A Half-hour on Rome Pond 11/22

Red-shouldered Hawk

I spent the morning walking around the Ocean County side of Whitesbog, where the recent dearth of passerines continued; I considered myself lucky to come across a little pocket of bluebirds and chickadees by the Antrim bogs. Walking across what used to be Otter Pond and is now Otter Meadow, I saw not a single bird, sparrow, raptor, corvid, nothing. 

My drive out takes me past Rome Pond on the Burlco side. When I was coming in this morning there was a small flock of geese in the shallow water and one Wood Duck along with some robins. They all flushed when "The Paperboy" in his blue pickup rumbled by. But I was thinking, as I made the turn onto the road that runs along the pond, that if I was asked about Rome Pond (the name derives from the time when Whitesbog had seasonal pickers, mostly Italians, who stayed in two encampments, Rome and Florence), I would say that most of the time there was nothing to see there, but once in a while some interesting birds do show up so it is always worth a hard look. If I could turn my thoughts into reality with regularity, I promise to use the power only for good. Because today was one of those days that Rome Pond was the best spot in Whitesbog. 

Wilson's Snipe

Eastern Meadowlark

I could see on the mud flats some robins and crows. The robins got up and flew and I saw why: perched in a tree at the pack was a beauty of a Red-shouldered Hawk. I also saw a bird with a long sharp beak that in the glare I took for a flicker, but, as I saw other birds moving through the mud, I hauled out the scope. The flicker turned out to be one of 4 Eastern Meadowlarks. While not rare bird for the county, they are exceedingly scarce at Whitesbog and I have never seen one on Rome Pond. I also found one Wilson's Snipe which didn't altogether surprise me since snipe is one of the "interesting" birds that occasionally show up on the pond, but also feeding with the meadowlarks was another icterid species, 4 Rusty Blackbirds.  

Luckily, there was no traffic on the road today or any heavy equipment going into the Fenwick Bogs, so I could scan for about a half hour without having to move the car. The crows came back after the hawk left and just as I was shouldering the scope, a Belted Kingfisher flew in. So, the most productive half-hour of the day came when I thought I was done and just happened to see some movement in the mud.