April Recap--Migration Begins

Common Yellowthroat, Double Trouble SP

 I thought my last new bird for the year this month was going to be the Blue-winged Warbler (chased by a very territorial Prairie Warbler) that I saw this morning at the Manasquan River WMA (where they are the house specialty), but this afternoon Shari called me to come outside and finally I saw a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, which she has been seeing, periodically, for the last two weeks. That made 135 for the cruelest month, and 36 year birds.

Judging from the reports the last couple of days from the migration traps like Reed's Road on Island Beach and Cedar Bonnet Island, migration has begun in earnest. I think I'm doing pretty good with 40+ species in my favorite spots and then I see friends of mine tallying numbers in the 80's. It recalls the Third Law of Birding:

    Wherever you are, you should be someplace else.

In our backyard we have had Pine Siskins at the tube feeders every day, and every day I list them--up until today they were flagged as "infrequent" on eBird (meaning that in a 3 week window--2 back, 1 forward--they aren't listed much), but today they popped up as "rare." Considering that most years we go without seeing any siskins, having them in the spring is kind of treat. The whip-poor-will is a constant presence, and the other day I went into the kitchen to find a turkey standing on the stoop, looking through the screen door, waiting to be fed. Shari got so annoyed with me feeding them that she went out and bought "cheap" seed for them. When I think of how much money we spend feeding these birds, it goes dark behind my eyes. 

Counties birded: Burlington, Cape May, Ocean
Species        First Sighting
Brant   Island Beach SP
Canada Goose   Double Trouble SP
Mute Swan   Golden Drive
Wood Duck   Cranberry Bogs
Northern Shoveler   Great Bay Bvld
Mallard   Cranberry Bogs
American Black Duck   Cranberry Bogs
Northern Pintail   Island Beach SP
Green-winged Teal   Island Beach SP
Ring-necked Duck   Cranberry Bogs
Greater Scaup   Island Beach SP
Lesser Scaup   Island Beach SP
Long-tailed Duck   Island Beach SP
Bufflehead   Cranberry Bogs
Hooded Merganser   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-breasted Merganser   Island Beach SP
Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd
Pied-billed Grebe   Cranberry Bogs
Horned Grebe   Island Beach SP
Rock Pigeon   South Toms River
Mourning Dove   35 Sunset Rd
Eastern Whip-poor-will   35 Sunset Rd
Chimney Swift   Cranberry Bogs
Ruby-throated Hummingbird   35 Sunset Rd
Clapper Rail   Ocean City Welcome Center
Sora   Whitesbog
American Oystercatcher   Island Beach SP
Black-bellied Plover   Island Beach SP
Killdeer   Cranberry Bogs
Wilson's Snipe   Cranberry Bogs
Solitary Sandpiper   Colliers Mills WMA
Lesser Yellowlegs   Double Trouble SP
Willet   Cedar Bonnet Island
Greater Yellowlegs   Double Trouble SP
Dunlin   Island Beach SP
Laughing Gull   Mathis Veteran's Memorial Park
Ring-billed Gull   Mathis Veteran's Memorial Park
Herring Gull   Double Trouble SP
Great Black-backed Gull   Island Beach SP
Caspian Tern   Great Bay Bvld
Forster's Tern   Island Beach SP
Common Loon   Island Beach SP
Double-crested Cormorant   Mathis Veteran's Memorial Park
Yellow-crowned Night Heron   Ocean City Welcome Center
Black-crowned Night Heron   Ocean City Welcome Center
Little Blue Heron   Island Beach SP
Tricolored Heron   Cattus Island County Park
Snowy Egret   Cattus Island County Park
Green Heron   Reeves Bogs
Great Egret   Cranberry Bogs
Great Blue Heron   Colliers Mills WMA
White Ibis   Island Beach SP
Glossy Ibis   Island Beach SP
Black Vulture   Cranberry Bogs
Turkey Vulture   Whitesbog
Osprey   Shelter Cove Park
Northern Harrier   Whitesbog
Sharp-shinned Hawk   Cedar Bonnet Island
Cooper's Hawk   Colliers Mills WMA
Bald Eagle   Jumping Brook Preserve
Red-shouldered Hawk   Jumping Brook Preserve
Red-tailed Hawk   Cranberry Bogs
Belted Kingfisher   Whitesbog
Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Double Trouble SP
Downy Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker   Double Trouble SP
Northern Flicker   Cranberry Bogs
American Kestrel   Colliers Mills WMA
Merlin   Cranberry Bogs
Peregrine Falcon   Island Beach SP
Eastern Phoebe   Cranberry Bogs
Great Crested Flycatcher   Reeves Bogs
Eastern Kingbird   Cranberry Bogs
White-eyed Vireo   Island Beach SP
Blue-headed Vireo   Cedar Bonnet Island
Red-eyed Vireo   Island Beach SP
Blue Jay   Cranberry Bogs
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Common Raven   Double Trouble SP
Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd
Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd
Tree Swallow   Cranberry Bogs
Purple Martin   Jumping Brook Preserve
Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Cranberry Bogs
Barn Swallow   Cranberry Bogs
Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Whitesbog
Golden-crowned Kinglet   Cranberry Bogs
White-breasted Nuthatch   Double Trouble SP
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Double Trouble SP
House Wren   Cranberry Bogs
Carolina Wren   35 Sunset Rd
European Starling   35 Sunset Rd
Gray Catbird   Island Beach SP
Brown Thrasher   Island Beach SP
Northern Mockingbird   Shelter Cove Park
Eastern Bluebird   35 Sunset Rd
Hermit Thrush   Island Beach SP
Wood Thrush   Colliers Mills WMA
American Robin   35 Sunset Rd
Cedar Waxwing   Island Beach SP
House Sparrow   Mathis Veteran's Memorial Park
House Finch   Cranberry Bogs
Pine Siskin   35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd
Chipping Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
Field Sparrow   Cranberry Bogs
Fox Sparrow   Double Trouble SP
Dark-eyed Junco   35 Sunset Rd
White-throated Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
Seaside Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld
Savannah Sparrow   Shelter Cove Park
Song Sparrow   Cranberry Bogs
Swamp Sparrow   Cranberry Bogs
Eastern Towhee   Colliers Mills WMA
Baltimore Oriole   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-winged Blackbird   Cranberry Bogs
Brown-headed Cowbird   Double Trouble SP
Common Grackle   Whitesbog
Boat-tailed Grackle   Island Beach SP
Ovenbird   Double Trouble SP
Worm-eating Warbler   Double Trouble SP
Blue-winged Warbler   Manasquan River WMA
Black-and-white Warbler   Jumping Brook Preserve
Common Yellowthroat   Whitesbog
Hooded Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Parula   Manasquan River WMA
Yellow Warbler   Whitesbog
Palm Warbler   Jumping Brook Preserve
Pine Warbler   35 Sunset Rd
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Cranberry Bogs
Prairie Warbler   Double Trouble SP
Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd
Rose-breasted Grosbeak   35 Sunset Rd

Palm Warbler, Island Beach SP

Colliers Mills 4/29--Solitary Sandpiper, Wood Thrush, Baltimore Oriole, Hooded Warbler

Solitary Sandpiper

The water at the southern end of Turnmill Pond in Colliers Mills, flows under a berm and into another, smaller, nameless pond. That pond, in turn, flows into a couple of marshy areas, which eventually spread out into a much larger pond. Someone there once told me that this terminal pond, which empties into the Borden Branch, is called Forty Acre Pond. How true that is I don't know, but that's how I refer to it in my eBird reports. Kind of passive aggressive if you're looking for it on a map. 

Ring-necked Duck

That's where most of the interesting birds were today. It's a bit of hike back there, but walking is what I do. Aside from Canada Geese, the only other waterfowl I saw today was a Ring-necked Duck on that pond, flagged as rare, since by now you'd expect them all to have made their way back north. While I was documenting the Ring-necked, I heard from the woods behind me my first Wood Thrush of the year. E-olay. 

Then, scanning the mud flats I saw a shorebird. First reaction was Spotted Sandpiper but before I could get a good read on it the bird took off and flew on to a more distant mud flat. However, the fact that it wasn't bobbing its tail and the huge white eye ring I could see in my very distant photos, told me that it was my first Solitary Sandpiper of 2024. Then I found another one, a little closer to where I stood. They were separated enough, though, to maintain their sobriquet. 

I head back toward Hawkin Road and stopped at a stand of mountain laurel (too early to be in bloom). It is here that, for the last few years, I have heard a reliable Hooded Warbler, and today was no exception. The only problem is that I don't think I have ever seen the warbler at this spot. It makes me wonder, too, if it is a returning bird (how long to warblers live?) or if it is just an attractive spot for the species. 

The other new bird for the year was actually the first one I found, a Baltimore Oriole singing high in a tree along what I like to think of as Prairie Warbler Alley. Throw in the Great Crested Flycatchers I heard and saw to add to the county list, and it was a very good day there, with 43 species, though somehow I missed, chickadees, nuthatches, and Song Sparrows. 

Canada Goose  10
Ring-necked Duck  1     
Mourning Dove  5
Killdeer  1
Solitary Sandpiper  2     
Laughing Gull  9     Flyover
Turkey Vulture  1
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Red-headed Woodpecker  2
Red-bellied Woodpecker  7
Downy Woodpecker  1
Hairy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker  3
Eastern Phoebe  1
Great Crested Flycatcher  3
White-eyed Vireo  5
Blue Jay  2
Tufted Titmouse  5
Barn Swallow  4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  5
Carolina Wren  2
European Starling  4
Gray Catbird  8
Brown Thrasher  1
Northern Mockingbird  2
Eastern Bluebird  1
Wood Thrush  1     
American Robin  8
American Goldfinch  1
Chipping Sparrow  5
White-throated Sparrow  3
Eastern Towhee  4
Baltimore Oriole  1
Red-winged Blackbird  25
Brown-headed Cowbird  1
Ovenbird  12
Black-and-white Warbler  4
Common Yellowthroat  15
Hooded Warbler  1     
Pine Warbler  3
Yellow-rumped Warbler  14
Prairie Warbler  4
Northern Cardinal  3

Reeves Bogs 4/28--Green Heron, Great Crested Flycatcher

Great Crested Flycatcher

I hadn't been to Reeves Bogs in more than a month. This morning, I felt up to the slogging through streams running over the dams from one bog to another and crossing the precarious bridges that go over the deeper breaches. I bookended my new year birds there--a Green Heron that flew out of the maple swamp as I started my walk a little after 7, and as was heading back to the car 3+ hours later, I heard a "weep, weep," which took a few moments to register as a Great Crested Flycatcher working the trees that have grown up around the foundation of the old packing house. The Green Heron gave a squawk as it came out of the swamp, flew partly over the bog and then made a U turn, but the flycatcher was fairly easy to track down and photograph. 

I ran into my informant as I often do there on Sundays, and we did a bit of botanizing, he showing me the difference between shadbush and chokeberry.  Shadbush is already fading--it is also known as serviceberry because when it blossomed, it was said, the ground had thawed enough to finally have funeral services that had been delayed all winter. Chokeberry is so named because of the astringent taste of its fruit. "It won't kill you," my informant told me, "But it's pretty bitter." 

I was also surprised to see that the geese already had goslings. It seems pretty early to me and while I've noticed pairs of geese in every pond and lake I've been too, I haven't noticed any geese on nests as I have the swans. Hard to believe that those cute little yellow fluff balls swimming after Mama will in no time grow up to be nuisance shit machines but that's the wonder of nature. 

Lots of singing birds today--Ovenbirds, Prairie Warblers, yellowthroats, Pine Warblers, Swamp Sparrows and of course, blackbirds. Pretty noisy wherever I went.

39 species
Canada Goose  12
Wood Duck  8
Mallard  5
Mourning Dove 4
Killdeer  1
Double-crested Cormorant  1     Milton’s Reservoir
Green Heron  1     
Great Blue Heron  3
Turkey Vulture  1
Osprey  1     Bear Hole
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  5
Great Crested Flycatcher  1
Eastern Kingbird  1
Blue Jay  4
Fish Crow  2
Carolina Chickadee  1
Tufted Titmouse  1
Tree Swallow  25
Barn Swallow  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  2
Gray Catbird  1
Eastern Bluebird  1
American Robin  2
American Goldfinch  2
Chipping Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  2
Swamp Sparrow  4
Eastern Towhee  1
Red-winged Blackbird  25
Brown-headed Cowbird  2
Common Grackle  4
Ovenbird  4
Black-and-white Warbler  10
Common Yellowthroat  20
Palm Warbler  1
Pine Warbler  5
Yellow-rumped Warbler  9
Prairie Warbler  8

Great Bay Blvd 4/27--Caspian Tern, Seaside Sparrow

Caspian Terns (digiscope)

Until a few years ago, I started my list on Great Bay Blvd at the bulwark, just over the first bridge. But then a couple of friends showed me a place in the alley of cedars that line the road before the bridge where you can get a look at Tuckerton Cove--and now I always stop there first because it is a spot where you'll probably find birds that aren't going to appear farther south. Today, it was Green-winged Teals, late Northern Shovelers, and my FOY Caspian Terns.  

When I stopped at the bulwark,
I immediately heard the buzzing of my first Seaside Sparrows. Despite looking for them up and down the road for the 4 plus hours I was there, I couldn't actually put eyes on them, but they're on the list. After that, it was all birds I would expect to find, except for an out of place Field Sparrow at the ever-beeping wind monitoring station (no fields for miles) and a Merlin chasing a Boat-tailed Grackle, just for fun, I imagine.  

36 species
Brant  190
Canada Goose  2
Northern Shoveler  2     
Mallard  14
Green-winged Teal  75     
Red-breasted Merganser  3
Mourning Dove  5
Clapper Rail  4
Black-bellied Plover  40
Willet  22
Greater Yellowlegs  19
Dunlin  300
Laughing Gull  5
Herring Gull  25
Great Black-backed Gull  1
Caspian Tern  3     
Forster's Tern  75
Double-crested Cormorant  10
Snowy Egret  8
Great Egret  30
Osprey  11
Belted Kingfisher  1
Merlin  1
Tree Swallow  2
Barn Swallow  1
Carolina Wren  1
Northern Mockingbird  1
American Robin  1
Field Sparrow  1     
White-throated Sparrow  1
Seaside Sparrow  3
Song Sparrow  6
Red-winged Blackbird  25
Boat-tailed Grackle  75
Common Yellowthroat  4
Northern Cardinal  1

Whitesbog 4/26--Sora, Yellow Warbler

That black bird with red wing patches

I was actually asked a question today that is the punchline of a joke but seems to common one that non-birders ask. I had wandered back past the Upper Reservoir on the Ocean County side of Whitesbog, where I was detained by one of the more long-winded regulars. I saw his pickup truck but there he waved to me before I could make a U-turn. Naturally, he wanted to tell me about the two eagles he'd seen the other day. I told him I was looking for smaller birds, "tweety birds" as my informant calls them. He then asked me what were those "black birds with red patches on their wings." 

A guy with binoculars around his neck goes into a biker bar. A big guy with numerous tattoos comes up to him and asks, "You a birdwatcher?" 

"Yes, I am," he replies.

"Let me ask you a question," the big guy says.

"Of course." 

"What are those black birds with red on their wings?"

"Why, those are Red-winged Blackbirds."

Outraged, the big guy says, "What are you some kind of %&#* wise guy?" 

Which is what I told my interlocutor. He accepted the information without any indication that he saw the humor. 

Brown Thrasher

I had gone to Whitesbog this morning thinking of a number of spots where I might find new birds for the year. I was successful only in the one place in which I felt most confident, around my informant's parking spot, where in the past Yellow Warblers have been known to nest. The area was busy, especially with Tree Swallows and those black birds with red wing patches, along with Common Yellowthroats every 10 feet, as well as a Brown Thrasher high up in a tree out mimicking a Gray Catbird lower down in the branches. And then I heard the Yellow Warbler and with a little searching found it singing in a bush on the far side of a breach. 

The big surprise, though, came about an hour later. I circled around the bogs again and checked out the bogs around the dogleg. This can be a good place for Solitary Sandpipers, but not today, and it is also a spot where I've heard both Virginia and King Rail, but of course, not today. A cormorant flew out of the bog, unusual for Whitesbog, and then I heard the whinny call of a Sora. Played a recording to try to lure it out w/o success. Dismissed it. Walked away and at the other side of the bog heard it again. The second time I did not dismiss it. This is the first record of a Sora at Whitesbog and only the second one I've heard in the county. Of course, it wouldn't whinny when I put on my recorder and of course, like most rails, it was invisible, but the call is too distinct and the habitat too perfect for me doubt myself. Soras have been turning up a bit more frequently in the county of late--there was one at Spizzle Creek this month and one crazy sighting on the jetty at Barnegat Light, proving that any bird can by anywhere. 

40 species
Canada Goose  2
Wood Duck  3
Mallard  4
Mourning Dove  5
Sora  1     I
Double-crested Cormorant  1     
Turkey Vulture  1
Northern Harrier  1     Antrim Bogs
Belted Kingfisher  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  3
Downy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  4
Eastern Kingbird  4
Blue Jay  1
Fish Crow  2
Carolina Chickadee  10
Tufted Titmouse  1
Tree Swallow  35
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  7
Gray Catbird  2
Brown Thrasher  1
Eastern Bluebird  1
American Goldfinch  2
Chipping Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  2
Swamp Sparrow  2
Eastern Towhee  15
Red-winged Blackbird  55
Brown-headed Cowbird  2
Common Grackle  10
Ovenbird  6
Black-and-white Warbler  8
Common Yellowthroat  50
Yellow Warbler  1
Pine Warbler  4
Yellow-rumped Warbler  1
Prairie Warbler  2
Northern Cardinal  1

Cranberry Bogs 4/25--Chimney Swift, Eastern Kingbird, House Wren

House Wren

I always thought that the Second Law of Birding

           You will not see the bird until you have sincerely given up

was only in effect during the day you were chasing a bird. Today, I found out that it applies over the long term. 

This year I have visited, numerous times, the Cranberry Bogs on Dover Road, Shelter Cove in Toms River, the Ocean County side of Whitesbog, and any other place I thought might have a chance of turning up a Wilson's Snipe in the county. Having failed in all those places, I just told myself I wasn't going to see one around here and would have to be satisfied with the one I listed at Brig. At least it was on the year list. 

Today I went to the Cranberry Bogs to look for some new birds and of course, I flushed a snipe out the bog that I usually see them in, the bog I had peered into at least 10 times this year. Remember, your surrender must be sincere.

I had barely exited the car this morning when I got my first year bird there--a singing House Wren across Dover Road. The place I expect to find them, the dilapidated buildings just east of the bogs--a house is a house to a House Wren--had a singing one too that I was able to get a good look at. 

I headed out to the bogs, flushed the snipe, and saw, above a swarm of Tree Swallows, my second year bird of the day, a flying cigar, otherwise known as the Chimney Swift. Naturally, this time of year, almost all the waterfowl are gone. All I saw were Canada Geese, Mallards, and three Wood Ducks that I flushed from the same bog where a Snowy Egret and Great Egret were standing side by side. I tromped around in my muck boots out to the large reservoir and way in the back on a branch of dead tree in the water I found year bird #3, an Eastern Kingbird. I took one blurry picture and my camera battery died. I dislike carrying the camera, which is always slipping off my shoulder. I really dislike carrying a camera with a dead battery. A couple of other birds were semi-interesting, like the Merlin in a treetop on the large reservoir and the Glossy Ibis flying over the bogs, but that was it for the new and exciting.

44 species and no ticks. A good morning. 

Canada Goose  5
Wood Duck  3     
Mallard  3
Mourning Dove  12
Chimney Swift  1
Killdeer  2     Bogs
Wilson's Snipe  1     
Laughing Gull  17
Herring Gull  3
Double-crested Cormorant  1     Large Reservoir
Snowy Egret  1     
Great Egret  3
Great Blue Heron  1
Glossy Ibis  1     
Turkey Vulture  3
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Northern Flicker  1
Merlin  1     
Eastern Kingbird  1
Blue Jay  2
American Crow  1
Fish Crow  1
Common Raven  1     Flying & croaking over bogs
Carolina Chickadee  7
Tree Swallow  30
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  1
Barn Swallow  3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  2
House Wren  2
Carolina Wren  1
European Starling  2
American Robin  1
House Finch  2
Chipping Sparrow  2
Field Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  3
Eastern Towhee  7
Red-winged Blackbird  50
Brown-headed Cowbird  5
Common Grackle  10
Black-and-white Warbler  2
Common Yellowthroat  5
Pine Warbler  3
Northern Cardinal  1

Double Trouble SP | Backyard 4/22--Prairie Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

I suppose it's because impatience is one of my defining characteristics that it seemed urgent this morning at Double Trouble that I at least find a Prairie Warbler there, despite knowing that I'm going to see a Prairie Warbler without a doubt this year, barring getting run over by a backhoe.  So instead of taking my usual route up to Ore Pond and back to the village walking along the canal (where the Louisiana Waterthrush often lurks--and did today but eluded me), I headed straight to the Hurricane Sandy Cedar Restoration area and almost immediately heard a Prairie. Talk about a misnamed bird! Prairie Warblers have absolutely no interest in prairies--they should be called Pine Barrens Warblers, so much do they love the jack oaks and pitch pines around here.  Only the Pine Warbler (which lingers all year) seems more of a Piney than the Prairie. 

Everything else there was what I'd expect and had already seen. Not only did I not find the Looie, but there was also no sign of the Pileated Woodpecker reported there yesterday by very reliable birders, which I believe will be a new species for the park, nor did I see the American Bittern someone else found in the reeds, nor did I see the Spotted Sandpiper on one of the ponds. Of those four, the sandpiper is the only one I'm certain I'll see this year. 

I left mid-morning because I had an appointment and came home after that. Putzing around the house, I glanced out the back window and said to myself, "That's no House Finch!" Picking up the bins I was thrilled to see our first Rose-breasted Grosbeak gorging on sunflower seeds. We usually get a Rose-breasted once a year and it may hang for a day or two, but they're certainly not regular. This one seems to be a little early for these parts as it was flagged "rare." But I have the photographic evidence. 

About an hour later our roofmate called me and said, "Larry go look at what's on my feeder." I already knew what it was before I looked back there, but he was just flabbergasted at how stunning this male looked. He says he saw the bird last week so maybe another one spent a day or so here. I don't think we've ever had one stay more than 2 days. 

A Rose-breasted Grosbeak is not a gimme and getting one in the backyard after a disappointing walk at Double Trouble was (ahem) doubly satisfying. 

Double Trouble SP | Ocean City Welcome Center 4/16--Lesser Yellowlegs, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Ovenbird, Worm-eating Warbler

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Ocean City Welcome Center

A bifurcated day. I started the morning early, since the whip-poor-will woke me up at 5:20. A walk around Double Trouble seemed like it might turn up some new birds which it did, including one that was totally unexpected. First thing in the morning, the area behind the sawmill is often very active, as it was today, with Common Yellowthroats singing and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers buzzing around, but one bird caught my attention in a bush.  I couldn't see it very well but size and "giss" told me it was a warbler. Luckily, it flew up out of the bush and into a tree that was just starting to bud. Definitely a warbler but one with a black strip behind its eye and a buffy face. Then it "sang" a song that was cross between a Pine Warbler and Chipping Sparrow--huh! a Worm-eating Warbler. A couple of gnatcatchers came into the tree and chased it away. I don't see a lot of worm-eaters--I'm lucky to hear a couple a year--and I have definitely never had one at Double Trouble, so this was a treat. 

No Louisiana Waterthrush again today, but at the reservoir along Mud Dam Road there are now mud flats where two weeks ago there was water and on those flats I found the usual Killdeer and the not so usual Lesser Yellowlegs. I'm often leery of separating the yellowlegs if they don't call, but this one was, as I once hear Greg describe it, a "delicate" sandpiper, feeding daintily in the muck. 

I was also looking for one more warbler today and figured the best place to look for it was along the purple trail but walked toward there along Mud Dam I got lucky and heard the unmistakable song of the Ovenbird and got even luckier when some forceful pishing brought it out of the brush and onto a branch over my head. Three year birds in a couple of hours, I was happy.Late morning, Shari & I headed down the Parkway for our annual trip to the Ocean City Welcome Center on the causeway to (where else) Ocean City. The rookery there is quite an attraction, even if you're not an ardent photographer. I've often said that it's like going to the zoo, because it is so-ooo easy to find the birds. That was and was not the case today. 

Part of the rookery

I remember 9 years ago when one White Ibis showed up in the rookery. It was an event and birders from all over New Jersey, including us, made the trip down to see the bird. Today, the bird is no longer flagged as rare in Cape May County. In fact, the rookery is now overwhelmingly a White Ibis breeding colony. There were at least 125 White Ibises there, and probably many more. I see that last year I listed 200 and that's probably closer to the actual number. But, as the White Ibises move in, something has to move out, as there are only so many trees in that little patch of marsh. And what have move out, it seems, are the Yellow-crowned Night-Herons.  When I looked over the railing, all I saw were white waders nesting and roosting--mostly ibises, with some Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets sprinkled in. It was distressing not to find any yellow-crowns when last year I broke the eBird filter by listing 40 (which was probably an undercount). Finally, I saw one flying in the back of the marsh. About a half hour later, Shari found another walking on the edge of the rookery, gathering sticks, which was a good sign, meaning that some nesting is still going on there. In all, we found perhaps 5 yellow-crowns, including an immature bird, but it is nothing like in years past. Perhaps it's early and the yellow-crowns will find a way to fight their way back in, but right now the White Ibises have the hammer. 

Little Blue Heron
Photo: Shari Zirlin

Aside from Green Herons and, surprisingly, Great Blue Herons, we found every wader you'd expect in NJ, including nesting Little Blue Herons and one Tricolored Heron. And two American Oystercatchers out on point of land made the day for Shari. If I was going to introduce somebody to birding, the place I would take them is the rookery. 

Double Trouble:

40 species (+1 other taxa)
Canada Goose  5
Mallard  3
Mallard (Domestic type)  1
Mourning Dove  1
Killdeer  1     
Lesser Yellowlegs  1     
Herring Gull  1
Great Blue Heron  1
Turkey Vulture  5
Osprey  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Downy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  2
Eastern Phoebe  2
White-eyed Vireo  2
Blue Jay  2
American Crow  3
Common Raven  1     Croaking
Carolina Chickadee  1
Tufted Titmouse  3
Tree Swallow  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  6
Carolina Wren  2
American Robin  5
House Finch  2
Chipping Sparrow  10
Field Sparrow  2
Dark-eyed Junco  1
White-throated Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  4
Eastern Towhee  7
Red-winged Blackbird  6
Brown-headed Cowbird  2
Ovenbird  1
Worm-eating Warbler  1     
Common Yellowthroat  3
Palm Warbler  2
Pine Warbler  4
Yellow-rumped Warbler  2
Northern Cardinal  2

Ocean City Welcome Center

23 species
Brant  55
Canada Goose  5
American Black Duck  1
Clapper Rail  1
American Oystercatcher  2
Laughing Gull  1
Herring Gull  2
Great Black-backed Gull  1
Forster's Tern  2
Yellow-crowned Night Heron  5    
Black-crowned Night Heron  3
Little Blue Heron  3     
Tricolored Heron  1
Snowy Egret  20
Great Egret  25
White Ibis  125
Glossy Ibis  12
Osprey  1
Fish Crow  1
House Finch  1
Song Sparrow  2
Red-winged Blackbird  1
Boat-tailed Grackle  20

Black-crowned Night-Heron

IBSP Spizzle Creek 4/14--White Ibis

Naturally, the day after I was at Spizzle Creek last week, White Ibises showed up.  While not as rare and exciting as they used to be (they're breeding at the rookery in Ocean City), it is still a cool bird for the county. This morning was the first chance I had to get back there and I drove directly to Spizzle Creek instead of working my way south, sacrificing quality for quantity. 

I took the left fork first and did not see any ibises, white or glossy. On the right fork, which overlooks a much larger marsh, I saw lots of white forms--one had a red beak, but before I could get my scope on it, it disappeared into a channel. Ibises aren't all that large, compared to Great Egrets or Great Blue Herons, and if they stand in a foot of water, their bodies can easily be hidden by reeds and spartina grass. I walked up to the blind and stood on the "porch." Scanning around, I found Tricolored Herons, Little Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, the aforementioned "Greats," and suddenly, a very nice White Ibis standing up in the marsh. I was able to get some so-so photos. 

The reports I had seen indicated there were multiple ibises (one report even speculated about breeding) so I thought that perhaps I had seen two--the cooperative one and the one that ducked down. Then, while still standing by the blind, I saw three more (?) ibises feeding in a pool. Three? Four? Five? I put down three. I only need one. 

From there I when up to the Johnnie Allen Cove Trail which looks south into the same marsh. Again, the ibises played peekaboo with me and the one (or possibly two) that I saw did not afford photo opportunities. 

The rest of the bayside trails (and one peek at the ocean) turned up only what I'd expect and, aside from Yellow-rumps, no warblers. 

Now the moan and groan department. Steve & I crossed on the roadway, he going south, me going north and he texted me that he had found Rusty Blackbirds at Reed's Road. I read his message as I was starting out there, but not only did I have no luck finding them, I was embarrassed to find out that there is a stream off the trail that I never noticed, despite being there dozens of times. Then, when I got home, I saw that someone had gone to Spizzle Creek right after I left and turned up a Sora walking in the marsh. Nice photo. I had walked up those trails twice with nary a Sora. According to Steve, it's the first sighting of one there in almost 60 years! Much gnashing of teeth. 

35 species
Brant  100
Mute Swan  1
American Black Duck  15     Flyover flock
Northern Pintail  4     Continuing brown headed ducks with white stripe up long thin necks
Lesser Scaup  1     Hen
Bufflehead  40
Red-breasted Merganser  8
Mourning Dove  4
American Oystercatcher  2
Greater Yellowlegs  1
Herring Gull  100
Great Black-backed Gull  2
Forster's Tern  2
Common Loon  1
Double-crested Cormorant  8
Little Blue Heron  2
Tricolored Heron  3
Snowy Egret  3
Great Egret  10
Great Blue Heron  1
White Ibis  3     
Osprey  8
Northern Flicker  1
American Crow  2
Tree Swallow  1
Golden-crowned Kinglet  1     Entrance trail
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1
Northern Mockingbird  1
American Robin  1
House Finch  1
Song Sparrow  3
Eastern Towhee  1
Red-winged Blackbird  10
Boat-tailed Grackle  2
Northern Cardinal  1

Backyard 4/12--Eastern Whip-poor-will

 At 8:03 tonight the first Eastern Whip-poor-will of the year started singing in the woods behind the house. When I stepped out the door, I thought I heard one warming up but it was so faint I couldn't be certain, and then, just as I was saying to myself, "not tonight," it began to sing. Shari, sitting in the bedroom with the window open, heard it at the same time. 

Double Trouble SP 4/10--Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Some birds you go looking for, some birds you just run into. The latter, I think, are more fun. 

A number of years ago, Greg Prelich discovered a Louisiana Waterthrush at Double Trouble SP, along a slow-moving canal. At the time, LOWA was, if not a rarity, an extremely infrequent visitor to the county. I got that bird, and annually, it seems, Louie shows up at Double Trouble, an odd place for one, since they seem to prefer fast-moving streams. Today, I went there to see if I could turn one up--I haven't for the last couple of years--and I concentrated on both that canal and the parallel Cedar Creek, which does move with speed, especially now with the water coming out over the spillway from Ore Pond. I looked assiduously. I was very patient. And I didn't find one. 

Now, I was also thinking that those pine and cedar lined trails would be a good place to pick up a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, but mostly what I saw and heard were Pine Warblers. I varied my route today and walked in the woods on a trail that runs besides the Parkway (Parkway Access Road, it's called, though there is no Parkway access) and aside from a few chickadees and a dove, it was dead in there. After that, I shrugged my shoulders and just birded. 

I was doing a big "S" around the 3 bogs in back (Platt, Sweetwater, and one I don't know the name of) when I heard a familiar buzz. I saw a bird in a small cedar on the Sweetwater trail, but out hopped a Swamp Sparrow.  But I still I heard that little buzz and looking into the no-name bog, in the reeds and bare twigs, where I wouldn't expect to find one (although I suppose gnats are just as likely to be there as in the woods) I found the gnatcatcher actively jumping around, making warblers look sluggish. 

Aside from that bird, everything else today was expected:

34 species
Canada Goose  5
Mallard  2
Mourning Dove  1
Killdeer  1     Mud Dam Reservoir
Laughing Gull  2
Turkey Vulture  1
Bald Eagle  1     Ore Pond on power line tower
Downy Woodpecker  1
Hairy Woodpecker  1     Heard Mud Dam
Northern Flicker  5
Eastern Phoebe  4
American Crow  1
Fish Crow  2
Carolina Chickadee  4
Tufted Titmouse  2
Tree Swallow  7
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1
Carolina Wren  1
Eastern Bluebird  2
American Robin  3
House Finch  1
American Goldfinch  2
Chipping Sparrow  3
Field Sparrow  1
Dark-eyed Junco  5
Song Sparrow  1
Swamp Sparrow  1     Sweetwater Lane
Eastern Towhee  1
Red-winged Blackbird  1
Brown-headed Cowbird  5
Pine Warbler  13
Yellow-rumped Warbler  1
Northern Cardinal  4