Whitesbog 2/7--Sandhill Cranes

 Where were you when I needed you?

                                                                                                    --The Grass Roots

I went to Whitesbog this morning for the first time since the PWBC. With the warmer weather of late, I was hoping for more waterfowl and the 75 Canada Geese on Rome Pond gave me some hope. And I was heartened to find 32 Tundra Swans on Union Pond, by far the highest number I've had there this winter. As to ducks, I only had Mallards and couple of flocks of American Black Ducks. But it was when I walked behind Union Pond into Ditch Meadow (don't ask me how these spots got their names, they're artefacts of Whitesbog's former geography) that I recalled the epigraph to this entry. Two big birds leaped out of the middle pond. At first my reaction was herons, but then I look at them as they flew overhead by me, I got excited because I saw that not only were they much larger than herons or egrets, but that they're necks were fully extended, not pulled into an S-shape as you'll typically see on those waders. They were...Sandhill Cranes! If only I had seen them on Sunday, what a great bird for the winter census. I watched the cranes as they flew back over Union Pond, then swing around and fly off in the direction of Fort Dix (where I suspect they roost and possibly breed). 

And that is why I frequent these out-of-the way spots at Whitesbog, because every 100 times or so, I find something spectacular. Suffice it to say that I've never had Sandhill Cranes at Whitesbog. In fact, they've never been listed there, though my informant (who doesn't list on eBird) has seen them there and even once called me to tell they were standing in Rome Pond--unfortunately, I was in Tuckerton at the time. And then, just to cinch the i.d., I flushed up a Great Blue Heron from the reeds and watched its ungainly flight from one spot on old pond to another. The birds in the air were definitely not herons.  And thinking about it, I've never seen herons fly together, either. Doesn't mean they don't, but I've never witnessed it. 

Tundra Swans on Union Pond

I walked back to Union Pond on the off chance that they had circled back and settled down there and I walked back to the hidden pond off the landing strip, hoping I'd find them there, but only black ducks were mucking about in the mud. 

So, in terms of quantity, I did slightly better today than Sunday--25 species against 22 (and in a lot less time) but in terms of quality one species made a huge difference. 

Canada Goose  75
Tundra Swan  32
Mallard  4
American Black Duck  18
Mourning Dove  2
Sandhill Crane  2  
Great Blue Heron  1     
Turkey Vulture  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Downy Woodpecker  1     Village
Hairy Woodpecker  1     Heard
Blue Jay  1     Heard
American Crow  2
Carolina Chickadee  4
Tufted Titmouse  3
White-breasted Nuthatch  3
European Starling  1
Northern Mockingbird  1
Eastern Bluebird  4
American Robin  6
House Finch  2
American Goldfinch  6
Dark-eyed Junco  14
Swamp Sparrow  1     Heard entrance field
Northern Cardinal  6

Cardinal in the village