Island Beach SP | Riverfront Landing 1/13--Canvasback, Great Egret, Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Spizzle Creek

 A couple of favorite birds for the first time this year. I went to Island Beach SP, where I haven't been all winter, this being a relatively calm and warm day. I walked the beach in a couple of places and came up with some of the usual waterfowl--Black Scoter, Surf Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Common Loon. I wasn't in the mood for a really long walk down to the jetty, so instead, I thought I'd take a look at Spizzle Creek on the bay side of the park. On my way in it was deadly silent and I was thinking this wasn't such a hot idea either. Toward the "T" I heard a robin. Oh boy. I turned to left and saw a few robins in a cedar. And few more. And a few more. And then a flock of probably a 100 flew overhead. I said to myself that Cedar Waxwings often associate with robins, so instead of just glancing at every cluster of robins, I stopped and scanned each one. And in not too long a time I did find one waxwing, and then a few more. Probably 6 in all, scattered in the cedars (where else?) with the very active robins. Cedar Waxwing being my all-time favorite bird made the trip worth it. I flushed up a couple of Great Blue Herons and then heard another squawk and a white heron flew up: Great Egret. Infrequent, but some do hang out all winter. (Another birder who was going in when I was going out, photographed Little Blue Heron and Tricolored Heron, but seemingly missed my two larger herons--it just shows how inherently frustrating birding can be.) Later, I saw another Great Egret fly overhead and land in the reeds where the first one had been. What I was really hoping for was to scare up a bittern along that path, as I have in the past, but not today. 

Canvasbacks, drakes & hens, Riverfront Landing

On my way home I stopped at Riverfront Landing in Toms River. This little park on the wide end of the river, just before it dumps into Barnegat Bay, is a great place to look for waterfowl, especially another charismatic duck, Canvasback. Why these big ducks return yearly to the marina next to the landing is an enduring mystery, but they always seem to be there in decent numbers: 16 today. Now, if I could get a Redhead mixed in with them...

In the marina