PWBC 2/4--Great Horned Owl

Because most of the Pine Barrens lie outside any Christmas Bird Count circles, for the last 9 years Jim Schill has organized a Pinelands Winter Bird Census the week before the Super Bowl. Twice in the last week I was at Whitesbog scouting my territory for the census, both times starting way before daybreak, listening for owls in all my usual spots: Behind the Barrel Factory, the Triangle Field, at the entrance to the bogs from the Village, at the parking spot by the Middle Bog, and at the double-laned road. Both times I heard nothing, despite repeatedly playing various hoots, trills, and whinnies through a blue tooth speaker. This morning I got there even earlier than the previous two times and decided to try different spots. Driving in on the road along Rome Pond I stopped and played some hoots--and was rewarded at 5:19 by the responding hoots of a Great Horned Owl. At 5:30 I stopped at the double-laned road which is the de facto border between Burlington and Ocean Counties. I intended to try for owls in Ocean but played some hoots and whinnies. Two minutes later the hoots got another GHOW calling back. Whether it was in Burlington or Ocean I couldn't tell, but since eBird is a survey of where your feet are, not where the bird may be, I was able to list it for both counties by walking 50 feet to my east. A crescent moon lit my way. 

I then drove into the Ocean County portion of Whitesbog, hoping to get Eastern Screech Owl and Barred Owl to call. Barred Owl was a long shot--once, many years ago, I heard one there, but my informant there once told me that they nested behind Big Tank, so I drove up there and played "Who cooks for you?" a number of times and got no response. That didn't surprise me or really even disappoint me. Not getting any screech owls did disappoint me. I had to remind myself that most of the time on the census, I would get one or the other of the owls--only once, maybe twice, have I heard both. 

By 6:30 it was getting light, though sunrise was a little more than a half hour away. I futilely tried the Triangle Field for screech before driving into the Village with a zip-loc bag of seeds that I used to replenish the feeders there, figuring I would come back later and pick up the easy birds. On a census, every bird is equally important (though there is an Orwellian sense that some birds are equally more important).

25% of the Tundra Swans counted today

I then drove out to the bogs to survey the waterfowl. That didn't take long because I can count to 8 pretty fast. That's how many Tundra Swans were on Union Pond. Time was, Sonny, that it was nothing for this old-timer to get 30, 40, even 80 Tundra Swans on Union and the 3 adjacent bogs, not mention birds on the Upper Reservoir. But the last couple of years have seen their numbers plummet. 8 is about as small a number as I can remember--even yesterday I had 11. There were lots of geese, a few Mallards, and some Ring-neck Ducks.  Even the Hooded Mergansers I had been seeing lately had disappeared. 

Reinforcements arrived around 8:30 in the persons of Scott and Deb. Last year, when I couldn't do the census because it fell on Shari's significant birthday, Scott filled in for me, and I was happy to have their company and their eyes and ears. I probably would have missed the siskins zipping overhead and Deb found cowbirds at the feeders when I was looking elsewhere. And where I might have had one Hermit Thrush, with Scott we had 5. 

We walked a goodly amount in Whitebog on both sides of the borderline, picking up dribs of black ducks in Ditch Meadow and drabs of Buffleheads over on the Ocean County side. After we'd exhausted Whitesbog, we drove over to Pasadena Road which runs along J.J. White's property and it was there than we finally had our first raptor (not counting Turkey Vultures) of the day, a Red-tailed Hawk. It was there also that we finally got a Carolina Wren and most of our sparrows, including 9 Field Sparrows. The last new bird of the day was an American Kestrel Deb found on the roof of a shed as we were driving out. 

I drove over to Country Lake Estates to look at the eponymous lake--bupkus--a vulture and two geese. This I took as a signal from the birding gods to give it up, go home, and drink a beer. 

For the day 42 species, which is actually a little more, I think, than I normally tally:

Species                First Sighting
Canada Goose   Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)
Tundra Swan   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Mallard   Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)
American Black Duck   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Ring-necked Duck   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Bufflehead   Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)
Mourning Dove   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Herring Gull   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Turkey Vulture   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Red-tailed Hawk   Pasadena Road
Great Horned Owl   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Belted Kingfisher   Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Hairy Woodpecker   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Northern Flicker   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
American Kestrel   Pasadena Road
Blue Jay   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
American Crow   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Common Raven   Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)
Carolina Chickadee   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Tufted Titmouse   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Golden-crowned Kinglet   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
White-breasted Nuthatch   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Carolina Wren   Pasadena Road
European Starling   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Northern Mockingbird   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Eastern Bluebird   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Hermit Thrush   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
American Robin   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
House Finch   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Pine Siskin   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
American Goldfinch   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Field Sparrow   Pasadena Road
Fox Sparrow   Pasadena Road
Dark-eyed Junco   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
White-throated Sparrow   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Song Sparrow   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Red-winged Blackbird   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Brown-headed Cowbird   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Northern Cardinal   Whitesbog (Burlington County)