July Recap--A Meager 7 Year Birds

Tricolored Heron, Manahawkin WMA

I was happy to see that a couple of birders went to Whitesbog yesterday afternoon and re-found the Little Blue Heron I reported in the morning, because I hate to report a rarity without any photographic or audio back-up, even if the rarity is not so rare. On one of the lists the birder put in his comments, "Great find by Larry Z." While I appreciate the compliment, it wasn't a such a great discovery. 

A birder standing on a windswept beach in January, going through a huge flock of gulls and pulling out a Glaucous Gull, that's a good find. Identifying a California Gull--that's a great find. Or a birder standing on a dike at Brig in summer, fighting off the greenhead flies, scanning thousands of sandpipers to find a few Western Sandpipers is a good find. Finding a Red-necked Stint or Curlew Sandpiper in the ever-shifting flock--that's a great find. Or a birder on a pelagic spotting an incredibly rare Bermuda Petrel--that's a great find. Or a birder who sees a relatively nondescript flycatcher and realizes that it's a Western Flycatcher in New Jersey--that's a great find.  Those birders have patience and skill in abundance, the former of which I lack completely, the latter of which I have a modicum. So, me coming across a slightly out-of-range bird that I've seen hundreds of times--to paraphrase Bob Dylan, "I just happened to be there, that's all." 

Greater Scaup, Island Beach

Despite only adding 7 birds to the year list, some of those birds were choice, especially yesterday's Broad-winged Hawk, and the Sedge Wren at Laurel Run Park. The other 5 new birds for the year came were the result of two trips to Brig--all shorebirds except for a Least Bittern at the Gull Pond. In the "rare but not new" category there was an out of season Greater Scaup at the Barnegat Inlet, a couple of Red-shouldered Hawks in Burlco & Ocean, and Grasshopper Sparrows at Laurel Run which peculiarly get flagged as rare in the summer. 

For the month I tracked down 135 species, mostly bouncing around my close-by spots--Whitesbog, Reeves Bogs, Double Trouble, the cranberry bogs in South Toms River, Colliers Mills and Island Beach. 

Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Ocean

Species              First Sighting
Canada Goose   Wells Mills Park
Mute Swan   Cedar Run Dock Rd.
Wood Duck   Whitesbog
Mallard   Cranberry Bogs
American Black Duck   Brig
Greater Scaup   Island Beach SP
Black Scoter   Island Beach SP
Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd
Rock Pigeon   South Toms River
Mourning Dove   Whitesbog
Yellow-billed Cuckoo   Whitesbog
Eastern Whip-poor-will   35 Sunset Rd
Ruby-throated Hummingbird   35 Sunset Rd
Clapper Rail   Great Bay Blvd
Virginia Rail   Whitesbog
American Avocet   Brig
American Oystercatcher   Island Beach SP
Black-bellied Plover   Brig
Killdeer   Whitesbog
Semipalmated Plover   Brig
Piping Plover   Island Beach SP
Whimbrel   Brig
Short-billed Dowitcher   Great Bay Blvd
Long-billed Dowitcher   Brig
Spotted Sandpiper   Whitesbog
Solitary Sandpiper   Franklin Parker Preserve
Lesser Yellowlegs   Great Bay Blvd
Willet   Island Beach SP
Greater Yellowlegs   Great Bay Blvd
Ruddy Turnstone   Island Beach SP
Stilt Sandpiper   Brig
Sanderling   Island Beach SP
Least Sandpiper   Whitesbog
Pectoral Sandpiper   Brig
Western Sandpiper   Brig
Semipalmated Sandpiper   Brig
Laughing Gull   Cloverdale Farm
Ring-billed Gull   Brig
Herring Gull   Island Beach SP
Great Black-backed Gull   Island Beach SP
Black Skimmer   Great Bay Blvd
Least Tern   Island Beach SP
Gull-billed Tern   Brig
Forster's Tern   Island Beach SP
Common Tern   Island Beach SP
Royal Tern   Island Beach SP
Common Loon   Island Beach SP
Double-crested Cormorant   Cranberry Bogs
Brown Pelican   Great Bay Blvd
Least Bittern   Brig
Yellow-crowned Night Heron   Great Bay Blvd
Black-crowned Night Heron   Great Bay Blvd
Little Blue Heron   Brig
Tricolored Heron   Cattus Island County Park
Snowy Egret   Great Bay Blvd
Green Heron   Whitesbog
Great Egret   Island Beach SP
Great Blue Heron   Cloverdale Farm
Glossy Ibis   Island Beach SP
Black Vulture   Jumping Brook Preserve
Turkey Vulture   Whitesbog
Osprey   Cloverdale Farm
Cooper's Hawk   Cranberry Bogs
Bald Eagle   Brig
Red-shouldered Hawk   Reeves Bogs
Broad-winged Hawk   Whitesbog
Red-tailed Hawk   Cranberry Bogs
Belted Kingfisher   Reeves Bogs
Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Whitesbog
Downy Woodpecker   Wells Mills Park
Hairy Woodpecker   Reeves Bogs
Northern Flicker   Whitesbog
Peregrine Falcon   Brig
Eastern Wood-Pewee   Whitesbog
Willow Flycatcher   Island Beach SP
Eastern Phoebe   Whitesbog
Great Crested Flycatcher   Whitesbog
Eastern Kingbird   Whitesbog
White-eyed Vireo   Wells Mills Park
Warbling Vireo   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-eyed Vireo   Wells Mills Park
Blue Jay   35 Sunset Rd
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow   Whitesbog
Common Raven   Colliers Mills WMA
Carolina Chickadee   Whitesbog
Tufted Titmouse   Cloverdale Farm
Bank Swallow   Brig
Tree Swallow   Whitesbog
Purple Martin   Cedar Run Dock Rd.
Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Reeves Bogs
Barn Swallow   Whitesbog
White-breasted Nuthatch   Whitesbog
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Whitesbog
House Wren   35 Sunset Rd
Sedge Wren   Laurel Run Park
Marsh Wren   Great Bay Blvd
Carolina Wren   35 Sunset Rd
European Starling   Whitesbog
Gray Catbird   Whitesbog
Brown Thrasher   Cloverdale Farm
Northern Mockingbird   Whitesbog
Eastern Bluebird   Wells Mills Park
Veery   Wells Mills Park
Wood Thrush   Whitesbog
American Robin   Whitesbog
Cedar Waxwing   Whitesbog
House Sparrow   Cedar Run Dock Rd.
House Finch   35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch   Whitesbog
Grasshopper Sparrow   Laurel Run Park
Chipping Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
Field Sparrow   Cranberry Bogs
Seaside Sparrow   Island Beach SP
Saltmarsh Sparrow   Great Bay Blvd
Song Sparrow   Whitesbog
Swamp Sparrow   Whitesbog
Eastern Towhee   Whitesbog
Yellow-breasted Chat   Brig
Orchard Oriole   Cranberry Bogs
Red-winged Blackbird   Whitesbog
Brown-headed Cowbird   Cloverdale Farm
Common Grackle   Whitesbog
Boat-tailed Grackle   Island Beach SP
Ovenbird   Whitesbog
Black-and-white Warbler   Whitesbog
Common Yellowthroat   Whitesbog
Yellow Warbler   Island Beach SP
Pine Warbler   Whitesbog
Prairie Warbler   Whitesbog
Scarlet Tanager   Jumping Brook Preserve
Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd
Blue Grosbeak   Cloverdale Farm
Indigo Bunting   Colliers Mills WMA

Royal Terns, Island Beach