taken a toll and exposed some mounds of sand and grass where I've found a few shorebirds, but evaporation isn't going to bring it down to mud--if it does, we have much bigger problems than hydrology. 

Sylvan Lake 7/25--Monk Parakeet

 I drove up to Sylvan Lake in Bradley Beach this morning to see the Monk Parakeet that has been seen around a nest there for the last few days. I have seen lots of Monk Parakeets in various places, but I have never seen just one Monk Parakeet. Monk Parakeets tend to travel in noisy flocks, and they nest communally, in large stick condominiums that they like to build atop utility poles, especially those with transformers to keep them warm, much to the chagrin of the power companies. A lone parakeet is a curiosity. The first surmise would be an escaped pet, but this one is building a nest on, what else, the top of a utility pole, inside a triangular structure that I would guess houses some kind of equipment. I got there early and found a couple of birders hanging around while the parakeet flew from a pole across the street up into its triangle house, all the while making the typical parakeet racket. I remember the first time I ever saw Monk Parakeets, in Silver Beach, Delaware, where there was a huge flock nesting along a residential street. I wondered how anyone could stand to live there with the constant screeching of 50 or 60 birds. Talking to one of the birders, I brought up the bird's solitary status. He allowed as how he'd never seen just one either. We speculated that perhaps there were two and one of the birds was sitting on eggs inside the housing, but there's no evidence of that, so far. But even just two would be an oddity. 

I haven't seen Monk Parakeets since they disappeared from Carteret a few years ago, the victims of gentrification. Where their old nests use to be, near an empty lot in a somewhat sketchy section of town, a new condo or co-op was built and, I'm certain, the developers didn't want the birds chattering and screaming while they were showing the apartments. I have a fond memory of the last time I saw them, when the nest had moved to Heald Street. Carteret isn't far from Iselin, so when I would visit my mother, I would, once a year, drive over to see them. That day when I was leaving, I told her I was going to try to find the new nest. "Oh, I'd like to see them," she said. By this time my mother was frail and practically blind, but the idea of birding with her delighted me, so into the car she went and in about 20 minutes we were in Carteret. I parked directly beneath the nest. She got out of the car and the parakeets were making their noises. She looked up and I'm sure she could only see a silhouette of the bird, but she did see one. She said, "I thought they'd be bigger." "Mom," I said, "they're parakeets, not parrots" And then my mother, who was noise averse said, "We can go now." 

I would have liked to get a decent photo of the bird, but the sun was directly behind the opening of the nest, so all my original pictures showed was a solid black triangle. Through the magic of Photoshop, I stripped away a mass of pixels and now have this rather ectomorphic picture of the parakeet sitting on the sticks in the opening. Year bird. Monmouth County lifer. 

Backyard Beetles & Moths

Imperial Moth

My brother, who has been coming to the Pine Barrens for more than 30 years for lepidoptery and other insects (beetles, mostly), set up his lights and sheets in our backyard last night to do some mothing. While he was setting up, I told him the story about Vladmir Nabokov's novel, Bend Sinister. Nabokov, who was, in addition to being one of the greatest, if not the greatest, writer of the 20th century, was also an expert lepidopterist and he often inserted references to moths and butterflies in his work. The last line of the novel is, "A good night for mothing." In the first edition of the book, the copy editor, never having seen the word, changed it to "A good night for nothing."  

Harry said that people who bird are of course, "birders," but people who go mothing have a hard time since they don't want to be confused with "mothers." 

His mothing array wasn't very elaborate: two sheets, one draped over our picnic table, the other over a couple of chairs, a pair of ultra-violet lights and an incandescent 180-watt bulb, a very long extension cord, and he was all set. He also went into the woods in back and smeared bait on the trees. The bait is a mixture of beer, fermented bananas, brown sugar and, I think, molasses. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, like bait for fishing. Last night, it didn't work. 

Polyphylla variolosa

As soon as it got dark, we had some activity, though at first, they were mostly beetles. There were two kinds of rather large beetles, both of which would go under the rubric June bug, though, as Harry pointed out, that's like saying "warbler" or "sparrow." It doesn't tell you much. Harry doesn't traffic much in common names, but the interesting beetle to him, and me, was Polyphylla variolosa, with big, feathery antennae. There are only two representatives of this genus, I believe he said, on the east coast, and this is the one you'll find in the Pine Barrens. 

He went to check his bait and I heard him call out "Ho ho," and what he came back with was not a moth, but a caterpillar that he called a "filament" something or other because of the long spike protruding from its thorax. They feed on greenbrier, of which there is plenty to feed on around here. Since he found it on the bark of a tree, he suspects it was looking for a place to pupate. It will now pupate in Westchester County, NY. 

"Filament caterpillar"

Not many moths were showing up on the sheet. I was amazed at how many of the Polyphylla we were attracting, but the one species of moth he found interesting was a Gracilis Underwing, an example of which I remembered seeing on the Wawa wall before they renovated and changed the lights. Around 11 he left for his motel, but he left the lights on. At 5:30 this morning he was back to see what had come in overnight. To me, it just looked like a smattering of uninteresting little insects, but to him, those nondescript moths are very interesting. He also told me that you have to carefully look underneath the drapes and folds of the sheet, because they often work their way in there. Sure enough, when he took the sheet off the two chairs, there on the seat, was a beauty of an Imperial Moth. And then, from underneath the table, he extracted a perfect specimen of an Apple Sphinx Moth. Along with the rare fly he found last night, he was pretty happy with his haul, since of the 3 families of moths he is most interested in, he'd found an example of each.

Apple Sphinx Moth

And then he found the really interesting moth, sitting inside the lip of his lamp. At first he thought it was Cactoblastis cactorum, but what surprised him was that its range map doesn't include New Jersey. It turned out to be Melitara prodenialis.  The caterpillars of this moth feed on prickly pear cactus, of which, again, there is plenty of around here.  There are other records of this moth in New Jersey, but not a lot, and oddly, there is a gap between NJ and North Carolina where the moth has not been recorded. Obviously, prickly pear is all along that stretch. If nothing else, if my brother hasn't come across one in his decades of mothing in New Jersey, you can be sure it is rare.

And right in my own backyard. 

Melitara prodenialis

Large Maple Spanworm

100 Backyard Birds

Looking out the window early this morning, I saw a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher flitting around from the pine tree to the dead oak. I didn't remember ever seeing a gnatcatcher in our backyard, so I called Shari over to look at what I assumed was our 100th Backyard Bird. Alas, when I looked up our backyard list on eBird, I saw that gnatcatcher was already on the list from a couple of years ago. However, on May 21st of this year, I noted two Laughing Gulls flying over the house. I didn't realize it at the time, but those were our 100th backyard species. (The rules for backyard birding are that any bird you see with your feet on your property counts as a backyard bird.) 100 species is just a round number. Lots of people have bigger (much bigger) backyard lists, but lots of people have bigger (much bigger) backyards, or their backyards include farmland, or beaches. Ours is just lawn with about 20 feet behind the house and about 100 along the side. The advantage we have is that we back up against the Whiting WMA, which provides a lot of customers for our feeders. The tangles and greenbrier just in back of our lawn is great nesting habitat for wrens, towhees, sparrows, and the dead trees are home to woodpeckers, chickadees, and even, one year, an attempt at nesting by a Red-breasted Nuthatch. 

Of course, we don't have 100 feeder birds. Just about every hawk and a couple of species of falcon has either been in our trees or flying overhead. I remember a spectacular aerial show by blackbirds who didn't fancy an immature eagle in the neighborhood. 

And then there are the one offs, like the amazing morning I looked up to see a Common Redpoll at our feeder, or the day I could swear I heard a Bobwhite outside and indeed found one (while standing on my lawn) in our neighbor's tree.

For a few years running we would get Rose-breasted Grosbeak in our yard for a few days, but this year I didn't see any. Doesn't mean they weren't here; just means that I can't monitor the feeders 24/7.

Only once have I seen a Blue Grosbeak at the feeder, and we're still missing Indigo Bunting and Scarlet Tanager. The tanager I would think would be a possibility with all our woods, the bunting unlikely, although some new habitat was created in the WMA a few years ago when a large swath of trees was cut down to make a firebreak. I'm all for firebreaks. 

And then of course, there are the 3 species I always list, every time I see or hear them: Eastern Whip-poor-will, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Wild Turkey. Whip-poor-will and turkey were just not possibilities in Brooklyn, and I remember with a wry smile Shari hanging out on our 3rd floor fire escape the free hummingbird feeder we received when we joined NJ Audubon. Naturally, it never attracted a hummingbird. Luckily, it didn't become a rat soda fountain. Those three species are emblems to me of the day, some 11 years ago, when we said, "The hell with it, let's change our lives and move."