November in Review--A Make-do Month

Or catch as catch can, not to be confused with Ketchikan in Alaska. Because my uxorious duties came first this month, ferrying Shari to doctor appointments, physical therapy, and outings to friends, as well as staying close to home to assist her with quotidian tasks, I had to squeeze in my birding with make do spots, like the pond on Stonybrook, or the Whiting WMA behind the house. Even when I felt comfortable enough to leave her, early in the morning, I didn't want to stray too far from home in case I had to get back fast (which, happily, never happened). 

Hooded Mergansers, Pond on Stonybrook

Belted Kingfisher, Pond on Stonybrook

Great Egret, Pond on Stonybrook

So, I found my amusements where I could, whether it was Hooded Mergansers, a late Great Egret, and a Belted Kingfisher on the Stonybrook retention pond, or fighting young tom turkeys this afternoon in the back yard. Of the four year-birds added this month, the most spectacular was New Jersey's first Limpkin, which I was lucky enough to see just two days before the Monmouth SPCA determined it was malnourished (no apple snails hereabouts) and dehydrated and brought it to an avian rehabilitator. (What the rehabilitator will do if the bird gets well is an open question. I doubt there are funds to fly it back to Florida. Mike's suggestion was to donate it to a zoo.)

Young toms fighting in the backyard.

But the bird that pleased me the most was the American Pipit I found one morning last week at Whitesbog on the dam between the Lower & Middle Bogs. I was driving along when I saw a bird in front of me bobbing its tail. My first thought was Palm Warbler (tail bobbing) but I immediately saw it was too big and not yellow and said "Pipit" to myself just as it flew away, flashing its white outer tail feathers. I go long periods between pipit sightings, and to find one "on my own" is much more pleasurable than having it pointed out to me, or, more typically, have its call identified as it zips overhead. 

The dearth of waterfowl at Whitesbog, Reeves Bogs, Double Trouble, and Colliers Mills has been extremely disappointing, and the tiny numbers of Tundra Swans disturbing. I found I was only listing about half the number of species that I would expect of whatever kind of bird in all these places. Even our feeders have not been very active of late. So, with those conditions, it doesn't surprise me that my 107 species this month is the lowest November number I've had since 2012, and back then, I'd skip a day or two of birding. 

Counties birded: Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean

Species   First Sighting
Brant   Island Beach SP
Canada Goose   Berkeley Island County Park
Mute Swan   Wrangle Brook
Tundra Swan   Whitesbog
Wood Duck   Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Shoveler   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
Gadwall   Colliers Mills WMA
Mallard   Horicon Lake
American Black Duck   Double Trouble SP
Green-winged Teal   Double Trouble SP
Canvasback   Whitesbog
Ring-necked Duck   Whitesbog
Black Scoter   Island Beach SP
Bufflehead   Colliers Mills WMA
Hooded Merganser   Crestwood Village
Red-breasted Merganser   Island Beach SP
Ruddy Duck   Whitesbog
Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd
Ring-necked Pheasant   Colliers Mills WMA
Pied-billed Grebe   Whitesbog
Rock Pigeon   Wawa South Toms River
Mourning Dove   Berkeley Island County Park
American Coot   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
Limpkin   Manasquan
Killdeer   Horicon Lake
Greater Yellowlegs   Cranberry Bogs
Sanderling   Island Beach SP
Dunlin   Island Beach SP
Pectoral Sandpiper   Whitesbog
Parasitic Jaeger   Island Beach SP
Bonaparte's Gull   Island Beach SP
Laughing Gull   Berkeley Island County Park
Ring-billed Gull   Monmouth Medical Center
Herring Gull   Berkeley Island County Park
Great Black-backed Gull   Island Beach SP
Lesser Black-backed Gull   Island Beach SP
Forster's Tern   Island Beach SP
Royal Tern   Island Beach SP
Red-throated Loon   Island Beach SP
Common Loon   Berkeley Island County Park
Northern Gannet   Island Beach SP
Double-crested Cormorant   Berkeley Island County Park
Brown Pelican   Island Beach SP
Great Egret   Island Beach SP
Great Blue Heron   Berkeley Island County Park
Black Vulture   Crestwood Village
Turkey Vulture   Ephraim P. Emson Preserve
Northern Harrier   Island Beach SP
Sharp-shinned Hawk   Island Beach SP
Cooper's Hawk   35 Sunset Rd
Bald Eagle   Whitesbog
Red-tailed Hawk   Colliers Mills WMA
Rough-legged Hawk   BC Fairgrounds
Great Horned Owl   35 Sunset Rd
Belted Kingfisher   Colliers Mills WMA
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd
Downy Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker   Double Trouble SP
Northern Flicker   Double Trouble SP
Merlin   Island Beach SP
Peregrine Falcon   Island Beach SP
Eastern Phoebe   Double Trouble SP
Blue Jay   35 Sunset Rd
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow   BC Fairgrounds
Common Raven   Cranberry Bogs
Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd
Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd
Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Colliers Mills WMA
Golden-crowned Kinglet   Double Trouble SP
White-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd
Red-breasted Nuthatch   Island Beach SP
Brown Creeper   35 Sunset Rd
Winter Wren   Double Trouble SP
Carolina Wren   Double Trouble SP
European Starling   Colliers Mills WMA
Gray Catbird   Island Beach SP
Brown Thrasher   Island Beach SP
Northern Mockingbird   Berkeley Island County Park
Eastern Bluebird   Colliers Mills WMA
Hermit Thrush   Double Trouble SP
American Robin   Double Trouble SP
Cedar Waxwing   Colliers Mills WMA
House Sparrow   Monmouth Medical Center
American Pipit   Whitesbog
House Finch   Berkeley Island County Park
Pine Siskin   Cranberry Bogs
American Goldfinch   Colliers Mills WMA
Chipping Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Field Sparrow   Ephraim P. Emson Preserve
Dark-eyed Junco   Berkeley Island County Park
White-throated Sparrow   Berkeley Island County Park
Savannah Sparrow   Double Trouble SP
Song Sparrow   Berkeley Island County Park
Swamp Sparrow   Berkeley Island County Park
Eastern Towhee   Double Trouble SP
Eastern Meadowlark   BC Fairgrounds
Baltimore Oriole   Eno's Pond
Red-winged Blackbird   Berkeley Island County Park
Brown-headed Cowbird   Colliers Mills WMA
Common Grackle   Colliers Mills WMA
Common Yellowthroat   Island Beach SP
Palm Warbler   Double Trouble SP
Pine Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Double Trouble SP
Northern Cardinal   Double Trouble SP