June Recap--Rarities & Other Desiderata

The bird of the month, for me, was not one of the rarities I chased, nor was it one of the birds I deliberately sought out in Burlco, like the Grasshopper Sparrow or Pileated Woodpecker.  I was at Whitesbog in the middle of the month, walking on the Ocean County side. I hadn't seen anything of note that morning, though the list was respectable. I was heading back to the car and decided to take a "shortcut" through a wooded path that connects two of the sand roads. From one of the trees a large bird flew out--I knew immediately it was a raptor but had no idea what it was. I walked on and it flushed again and flew out of sight. Cooper's Hawk? Red-shouldered Hawk? No idea. I stood still and peered around. Again, it flew, but this time I caught sight of it as it landed on the branch of a pitch pine. It wasn't a hawk, but it was a raptor--a Great Horned Owl, staring at me with a look that said, "There's nothing more I'd like to do than to rip your face it off, but it's too much bother."  Of course, I hear owls whenever I do pre-dawn birding, but I very rarely get to see one in plain sight like that one. That certainly fulfilled the "one cool bird a day" goal. 

A bird I got tired of waiting around for was Common Nighthawk, so one late afternoon I drove over to Whitesbog and stood on the borderline between Ocean & Burlington and ticked it off for both counties. In August, they'll be flying over our house, but August seems a long way away. A bird I wasn't expected I heard on Scout Island at Cattus Island CP--a Virginia Rail, which I could hear clearly but couldn't find--it was probably under the boardwalk--I've flushed them from under boardwalks there in the past. And one day early in the month I made a concerted effort to find a Saltmarsh Sparrow, after not finding any in various marshes--I was finally successful at the Bridge to Nowhere. Subsequently, I got much better looks at Cattus Island where they can be found on the marshy peninsula that juts out into Barnegat Bay. 

In all the month produced 130 species, only10 of them year birds. It's June, it's slow. July will probably be slower--an article on eBird says that the least lists are posted in July of any month. It doesn't say that the most deer flies, greenhead flies, mosquitos, ticks, and chiggers can be found in July--I suspect an inverse correlation there. 

My month list:

Species                                         First Sighting
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck   Lake of the Lilies
Canada Goose   Bridge to Nowhere
Mute Swan   Bridge to Nowhere
Wood Duck   Whitesbog
Mallard   Bridge to Nowhere
American Black Duck   Whitesbog
Red-breasted Merganser   Island Beach SP
Ruddy Duck   Lake of the Lilies
Wild Turkey   Whiting
Rock Pigeon   Lake of the Lilies
Mourning Dove   Beach Ave
Yellow-billed Cuckoo   South Park Rd
Common Nighthawk   Whitesbog
Eastern Whip-poor-will   35 Sunset Rd
Chimney Swift   Laurel Run Park
Ruby-throated Hummingbird   35 Sunset Rd
Clapper Rail   Bridge to Nowhere
Virginia Rail   Cattus Island County Park
American Oystercatcher   Waretown
Black-bellied Plover   Island Beach SP
Killdeer   Whitesbog
Piping Plover   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Short-billed Dowitcher   Brig
Wilson's Phalarope   Brig
Lesser Yellowlegs   Brig
Willet   Beach Ave
Greater Yellowlegs   Brig
Sanderling   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Dunlin   Brig
Semipalmated Sandpiper   Island Beach SP
Laughing Gull   Bridge to Nowhere
Herring Gull   Bridge to Nowhere
Great Black-backed Gull   Waretown
Lesser Black-backed Gull   Island Beach SP
Black Skimmer   Island Beach SP
Least Tern   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Caspian Tern   Brig
Forster's Tern   Bridge to Nowhere
Common Tern   Island Beach SP
Royal Tern   Island Beach SP
Common Loon   Island Beach SP
Brown Booby   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
Double-crested Cormorant   Waretown
Black-crowned Night Heron   Island Beach SP
Little Blue Heron   Island Beach SP
Tricolored Heron   Bridge to Nowhere
Snowy Egret   Bridge to Nowhere
Green Heron   Whitesbog
Great Egret   Bridge to Nowhere
Great Blue Heron   Bridge to Nowhere
White Ibis   Waretown
Glossy Ibis   Bridge to Nowhere
Black Vulture   New Egypt
Turkey Vulture   35 Sunset Rd
Osprey   Eno’s Pond
Cooper's Hawk   South Park Rd
Bald Eagle   Boundary Creek Natural Resource Area
Red-shouldered Hawk   Bunker Hill Bogs
Red-tailed Hawk   Waretown
Great Horned Owl   Whitesbog
Belted Kingfisher   Cranberry Bogs
Red-headed Woodpecker   South Park Rd
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Beach Ave
Downy Woodpecker   Meadowview Lane
Hairy Woodpecker   Huber Preserve
Pileated Woodpecker   Meadowview Lane
Northern Flicker   Boundary Creek Natural Resource Area
Eastern Wood-Pewee   Beach Ave
Willow Flycatcher   Beach Ave
Eastern Phoebe   Bamber Lake
Great Crested Flycatcher   Beach Ave
Eastern Kingbird   Eno's Pond
White-eyed Vireo   Whitesbog
Warbling Vireo   Laurel Run Park
Red-eyed Vireo   Beach Ave
Blue Jay   Beach Ave
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow   Bridge to Nowhere
Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd
Tufted Titmouse   Beach Ave
Tree Swallow   Bridge to Nowhere
Purple Martin   Bamber Lake
Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Laurel Run Park
Barn Swallow   Waretown
White-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Beach Ave
House Wren   Bamber Lake
Marsh Wren   Bridge to Nowhere
Carolina Wren   Beach Ave
European Starling   35 Sunset Rd
Gray Catbird   Beach Ave
Brown Thrasher   Bamber Lake
Northern Mockingbird   Waretown
Eastern Bluebird   35 Sunset Rd
Veery   Beach Ave
Wood Thrush   Beach Ave
American Robin   Beach Ave
Cedar Waxwing   Whitesbog
House Sparrow   Waretown
House Finch   Beach Ave
American Goldfinch   Beach Ave
Grasshopper Sparrow   Laurel Run Park
Chipping Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
Field Sparrow   Laurel Run Park
Seaside Sparrow   Bridge to Nowhere
Saltmarsh Sparrow   Bridge to Nowhere
Song Sparrow   Bridge to Nowhere
Swamp Sparrow   Reeves Bogs
Eastern Towhee   35 Sunset Rd
Orchard Oriole   Boundary Creek Natural Resource Area
Red-winged Blackbird   Beach Ave
Brown-headed Cowbird   Eno's Pond Park
Common Grackle   Waretown
Boat-tailed Grackle   Island Beach SP
Ovenbird   Beach Ave
Louisiana Waterthrush   Evert Trail
Blue-winged Warbler   Huber Preserve
Black-and-white Warbler   Bamber Lake
Prothonotary Warbler   Beach Ave
Common Yellowthroat   Beach Ave
Hooded Warbler   Bamber Lake
American Redstart   Beach Ave
Yellow Warbler   Beach Ave
Pine Warbler   35 Sunset Rd
Prairie Warbler   Whitesbog
Summer Tanager   Meadowview Lane
Scarlet Tanager   Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Cardinal   Beach Ave
Blue Grosbeak   South Park Rd
Indigo Bunting   Laurel Run Park

Brig | Lake of the Lilies 6/27--Wilson's Phalarope, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Wilson's Phalarope, Brig

 A couple of times yesterday, Shari forwarded me alerts about a Ruff down at Brig. The second time she did, when I was already home, I texted back, "Should I run down there?" Her reply was, "Will you kick yourself if you wait and it's not there tomorrow?" And my answer was, "No, I won't." A couple of years ago I probably would have, but now, now I have perspective. 

Which is not to say that I wouldn't like to see a Ruff this year, just that I was willing to take a chance on it hanging on overnight--which it didn't. In fact, had I gone down there yesterday, I might not have seen since it seems to have disappeared mid-afternoon. But a Wilson's Phalarope was also reported yesterday and appeared to be the consolation prize for those who missed the Ruff. At 7:40 this morning, I found it at the dogleg, mixed in with yellowlegs, peeps, and one Dunlin. 

From the dogleg I drove down to Jen's Trail where I parked the car and took a walk along the upland part of the drive down to the parking lot and back. I was just about to try to find a chat in the usual spot when Shari texted me that there were Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks at Lake of the Lilies in Point Pleasant Beach, a mere 56 miles away. I love Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks. They're so goofy looking with the white circle like a lifesaver around their eyes. But now I was kicking myself, because my original plan for the day was to go to Lake of Lilies, which is mostly a winter birding spot, to see if anything unusual might show up in the summer. And obviously the answer was yes. 

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, Lake of the Lilies

I fast-walked back to the car and drove up to the lake. I had no idea what part they were on, but it isn't a big lake (it isn't even a lake but a glorified retention pond) and I could walk around it pretty quickly. I first looked at the corner of Newark & Chicago where a few years a Common Gallinule was found, but when they weren't there, I called Shari for more info--they were over on Elizabeth. While walking there, I noticed a very late Ruddy Duck hanging out close to shore--not a good sign for diving duck to be where it can't dive. I walked up Elizabeth, gazed about at the address Shari had relayed to me, and found them hunkered down in the grass. I didn't expect them to put on a show, but I wished they at least would have stood up. And they were easier to find this time than last year when one showed up at an obscure marina in Toms River on the 4th of July. 

The Brig list from my abbreviated visit:

57 species
Canada Goose  75
Mute Swan  42
Mallard  5
Mourning Dove  20
Clapper Rail  3
Short-billed Dowitcher  50
Wilson's Phalarope  1     
Lesser Yellowlegs  1
Willet  10
Greater Yellowlegs  20
Dunlin  1     Dogleg.
Semipalmated Sandpiper  20
Laughing Gull  100
Herring Gull  5
Great Black-backed Gull  1
Black Skimmer  25
Caspian Tern  1
Forster's Tern  3
Double-crested Cormorant  4
Black-crowned Night Heron  1
Snowy Egret  8
Great Egret  25
Great Blue Heron  6
Glossy Ibis  11
Turkey Vulture  4
Osprey  6
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  2
Eastern Kingbird  1
White-eyed Vireo  5
Red-eyed Vireo  1     Recorded Jen’s Trail
Blue Jay  2
American Crow  3
Fish Crow  1
Carolina Chickadee  2
Tufted Titmouse  3
Tree Swallow  1
Purple Martin  20
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  1
Barn Swallow  4
House Wren  1
Marsh Wren  6
Carolina Wren  5
European Starling  20
Gray Catbird  15
American Robin  6
American Goldfinch  1
Field Sparrow  2
Seaside Sparrow  3
Eastern Towhee  2
Red-winged Blackbird  20
Brown-headed Cowbird  1
Ovenbird  1     Jen’s Trail heard
Common Yellowthroat  3
Pine Warbler  1
Indigo Bunting  1

Manasquan Reservoir 6/23--Brown Booby

I wouldn't have known about the Brown Booby if I hadn't been talking on the phone last night to my buddy Bob Auster. I don't subscribe to most of the rare bird alerts anymore and I've narrowed down the eBird reports to just a couple of counties. I've always worked on a need-to-know basis and the older I get, it seems, the less I need to know. 

There have been a few boobies in the state this year, but up until this one, they've all been too far to pursue. But the Manasquan Reservoir--one of my favorite spots--is only about a 40-minute drive from here, so Bob & I tentatively planned to meet there early in the morning, before the heat dome took over. 

I arrived first and set up my scope at the boat launch. I've never birded the reservoir in the summer, so I was surprised by how much fishing goes on there. The bird had been reported roosting on buoys way out by the pumping station, so I concentrated my efforts on those white blobs in the water. It was hazy to start, and I didn't see the booby. A park ranger came over and asked if I'd seen it and told me which of the buoys seem to be the magical one, but it still wasn't there--until it was. Somewhere, out of the heat shimmer, a brown shape had materialized and putting the scope up to full power I could see the white belly and light-yellow beak. Great. Now, where was Bob? Because of course, as soon as I took my eyes off it, it disappeared. 

Another birder came by, one of the reservoir regulars who'd already seen it the previous day and while we were talking the booby, seemingly out of nowhere, alighted on the buoy again. And stayed for a good long while, but still no Bob and then it disappeared. The second time it was on the buoy the sun had come out and I could see the details of the bird much better with the sun shining on it. 

Bob arrived around 7 and while I kept my scope on the buoy he scanned the reservoir. Eventually, after a couple of false alarms, he found the bird "loosely associating" with a few geese, floating in the middle of the water. Yesterday, there were pictures of the bird in the same behavior. Odd to see a sea bird tucked in among the geese, but then, it's odd to see a sea bird on fresh water anyway. When the geese got too far ahead of the booby, we saw it take off and fly a couple of hundred feet to catch up with them. 

That was all fine, except my digiscope photos were pathetic. Bob & I decided to walk the path to the other side of the reservoir, hoping to catch sight of the bird from a different angle where there is a road (closed to the public) and view of the pump house, which is only distant instead of our present view, which was very distant. 

It was just about a 2-mile walk to the other side of the reservoir and sure enough, we did have clearer views of the booby, and with only our binoculars since neither of us felt like carry a scope that far. And I got some photos for illustration. It really did like that one particular buoy. 

It is a 5-mile circumambulation around the reservoir, so instead of turning back we decided that it wasn't all that hot--yet--and one more mile wasn't going to make a difference on the sweat index so we completed the walk around, finding the summer birds you would expect(though 10 Warbling Vireos did seem excessive)--but since I'd never been there this time of year, I added 11 birds to my patch list.

This is the time of year when between migrations you either chase rarities or go to your usual spots and hope to find something that isn't supposed to be there. Today was the former; tomorrow I continue the latter. 

Today's list:

37 species
Canada Goose  50
Mute Swan  3
Mallard  1
Laughing Gull  5
Brown Booby  1     
Double-crested Cormorant  7
Great Blue Heron  1
Turkey Vulture  2
Osprey  1
Belted Kingfisher  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Eastern Wood-Pewee  2
Great Crested Flycatcher  3
Eastern Kingbird  1
Warbling Vireo  10
Red-eyed Vireo  5
Blue Jay  1
American Crow  2
Fish Crow  1
Carolina Chickadee  6
Tree Swallow  10
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1
Carolina Wren  5
Gray Catbird  10
Eastern Bluebird  1
American Robin  2
American Goldfinch  1
Field Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  2
Red-winged Blackbird  2
Ovenbird  1
Common Yellowthroat  2
Yellow Warbler  2
Pine Warbler  1
Scarlet Tanager  1
Northern Cardinal   3

Meadowview Lane | Evert Trail 6/8--Pileated Woodpecker, Louisiana Waterthrush, Summer Tanager

 A number of years ago, my informant told me about the power line right-of-way in Pemberton, an extension of Meadowview Lane. It has woods on one side and wetlands on the other and is a good place to find Pileated Woodpecker. I don't go there too often, but a few days ago, on S. Park Road, I ran into a Burlco birder and we talked about the spot, especially because we heard what we suspected was a Pileated, but it didn't call long enough for us to be certain. So, this morning, early, I was there, starting at the parking lot of Pemberton Lake and walking about two miles and back. In that walk I found most of the birds I'd expect and did indeed track down a very noisy Pileated which cooperatively flew over my head twice, but non-cooperatively, didn't land on tree for a photo. 

Indigo Bunting

While I was listening to the woodpecker, I also heard a somewhat familiar song which I was pretty certain was a Summer Tanager. The non-always reliable Merlin confirmed this, but listening to other songs on my phone clinched it. Which was good because I could never put eyes on the damn bird--you'd think a fairly large all red bird would stand out in the greenery, but you would be wrong. I was also pleased to find at least 3 Indigo Buntings along the way. In all, 34 species. 

I had a funny email exchange with the Burlco birder. I told him that after listening, recording, and seeing the Pileated, I was pretty certain the woodpecker we heard on S. Park was also the same species. I also told him about the Summer Tanager. He asked where it was, and I said that if you start at the parking lot and walked past the pump house that was the area where both the woodpecker and tanager were. He responded, "You walk from the Pemberton Lake parking lot?" I didn't realize it was odd--there are closer places to park your car on Coleman's Bridge Road, but then I wouldn't get my four miles in. 

Prothonotary Warbler

Afterwards, I headed a few miles back to Ong's Hat Road (who Ong was and what his hat was doing in the road is the source of many apocryphal stories) and decided to walk on the Dot & Brooks Evert Nature Trail through which Stop the Jade Run flows (what a Jade is and why you'd want to stop it is another font of dubious folklore). It was both late in the season and late in the day for this spot famous for its skulking warblers, and there is sign saying that the trail was closed because of high water--the trail is mostly wooden slats covered in chicken wire. But I decided to see how bad it was--answer: for the first half mile it was fine, though the only interesting singing birds were a couple of Prothonotary Warblers and my first Louisiana Waterthrush of the year; then the undergrowth became overgrowth and the wooden slats seem to sink just below the water and I turned around--it's all pretty much the same habitat so I'm just as likely to find a bird going backwards as I am forwards. I think Burlington County is more interesting to me this time of year because I sense that more birds breed in the forests there than they do in Ocean, plus I don't have to "share" the space with cyclists and dog walkers. 

The Meadowview Lane list:

Canada Goose  3
Wood Duck  1
Mourning Dove  6
Turkey Vulture  3
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  4
Downy Woodpecker  1
Pileated Woodpecker  1     
Northern Flicker  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  2
Eastern Phoebe  2
Great Crested Flycatcher  2
White-eyed Vireo  2
Red-eyed Vireo  1
Blue Jay  5
Carolina Chickadee  2
Tufted Titmouse  3
Tree Swallow  2
White-breasted Nuthatch  3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  3
House Wren  1
Carolina Wren  5
Wood Thrush  3
Cedar Waxwing  3
Chipping Sparrow  1
Red-winged Blackbird  1
Brown-headed Cowbird  1
Common Grackle  1
Ovenbird  4
Common Yellowthroat  3
Pine Warbler  4
Summer Tanager  1     
Northern Cardinal  4
Indigo Bunting  3

Laurel Run Park 6/2--Grasshopper Sparrow

There was a time I'd go to Colliers Mills, walk dusty Success Road and before too long I'd have Grasshopper Sparrows singing and teed up on sticks in the fields on either side of the road.  Those days are long gone--you can't find hoppers there anymore, probably because it's a popular spot to train hunting dogs. I can think of 3 reliable places in the county for Grasshopper Sparrows, all problematical. The base at Lakehurst has breeders, but getting on the base requires either signing up for a trip or a project and involves a lot of bureaucracy. You can find them, apparently, at the Stafford Reserve, which sounds like a refuge but is actually a housing development next to a shopping center and I've never had any luck finding them, but then, since it creeps me out to be birding on private property, I've never spent a lot of time there. I've seen reports of them from nearby Robert J. Miller Airpark, but the couple of times I've sought them out there, I've had no success--the constant roar of airplane engines makes it impossible to hear them and the sparrows I've seen on the fence line have always turned out to be Chipping Sparrows. 

So, since Sundays seem to be my Burlco day, I drove out to Laurel Run Park in Delran, where there are open fields next to a working farm and where I have never failed to find them, today being no exception. Grasshopper Sparrows have a little quiet lisp--they must have extraordinary ears to hear each other calling in the fields--they are still within my range, but just barely. The Merlin app was picking up them (not that I find Merlin all that trustworthy, but in this case I figured it was probably correct), but I couldn't hear them over the car noise from Creek Road. Then, far back in the field, almost at the edge of the farm, I saw one sparrow perched up. I took a photo, a very distant photo, and blowing it up on the view screen I could see that it was indeed a Grasshopper Sparrow, caught in the act of singing a song I couldn't hear. It wasn't much of a photo, but at least I had confirmed a sighting. 

I walked the loop around the field and on the other side I thought I could actually hear a hopper. I played a song on my phone, which I could barely hear, and one came flying out and sat in a bush on the side of the road. Beautiful bird--I always forget how handsome they are. This one posed like a pro, giving me full face and profile looks. The only thing that would have made me happier was to have found a Dickcissel there--they've been known to frequent the site. 

About a mile away from Laurel Run is Boundary Creek Park. It has a number of viewing platforms and boardwalks along Rancocas Creek, open fields, forest...a lot of different habitats packed in a relatively small parcel. Another place I go once a year. Two of the viewing platforms are connected by a boardwalk and as I was coming back from the second one, I saw a couple looking at the creek. When the man saw my bins he asked the common question, "Seen any eagles?" 

Since he wasn't in a pickup truck and since I was in a pretty good mood I said, "Yes, there's one right there," pointing across the creek to a power line tower on which an adult Bald Eagle sat--and which I had seen earlier from another platform. He was impressed, but his wife thought it might be "just" a hawk. "No, I said," it's an eagle, waggling my binoculars. He asked if he could borrow them and let him, even though I was a little afraid he might drop them in the marsh in front of us, since he didn't put the strap around his neck. 

He finally focused on the bird and yes indeed, it had a white head, just like a Bald Eagle, which, since it was a Bald Eagle, isn't all that amazing. He said, "I've seen them a few times, but I've never seen one fly." Then it flew. I felt like a genie and was just hoping that his third wish wasn't for a Mercedes. So today, for once, I was a good birding ambassador. 

The Laurel Run list: 

26 species
Canada Goose  2
Mourning Dove  5
Chimney Swift  1
Great Blue Heron  1
Turkey Vulture  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Eastern Wood-Pewee  1
Willow Flycatcher  1
Great Crested Flycatcher  1
Warbling Vireo  1
Blue Jay  1
Fish Crow  2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  1
Barn Swallow  1
Carolina Wren  2
European Starling  15
Gray Catbird  1
American Robin  2
American Goldfinch  2
Grasshopper Sparrow  3
Field Sparrow  4
Song Sparrow  2
Red-winged Blackbird  3
Common Grackle  10
Northern Cardinal  3
Indigo Bunting  1