LBI 3/16--King Eider, Piping Plover, Osprey

I met my buddy Bob Auster at Barnegat Lighthouse SP this morning for some late-winter birding. We were especially interested in finding one of the long-staying King Eiders. Whenever either of us has been there this year, the seas have been too rough to find any rarities riding the troughs of the waves. Fortunately, today the water seemed calmer when started walking along (not on) the jetty, but the swells got impressive when got to the mouth of the inlet. Off the end of the north jetty (Island Beach SP) there was a flock of Common Eiders, and in amongst them we could, fleetingly, find a smaller, browner duck with a rounder head, and shorter bill without as much slope to it as a Common Eider. Since we were both finding the bird independently of each other, we were confident in our identification as a (oxymoron alert) hen King. 

Piping Plover

Just before we had climbed onto the jetty, we had seen our first Piping Plover of the year nestled down in the sand, practically invisible among the broken shells. We'd probably have overlooked it had not another birder brought it to our attention. These threatened shorebirds are just adorable, though apparently not adorable enough that they don't need constant protection provided by beach monitors and cordoned off areas that piss off people who think it is their constitutional right to either have their dogs run wild on the sand or to drive their vehicles along the beach. I remember that once a big-time ad executive who had a house on Long Island threw a hissy fit because he couldn't shoot off fireworks on the beach in front of his house since the plovers had scratched out their nests there.  Too effin bad, sez I. 

We found most of the expected birds there, though not in great numbers--only a few Purple Sandpipers when a couple of weeks ago we had close to 150; probably about half the number of Long-tailed Ducks than our previous visit. There were a good number of Harlequin Ducks still around, though it was hard to get good looks at them as most of them were bobbing in the breakers at the end of the old 8th Street jetty. They and the Purple Sandpipers will be gone soon. And now that I've ticked my Piping Plover, unless something exceptional shows up, there is no compelling reason to go there for the rest of the year (though I'm certain I will). 

After lunch and a walk along the concrete walkway where we got some good looks at molting Common Loons, we headed south, making stops at the usual spots. We were hoping for the Tricolored Heron that had been seen earlier in the week at the Bayview Marina, but dipped on that one--Tricolors are more important to Bob, who lives in Somerset County, than to me--they're an easy bird for me compared to the driving he has to do to get one.

Bye-bye Osprey

Another mile south and we came to the Bayview Avenue Park, where in the past we've seen Tricolors. Dipped again on that, but we did see our FOY Osprey sitting on a platform. Of the raptors that I don't care about, Osprey heads the list--they and eagles are too charismatic for me to care about but I traditionally take one picture of the first one I see, which should stand in for the billion pictures of Ospreys that will be taken this year--which will look like the billion pictures taken last year, which will look like the billions upon billions of pictures taken in all the previous years since photography was invented--but the bird flew off just as I raised my camera.  Bob cracked up. Ain't that the way? 

Our last stop was Harvey Cedars--Sunset Park, the winter goldeneye spot, but they seem to have left already. The oddest bird we saw today was Surf Scoter drake in the cove. Very odd to find a "skunk-head" in the bay instead of the surf. It was definitely a patch bird for me. 

For the day I tallied 52 species--the Peregrine Falcon was sitting on the hacking tower on Cedar Bonnet Island--I caught a look at it as I drove over the causeway. It isn't distracted driving; it's distracted birding. 

Species    Location
Brant    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Canada Goose    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Mute Swan    Sunset Park
Mallard    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
American Black Duck    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Greater Scaup    Sunset Park
Lesser Scaup    Bayview Ave Park
King Eider    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Common Eider    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Harlequin Duck    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Surf Scoter    Sunset Park
Black Scoter    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Long-tailed Duck    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Bufflehead    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Red-breasted Merganser    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Mourning Dove    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
American Oystercatcher    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Killdeer    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Piping Plover    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Ruddy Turnstone    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Purple Sandpiper    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Herring Gull    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Great Black-backed Gull    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Red-throated Loon    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Common Loon    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Northern Gannet    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Great Cormorant    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Double-crested Cormorant    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Great Blue Heron    Bayview Ave Marina
Osprey    Bayview Ave Park
Northern Flicker    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Peregrine Falcon    Cedar Bonnet Island
Blue Jay    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
American Crow    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Fish Crow    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Common Raven    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Carolina Chickadee    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Carolina Wren    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
European Starling    Sunset Park
Northern Mockingbird    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Hermit Thrush    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
American Robin    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
House Sparrow    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
House Finch    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
White-throated Sparrow    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Song Sparrow    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Red-winged Blackbird    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Brown-headed Cowbird    Sunset Park