September: Stumbled Upon Birds...& Just Plain Stumbling

Great Blue Heron watching cranberry harvest at Whitesbog

Of the measly 6 new species I added to my year list in September, 5 of them were "stumble upon" birds--birds I wasn't even thinking about when I just happened to find them. I don't expect to see a Clay-colored Sparrow beneath the feeders at Cattus Island (there's never been one reported there before), nor do I expect to see a Lincoln's Sparrow jump up from a pile of pallets in an equipment yard along the Union Transportation Trail.  Yet, there they were. A Connecticut Warbler in the road to the Winter Anchorage? Not likely. Broad-winged Hawk was so far from my mind that it took me a moment to register the one flying right over me at the cranberry bogs in South Toms River. I will admit I wasn't completely surprised when I found a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher on the Ocean County side of Whitesbog--I'd seen one before, two years ago very close to where I found it this year, and birding superstition compels one to look for what you've seen before in the same spot, no matter how unlikely the prospect. Sometimes it works. While it wasn't a year bird, I did stumble upon an Orange-crowned Warbler way back in an unnamed pond at Colliers Mills--another bird that was far from my thoughts when I set out that morning. The only bird that I didn't find on my own was a Bay-breasted Warbler at Island Beach on Scott's trip there and I was mildly surprised to find that it was new for year. 

Scarlet Tanager, Colliers Mills

I don't know if migration was good or bad this month. Probably bad if you talk to any birder who looks at BirdCast and takes it seriously. I look at BirdCast occasionally and it only provokes frustration. It will say something like "176,000 birds have crossed Ocean County this evening." I don't care how many birds have crossed Ocean County. Tell me how many have landed. Whatever migration was, I didn't see much of it, stubbornly sticking to my routine of going to places I like and hoping the birds will likewise find it appealing. 

And while we're on the subject of stumbling...One place I really like, but have to think twice, thrice about, from here on out, is Jumping Brook Preserve. Not only have the trails become rivers, thanks to the busy beavers, but with all the rain this month, ditches that were once easy to step over have widened to a precarious width. A couple of weeks ago I was walking around one of the bogs, carefully stepping over the little breaches, when I came to one that has always given me pause. It has been wider than the others, but I could make it across pretty easily with one bold step. However, this time, it appeared even more of a breach than previous, and the hard vegetation that I used to step on, looked soft from the rain. I had just said to myself, "Nope, don't think I can make it across this time," when the bank gave out under my foot and I slipped into the bog, almost up to my waist. My Muck Boots were flooded. I hauled myself out and slapped my left pocket--good, wallet and car fob were dry. Slapped my right pocket: phone was gone. Somehow, it had slipped or floated out of my pocket when I hit the water and was now down in 3 or 4 feet of mud. Let me tell you, folks, even with insurance, replacing a phone is not fun and not easy. And, if you're like me, and have outsourced most of your brain to your phone, for 3 days you feel pretty stupid, if you didn't feel like a complete dope already having skidded into a ditch. 

For the month: 137 species

Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean

Species                First Sighting
Canada Goose   Cranberry Bogs
Mute Swan   Manahawkin WMA
Wood Duck   Whitesbog
Blue-winged Teal   Manahawkin WMA
Mallard   Reeves Bogs
American Black Duck   Brig
Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd
Pied-billed Grebe   Double Trouble SP
Eared Grebe   Brig
Rock Pigeon   Jarvis Sound
Mourning Dove   Whitesbog
Yellow-billed Cuckoo   Island Beach SP
Common Nighthawk   Whitesbog
Chimney Swift   Whitesbog
Ruby-throated Hummingbird   35 Sunset Rd
Clapper Rail   Great Bay Blvd
Sora   Brig
American Oystercatcher   Island Beach SP
Black-bellied Plover   Great Bay Blvd
Semipalmated Plover   Great Bay Blvd
Killdeer   Whitesbog
Ruddy Turnstone   Great Bay Blvd
Sanderling   Island Beach SP
Least Sandpiper   Great Bay Blvd
White-rumped Sandpiper   Brig
Semipalmated Sandpiper   Island Beach SP
Short-billed Dowitcher   Brig
Long-billed Dowitcher   Great Bay Blvd
Spotted Sandpiper   Whitesbog
Solitary Sandpiper   Whitesbog
Greater Yellowlegs   Whitesbog
Willet   Island Beach SP
Lesser Yellowlegs   Great Bay Blvd
Bonaparte's Gull   Island Beach SP
Laughing Gull   Great Bay Blvd
Ring-billed Gull   Island Beach SP
Herring Gull   Great Bay Blvd
Great Black-backed Gull   Great Bay Blvd
Caspian Tern   Island Beach SP
Common Tern   Great Bay Blvd
Forster's Tern   Great Bay Blvd
Royal Tern   Great Bay Blvd
Black Skimmer   Brig
Common Loon   Island Beach SP
Double-crested Cormorant   Whitesbog
Brown Pelican   Island Beach SP
Great Blue Heron   Cranberry Bogs
Great Egret   Great Bay Blvd
Snowy Egret   Great Bay Blvd
Little Blue Heron   Great Bay Blvd
Tricolored Heron   Great Bay Blvd
Green Heron   Whitesbog
Black-crowned Night-Heron   Great Bay Blvd
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron   Great Bay Blvd
White Ibis   Brig
Glossy Ibis   Brig
Black Vulture   Bay Pkwy
Turkey Vulture   Whitesbog
Osprey   Great Bay Blvd
Cooper's Hawk   35 Sunset Rd
Bald Eagle   Brig
Red-shouldered Hawk   Whitesbog
Broad-winged Hawk   Cranberry Bogs
Red-tailed Hawk   Cranberry Bogs
Belted Kingfisher   Reeves Bogs
Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Cranberry Bogs
Downy Woodpecker   Cranberry Bogs
Hairy Woodpecker   Cattus Island County Park
Northern Flicker   Whitesbog
Merlin   Reeves Bogs
Peregrine Falcon   Island Beach SP
Eastern Wood-Pewee   Whitesbog
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher   Whitesbog
Eastern Phoebe   Whitesbog
Great Crested Flycatcher   Cranberry Bogs
Eastern Kingbird   Cranberry Bogs
White-eyed Vireo   Island Beach SP
Yellow-throated Vireo   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-eyed Vireo   Cattus Island County Park
Blue Jay   35 Sunset Rd
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow   Whitesbog
Common Raven   Whitesbog
Carolina Chickadee   Whitesbog
Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd
Purple Martin   Cranberry Bogs
Tree Swallow   Whitesbog
Barn Swallow   Reeves Bogs
White-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Cranberry Bogs
House Wren   Cranberry Bogs
Marsh Wren   Great Bay Blvd
Carolina Wren   35 Sunset Rd
European Starling   Great Bay Blvd
Gray Catbird   Whitesbog
Brown Thrasher   Whitesbog
Northern Mockingbird   Island Beach SP
Eastern Bluebird   Cranberry Bogs
Veery   Jumping Brook Preserve
American Robin   Whitesbog
Cedar Waxwing   Cedar Bonnet Island
House Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
House Finch   35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd
Chipping Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
Clay-colored Sparrow   Cattus Island County Park
Field Sparrow   Union Transportation Trail
Seaside Sparrow   Island Beach SP
Saltmarsh Sparrow   Great Bay Blvd
Savannah Sparrow   Cedar Bonnet Island
Song Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
Lincoln's Sparrow   Union Transportation Trail
Swamp Sparrow   Whitesbog
Eastern Towhee   35 Sunset Rd
Baltimore Oriole   Island Beach SP
Red-winged Blackbird   Great Bay Blvd
Common Grackle   35 Sunset Rd
Boat-tailed Grackle   Great Bay Blvd
Northern Waterthrush   Island Beach SP
Black-and-white Warbler   Island Beach SP
Orange-crowned Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA
Connecticut Warbler   Island Beach SP
Common Yellowthroat   Whitesbog
American Redstart   Cedar Bonnet Island
Cape May Warbler   Cedar Bonnet Island
Northern Parula   Double Trouble SP
Bay-breasted Warbler   Island Beach SP
Yellow Warbler   Reeves Bogs
Blackpoll Warbler   Island Beach SP
Black-throated Blue Warbler   Cedar Bonnet Island
Palm Warbler   Cranberry Bogs
Pine Warbler   35 Sunset Rd
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Whitesbog
Prairie Warbler   Cranberry Bogs
Scarlet Tanager   Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Cardinal   Cranberry Bogs

Great Egret, Cedar Bonnet Island