February--Short Month Wrap-up

Wilson's Snipe, Cranberry Bogs

Bald Eagles, New Egypt

At least dreary February is a short month. It's been a disappointment that a couple of my favorite places to walk, Whitesbog and Colliers Mills, have been devoid of birds, so I took to going to places I don't visit as much, trying, as I wrote the other day, to find at least as many species as I can see in our backyard. The Cranberry Bogs on Dover Road were good this month, especially with the Wilson's Snipe(s) in residence, and Jumping Brook Preserve, with the addition of a simple bridge over a breach in the dams became a much longer, and therefore potentially interesting, walk than previously. I went to the ocean a few times, Island Beach, Barnegat Lighthouse, Manasquan Inlet, but this ennui engulfs me almost as soon as I start to seawatch and the old Mississippi Fred McDowell song starts playing in my head..."You got to move, you got to move..."

For the month I listed 110 species, 4 less than last February, and added 11 species to the year list, two of which were rare--the Harris's Sparrow up in East Windsor and the Western Tanager around the block from here. 

Counties birded: Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean

Species   First Sighting
Brant   Mantoloking Bridge County Park
Canada Goose   Colliers Mills WMA
Mute Swan   Assunpink WMA
Trumpeter Swan   Assunpink WMA
Tundra Swan   Whitesbog
Wood Duck   Cranberry Bogs
Gadwall   Forsythe--Barnegat
Mallard   Ocean County Park
American Black Duck   Whitesbog
Northern Pintail   Manahawkin WMA
Green-winged Teal   Great Bay Blvd
Canvasback   Cedar Run Dock Rd
Ring-necked Duck   Colliers Mills WMA
Greater Scaup   Cedar Run Dock Rd
Lesser Scaup   Lake of the Lilies
Common Eider   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Harlequin Duck   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Surf Scoter   Graveling Point
Black Scoter   Island Beach SP
Long-tailed Duck   Graveling Point
Bufflehead   Lake Shenandoah County Park
Common Goldeneye   Graveling Point
Hooded Merganser   Ocean County Park
Common Merganser   Assunpink WMA
Red-breasted Merganser   Poplar St boat ramp
Ruddy Duck   Assunpink WMA
Wild Turkey   Jumping Brook Preserve
Pied-billed Grebe   Lake Shenandoah County Park
Horned Grebe   Cedar Run Dock Rd
Rock Pigeon   New Egypt
Mourning Dove   Colliers Mills WMA
American Coot   Lake of the Lilies
American Oystercatcher   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Killdeer   Colliers Mills WMA
Sanderling   Island Beach State Park A6
Dunlin   Graveling Point
Purple Sandpiper   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
American Woodcock   Crestwood Community Gardens
Wilson's Snipe   Cranberry Bogs
Greater Yellowlegs   Great Bay Blvd
Razorbill   Manasquan Inlet
Bonaparte's Gull   Manahawkin WMA
Ring-billed Gull   Lake Shenandoah County Park
Herring Gull   Ephraim P. Emson Preserve
Lesser Black-backed Gull   Island Beach SP
Great Black-backed Gull   Graveling Point
Red-throated Loon   Great Bay Blvd
Common Loon   Bay Pkwy
Northern Gannet   Manasquan Inlet
Great Cormorant   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Double-crested Cormorant   Poplar St boat ramp
Great Blue Heron   Ocean County Park
Black Vulture   Whitesbog
Turkey Vulture   Wawa Rt 70 & CR 530
Northern Harrier   Cedar Run Dock Rd
Sharp-shinned Hawk   35 Sunset Rd
Cooper's Hawk   35 Sunset Rd
Bald Eagle   Whitesbog
Red-shouldered Hawk   New Egypt
Red-tailed Hawk   Lake Shenandoah County Park
Belted Kingfisher   Ocean County Park
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   35 Sunset Rd
Red-bellied Woodpecker   New Egypt
Downy Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Flicker   New Egypt
American Kestrel   Assunpink WMA
Merlin    New Egypt
Peregrine Falcon   Whitesbog
Blue Jay   Colliers Mills WMA
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Common Raven   New Egypt
Carolina Chickadee   Colliers Mills WMA
Tufted Titmouse   Colliers Mills WMA
Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Jumping Brook Preserve
Golden-crowned Kinglet   Lake Shenandoah County Park
Red-breasted Nuthatch   Lake Shenandoah County Park
White-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd
Brown Creeper   35 Sunset Rd
Carolina Wren   Colliers Mills WMA
European Starling   New Egypt
Brown Thrasher   Manahawkin WMA
Northern Mockingbird   Lake Shenandoah County Park
Eastern Bluebird   Ocean County Park
Hermit Thrush   Whitesbog
American Robin   Colliers Mills WMA
House Sparrow   New Egypt
House Finch   New Egypt
American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd
Snow Bunting   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Chipping Sparrow   Ocean County Fairgrounds
Field Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
American Tree Sparrow   Whitesbog
Fox Sparrow   Manahawkin WMA
Dark-eyed Junco   35 Sunset Rd
White-crowned Sparrow   Hancock Field
Harris's Sparrow   Hancock Field
White-throated Sparrow   New Egypt
Savannah Sparrow   New Egypt
Song Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Swamp Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Eastern Towhee   Island Beach SP
Red-winged Blackbird   New Egypt
Brown-headed Cowbird   New Egypt
Common Grackle   Bay Pkwy
Boat-tailed Grackle   Cedar Run Dock Rd
Pine Warbler   35 Sunset Rd
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Poplar St boat ramp
Western Tanager   Crestwood Village
Northern Cardinal   New Egypt

Common Goldeneye, Harvey Cedars