Colliers Mills | Island Beach SP 5/4--Bank Swallow, Eastern Kingbird, Baltimore Oriole, Kentucky Warbler

Kentucky Warbler

 I was filling up a feeder late this afternoon when I got a text from Steve that there was a Kentucky Warbler at Island Beach SP. Normally, I wouldn't go chasing after a warbler, and I wouldn't go so late in the day, but this was practically a life bird for me, since my only record of Kentucky Warbler is a "heard only" at Baldpate Mountain 5 years ago. And I figured I was lucky with the Roseate Tern on Sunday, maybe my luck would continue to hold for this bird, so I jumped in the car and made decent time to the park--discovering when I got there that while I had remembered my phone, binoculars, and camera, I had neglected to put my wallet in my pocket. So, I had no license on me. Yikes, already I was thinking how slowly I was going to have drive home. 

A number of birders were there, hovering around the entrance to Reed's Road, although the bird was originally found on the side of the road just south of the head of the trail, across from the maintenance area. I had seen Steve as he was driving out after seeing the bird and he told me that it was jumping in and out of the brush, sometimes at the entrance of the road, sometimes along the road. When I got out of my car everyone there had already seen the bird and touchingly, it seemed very important to them that I get on the bird. Someone called that it was down the road about a hundred feet and I ran down there. After a few frantic seconds with everyone giving me directions as to where to look, I saw the bird--a beauty, with a black crown and mask, brilliant yellow body and an olive back. It was feeding quite actively--I wonder what sort of bugs it was finding--and with my slow-focusing camera, I was lucky to get the doc shots that I did. I would have loved to hang around and even take a walk up Reed's Road to see what warblers were on the path, but the idea of drving home in the dark with no license seemed like a very bad one, so I left after being there for all of 18 minutes. My drive time back & forth was 3 times that. 

The Kentucky Warbler was my 200th bird for the year and 325th in Ocean County. 

I spent the morning at Colliers Mills, walking a long loop through the woods and around the ponds there. It wasn't as busy as I had hoped, but I did manage to find 53 species, including 3 new ones for the year. A few swallows were aviating over Turnmill Pond, and one of them was small & brown. It took me a while to make certain, but it was my first Bank Swallow of the year and a patch bird for me there. 

In the woods along the pond there was an onslaught of bird song and only one sounded odd to me and of course, using Merlin, it was the one song that it didn't pick up because I recognized all the other ones. I was pretty sure it was an oriole and looking up I found it--a Baltimore Oriole pushing a blackbird out of the tree. 

Spotted Sandpiper

Along the shore there were two Spotted Sandpipers, and at the back of the little pond on Hawkin Road there were two Solitary Sandpipers (and they were being pretty territorial with each other) and 3 Least Sandpipers, which are not all that common at Colliers, along with another spotty. 

Solitary Sandpiper 

Forty Acre Pond in the back was shaping up as a disappointment, with only Wood Ducks and Mallards, no shorebirds on the mud flats. I hadn't heard the Hooded Warbler in it usual spot among the mountain laurel just off Hawkin, but while I was scanning the pond, one began to sing there, so that made it worth the walk. 

Eastern Kingbird

When I first got there, I decided not to walk in the woods north of Success and track down a Red-headed Woodpecker, because I didn't feel like spending the time, but I got lucky, as while I was walking over the hill that separates Success Road fields from the firing range area, one flew right over me and landed in a tree on Success. There was also a Blue Grosbeak in the field. Unfortunately, it began to rain. I walked pretty fast along Success but couldn't resist peeking in the fields to the south of the road. Sitting on one of the warning signs was an Eastern Kingbird, finally. It kept diving into the grass and came up with a rather large insect. By then the rain was pretty steady, and I just fast-stepped the rest of the circuit back to my car. The only negative for the day was Detroit 2, Mets 0.

53 species
Canada Goose  19
Wood Duck  6
Mallard  2
Mourning Dove  2
Least Sandpiper  3     
Spotted Sandpiper  3
Solitary Sandpiper  2
Great Blue Heron  1
Osprey  1
Bald Eagle  1
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Red-headed Woodpecker  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  4
Downy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  7
Great Crested Flycatcher  3     Heard
Eastern Kingbird  1
White-eyed Vireo  10
Blue Jay  4
American Crow  1     Heard
Common Raven  3      One near parking lot 2 over Forty Acre Pond
Carolina Chickadee  4
Tufted Titmouse  6
Tree Swallow  2
Bank Swallow  1     
Barn Swallow  4
Red-breasted Nuthatch  2     Heard CM Lake & Hawkin Road
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  8
Carolina Wren  3     Heard
European Starling  6
Gray Catbird  10
Brown Thrasher  3
Northern Mockingbird  1
Eastern Bluebird  1
Wood Thrush  2     Heard
American Robin  10
Chipping Sparrow  3
Field Sparrow  1     Heard
White-throated Sparrow  1
Swamp Sparrow  1
Eastern Towhee  15
Baltimore Oriole  1
Red-winged Blackbird  25
Ovenbird  20
Black-and-white Warbler  5
Common Yellowthroat  30
Hooded Warbler  1    
Pine Warbler  5
Yellow-rumped Warbler  4
Prairie Warbler  4
Northern Cardinal  4
Blue Grosbeak  1