Lake of the Lilies | Manasquan Inlet 2/5--Snow Goose, Canvasback, American Coot

Canvasback with gulls

Hey kids, collect them all! That's what it feels like sometimes when you're trying to fill in the gaps in a family, in this case, ducks. Having failed three times at finding Canvasbacks in the Toms River, where they are usually reliable in winter, I drove up to Point Pleasant Beach to Lake of the Lilies, where a few had been reported lately. Unlike most of the ponds around here, there was actually a patch of open water in the middle of the "lake," and I easily found first one, then eventually, three Canvasbacks. Also, diving around this draw of open water were quite a few American Coots, also new for the year, and, unusually, a Long-tailed Duck, more of a sea duck than a pond duck, and the first I've ever seen at this spot. Ruddy Ducks, Lesser Scaup, and Red-breasted Mergansers filled out the waterfowl in the water, while on the fecal besmirched ice, geese and gulls rested. 

Long-tailed Duck

A quick stop at frozen Little Silver Lake yield almost nothing--a few Mallards from underneath the sluice grating where the only open water was and a Great Blue Heron standing in the reeds. I drove up to Manasquan Inlet with some trepidation--I didn't know how icy the beach was going to be and I didn't relish climbing up slippery rocks to get to the jetty.  When I saw some photographers hesitating to make the trek to the jetty, I walked, instead, along the boardwalk in front of the condos to the end and saw that I could get a view of the inlet just as good, if not better than from the rocks, so I doubled back to the car and got my scope. All the ducks in the water were expected, though I was happy to find a Razorbill floating just off the mouth of the inlet. I got back in the car after about a half hour of scoping (which is about my limit) and drove to the parking lot at the "back" of the inlet, hoping to find an unusual gull. I didn't, but to my surprise I found a species completely unexpected (by me) when I was walking toward Loughran Point--a big flock of Snow Geese took off from the Baltimore Avenue vicinity. I counted 30 in the air before the flock disappeared behind some buildings. You can sort of see Baltimore Avenue's patch of water from the very end of the parking lot, but the geese didn't land there. I had seen a report a couple of weeks ago that someone had Snow Geese there, but it seemed too quirky to go in search of them. I have never seen Snow Geese at Manasquan Inlet; a patch bird if I was serious about the patch.  Over by Baltimore Avenue I could see lots of ducks, including a White-winged Scoter which this year has been an easy duck for me to find, unlike most years. 

I made a final stop at Gull Island Park--I still need Horned Grebe for the year (!), but there were none to be found there--only more of the same of what I'd already seen, plus a black duck. 

For the day 28 species:

Species            Location
Snow Goose   Manasquan Inlet
Brant   Manasquan Inlet
Canada Goose   Lake of the Lilies
Mallard   Little Silver Lake
Canvasback   Lake of the Lilies
Greater Scaup   Manasquan Inlet
Lesser Scaup   Lake of the Lilies
Surf Scoter   Manasquan Inlet
White-winged Scoter   Manasquan Inlet
Black Scoter   Manasquan Inlet
Long-tailed Duck   Lake of the Lilies
Bufflehead   Manasquan Inlet
Red-breasted Merganser   Lake of the Lilies
Ruddy Duck   Lake of the Lilies
Mourning Dove   Lake of the Lilies
American Coot   Lake of the Lilies
Razorbill   Manasquan Inlet
Ring-billed Gull   Lake of the Lilies
American Herring Gull   Lake of the Lilies
Great Black-backed Gull   Lake of the Lilies
Red-throated Loon   Manasquan Inlet
Common Loon   Manasquan Inlet
Great Blue Heron   Little Silver Lake
Blue Jay   Lake of the Lilies
House Sparrow   Lake of the Lilies
House Finch   Lake of the Lilies
Red-winged Blackbird   Lake of the Lilies
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Lake of the Lilies