Whitesbog 3/13--Eastern Phoebe

Fee-Bee!

After my automotive debacle yesterday, I got right back on the horse and returned to Whitesbog this morning.  Again, I stopped at the Lower Bog, hoping for snipe, and again, I found that the only shorebirds were Killdeer. But, since the supervisor told me yesterday that he was going to keep the bog lowered for a while, some spring shorebirds there are a distinct possibility. I moved on to "my" parking spot, on the border of Burlington and Ocean Counties, and walked around the Ocean County side for a few hours. I really wasn't expecting much, so I was happy with the ducks I was finding in odd corners of reservoirs--the ducks are usually on the Burlco side. I was especially pleased to scare up (literally) a couple of Wood Ducks in a quiet pool off a trail used mostly by fishermen. 

I was walking along the dike that runs between the Upper Reservoir and a smaller reservoir when I thought I heard a harsh "fee-bee," coming from the woods at the edge of the water. It was pretty faint, at first, but as I got into the pines there, it got louder and louder, until it seemed like the bird--obviously, an Eastern Phoebe--was right on top of me. A little beyond where I was, as the corner of the road, is a usually reliable spot for nesters--there is a concrete structure over the water there that would make a good nesting spot (phoebes used to be called Bridge Peewees for their habit of building nests beneath bridges), and I walked around there, peering up into the pines. Finally, almost by accident, I found the singing bird (if you want to call that singing) high atop a pine. Unfortunately, my camera battery had died an hour ago, so all I could do was take the laughably bad picture on the left with my phone. Still, year bird and in the county no less, and no one had to tow me out of the muck today. 

25 species on the Ocean County side:

Wood Duck  2
Mallard  11
American Black Duck  11
Ring-necked Duck  7
Bufflehead  17
Hooded Merganser  4
Mourning Dove  2
Killdeer  1
Belted Kingfisher  2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1     Upper reservoir
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Hairy Woodpecker  1     Recorded
Northern Flicker  1
Eastern Phoebe  1
American Crow  2
Carolina Chickadee  15
Tufted Titmouse  2
Tree Swallow  3
Golden-crowned Kinglet  1
Eastern Bluebird  1
Dark-eyed Junco  2
Song Sparrow  5
Swamp Sparrow  2     Breached bog & Big Tank
Red-winged Blackbird  25
Pine Warbler  3