PWBC 2/2--American Kestrel

Tundra Swans, pre-dawn, Union Pond

Yesterday, after scouting Whitesbog in preparation for today's 10th (!) Annual Pinelands Winter Bird Census, I told Shari I'd be lucky if I got half the species I did last year. What water there is in Whitesbog is frozen and what water there isn't is frozen mud, so not attractive to either waterfowl or passerines that might pick in the muck for worms or seeds. Of course, last year I also had the company of experts in Scott and Debra while this year I went it alone, as I usually do. But I guess I was lucky because I had more like 3/4 of last year's species instead of half. 

As always, I started off way before dawn, on Whitesbog Road, playing owl calls at 5 AM and not hearing any. I then drove into Whitesbog and started playing screech owl calls at spot near the Triangle Field. What I got in response was a very distant Great Horned Owl. I then drove out through the village to the bogs and played screech owl in another usually reliable spot. Great Horned Owl again. And again, distant. 

I drove to the double-laned road and walked to the other side of the bogs and played both owls again. I was disappointed to hear nothing until I was halfway back to the car when I heard and Eastern Screech-Owl whinnying behind me and then another responding in front of me. They were probably about an 1/8 of a mile apart and I was getting them in stereo. So, I was one bird ahead of last year and it was only 6 o'clock. 

I drove to the "landing strip" behind Union Pond, hoping for more owls as the sky was turning from black to mauve. I walked toward Union Pond and heard whooping. As I had hoped, there were 8 Tundra Swans standing on the ice. I had just enough time to walk back to the car, get the camera, walk to the pond edge and take a couple of photos before they took off to where there might be some open water. 

I walked all around Union Pond and found no birds, walked back through Ditch Meadow and found no birds, walked around Union Pond again and finally had a Sharp-shinned Hawk buzz over me. I could see that the bogs were not going to be very productive, so I drove back to the edge of the Triangle Field and things began to pick up just a little bit. A Cooper's Hawk flew into a tree and posed, chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches called, and a Hermit Thrush chucked in the tangles. 

Fox Sparrow

Yesterday I filled the feeders near the General Store in the village and that paid off with juncos, House Finches, Blue Jays, cardinals, and best of all, a Fox Sparrow. I walked through the village, then through the fields on the entrance road, then out onto the bogs and really found very little. I drove over to Rome Pond and of course, it too was frozen and had nothing standing on the ice. Even though I suspected it would be fruitless based on yesterday's foray, I drove all around the Ocean County side of Whitesbog and had ZERO birds, which was two less than I had yesterday

With about 5 hours spent at Whitesbog, I was pretty sure was in the diminishing returns phase, so I left there and walked Whitesbog Road from Rt 530 to Rt 70. The happy find there was Red-breasted Nuthatch calling within a flock of chickadees, titmice and White-breasted Nuthatches. I never could locate the bird in the pines but recorded it. Red-breasted Nuthatches are flagged as rare in Burlington County, while in my backyard, 9 miles away, they're feeder birds. Go figure. 

American Kestrel, Pasadena Road

Last year, when we birded the JJ White bogs on Pasadena Road, Deb found an American Kestrel atop one of the pump houses, so when I drove the road today, I looked at the roof of each pumping station and sure enough, there was a kestrel on a roof peak. My only year bird for the day. 

Finally, I drove over to Country Lake Estates, a development where I don't expect to find much but have to give it a look because of its artificial lake. Half of it was ice, but surprisingly, half of it was open. I supposed the big flock of geese there have managed to act as bubblers and keep the water moving. Those were my only geese of the day, along with my only Mallards, my only Ring-necked Duck, and my only Ring-billed Gulls, which were standing on the ice. The Ring-necked was #30 on the day and as it was about 1 o'clock, I felt that 8 hours of solid birding was enough. I've never kept track of my numbers for the census year over year, but I suspect that 30 is just slightly below average. 

Species               First Sighting
Canada Goose   Country Lake Estates
Tundra Swan   Whitesbog
Mallard   Country Lake Estates
Ring-necked Duck   Country Lake Estates
Mourning Dove   Whitesbog
Ring-billed Gull   Country Lake Estates
American Herring Gull   Whitesbog
Turkey Vulture   Whitesbog
Sharp-shinned Hawk   Whitesbog
Cooper's Hawk   Whitesbog
Eastern Screech-Owl   Whitesbog
Great Horned Owl   Whitesbog
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Whitesbog
Hairy Woodpecker   Whitesbog
American Kestrel   Pasadena Road
Blue Jay   Whitesbog
American Crow   Whitesbog
Carolina Chickadee   Whitesbog
Tufted Titmouse   Whitesbog
White-breasted Nuthatch   Whitesbog
Red-breasted Nuthatch   Whitesbog Road
Carolina Wren   Whitesbog
Northern Mockingbird   Whitesbog
Hermit Thrush   Whitesbog
American Robin   Whitesbog
House Finch   Whitesbog
American Goldfinch   Whitesbog
Fox Sparrow   Whitesbog
Dark-eyed Junco   Whitesbog
Northern Cardinal   Whitesbog

Tundra Swans about to take flight.