Cedar Point 7/7--Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Late in the afternoon on July 4th, I saw an alert for Black-bellied Whistling-Duck at a marina in an obscure (to me) part of South Toms River. This is one of those goofy species that never fail to amuse me. The marina was only about 20 minutes away, the alert was fairly fresh, and I could listen to the Mets game on the radio while I drove. 

I hadn't taken into consideration that the 4th of July festivities would be about to begin. The marina, which somehow, I imagined as a small spot, was extensive, and everyone was out in front of their docked yachts, barbecuing. I didn't feel comfortable walking around with binoculars. I was hoping the duck, which was associating with a group of Mallards, both wild and domestic, would be obvious and quick. It wasn't. I spent almost an hour walking around both the marina and the shore of the Toms River, but the only small flock of Mallards I found had no BBWD. I gave up. The Mets game was still on. 

When I got home, more alerts came in, all from the time just before I arrived. One of them mentioned that just before I got there, "some idiots" had thrown firecrackers at the ducks and that they'd flown off. It's the 4th of July in Ocean County. I expect no less. 

Okay, so an hour and a half out of my life and the Mets won. Wednesday, though, more reports. The duck was back. One of the reports mentioned that the duck had, "according to locals" been there for weeks. This isn't surprising. BBWD tend to stick around.  The retention pond in Delaware near Bombay Hook has hosted a flock of them for the last 3 years. 

Yesterday, I awoke at 5 AM and decided to try again. The morning was extremely foggy but I did find a large flock of Mallards, which weren't shy about approaching me for a handout. The BBWD, sadly, wasn't with them. I walked up a path toward what I imagine is the actual Cedar Point, when a South Toms River cop in a patrol car honked at me. I explained what I was doing and he warned me to be careful because homeless people camped back there. I hadn't seen any, but it wouldn't be the first time I trudged through a homeless encampment to find a rare bird (Brooklyn, Western Reef-Heron). After an hour I gave up. 

And still, late in Thursday afternoon, reports came in. I really like Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks (just look at it) and I haven't had a new bird for the year list in a few weeks. Today, after my walk at Double Trouble, I made the 10 minute drive again to Crabbe Road (I assume this street is named for the same Crabbe family that once ran Double Trouble both as a sawmill and a cranberry farm), drove to its end, and before I got out of the car, saw a flock of ducks, both wild and domestic, waddling into the water from the boat launch and there, among them, was the BBWD. I took my photos, made my list, and left, fully aware that this isn't birding, it's driving.