tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83133107913869422942024-03-18T16:11:18.004-04:00Birds & Wordsand any happy combinations that may result, plus various maunderings that occasionally pop to mind.larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.comBlogger2056125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-20656293976322303622024-03-16T20:27:00.000-04:002024-03-16T20:27:04.914-04:00LBI 3/16--King Eider, Piping Plover, Osprey<p>I met my buddy Bob Auster at Barnegat Lighthouse SP this morning for some late-winter birding. We were especially interested in finding one of the long-staying <b><i><u>King Eiders</u></i></b>. Whenever either of us has been there this year, the seas have been too rough to find any rarities riding the troughs of the waves. Fortunately, today the water seemed calmer when started walking <i>along </i>(not <i>on</i>) the jetty, but the swells got impressive when got to the mouth of the inlet. Off the end of the north jetty (Island Beach SP) there was a flock of <b>Common Eiders</b>, and in amongst them we could, fleetingly, find a smaller, browner duck with a rounder head, and shorter bill without as much slope to it as a Common Eider. Since we were both finding the bird independently of each other,<span> we were confident in our identification as a (oxymoron alert) hen King. </span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCJXv8Oo6IqKaNGiNNINF_R7USNdkwmFlYpgDxPQC6AVFOJZKRse1UT-BJgYU9iyfvDsHOBiRGoTzCRdZvaDT_p116zqd3xNZnlddssEFNPsaXml9fk29VGzYzKpxPECjEjTmwu1o4Wa6cp7f9QmbUs3XvR1fhzQOJPkZ_KxTaGUZH0Es2zxVrCv8668Q" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1256" data-original-width="1851" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCJXv8Oo6IqKaNGiNNINF_R7USNdkwmFlYpgDxPQC6AVFOJZKRse1UT-BJgYU9iyfvDsHOBiRGoTzCRdZvaDT_p116zqd3xNZnlddssEFNPsaXml9fk29VGzYzKpxPECjEjTmwu1o4Wa6cp7f9QmbUs3XvR1fhzQOJPkZ_KxTaGUZH0Es2zxVrCv8668Q=w400-h271" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Piping Plover</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Just before we had climbed onto the jetty, we had seen our first <b><i>Piping Plover</i></b> of the year nestled down in the sand, practically invisible among the broken shells. We'd probably have overlooked it had not another birder brought it to our attention. These threatened shorebirds are just adorable, though apparently not adorable enough that they don't need constant protection provided by beach monitors and cordoned off areas that piss off people who think it is their constitutional right to either have their dogs run wild on the sand or to drive their vehicles along the beach. I remember that once a big-time ad executive who had a house on Long Island threw a hissy fit because he couldn't shoot off fireworks on the beach in front of his house since the plovers had scratched out their nests there. Too effin bad, sez I. </p><p>We found most of the expected birds there, though not in great numbers--only a few <b><span style="color: #800180;">Purple Sandpipers</span></b> when a couple of weeks ago we had close to 150; probably about half the number of <b>Long-tailed Ducks</b> than our previous visit. There were a good number of <b>Harlequin Ducks</b> still around, though it was hard to get good looks at them as most of them were bobbing in the breakers at the end of the old 8th Street jetty. They and the Purple Sandpipers will be gone soon. And now that I've ticked my Piping Plover, unless something exceptional shows up, there is no compelling reason to go there for the rest of the year (though I'm certain I will). </p><p>After lunch and a walk along the concrete walkway where we got some good looks at molting<b> Common Loons</b>, we headed south, making stops at the usual spots. We were hoping for the Tricolored Heron that had been seen earlier in the week at the Bayview Marina, but dipped on that one--Tricolors are more important to Bob, who lives in Somerset County, than to me--they're an easy bird for me compared to the driving he has to do to get one.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGLahXIGjXGjh2haIvO3LU1XGW8sfvMzzfAY4_mWyGpoLP38JOCMxp-DExzMEc3kX9DcaumAFBACygL6gGh5PbdEdGa63hcIRN5BYkzMUqfZqlulGZ9OTNqCcf5XWx0wQf_ANLZidf_tfOc8TEzRTCLexRZ8WjDpZfxfaKj6PzilpOXTE8dPvXO9IDUdo" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1359" data-original-width="1717" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGLahXIGjXGjh2haIvO3LU1XGW8sfvMzzfAY4_mWyGpoLP38JOCMxp-DExzMEc3kX9DcaumAFBACygL6gGh5PbdEdGa63hcIRN5BYkzMUqfZqlulGZ9OTNqCcf5XWx0wQf_ANLZidf_tfOc8TEzRTCLexRZ8WjDpZfxfaKj6PzilpOXTE8dPvXO9IDUdo=w400-h317" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Bye-bye <b><i>Osprey</i></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Another mile south and we came to the Bayview Avenue Park, where in the past we've seen Tricolors. Dipped again on that, <i>but</i> we did see our FOY <b><i>Osprey</i></b> sitting on a platform. Of the raptors that I don't care about, Osprey heads the list--they and eagles are too charismatic for me to care about but I traditionally take one picture of the first one I see, which should stand in for the billion pictures of Ospreys that will be taken this year--which will look like the billion pictures taken last year, which will look like the billions upon billions of pictures taken in all the previous years since photography was invented--but the bird flew off just as I raised my camera. Bob cracked up. Ain't that the way? </p><p>Our last stop was Harvey Cedars--Sunset Park, the winter goldeneye spot, but they seem to have left already. The oddest bird we saw today was <b>Surf Scoter</b> drake in the cove. Very odd to find a "skunk-head" in the bay instead of the surf. It was definitely a patch bird for me. </p><p>For the day I tallied 52 species--the <b>Peregrine Falcon</b> was sitting on the hacking tower on Cedar Bonnet Island--I caught a look at it as I drove over the causeway. It isn't distracted driving; it's distracted birding. </p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Species Location<br /></i>Brant Barnegat
Lighthouse SP<br />Canada Goose
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Mute Swan Sunset
Park<br />Mallard Barnegat
Lighthouse SP<br />American Black Duck
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Greater Scaup Sunset
Park<br />Lesser Scaup Bayview
Ave Park<br /><b><i><u>King Eider</u></i></b> Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Common Eider
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Harlequin Duck
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Surf Scoter Sunset
Park<br />Black Scoter
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Long-tailed Duck
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Bufflehead Barnegat
Lighthouse SP<br /><span style="color: red;">Red-breasted Merganser </span>Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Mourning Dove
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />American Oystercatcher
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Killdeer Barnegat
Lighthouse SP<br /><b><i>Piping Plover</i></b> Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Ruddy Turnstone
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br /><span style="color: #7030a0;">Purple Sandpiper </span>Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Herring Gull
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Great Black-backed Gull
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br /><span style="color: red;">Red-throated Loon </span>Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Common Loon
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Northern Gannet
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Great Cormorant
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Double-crested Cormorant
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br /><span style="color: #0070c0;">Great Blue Heron </span>Bayview Ave Marina<br /><b><i>Osprey </i></b> Bayview Ave Park<br />Northern Flicker
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Peregrine Falcon Cedar
Bonnet Island<br /><span style="color: #0070c0;">Blue Jay </span>Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />American Crow
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Fish Crow Barnegat
Lighthouse SP<br />Common Raven
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Carolina Chickadee
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Carolina Wren
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />European Starling Sunset
Park<br />Northern Mockingbird
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Hermit Thrush
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />American Robin
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />House Sparrow
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />House Finch
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />White-throated Sparrow
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Song Sparrow
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br /><span style="color: red;">Red-winged </span>Blackbird Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br /><span style="color: #663300;">Brown-headed Cowbird</span> Sunset Park </span></div>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-66800397517621896522024-03-13T21:38:00.000-04:002024-03-13T21:38:01.535-04:00Whitesbog 3/13--Eastern Phoebe<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBLzKep5IzKBM4zrzhWeBKc2ivDu-rKdNOUKPSNMOYooYc3mw-3DuMYjdl5JQe4g4zP_sSAV2NPqKXZq249N8X8T-Up_NGwIza7TNx40u60GYsZceBoBrYhmNEDTzEwHGblyPLGyz57w_vcZEpHJRxYvgDaDbTerVBSdfHiOQBZN7dRKH_stY0-Hvwh1Y" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="2111" data-original-width="1298" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBLzKep5IzKBM4zrzhWeBKc2ivDu-rKdNOUKPSNMOYooYc3mw-3DuMYjdl5JQe4g4zP_sSAV2NPqKXZq249N8X8T-Up_NGwIza7TNx40u60GYsZceBoBrYhmNEDTzEwHGblyPLGyz57w_vcZEpHJRxYvgDaDbTerVBSdfHiOQBZN7dRKH_stY0-Hvwh1Y=w395-h640" width="395" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Fee-Bee!</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table>After my automotive <a href="https://birdsandwords-larryz.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-dumbest-thing-i-have-done-this-year.html" target="_blank">debacle </a>yesterday, I got right back on the horse and returned to Whitesbog this morning. Again, I stopped at the Lower Bog, hoping for snipe, and again, I found that the only shorebirds were <b>Killdeer</b>. But, since the supervisor told me yesterday that he was going to keep the bog lowered for a while, some spring shorebirds there are a distinct possibility. I moved on to "my" parking spot, on the border of Burlington and Ocean Counties, and walked around the Ocean County side for a few hours. I really wasn't expecting much, so I was happy with the ducks I was finding in odd corners of reservoirs--the ducks are usually on the Burlco side. I was especially pleased to scare up (literally) a couple of <b>Wood Ducks </b>in a quiet pool off a trail used mostly by fishermen. </p><p>I was walking along the dike that runs between the Upper Reservoir and a smaller reservoir when I thought I heard a harsh "fee-bee," coming from the woods at the edge of the water. It was pretty faint, at first, but as I got into the pines there, it got louder and louder, until it seemed like the bird--obviously, an <b><i>Eastern Phoebe</i></b>--was right on top of me. A little beyond where I was, as the corner of the road, is a usually reliable spot for nesters--there is a concrete structure over the water there that would make a good nesting spot (phoebes used to be called Bridge Peewees for their habit of building nests beneath bridges), and I walked around there, peering up into the pines. Finally, almost by accident, I found the singing bird (if you want to call that singing) high atop a pine. Unfortunately, my camera battery had died an hour ago, so all I could do was take the laughably bad picture on the left with my phone. Still, year bird and in the county no less, and no one had to tow me out of the muck today. </p><p>25 species on the Ocean County side:</p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Wood Duck 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Mallard 11</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Black Duck 11</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Ring-necked Duck 7</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Bufflehead 17</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Hooded Merganser 4</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Mourning Dove 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Killdeer 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Belted Kingfisher 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #222222;">Yellow-bellied Sapsucker </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1 <i>Upper reservoir</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-bellied Woodpecker </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Hairy Woodpecker 1 <i>Recorded</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Northern Flicker 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><i>Eastern Phoebe </i></b>1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Crow 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Carolina Chickadee 15</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Tufted Titmouse 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Tree Swallow 3</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: #ffd966; color: #222222;">Golden-crowned Kinglet</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Eastern Bluebird </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Dark-eyed Junco 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Song Sparrow 5</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Swamp Sparrow 2 <i>Breached bog & Big Tank</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-winged</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> Blackbird 25</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Pine Warbler 3</span></span></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-30456024125533010762024-03-12T20:07:00.000-04:002024-03-12T20:07:14.265-04:00The Dumbest Thing I Have Done This Year<p>But it's early.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqvKopGjVQZEN6-cQuBYY4a9zcMBCbeKBMuedvXRePyUC0zDkYuNp31_JS_ErgxA-MR6S3uwxKyCJRzdMY58nyTgTLMKTxinT_Z2SHMDPsBD_O8Mul-OJK8EcHMbVyxHTKrLFWmcoPr5nzIAGxrkTevJAuhBFV9-lrfFhthyQj4bTALRqMxE87yaL7MTo" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqvKopGjVQZEN6-cQuBYY4a9zcMBCbeKBMuedvXRePyUC0zDkYuNp31_JS_ErgxA-MR6S3uwxKyCJRzdMY58nyTgTLMKTxinT_Z2SHMDPsBD_O8Mul-OJK8EcHMbVyxHTKrLFWmcoPr5nzIAGxrkTevJAuhBFV9-lrfFhthyQj4bTALRqMxE87yaL7MTo=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Stuck</span></td></tr></tbody></table>I have been birding Whitesbog for more than 12 years. I have been there well over 700 times. I have driven its dikes and dams for hundreds of miles, in the dark, in the rain, through snow and over ice. But, as the guy supervising getting my car out of the Lower Bog said, "You come here enough, eventually you're gonna slide off the road." </p><p>Which didn't make me feel any less stupid. </p><p>The day started like hundreds of others out on the bogs. I stopped at the Lower Bog, which this month was lowered to discouraged the Tundra Swans and Canada Geese and keep them in Union Pond, away from the working bogs. I pulled over to the side of the road, right in front of the wooden bridge that is inset into the road. Had I driven a foot and half farther and set my front tires on the bridge, you wouldn't be reading this. But I didn't, because I wanted to keep the road clear in case someone else was driving around. I scanned the bog for a while, hoping for snipe, but only came up with <b>Killdeer</b>, blackbirds, and grackles. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidcCOo13N6sTInWCuOfHGwuY3t-Yoa8jwmhmbOdwe6ut6mH-OvdpQhchJ2yyRSPZ1IOzpjWUw52I2j0uW5_K3c0o-L3i8oDIk9SPfiCX4CT4xIMP-9-TRKyTGpXoVhk9eqiy2XD6rGJe1nyqD9RI2_xkw7Kl0aY3mQjgza7tyNk-dVSefkej7KM-4eizw" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidcCOo13N6sTInWCuOfHGwuY3t-Yoa8jwmhmbOdwe6ut6mH-OvdpQhchJ2yyRSPZ1IOzpjWUw52I2j0uW5_K3c0o-L3i8oDIk9SPfiCX4CT4xIMP-9-TRKyTGpXoVhk9eqiy2XD6rGJe1nyqD9RI2_xkw7Kl0aY3mQjgza7tyNk-dVSefkej7KM-4eizw" width="320" /></a></div>I put my scope in the car, started it up, put it in drive...and it wouldn't go forward. I looked ahead of me and saw that my bumper was actually up against the edge of the bridge. The shoulder was soft. I didn't think it was that big a deal--at first. I'd just turn the wheel to the left and get back on the hard part of the road. First, I had to back up a little. And backing up collapsed the road more. Then I went forward a little, then back, then I put the car into X mode, which just spun the tires more and when I got out of the car I was perpendicular to the road, and about 2 feet away from the water at the edge--front tires buried in sand, back tires in mud. <p></p><p>My first thought was that maybe my friend was around, and he could help. I called him, and he said he'd be right over, but he didn't have anything to pull me out with. I called AAA and after the usual the rigamarole they said they'd be there within an hour and a half. Just then M--- pulled up and saw my predicament. He's the supervisor and was checking the water flow of the gates. I told him that AAA was on the way. He thought that would be good, because, while he had the equipment to get me out, he didn't want to take the chance of damaging my car. He'd make his rounds and check back with me around 10. So now all I had to do was wait. I couldn't really imagine how a tow truck was going to pull me out with the front of the car buried in sand, but I guessed they had their ways. A little later my friend came up and said it was a good thing the bog wasn't full of water. I replied, "If the bog had been full of water, I wouldn't have stopped here!" </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtEOy4yCGVtNB396Sx-5Spx0htU9E63UXwxHu605rh-Lipt-U0pQQlmanwqL4cGu27IVb4fxrSv0MsAHniPFRefB7oHHz5USg-WyT8WehmIxRKO9WTvTZLW5LI1g8ipeWoSCrc4SWU4hH2DzyzgAZHBgvpVG12RNNlmSMQp4kSLcsmG0-d7AyI9wOQndM" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1377" data-original-width="1512" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtEOy4yCGVtNB396Sx-5Spx0htU9E63UXwxHu605rh-Lipt-U0pQQlmanwqL4cGu27IVb4fxrSv0MsAHniPFRefB7oHHz5USg-WyT8WehmIxRKO9WTvTZLW5LI1g8ipeWoSCrc4SWU4hH2DzyzgAZHBgvpVG12RNNlmSMQp4kSLcsmG0-d7AyI9wOQndM=w400-h364" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">The extrication begins</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Then I got a text from AAA asking me to share my location with them, which I did. 10 minutes later I got another text saying that now that they saw where I actually was, they couldn't help me, because they only do towing in accessible places that are no more than 50 feet from a paved surface. Thanks for nothing. I called M--- (I had taken his number) and told him I would have to prevail upon him. Very quickly, he and J arrived, J in a backhoe. J and I have the occasional chat about birds and the bogs when we see each other. J and M--- got to work, first J smoothed out the slope where I had grooved it trying to get out up the hill, then M---attached one end of strap to the axle of my car and the other end to the shovel of the backhoe. Warning me that they might damage the bumper, they got to work. It seemed excruciatingly slow, but the car inched up the incline, and within 10 minutes was on the road again--with, miraculously, no damage to the car. This obviously wasn't the first vehicle they've pulled from the bogs. "Hell," M--- said, "we've had overturned dump trucks in the bogs." Again, it didn't make me feel any less stupid. </p><p>But I can tell you one thing: It's the last time I'm considerate about where I park there. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgSV6JsUW-DV66VTIRLwCgAiuY3GLhA9ZpouUMCH4LuMuZeUbWWyT13lTIhTsqyN0pzVLfp4o6bEznde0GYrEC_Fsq-5XEmTxpaa7n-iiJOw2lBIawmJaRcjDvK6rn71LnCLcsxdWG8nCraHbx6r7DHOz0MP-IrAFZuGKzbgWT4g-iYHWDH4F7O2rmLy7E" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1526" data-original-width="1512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgSV6JsUW-DV66VTIRLwCgAiuY3GLhA9ZpouUMCH4LuMuZeUbWWyT13lTIhTsqyN0pzVLfp4o6bEznde0GYrEC_Fsq-5XEmTxpaa7n-iiJOw2lBIawmJaRcjDvK6rn71LnCLcsxdWG8nCraHbx6r7DHOz0MP-IrAFZuGKzbgWT4g-iYHWDH4F7O2rmLy7E=w397-h400" width="397" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Almost</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiU-3yEYt3OyGFXzVXWTyObVbhLP8KbsR9xcJ2-coPC4FAyfMXbtNPo73wXRlu0YsP4EEnZjQkobNASH2ZHpam-ULTYepwrZEa84RPfGR8MH4A8zDgH-Bk0o2QpEv8pyAoNPm_HkwtH8_ShtgVq2E4fTqOhcBzKaCC6O1b8byOAlYmtxJ2jRG6pKLMEjv8" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiU-3yEYt3OyGFXzVXWTyObVbhLP8KbsR9xcJ2-coPC4FAyfMXbtNPo73wXRlu0YsP4EEnZjQkobNASH2ZHpam-ULTYepwrZEa84RPfGR8MH4A8zDgH-Bk0o2QpEv8pyAoNPm_HkwtH8_ShtgVq2E4fTqOhcBzKaCC6O1b8byOAlYmtxJ2jRG6pKLMEjv8=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Extricated</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-43455787975032097542024-03-09T21:51:00.004-05:002024-03-09T21:53:42.368-05:00Delaware 3/5-3/9--Sandhill Crane, American Avocet, Forster's Tern, Short-eared Owl, Tree Swallow, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Eastern Towhee<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhM9c1wKmHBkYLwXS3ex4-SNT_Nc7UYzvcuCSX9AQgtP79j1ahufN4IV9OqcKxlg-irYvfDfm50oAnWieZ6wu2Dxatfi4wP_TaOFX3q_t_-mT_7kJ-VINRv2Or-zUByUFSC0ERiMCS8Wrg14KHjYq-Sc4apohKBZ0TuK7CgF_4bRFrB7eJCOjMx-JjR7UQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhM9c1wKmHBkYLwXS3ex4-SNT_Nc7UYzvcuCSX9AQgtP79j1ahufN4IV9OqcKxlg-irYvfDfm50oAnWieZ6wu2Dxatfi4wP_TaOFX3q_t_-mT_7kJ-VINRv2Or-zUByUFSC0ERiMCS8Wrg14KHjYq-Sc4apohKBZ0TuK7CgF_4bRFrB7eJCOjMx-JjR7UQ=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Sandhill Cranes,</i></b> Bombay Hook<br /><i>Photo: Shari Zirlin</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Shari & I spent a good part of the week in Delaware and despite some dreary weather, we did pretty well. We left late Tuesday morning in a persistent rain that continued all the way to Smyrna. But just as we turned onto to Whitehall Neck Road, about 2 1/2 miles from Bombay Hook, the rain stopped. About a mile up the road we saw a few <b>Killdeer</b> and then a couple of <b>Horned Larks</b> feeding the on the road and then we got our official greeting when about 5000 <b>Snow Geese</b> descended onto the sodden potato fields. I know, because I kept seeing reports, that there was a Ross's Goose (I'll be glad to lose <i>that </i>eponym with the orthographically silly s's) in with them, but I wasn't about to spend hours sorting through the flock which pulsated like a gigantic living organism. </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqy-pEK3xCbGrlEVDcCYPjaPhRELosKVPny1R8fwAbXOqQLQVhFZRHXki-bgsbbAoHhW8ySvUC7j5sBMCTTEDbRLMxzOB6m2gGvWLn_Lr2vy-HN9Rjdd81xARcPJFDoNM7-HCZPtoi--lZcTzU0T7FsENXZwZCms0mI9QsVX8-gDKgGSKaVXWrOXg4kjg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1521" data-original-width="1512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqy-pEK3xCbGrlEVDcCYPjaPhRELosKVPny1R8fwAbXOqQLQVhFZRHXki-bgsbbAoHhW8ySvUC7j5sBMCTTEDbRLMxzOB6m2gGvWLn_Lr2vy-HN9Rjdd81xARcPJFDoNM7-HCZPtoi--lZcTzU0T7FsENXZwZCms0mI9QsVX8-gDKgGSKaVXWrOXg4kjg=w398-h400" width="398" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i>Short-eared Owl</i>, Bear Swamp Pool</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Once inside the refuge proper we stopped to admire the new, very attractive, large Visitor's Center (hint, hint, Forsythe), and then started around the impoundments. Waterfowl, as you would expect in late winter, prevailed. No shorebirds, as the water levels were ridiculously high--areas that are usually marshy showed only the tips of the reeds and grasses breaking through the water. And the tide appeared high on the bayside too. We scored our first year bird with a <b><i>Tree Swallow</i></b> flying over Shearness Pool. We found what we would expect at Raymond Pool and Shearness--lots of eagles, ho hum, and then we started making our way around Bear Swamp Pool, hoping for the Glossy Ibis that had been seen there for what seemed like the last month as I read the rare bird reports for Kent County. The joke about Bear Swamp Pool as always been NO bear, NO swamp, and since it is usually just mud, NO pool, but like everything else in Delaware, this time the impoundment was flooded--<b>Common Mergansers</b> had no problem diving into its depths. Naturally, the last report of the ibis was on the 4th. Here on the 5th, nothing. But then Shari suddenly stopped the car, cussed, and told me to get out the scope. Just as I was pulling it out of the back seat, she cussed again, and I looked up to see a <b><i>Short-eared Owl</i></b> fly away from us onto a dead tree in the middle of the pool. Shari was disappointed that it wasn't as close as when she first spotted it, but with the scope we had very good looks, especially of its back, though it did rotate its head to give a couple of facial views. I took some digiscope photos, proving how perfectly camouflaged these owls can be. Not only was that a year bird for us, but it was our first Delaware Short-eared Owl. </p><p>We spent a little under 3 hours there, leaving as it was started to get darker. We were amused to find one <b>Wild Turkey</b> crossing and recrossing the road to Finis Pool as if it couldn't make up its mind, and then just beyond the refuge gate, we had 7 more toms cross the road and run up a lane between the fields and the refuge. 35 species for the few hours we were there. </p><p>Wednesday we weren't as lucky with the weather. The forecast was for rain in the afternoon, so our plan was to drive down to Mispillion and stand on the deck of the DuPont Nature Center, looking for shorebirds (read: oystercatchers), ducks, and what not. The forecast was optimistic. It started to rain a little about two miles from the center, and in earnest when we got there--a blowing, cold, nasty rain and DuPont has very little shelter--we stood under the eaves of the old lighthouse structure, but that doesn't help when the rain is horizontal. We did get Shari's oystercatchers, very briefly, a <b>Black-bellied Plover</b>, 7 eagles, ho-hum, gulls and let's get the hell out of here. The other part of our plan, which was to work our way north at some other spots, was obviously not going to work. We spent the rest of the day indoors. </p><p>Thursday was better. Overcast, colder than I like, but better. At Bear Swamp Pool we took a little walk along the trail toward the back of the impoundment, thinking that maybe the ibis was there (why I wanted to see an ibis so badly escapes me since in a month or so they'll be all over the place) but of course, that bird was long gone. We did hear another year bird though--our first <b><i>Eastern Towhee</i></b> calling "chwink!" in the woods. As we were heading back to the parking lot for lunch, just emerging from the woods, Shari stopped and pointed right--"There they are!" "They" were two <b><i>Sandhill Cranes</i></b> feeding in a big field a quarter mile from the Visitor's Center. Sandhill Cranes are apparently not flagged as "rare" anymore in Kent County--just "infrequent." "Elusive" might be a better word, since no one else seems to have seen them that day. </p><p>Friday was the best day weather-wise--sunny and seasonable. We drove down to Prime Hook. Prime Hook is harder to bird than Bombay Hook because it takes in so much more territory and requires a lot more driving. What we usually do, and did, is walk around the boardwalk area and the marsh trail, look at one of the ponds, and take a ride down to look at the Broadkill Marsh. But, because I noticed an interesting listing on eBird, we took a walk on a trail we'd never tried before--it was in an area with the rather convoluted designation Turkle Pond--pinewoods--Fleetwood Pond. We'd been to the ponds before, but never before walked the trail, which is less than a mile, and goes through a loblolly pine stand. Loblolly pines are the preferred (and for all I know, only) habitat of the <b><i><span style="color: #783f04;">Brown-headed Nuthatch</span></i></b>. (It isn't hard to identify loblolly pines in Delaware--find a pine tree and it's a loblolly). To find Brown-headed Nuthatches, we have either gone to Cape Henlopen, we're you can track them down on a certain trail, or else on Big Stone Beach Road in Kent County (where the population there is flagged as rare) which was one of our abandoned stops on Wednesday. I had no idea they were present at Prime Hook. We walked along the trail for about quarter of a mile, and it was deadly quiet. Shari played the recording of the nuthatch, which really does sound as it is described, like a pet's squeak toy, but we got no response. On a spur off the main trail which leads to a wetland (where, because of the phragmites, we could see nothing) we heard, as we were heading back, the little squeak. Again. And again. And then persistently, one, then two. Shari played the recording again and called in a chickadee, but then, crawling down the pine tree head-first, just like a nuthatch should, we saw the brown-capped little bird. I have to say it was quite a thrill--there is something very satisfying about find a tiny bird in a big area. But it wasn't a Kent County bird--Shari was not sympathetic. </p><p>We did go down Broadkill Road to look at the marsh, but again, the water was very high, and there were no shorebirds--there was no mud or high spots for them, except for one sandbar, where I saw some gulls and smaller white birds. One was flying, and with the scope I could see that they were <i><b>Forster's Terns</b></i> (FOY), so not a totally wasted trip. </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLeRoMM5UCiPCXKqWHsIMOd5j_LpK8mhxqHSX3tGchjodbAMEKhZUo-cIe43NW3KWMZE_kJKrhbWKsyAnTPS84f8E7KyOXLpKLL-a28xSlFXc-49B4uROdRJJ3mYBbHY4VqJZIxrvgA0p3J77NWa3gqxtClXFDkp2nnL6o2sBLHX6IAj2W4yuj42nmMsM" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLeRoMM5UCiPCXKqWHsIMOd5j_LpK8mhxqHSX3tGchjodbAMEKhZUo-cIe43NW3KWMZE_kJKrhbWKsyAnTPS84f8E7KyOXLpKLL-a28xSlFXc-49B4uROdRJJ3mYBbHY4VqJZIxrvgA0p3J77NWa3gqxtClXFDkp2nnL6o2sBLHX6IAj2W4yuj42nmMsM" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Raymond Pool<br /><i>Photo: Shari Zirlin</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Today, the weather again sucked. Overcast, and with a steady wind, making 45 degrees feel more like 35. Rain was supposed to start around noon. We went to Bombay Hook, intending to make a relatively quick trip around and then head back to New Jersey. Despite having seen some really good birds, I was still a little let down because we hadn't seen one of the Delaware specialties. That changed at Raymond Pool when Shari said that flock of birds that had just flown in looked like shorebirds, but they were too big. "Which means," I said, "they might be avocets." I didn't think I'd be scoping much in the wind, but to make sure of our identification, I pulled out the scope and got on the flock--180 American Avocets (give or take). The flock was very nervous, with good reason, as an eagle, ho-hum, was making its rounds over them. They would pick up and circle around the pool, then land, then do another touch and go. It didn't help for one of them as we saw the eagle flying off with an avocet in its talons. I love avocets in winter plumage--I think the high-contrast black-and-white coloration is much more appealing than the russet they have when they're breeding. As I was counting the avocets, Shari was whisper-yelling at me to come back to the car. "Hurry up, hurry up," (now <i>there's</i> a switch, her telling me to hurry up). What she wanted me to see was the two Sandhill Cranes, feeding right in front of us in Raymond Pool. Again, I don't think anyone else reported them today. </p><p>The eagle taking the avocet was not the most dramatic eagle meal we saw this trip. Yesterday, before we finished for the day, we decided to take a drive down Port Mahon Road, which has to be the most dismal spot in Delaware, a rock-strewn unpaved road with derelict piers and utility poles in the middle of the road. But a good place to look for shorebirds, gulls, ducks, and so forth. Except maybe not in the winter, since there was virtually nothing there except for the usual gulls and, ho-hum, 4 eagles. We didn't bother going to the end of the road, since the place is a flat tire waiting to happen, but on our way out, on smooth macadam, a car was stopped in the middle of the road "What's he looking at?" As he was blocking the road, he drove off, but we stopped to see a vulture and an eagle standing on the side of the road, the eagle eviscerating a red fox. The vulture was just waiting for the eagle to finish. Eagles can kill a fox, but they'll usually go after easier prey, so this might be roadkill. The eagle dragged the fox around, looking for the tasty bits, I suppose. And the vulture just stood by.</p><p>Forgive me, but the English major in me is about to come out: T.S. Eliot, Nobel Prize-winning poet, had a concept he called the "objective correlative," in which, as I remember, an image stood for an emotion. Watching the eagle disembowel the fox was the objective correlative for Port Mahon Road. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzyC79uRvkif3yRCGAxTZRGP0_4TawvfN9n9_GOaTMYC0_xUhiHlFdJGOGBJOt1jItLp-OYdTw-H6mLTo8Dsw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>For our 3 full days and 2 partial ones, we had 72 species. Not as many as I had hoped, but quality made up for quantity:<div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Species First Sighting<br /></i>Snow Goose
Whitehall Neck Rd.<br />Canada Goose Bombay
Hook<br /> Mute Swan Bombay
Hook<br /> Tundra Swan Bombay
Hook<br /> Wood Duck Bombay
Hook<br /> Northern Shoveler Bombay
Hook<br /> Gadwall Bombay Hook<br />
Mallard Bombay Hook<br />
American Black Duck
Bombay Hook<br /> Northern Pintail Bombay
Hook<br /> Green-winged Teal Bombay
Hook<br /> Bufflehead Bombay
Hook<br /> Hooded Merganser Bombay
Hook<br /> Common Merganser Bombay
Hook<br /> Ruddy Duck Bombay
Hook<br /> Wild Turkey Bombay
Hook<br /> Pied-billed Grebe Bombay
Hook<br /> Mourning Dove
Whitehall Neck Rd.<br /><b><i>Sandhill Crane</i></b> Bombay Hook<br /> <b><i>American Avocet</i></b> Bombay Hook<br /> American Oystercatcher
DuPont Nature Center<br /> Black-bellied Plover
DuPont Nature Center<br /> Killdeer Whitehall
Neck Rd.<br />Greater Yellowlegs Bombay
Hook<br /> Dunlin Bombay Hook<br /> Bonaparte's Gull DuPont
Nature Center<br /> Ring-billed Gull DuPont
Nature Center<br /> Herring Gull DuPont
Nature Center<br /> Great Black-backed Gull
DuPont Nature Center<br /> <b><i>Forster's Tern</i></b> Prime Hook <br />Great Egret Bombay
Hook<br /> Great Blue Heron Bombay
Hook<br /> Black Vulture Dover<br />Turkey Vulture Bombay
Hook<br /> Northern Harrier Bombay
Hook<br /> Cooper's Hawk Prime
Hook<br /> Bald Eagle Bombay
Hook<br /> Red-shouldered Hawk
Prime Hook<br /> Red-tailed Hawk Bombay
Hook<br /> <b><i>Short-eared Owl</i></b> Bombay Hook<br /> Belted Kingfisher Bombay
Hook<br /> Red-bellied Woodpecker
Bombay Hook<br /> Downy Woodpecker Bombay
Hook<br /> Northern Flicker Bombay
Hook<br /> American Kestrel Milford<br />Blue Jay Dover<br />American Crow Prime
Hook<br /> Fish Crow Dover<br />Carolina Chickadee Bombay
Hook<br /> Tufted Titmouse Bombay
Hook<br /> Horned Lark
Whitehall Neck Rd.<br /><b><i>Tree Swallow</i></b>
Bombay Hook<br /> <b><i><span style="color: #663300;">Brown-headed Nuthatch</span></i></b><span style="color: red;"> </span>Prime Hook <br />Carolina Wren Bombay
Hook<br /> European Starling Dover<br />Gray Catbird Bombay
Hook<br /> Northern Mockingbird
Bombay Hook<br /> Eastern Bluebird Bombay
Hook<br /> Hermit Thrush Prime
Hook<br /> American Robin Bombay
Hook<br /> House Sparrow Bombay
Hook<br /> House Finch Bombay
Hook<br /> American Goldfinch Bombay
Hook<br /> Fox Sparrow Prime
Hook <br />White-throated Sparrow
Bombay Hook<br /> Song Sparrow Bombay
Hook<br /> <b><i>Eastern Towhee</i></b> Bombay Hook<br /> Red-winged Blackbird
Bombay Hook<br /> Common Grackle Bombay
Hook<br /> Boat-tailed Grackle
DuPont Nature Center<br /> Yellow-rumped Warbler
Bombay Hook<br /> Northern Cardinal Bombay
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</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p><br /></p></div>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-77887389033644755372024-03-01T14:28:00.000-05:002024-03-01T14:28:00.509-05:00February--One Day Longer But Still a Dreary Month<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKWAjwIVL9GLVe2c7T3j1fhOuHdlrsX4RhDXTAT_OO5-XkSdv2KX60hv-B8gY8DtDUez3_2NAg66jvOQhrRrO7gWw9k-ZxtWF1zXovo43tC37pRR_D7x7KbXAzuK40MDbhW_Bg2b1jIE5gJxP7TI1sIYrAMfMrpCwzAHeTlmjNhMgf8fbuD6bc9_A-XIw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKWAjwIVL9GLVe2c7T3j1fhOuHdlrsX4RhDXTAT_OO5-XkSdv2KX60hv-B8gY8DtDUez3_2NAg66jvOQhrRrO7gWw9k-ZxtWF1zXovo43tC37pRR_D7x7KbXAzuK40MDbhW_Bg2b1jIE5gJxP7TI1sIYrAMfMrpCwzAHeTlmjNhMgf8fbuD6bc9_A-XIw=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b>Wood Ducks</b>, Cranberry Bogs, Dover Road</span></td></tr></tbody></table>The additional leap day didn't make any difference to the winter birding--as almost always around here, February is a dreary month. Most of the month's year birds have been noted here previously--a couple were either so quick and brief--<i><b>Sharp-shinned Hawk</b></i> flying across the cedar alley on Great Bay Blvd or didn't allow for any pictures like the hide-and-seek <b><i>Lapland Longspur </i></b>on Scott's Sandy Hook trip--are the exceptions. </p><p>Usually, I bemoan the lack of birds, like every other birder--didn't see this, didn't find that--but this month I'm focusing on the positive--some of my favorite birds were abundant. <b>Pine Siskins </b>have been regular at our feeder this month, aggressive little bastards that they are, fighting off the more common finches and other tweety birds. We've had as many as 12 at one time, some on the ground since they all can't fit on the feeders and get along. We've also had <b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Eastern Bluebirds</span></b> on our feeders. You don't think of them as seedeaters and, oddly, when Shari bought mealworms for them, they were nowhere in evidence (starlings were), but as soon as the mealworms ran out, they showed up to eat the shelled sunflower seeds. <b>Cedar Waxwings</b>--big flocks on Sandy Hook, and scattered all about on my walks, eating cedar berries. <b><span style="color: #800180;">Purple Sandpipers </span></b>not only at Barnegat Light, where they were fighting the breaking waves on the jetties, but also on the jetty at Manasquan Inlet, finding something to eat off the big concrete jacks that buttress it. And then of course, there were the <b>Horned Larks</b>--the huge resident flock at Jackson Liberty High School and another big flock on Sandy Hook in which the Lapland Longspurs were playing peek-a-boo. Those were all pleasures. </p><p>I also spent rainy or snowy days dipping into my 1936 copy of American Birds--a huge illustrated book with all kinds of information about the stomach contents of birds and many outdated or alternate names, which I find fascinating, and, in light of the "no eponyms" movement, I think a source for "new" names for some birds. </p><p>I think the "no eponyms" movement is dumb for a number of reasons, but the main reason is that while the common names might be changed, the scientific names stay the same, and a lot of those scientific names are eponyms. For instance: McCown's Longspur, named after a confederate officer and Indian killer, has been changed to Long-billed Longspur, which is a more descriptive name (one of the psuedo- rationales for getting rid of eponyms), but the scientific name remains <i>Rhynchophanes mccownii</i>. So, you're just sweeping the name under the rug. </p><p>But, on the other hand, when you look through this book, it is obvious that a lot of the names we know now weren't in existence 90+ years ago. Ever in flux. A lot of birds that have the "common" adjective now, were "American" back then. And some eponyms have already been lost. Wilson's Tern (Wilson, who, if he were alive today would be a hero of the left, has more birds named for him than anyone else) is now the Common Tern. </p><div style="text-align: left;">But here are some interesting alternate names I've gleaned:</div><div style="text-align: left;">Harris's Sparrow was also known as Hood-crowned Sparrow or Blackhood. Either would be a fine name for the bird.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Bachman's Sparrow was once the Pine-woods Sparrow</div><div style="text-align: left;">Cooper's Hawk could go back to being called Big Blue Darter, or simply Striker (I think Chicken Hawk is off the table)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Another bird that Wilson lost is the Veery, which once was Wilson's Thrush.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And, one of the more amusing nicknames I've found, Red-headed Woodpecker was known as Flag Bird, or Patriotic Bird, because, so they say, in some light, its black feathers looked deep blue and combined with the white patch and red head...I have yet to see this effect. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Another: Common Gallinule, before it had the misleading name of Common Moorhen (half of them weren't hens, and we have no moors), was known as Florida Gallinule.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And probably my favorite so far: the simple Ovenbird used to be known as the Golden-crowned Accentor. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For the month 114 species.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Species
First Sighting<br /></i>Snow Goose Brig<br />Brant Brig<br />Canada Goose Brig<br />Mute Swan Brig<br />Tundra Swan
Whitesbog<br /> <b><i>Wood Duck</i></b>
Reeves Bogs<br />Northern Shoveler
Brig<br />Gadwall Brig<br />American Wigeon Brig<br />Mallard Brig<br />American Black Duck
Brig<br /><b><i>Northern Pintail</i></b> Brig<br />Green-winged Teal
Brig<br />Canvasback Brig<br />Redhead Holly Lake<br />Ring-necked Duck
Whitesbog<br /> Greater Scaup
Bayview Ave Park<br />Lesser Scaup Lake of
the Lilies<br />Harlequin Duck
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Surf Scoter Barnegat
Lighthouse SP<br />Black Scoter
Manasquan Inlet<br /> Long-tailed Duck
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Bufflehead Brig<br />Common Goldeneye
Brig<br />Hooded Merganser
Brig<br /><b><i>Common Merganser</i></b> Lake Shenandoah County Park<br />Red-breasted Merganser
Brig<br />Ruddy Duck Brig<br />Wild Turkey
Crestwood Village<br />Horned Grebe
Graveling Point<br />Rock Pigeon Jackson
Liberty HS<br />Mourning Dove Brig<br /><b><i>Clapper Rail</i></b>
Brig<br />American Coot Brig<br /><b><i>Black-bellied Plover</i></b> Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Killdeer Lake of the
Lilies<br />Greater Yellowlegs
Brig<br />Ruddy Turnstone
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Sanderling Barnegat
Lighthouse SP<br />Dunlin Brig<br />Purple Sandpiper
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br /><b><i><u>Least Sandpiper</u></i></b> Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Razorbill Manasquan
Inlet<br /> Ring-billed Gull
Brig<br />Herring Gull Brig<br />Great Black-backed Gull
Brig<br /><b><i>Lesser Black-backed Gull</i></b> Lake of the Lilies<br />Red-throated Loon
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Common Loon Barnegat
Lighthouse SP<br />Northern Gannet
Manasquan Inlet<br /> Great Cormorant
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Double-crested Cormorant
Brig<br /><b><i>Black-crowned Night Heron </i></b>Bayview Ave Park<br />Great Egret Brig<br />Great Blue Heron
Brig<br />Black Vulture Brig<br />Turkey Vulture Brig<br />Northern Harrier
Brig<br /><b><i>Sharp-shinned Hawk</i></b> Great Bay Bvld<br />Cooper's Hawk 35
Sunset Rd<br />Bald Eagle Brig<br />Red-shouldered Hawk
Reeves Bogs<br />Red-tailed Hawk Pond
on Schoolhouse Road<br /><b><i>Great Horned Owl</i></b> Whitesbog<br /> Belted Kingfisher
Brig<br />Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Whitesbog<br /> Red-headed Woodpecker
Colliers Mills WMA<br />Red-bellied Woodpecker
Brig<br />Downy Woodpecker 35
Sunset Rd<br />Hairy Woodpecker
Whitesbog<br /> Northern Flicker
Whitesbog<br /> American Kestrel
Pasadena Road<br />Blue Jay Brig<br />American Crow 35
Sunset Rd<br />Common Raven
Whitesbog<br /> Carolina Chickadee
Brig<br />Tufted Titmouse 35
Sunset Rd<br /><b><i>Horned Lark</i></b>
Jackson Liberty HS<br />Golden-crowned Kinglet
Whitesbog<br /> White-breasted Nuthatch
Brig<br />Brown Creeper
Cranberry Bogs<br />Winter Wren
Whitesbog<br /> Carolina Wren Brig<br />European Starling
Brig<br />Northern Mockingbird
Whitesbog<br /> Eastern Bluebird 35 Sunset Rd<br />Hermit Thrush Brig<br />American Robin Brig<br />Cedar Waxwing Lake
Shenandoah County Park<br />House Sparrow
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />House Finch Brig<br /><b><i><span style="color: red;">Red Crossbill</span></i></b><span style="color: red;"> </span>Barnegat
Lighthouse SP<br />Pine Siskin 35
Sunset Rd<br />American Goldfinch
35 Sunset Rd<br /><b><i>Lapland Longspur</i></b> Sandy Hook<br />Snow Bunting
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Chipping Sparrow
Bamber Lake<br />Field Sparrow
Pasadena Road<br />American Tree Sparrow
Cranberry Bogs<br />Fox Sparrow Brig<br />Dark-eyed Junco Brig<br /><b><i>White-crowned Sparrow</i></b> New Egypt<br />White-throated Sparrow
Brig<br />Savannah Sparrow
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Song Sparrow 35
Sunset Rd<br />Swamp Sparrow
Whitesbog<br /> Red-winged Blackbird
Brig<br />Brown-headed Cowbird
Whitesbog<br /> <b><i>Rusty Blackbird</i></b> Reeves Bogs<br />Common Grackle
Lakehurst Railroad Tracks<br />Boat-tailed Grackle
Brig<br />Pine Warbler
Crestwood Village<br />Yellow-rumped Warbler
Brig<br />Northern Cardinal
Brig</span></div>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-86035280881909249332024-02-24T20:34:00.003-05:002024-02-24T21:05:05.102-05:00New Egypt 2/24--White-crowned Sparrow<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0-depcuwWyHprTz9gnI5Z81y7mF2zkTCj6v8mgLJfZFzl98I93phIJ_XC0s1SQmNJouyf4Pl8tHdYsBiJIXJYjUNW-awirx5GGaN0i5NPsuRyPzrg2azdDKnYReRFBcbVLMXPoRBhsep95qxzcL_QOQc3fs2NYCHQ08SvOU3FuTSY-L_DfP0P7kZbZzM" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0-depcuwWyHprTz9gnI5Z81y7mF2zkTCj6v8mgLJfZFzl98I93phIJ_XC0s1SQmNJouyf4Pl8tHdYsBiJIXJYjUNW-awirx5GGaN0i5NPsuRyPzrg2azdDKnYReRFBcbVLMXPoRBhsep95qxzcL_QOQc3fs2NYCHQ08SvOU3FuTSY-L_DfP0P7kZbZzM=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b><i>White-crowned Sparrow</i></b>, New Egypt</span></td></tr></tbody></table>I returned to Jumping Brook Preserve this morning for the first time since my unfortunate episode in September when, while I was considering whether I could step over a breach in the path between two bogs, I lost my footing as the edge gave way and slipped waist deep into the water, losing my phone which somehow inexplicably managed to slide out of my pocket and sink into the muck. Apparently, iPhones don't float.<p></p><p>The last time I was there, what must have been an army of beavers had managed to create so many dams, that the bogs were overflowing and the paths, for a hundred yards at a stretch, were not just underwater, but flowing streams. I was happy to see today, that whoever the caretaker of the property is was taking care of the property, because the front bog had obviously been drained, drawing off all the water on the paths, and the other reservoirs were very low. Only one <b>Killdeer</b> in all that mud, but the robins, bluebirds, and blackbirds were all happily foraging. The evidence of the beaver brigade was everywhere--formidable trees gnawed down, pointed stumps every few feet, wood chips scattered all around. But I could walk instead of slosh. </p><p>Unfortunately, even in the reservoirs that were full, there wasn't much waterfowl to find--14 black ducks were the largest number of ducks or geese that I could find. A few <b>Ring-necked Ducks</b>, a pair of <b>Hooded Mergansers</b> and only 4 geese were the best I could do. There were a couple of spots I didn't try since I'm still a bit leery of the more out of the way areas, but the big reservoir at the back, where I would expect to find a big flock of ring-necks, had only 2 geese floating on it. The best birds I had all morning there were on the way out--I heard, as I often do there, a <b><span style="color: red;">Red-shouldered Hawk</span></b> crying "Keer, keer, keer" and I found a <b style="color: #783f04;">Brown Creeper </b>spiraling up a tree then down to the next one. Brown Creeper is a patch bird there for me. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinlwwwnnR-xGQP1kzMLZ6jbCGroAw7CoWCOBCbpIc45rRs0EJk2NMOwIo3ZSFxkOjvNEqRehGd2bmT1VzVPkNMV_3BOSFyQ7iKZgv7-UfabzZ7GIq9ePpjG6ye8secByVDtPry-qz_a8M4yqRqsgKidRr3gNnIbe8t3BCZFaGSoH8d4HzC6GgbF5XxNF0" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinlwwwnnR-xGQP1kzMLZ6jbCGroAw7CoWCOBCbpIc45rRs0EJk2NMOwIo3ZSFxkOjvNEqRehGd2bmT1VzVPkNMV_3BOSFyQ7iKZgv7-UfabzZ7GIq9ePpjG6ye8secByVDtPry-qz_a8M4yqRqsgKidRr3gNnIbe8t3BCZFaGSoH8d4HzC6GgbF5XxNF0=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div>I'd been walking in a light, but steady rain almost the entire three hours I was at Jumping Brook. Of course, as soon as I got to my car, it had stopped. I had been considering going over to the longhorn cattle "pastures" not too far away, even though that spot, which once was <i>the</i> place for Sandhill Cranes in the county and was where Shari spotted Northern Lapwings (that year's celebrity species), hasn't been very interesting of late. I used to stop at a fence line on Brynmore Road and check out the sparrow flock, but nothing the last few times I've been there has turned up. I went anyway, and it was the same thing today, nothing there but a <b>Song Sparrow</b>, <b>White-throated Sparrow</b>, and a <b>House Sparrow</b>. There was some entertainment when I was held up by the farmer's pet Swan Goose which would not let my car get by on Inman--I had to stop, get out of the car, and let the bird attack my ankles before it would move away--even then it walked along the side of my car screeching into the window as I drove carefully away, trying not to kill it. <p></p><p>I scanned the fields for shorebirds but found only a flocks of robins and starlings. I parked and walked to the treeline that is beyond the pastures--there is a scraggly tree there that often has a flock of mixed sparrows in it. Today was one of those days--besides the predictable House Sparrows, I found another Song Sparrow, a couple of <b>Savannah Sparrows</b>, a couple of <b>Chipping Sparrows</b>, and then one sparrow that obviously wasn't a House Sparrow but, finally, the bird I always look for on Brynmore, a <b><i>White-crowned Sparrow</i></b>. Sans white-crown, which is why I didn't recognize it at first--the first winter birds have brown caps--but the conical shape of the big, shape of the head, the long tail, all gave me the field marks I need. So, the trip was worth it. Pickup truck guys: I saw an eagle, beautiful adult perched in a tree. </p><p>I might even have seen two. There was a hawk very far away across the pasture that, with the overcast lighting and with its back to me, I couldn't make out very well--I assumed it was an immature eagle but it looked too light on its back for me to definitely say. I don't think it was anything exotic, but I took a digiscope of it and put it on my eBird list anyway. If anyone wants to take a guess, have at it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjF7xU1EOqD7EsF7ZLWy5LU_2lxepmxba_3YDCvjrKA1IqRwf2hAM4st7mUgIFqKTQZTEMH3Oj2FOXzNxnhUGKiYq050Q-Rf6Rf7M-saP0pzs-BquVg5AgktFg4a60TLXB-gbVxYzPwZXpcKXuQS-queRvPQLm4CpJRLSGtnmVsBkakUWbuBWz9usnGPaM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjF7xU1EOqD7EsF7ZLWy5LU_2lxepmxba_3YDCvjrKA1IqRwf2hAM4st7mUgIFqKTQZTEMH3Oj2FOXzNxnhUGKiYq050Q-Rf6Rf7M-saP0pzs-BquVg5AgktFg4a60TLXB-gbVxYzPwZXpcKXuQS-queRvPQLm4CpJRLSGtnmVsBkakUWbuBWz9usnGPaM=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><p></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-34815583911865545122024-02-19T22:03:00.000-05:002024-02-19T22:03:06.450-05:00Jackson Liberty HS 2/19--Horned Lark<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAb8GS0Fwieo_AWKta6s6RTcpASX7CjcC4jUqOYrF2yZ38_z0mKgGH5gyRf2XiqEJnJYlTbK5LslQZgSXWu9ZU5Be1oH5sJjtR3Hlmh8M41mnZsSLOg94xMsC-N-vo4r0_ifRQ70k5Onh35Pf8Ju1WEArKDGJ8bICMIhHp1_1knDPvP6f2RLYTeJCOzGQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1672" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAb8GS0Fwieo_AWKta6s6RTcpASX7CjcC4jUqOYrF2yZ38_z0mKgGH5gyRf2XiqEJnJYlTbK5LslQZgSXWu9ZU5Be1oH5sJjtR3Hlmh8M41mnZsSLOg94xMsC-N-vo4r0_ifRQ70k5Onh35Pf8Ju1WEArKDGJ8bICMIhHp1_1knDPvP6f2RLYTeJCOzGQ=w640-h358" width="640" /></a></div>The best place for an impressive display of <b><i>Horned Larks</i></b> is in Jackson, on the soccer fields of Liberty High School. But, since wandering school grounds with binoculars is, let us say, frowned upon by law enforcement, the only times to go there are on weekends. I was fretting a bit Sunday night, when another weekend had passed without me getting there to put the larks on the list. You tell yourself that eventually you'll get there but "eventually" has a stale date on it. Then, the little 💡 went on--"Tomorrow is Presidents' Day--no school!" At 8:30 this morning, I parked my car in the empty lot and walked across the road to the empty soccer fields, turned to my right and found a flock of 85 Horned Larks feeding on the brown grass. They blend in so perfectly with the turf and are so skittish about being approached, that I have never gotten a very good photo of the larks there. But I took a lot of distant shots of the flock to put on my eBird list, since 85 explodes the filter for a count. <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgi8-YpvQ0DPuqTDigpU3yncHtV9ryiR_T1InXIu6guFqheIfibaJEhNSUaUdHQ7krprKV3nyVkaY_DXTHjtAZxUDN96HDsTy5nmpWcQSKKjABSkZiy4krcOOff6s78_hXX7Lf7p0fOxaHf8Zn4IbFBiktWsx7ERtTxSsjK4mwo-oL0IklASR2R6NSBggE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgi8-YpvQ0DPuqTDigpU3yncHtV9ryiR_T1InXIu6guFqheIfibaJEhNSUaUdHQ7krprKV3nyVkaY_DXTHjtAZxUDN96HDsTy5nmpWcQSKKjABSkZiy4krcOOff6s78_hXX7Lf7p0fOxaHf8Zn4IbFBiktWsx7ERtTxSsjK4mwo-oL0IklASR2R6NSBggE=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div>I watched the larks for 20 minutes feed and fly around (they tend to get up, fly off, and then return to where they started), and then headed over to Bunker Hill Bogs, about 5 minutes away. It is about a mile and half walk from the parking lot to Butterfly Road, through yet another former cranberry operation. The back bogs, I was hoping, would produce <b>Wood Duck</b>, which I still "needed" for the county. If not, Butterfly Bogs, across the street from the exit of Bunker Hill Bogs, might have them. But my first walk through didn't yield any woodies (a lot of stiff water) and Butterfly Bogs was even stiffer. However, on my return trip I flushed a drake and hen Wood Duck from the edge of the bog just before the metal bridge. And for you pickup truck drivers keeping score, I <i>did</i> see an eagle. In the two spots I totaled 32 species in about 3 hours of walking:<p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Species<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First Sighting<br /></i>Canada Goose<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jackson
Liberty HS<br />Wood Duck<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bunker
Hill Bogs<br />Mallard<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jackson
Liberty HS<br />Ring-necked Duck<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bunker Hill Bogs<br />Hooded Merganser<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bunker Hill Bogs<br />Rock Pigeon<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jackson
Liberty HS<br />Mourning Dove<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bunker
Hill Bogs<br />Killdeer<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jackson
Liberty HS<br />Herring Gull<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jackson
Liberty HS<br />Black Vulture<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bunker
Hill Bogs<br />Bald Eagle<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bunker
Hill Bogs<br />Belted Kingfisher<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bunker Hill Bogs<br /><span style="color: red;">Red-bellied Woodpecker<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Jackson Liberty HS<br />Northern Flicker<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bunker Hill Bogs<br /><span style="color: #0070c0;">Blue Jay<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Jackson Liberty HS<br />American Crow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jackson Liberty HS<br />Common Raven<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bunker
Hill Bogs<br />Carolina Chickadee<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bunker Hill Bogs<br />Tufted Titmouse<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bunker Hill Bogs<br /><b><i>Horned Lark</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jackson Liberty HS<br />White-breasted Nuthatch<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bunker Hill Bogs<br /><span style="color: #663300;">Brown Creeper</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bunker Hill Bogs<br />Winter Wren<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bunker
Hill Bogs<br />European Starling<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jackson Liberty HS<br /><span style="color: #00b0f0;">Eastern Bluebird<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Jackson Liberty HS<br />American Robin<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bunker Hill Bogs<br />Dark-eyed Junco<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jackson Liberty HS<br />White-throated Sparrow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bunker Hill Bogs<br />Song Sparrow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jackson
Liberty HS<br /><span style="color: red;">Red-winged </span>Blackbird<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bunker Hill Bogs<br /><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">Yellow-rumped
Warbler</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bunker Hill Bogs<br />Northern Cardinal<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jackson Liberty HS</span></div><p></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-87245545902761908092024-02-18T19:40:00.000-05:002024-02-18T19:40:55.238-05:00Reeves Bogs 2/18--Rusty Blackbird<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTn3XlTu_p48-uUg0mFkTbQbT6evkJ6od-SV41_eDvAB28x5EpIELp1rvcFQiAcDoZ_O4aMCVTDrCaDU9BEqYuh91fTOwOptjhJIcsLWqFoS_lysKrJrI8gPI7aTzR5M4nBSVNKuFt8swT_INkbsdIJsBeJrqJKJLpsn1FBZ3CMheOryVQuLPKMfmy0jU" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTn3XlTu_p48-uUg0mFkTbQbT6evkJ6od-SV41_eDvAB28x5EpIELp1rvcFQiAcDoZ_O4aMCVTDrCaDU9BEqYuh91fTOwOptjhJIcsLWqFoS_lysKrJrI8gPI7aTzR5M4nBSVNKuFt8swT_INkbsdIJsBeJrqJKJLpsn1FBZ3CMheOryVQuLPKMfmy0jU=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Rusty Blackbird</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>Sometimes, rare that it is, I just get a feeling that today's the day for a certain bird. I got that feeling twice this morning. The first time was upon arrival at Reeves Bogs, where I so often find myself on Sunday mornings. 6:45 AM and I thought the conditions perfect--cold, windless, the purple fading from the skies as the sun inched up over the cedars, white lumps of <b>Tundra Swans</b> dotting the bog. The second time was when I was walking up between the front bog and the maple swamp, with the sun now lighting up the tops of the bare trees that line the path. I had heard a couple of "conka-rees" from <b><span style="color: red;">Red-winged </span>Blackbirds</b> (my informant insists that they are singing earlier now than in the past--usually, he says, you don't hear them until mid-March), when I saw a blackbird flying from the bog into the treetops. On absolutely no evidence I said to myself, "<i>That's</i> going to be a <b><i>Rusty Blackbird</i></b>," and so it was. Reeves, in the winter, is fairly reliable for Rusties, but why <i>that</i> one was going to be the bird, I have no idea. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. </p><p>If I could only get a Virginia Rail to call from the maple swamp, I'd have my three Reeves specialties (<a href="https://birdsandwords-larryz.blogspot.com/2024/02/reeves-bogs-211-wood-duck.html" target="_blank">Wood Duck</a> was last week). </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioLXHGy4ZGKyAxp8uYylNjmUpsskhqqNFpEfGxDGYKQsRKteuVUvbmSMCu6FTZdWEHaxz_gbz-k6upDxUMJeWjknqyuVCC5Nc8HCYvX-2JSseKisNfcPAukU-TpaghFa-ZZz24f55NjOb526pA72tofuWxNH9QKh1lWWYIFoIWAX-rpwst7dN-4hQIda8" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioLXHGy4ZGKyAxp8uYylNjmUpsskhqqNFpEfGxDGYKQsRKteuVUvbmSMCu6FTZdWEHaxz_gbz-k6upDxUMJeWjknqyuVCC5Nc8HCYvX-2JSseKisNfcPAukU-TpaghFa-ZZz24f55NjOb526pA72tofuWxNH9QKh1lWWYIFoIWAX-rpwst7dN-4hQIda8=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b>Tundra Swans</b> at dawn</span></td></tr></tbody></table>I knew for two reasons that I wasn't going to get a lot of species today--for one thing it was cold, the bogs half-covered with a thin sheet of ice, and for another, my route was going to have to be different since the rudimentary bridges over some of the breaches would be too icy to cross. My informant, who built many of them, has often told me, don't try them when there's frost, you'll go right into a bog. So I had to walk a route that spent a lot of time in the woods and along a couple of forest roads where there is very little bird activity. My walk took me past the first bog (where most of the Tundra Swans were), around Milton's Reservoir (two more swans there and two in the outlet pond, onto Cooper Road, a left on Muddy Road, past the Atlantic White Cedar Preserve, along Bear Hole (two more swans), along the third bog, (two more swans), around for a look at the second bog (66 <b>Ring-necked Ducks</b> and 8 <b>Hooded Mergansers</b>), then back into the woods and finally back to the car. Just under 4 miles. And hardly a peep out of the birds. But I did see two eagles for all you guys in pick-up trucks. </p><p>Only 17 species, but one year bird and a good walk around one of my favorite places. </p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Canada Goose 40</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Tundra Swan 37</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Mallard 5</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Black Duck 10</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Ring-necked Duck 66</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Hooded Merganser 8</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Mourning Dove 3</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Bald Eagle 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Belted Kingfisher 1 <i>Flew into maple swamp</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-bellied Woodpecker</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Carolina Chickadee 5</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Tufted Titmouse 4</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Eastern Bluebird</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Robin 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Dark-eyed Junco 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-winged </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Blackbird 5</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><i>Rusty Blackbird </i></b> 1</span></span></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-65356680789341256192024-02-11T16:28:00.000-05:002024-02-11T16:28:27.422-05:00Reeves Bogs 2/11--Wood Duck<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSLJ9aJAALU6BcxJ9hRgP_nS2hfMfKRY-HriBUuSrXZO4DwvLosjWFKi07xfQBGUq7oNRHHNvR-IT96_TCFLwQTozTSVHOR-mxx-jhmnrmyVQ78SRJKSK4V52_jwkigZKh6Q07cBKNKFOpsm84nMBBRhedLwsPDcNcgzYe1e1g13gcyck4ypBKlctCJ68" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSLJ9aJAALU6BcxJ9hRgP_nS2hfMfKRY-HriBUuSrXZO4DwvLosjWFKi07xfQBGUq7oNRHHNvR-IT96_TCFLwQTozTSVHOR-mxx-jhmnrmyVQ78SRJKSK4V52_jwkigZKh6Q07cBKNKFOpsm84nMBBRhedLwsPDcNcgzYe1e1g13gcyck4ypBKlctCJ68" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Reeves Bogs, 6:45 AM</span></td></tr></tbody></table>I made my first trip of the year to Reeves Bogs this morning, arriving just before dawn. I would write "sunrise" but the sun never showed today. In the gloaming as I was parking in the clearing by the big dead tree, I could see many white lumps in the big front bog--38 <b>Tundra Swans </b>I eventually counted, my high for the year, even more than the 33 I saw the other day at Whitesbog. A week ago, I only saw 8 on the PWBC. At this point in the season, these must be returning swans, making their northwester diagonal migration. </p><p>There were a number of possibilities for year birds at Reeves--I was probably a little late for screech-owl and I couldn't get a Virginia Rail to call from the maple swamp as they sometimes will. But the most likely of the birds I did get--7 <b><i>Wood Ducks</i></b> flew out of the swamp and into the front bog as I started my walk up the south side of the bog and 7 Wood Ducks flew out 10 minutes later, just as I was getting to where they had landed near the breach in that bog. </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUGCET_zo829nLLM4m6Ad31gWVUcQ2J-f6WpOBYkop_cWMKCNwKBLvoiOH28Glia8KezYvVVFXQV-_9gBWHwy8oE0tZhcj3Di88ztvxnzjd1nRKN8W315vpmXYMeYMBCOJ44bXHxtJYJGy_3InpyxRbUWHpDg8wAoai0cEhbWI9oovQQ7kRHSBto8QHrc" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1681" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUGCET_zo829nLLM4m6Ad31gWVUcQ2J-f6WpOBYkop_cWMKCNwKBLvoiOH28Glia8KezYvVVFXQV-_9gBWHwy8oE0tZhcj3Di88ztvxnzjd1nRKN8W315vpmXYMeYMBCOJ44bXHxtJYJGy_3InpyxRbUWHpDg8wAoai0cEhbWI9oovQQ7kRHSBto8QHrc=w400-h365" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b>Tundra Swans</b></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Since I hadn't been there in almost two months, I didn't know what to expect in terms of the so-called trails. I just resigned myself that I might have to do some backtracking depending on how high the water was in some crossing spots, and I did have to--between the beavers and the all the rain, getting around there is an adventure. But I'm glad I had to turn around because I saw my informant and his dog coming up toward me--the dog, having seen my car, knew I was there and started tracking me. Luckily for my informant, I wasn't too far into the bogs--I have seen a disgusted face on him when his dog has insisted on finding me way over in the Cedar Restoration Area, a spot he doesn't normally walk to. I told him it was no go on that path, and we walked around the bog the other way, crossing one of his "bridges" which are not for the faint of heart. </p><p>Aside from the woodies and the swans, there were more waterfowl than I often see there--geese and <b>Mallards</b>, of course, but also about 60 <b>Ring-necked Ducks </b>(another species probably staging for a northward migration), <b>Hooded Mergansers</b>, 2 <b>American Black Ducks</b>, and 2 <b>Buffleheads </b>(infrequent) in Milton's Reservoir. </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg688VQQievEJwck3n8tdyXXnDOhQ8eFYMfNLdyHQ8uI2PqBG_EoSOxAXjEWo1PhjN1F2j9KG09gaejcKdyADU59MEsw-9BLwdURd-HPVIMEuEp4pk0WoZ54jXuFZNg1CFHJKcZYGoMuHCrInbuzQf6rkWT3PI8Zcyk3K_cVg3p-lxzLaTaEewOs6MtBAY" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg688VQQievEJwck3n8tdyXXnDOhQ8eFYMfNLdyHQ8uI2PqBG_EoSOxAXjEWo1PhjN1F2j9KG09gaejcKdyADU59MEsw-9BLwdURd-HPVIMEuEp4pk0WoZ54jXuFZNg1CFHJKcZYGoMuHCrInbuzQf6rkWT3PI8Zcyk3K_cVg3p-lxzLaTaEewOs6MtBAY" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Old well</span></td></tr></tbody></table>The great thing about walking with my informant is that I <i>always</i> learn something new, whether it be botany, herpetology, or local history and geography. Today is was history. We were in the field to the east of the parking area that had just undergone a prescribed burn--only partially successful because of the dampness. But instead of knee-high weeds, you could see the ground. "There used to be houses here you know," said my informant. Reeves was once a thriving cranberry operation--on the other side of the parking area you can see the foundation of the packing house. Hard to imagine, since where we were walking was nothing but trees, mostly dead, and abandoned fox dens, but soon we came to an old well head, which could be a real ankle breaker if one was walking around there when the grass was high. You learn something new every day and most of it not worth knowing but this strikes me as an exception. </p><p>A typical Pine Barrens winter walk--only 20 species but the cool bird requirement (Wood Ducks are easily my favorite waterfowl) was fulfilled.</p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Canada Goose 35</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Tundra Swan 38</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><i>Wood Duck </i></b> 7 </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Black Duck 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Ring-necked Duck 60</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Bufflehead 2 </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Hooded Merganser 6</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-shouldered Hawk</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1 <i>Back bogs</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Belted Kingfisher 1 <i>Bear Hole, heard</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-bellied Woodpecker</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Hairy Woodpecker 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Carolina Chickadee 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Tufted Titmouse 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Winter Wren 1 <i>Heard</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Eastern Bluebird </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 5</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Robin 20</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: #ffd966; color: #222222;">American Goldfinch</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Dark-eyed Junco 15</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-winged</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> Blackbird 6</span></span></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0Browns Mills, Pemberton Township, NJ 08015, USA39.9729209 -74.583467311.662687063821153 -109.7397173 68.283154736178844 -39.427217299999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-9047730224670903972024-02-09T21:42:00.002-05:002024-02-09T21:42:49.367-05:00Lake of the Lilies 2/9--Lesser Black-backed Gull<p> I made a few stops around Point Pleasant this morning. Things didn't get off to a good start at Baltimore Avenue which has been turned into a construction site, so I wasn't able to set up my scope, what with dump trucks backing up and excavators scurrying around on their treads. And the tide was in, so there was no sand bar on which one may find an "interesting" gull. Three minutes of that was enough. </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimMgzQNlT_m5NZ-obMvcDDxgl0_gvCIbvhEhUvFqhOlmZ66wVym717kSHTJLaZxUPYrjdnjZ-bmQQpugp_PP6CtfjkZt3mUqVd9NU1LTRqUy-0mMI8wwMEreCIK_5VXq1IBC0PyfxHHqq_Ah7SBxXUjWm660IjdgPStl6lKNinLJrOe6JIXsfeVK0sanA" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimMgzQNlT_m5NZ-obMvcDDxgl0_gvCIbvhEhUvFqhOlmZ66wVym717kSHTJLaZxUPYrjdnjZ-bmQQpugp_PP6CtfjkZt3mUqVd9NU1LTRqUy-0mMI8wwMEreCIK_5VXq1IBC0PyfxHHqq_Ah7SBxXUjWm660IjdgPStl6lKNinLJrOe6JIXsfeVK0sanA=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #800180;">Purple Sandpipers</span></b>, Manasquan Inlet</span></td></tr></tbody></table>I drove over to the Manasquan Inlet and set myself up on the jetty. Unlike the jetty at Barnegat Light, one can walk this jetty without risking life and optics. One can stand on it and scope the ocean without worrying about slipping between the rocks with one wrong step. One does not have an excuse to like "this is too dangerous" or "this is too wet" to get off the jetty. And if you like to look at <b>Common Loons</b>, that was the place to be today. I was kind of hoping for gannets, which I need for the county, but none were in evidence. I did see one <b>Razorbill</b>, always fun to find, but no Dovekies, murres, or guillemots, which are a lot more fun. Most of my entertainment was provided by a big flock of <b><span style="color: #800180;">Purple Sandpipers</span></b> that were feeding on the cement jacks that buttress the jetty. I heard them peeping when I got toward the end of the jetty, and they kept flying up and over the inlet. Every so often, I'd rest my eyes by looking down into the crevasses and see them standing there. Unlike the Barnegat jetty, there doesn't seem to be much growing on the cement there, so what they're finding to eat is a mystery. </p><div style="text-align: left;">To the south there was what my friend Linda would call a large "herd" of gulls, Herring and Great Black-backed. In any large congregation of gulls there is a very good probability of finding an "interesting" gull if one is </div><div style="text-align: left;">A) patient &</div><div style="text-align: left;">B) knows what one is looking for.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Since A) does not apply to me and I am spotty on B), I did not walk down the beach to scope the herd. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioW4xI2JDeHzgSLcpecM19YgZZg8HxlGTZ1Kiv3d5qtZ8BmajW5_RXDpBU5oFH00wiww5IYZY2WR5ukCpr9yGwC6hluRim9b3V6nXxELclxSHrnOkS9HJI4lM0mq3z4bshIXYS53Rv1q9N4YO8pLieu_KIMQYmKnJMqTOJrk7uUVNAaoo6GGHvwAgHIuY" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioW4xI2JDeHzgSLcpecM19YgZZg8HxlGTZ1Kiv3d5qtZ8BmajW5_RXDpBU5oFH00wiww5IYZY2WR5ukCpr9yGwC6hluRim9b3V6nXxELclxSHrnOkS9HJI4lM0mq3z4bshIXYS53Rv1q9N4YO8pLieu_KIMQYmKnJMqTOJrk7uUVNAaoo6GGHvwAgHIuY=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b>Killdeer</b>, Lake of the Lilies</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Instead, I went to Lake of the Lilies. It was better than the last time I was there, when the water was 90% frozen, but the duckage was much less than what I'd expect. Predominately scaup (2 greater, the other lesser) and <b>Ruddy Ducks</b>, with the usual <b>American Coots</b>. (Any guesses as to why this is the best place south of the Manasquan Reservoir to find coots?) There was also a big flock of gulls in the middle of the water. I walked around 3/4 of the lake (.4 miles), trying to find anything unusual (Tufted Duck would be nice), while thinking to myself, again, that out of all those gulls, one must be an oddball. When I turned around and got back to my car on Elizabeth Ave, a birder I know had set up his scope just behind where I was parked. We compared notes ("Too bad about Baltimore Avenue") and talked about gull experts we know. We also wondered where the <b>Killdeer</b> were that usually feed on the grassy strip between the water and the fence. Wondering brought two of them in--who knows where they were hiding--and then J found a <i style="font-weight: bold;">Lesser Black-backed Gull </i>immature, no less, just to add to the degree of difficulty. I had some difficulty finding it (Greater Black-backs kept getting in the way), but then the bird took off and flew to our right, giving very good looks. When it returned, a few minutes later, good comparisons could be made between it and the other bigger gulls. J was saying before he found the Lesser, that he wanted to get good at gulls. I just want to get good gulls. And I'll mooch them if I have to. </div>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-45048258240100627902024-02-07T21:12:00.000-05:002024-02-07T21:12:14.266-05:00Bayview Ave Park | Barnegat Lighthouse SP 2/7--Black-bellied Plover, Least Sandpiper, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Red Crossbill<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBhZR3-yjnpxXlHC6mAusIiWkqWUV_ryiSD2Xszcwg4jOA6Qu90sky6VemQiYCKJUrsRZfasAInLFzKfBJZBGD4agMEaDS8PQuhXr_KfL_jalHWmlYWUX612jowL6xxRwgwB2blxPZ-w24bYM1xh1NALApkUn2NkKlArzwCccmN_oel_G_NjseXEuptcc" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBhZR3-yjnpxXlHC6mAusIiWkqWUV_ryiSD2Xszcwg4jOA6Qu90sky6VemQiYCKJUrsRZfasAInLFzKfBJZBGD4agMEaDS8PQuhXr_KfL_jalHWmlYWUX612jowL6xxRwgwB2blxPZ-w24bYM1xh1NALApkUn2NkKlArzwCccmN_oel_G_NjseXEuptcc=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Black-crowned Night-Heron</b></i> (immature)</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Two targets and two surprises made for a good day on LBI. On my way up to Barnegat Lighthouse, I stopped at the Bayview Avenue Park. After a quick look at the bay from there I drove a little farther north to the corner, where a grove of trees surrounds a municipal well. I don't know if this is technically part of the park, but I include it in my lists. My target there was <b><i>Black-crowned Night-Heron</i></b>, a bird that roosts there in the winter. It used to be you had to walk along the road and hope you'd see one tucked high up in a cedar. Then, sometime in the last few years, a path was cut into the grove by parties unknown. This made it easy to find the herons, at first. But then they disappeared for a year or so. One theory was owls, another was too damn many people traipsing in there to say hello. The latter idea seems more likely to me. </p><p>The opening of the path is not quite as easy to find as it first was, overgrown as it is with phragmites, so that might have helped in the return of the herons, because as soon as I took steps onto the path, I flushed two immature birds. There were probably a lot more in there, but I didn't want to disturb the roost any more than I already had. I stood exactly where my first two steps had taken me, took some photos of one bird, and left happy. Year bird--as if I'm not going to eventually see night-herons dozens of times this year, although, as a friend of mine once observed, "At my age, you never know." </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSOVzNKVj693zWSOGUIWbWZy9l9da6TyY9KDr7zZ1AqCTz0zlxs_p8txdiN9aCCQ6r_GNNtDG9L9IJl1VSATu7WrAvB99TdTVtkN3d_lphYYlh8VxKDatfP-XuDnT3qzJC_P2n2U3ofBXQlehuPYR7oKV8LfPDMbMogwh-HOUWQxsqj78QBt52n_Pz9-c" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSOVzNKVj693zWSOGUIWbWZy9l9da6TyY9KDr7zZ1AqCTz0zlxs_p8txdiN9aCCQ6r_GNNtDG9L9IJl1VSATu7WrAvB99TdTVtkN3d_lphYYlh8VxKDatfP-XuDnT3qzJC_P2n2U3ofBXQlehuPYR7oKV8LfPDMbMogwh-HOUWQxsqj78QBt52n_Pz9-c=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Least Sandpiper</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table>My first surprise of the day was while walking around the pond at Barnegat Lighthouse to get to the end of the beach. In the winter, this is a much better way of getting there than either walking on the jetty or trying to cross the inlet on the beach that feeds the pond. In the summer, when the pond is restricted for the nesting plovers and oystercatchers, it is either hope for low tide or wear muck boots. Nothing much of interest was in the pond--the usual waterfowl and gulls--but when I got to the eastern end of it I found one <b>Dunlin </b>feeding along the edge, and then, a couple more skittering around the geese and with those two were two <b><i><u>Least Sandpipers</u></i></b>, rare for this time of year, although it is the third time I've had Least Sandpiper in winter there. </p><p><br />I got to the jetty, took one look at the spray exploding over it, and knew I wasn't going to spend much time up there. The rocks were all slippery and I had a time of it finding one that was low enough and dry enough to get up there, but I couldn't look over the edge where the <b>Harlequin Ducks</b> hang out without get a shower of seawater. It was amusing to watch the <b><span style="color: #800180;">Purple Sandpipers</span></b> fly up out of the rock crevasses every time a wave hit. It was entertaining for three minutes, and then I jumped off onto the beach. </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgP8DdB3c_5_imOQg8ofD21RrLpy-U_mMnnrdz0ZMjlFRQXG7jLgzJdFYokuWdeNpDoR1X_eXwUyBbC7NoRLy6E3Wmi1tGQrQgceQ-ha5gHQZOGavTPAEyBgL4eJu520fUysPJ7IuAudgwHVv2EJH6gD6fLAZbAQU6ZSO3saxaOqcDtIZXwnDFmH_aqqpE" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgP8DdB3c_5_imOQg8ofD21RrLpy-U_mMnnrdz0ZMjlFRQXG7jLgzJdFYokuWdeNpDoR1X_eXwUyBbC7NoRLy6E3Wmi1tGQrQgceQ-ha5gHQZOGavTPAEyBgL4eJu520fUysPJ7IuAudgwHVv2EJH6gD6fLAZbAQU6ZSO3saxaOqcDtIZXwnDFmH_aqqpE=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Black-bellied Plover</span></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table>With the rough seas I didn't see much profit in spending a lot of time scoping the ocean, though it wasn't hard to identify the rafts of <b>Long-tailed Ducks</b>. I found a few skunk-heads (<b>Surf Scoters</b>) bobbing in the swells, but my walk south to the buried mast of the Sea Star didn't turn up anything else. When I returned to the jetty the waves hitting the rocks seemed to have calmed down and standing atop there were two birding friends of mine, so I clambered up again. This time, in addition to the arial antics of the Purple Sandpipers, I was able to get close enough to the jetty to see some Harlequin Ducks. Comparing notes, they told me they had seen a <b><i>Black-bellied Plover</i></b> on their trek through the sand and I told them of the Leasts. I had come to the Light thinking it was time to add Black-bellied Plover to the year list so I walked along the jetty until I came to a little flock of Dunlins feeding among the rocks and with them, one plover. Easy to see why they're "Grey Plovers" in Europe. D & L & I met up again by the pond, but we couldn't find "my" Least Sandpipers. We walked along the berm on the south side of the pond, and it was there that I got the only bird I might not see/hear again all year. D called out "<b><i><u><span style="color: red;">Red Crossbill</span></u></i></b>!" just as the "jip jip" call was sinking into the auditory processing area of my brain. </p><p>For the Light, 33 species. The night-herons were the only other species at the Bayview Ave Park that weren't duplicated at the Light. </p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Brant 100</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Canada Goose 50</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Mallard 10</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Black Duck 15</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Harlequin Duck 4</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Surf Scoter 5</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Long-tailed Duck 100</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Bufflehead 5</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-breasted Merganser</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 70</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Mourning Dove 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><i>Black-bellied Plover</i></b> 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Ruddy Turnstone 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Sanderling 4</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Dunlin 25</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #800180;">Purple Sandpiper </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 30</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><i><u>Least Sandpiper</u></i></b> 2 </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Herring Gull 300</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Great Black-backed Gull 50</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-throated Loon</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Common Loon 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Great Cormorant 9</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Turkey Vulture 1 <i>Dunes</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Carolina Wren 1 <i>Heard</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">European Starling 200</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Northern Mockingbird 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Robin 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">House Sparrow 5</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">House Finch 1 <i>Heard</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><u><span style="color: red;">Red Crossbill </span></u></i></b><span style="color: #222222;"> 1 </span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Snow Bunting 50 <i>Pond</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Savannah Sparrow (Ipswich) 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-winged </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Blackbird 5 <i>Phragmites on edge of pond</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #222222;">Yellow-rumped Warbler</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 5</span></span></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-80942755108185663872024-02-04T21:47:00.000-05:002024-02-04T21:47:01.829-05:00PWBC 2/4--Great Horned Owl<p><i>Because most of the Pine Barrens lie outside any Christmas Bird Count circles, for the last 9 years Jim Schill has organized a Pinelands Winter Bird Census the week before the Super Bowl. </i>Twice in the last week I was at Whitesbog scouting my territory for the census, both times starting way before daybreak, listening for owls in all my usual spots: Behind the Barrel Factory, the Triangle Field, at the entrance to the bogs from the Village, at the parking spot by the Middle Bog, and at the double-laned road. Both times I heard nothing, despite repeatedly playing various hoots, trills, and whinnies through a blue tooth speaker. This morning I got there even earlier than the previous two times and decided to try different spots. Driving in on the road along Rome Pond I stopped and played some hoots--and was rewarded at 5:19 by the responding hoots of a <b><i>Great Horned Owl</i></b>. At 5:30 I stopped at the double-laned road which is the de facto border between Burlington and Ocean Counties. I intended to try for owls in Ocean but played some hoots and whinnies. Two minutes later the hoots got another GHOW calling back. Whether it was in Burlington or Ocean I couldn't tell, but since eBird is a survey of where your feet are, not where the bird may be, I was able to list it for both counties by walking 50 feet to my east. A crescent moon lit my way. </p><p>I then drove into the Ocean County portion of Whitesbog, hoping to get Eastern Screech Owl and Barred Owl to call. Barred Owl was a long shot--once, many years ago, I heard one there, but my informant there once told me that they nested behind Big Tank, so I drove up there and played "Who cooks for you?" a number of times and got no response. That didn't surprise me or really even disappoint me. Not getting any screech owls did disappoint me. I had to remind myself that most of the time on the census, I would get one or the other of the owls--only once, maybe twice, have I heard both. </p><p>By 6:30 it was getting light, though sunrise was a little more than a half hour away. I futilely tried the Triangle Field for screech before driving into the Village with a zip-loc bag of seeds that I used to replenish the feeders there, figuring I would come back later and pick up the easy birds. On a census, every bird is equally important (though there is an Orwellian sense that some birds are equally more important).</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwW_08t92Z08Jjs0VLBUvooKZpMx10_TQ1liUSw7aT_R1a3cTiOwBI7HW9goTuPylJCAhcNAPbbpPBLraa5jF-6dXlu4h_reDIBbO9aaY0cK8dGDp8QoSDG7IK_uNeAkvAMbb_q4RrmvXAQ6vMFOSbpQTcvHK0kWg2c10KKPOMFE8KmBUdc1ksjLGx1xM" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1958" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwW_08t92Z08Jjs0VLBUvooKZpMx10_TQ1liUSw7aT_R1a3cTiOwBI7HW9goTuPylJCAhcNAPbbpPBLraa5jF-6dXlu4h_reDIBbO9aaY0cK8dGDp8QoSDG7IK_uNeAkvAMbb_q4RrmvXAQ6vMFOSbpQTcvHK0kWg2c10KKPOMFE8KmBUdc1ksjLGx1xM=w400-h314" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">25% of the <b>Tundra Swans</b> counted today</span></td></tr></tbody></table>I then drove out to the bogs to survey the waterfowl. That didn't take long because I can count to 8 pretty fast. That's how many <b>Tundra Swans</b> were on Union Pond. Time was, Sonny, that it was nothing for this old-timer to get 30, 40, even 80 Tundra Swans on Union and the 3 adjacent bogs, not mention birds on the Upper Reservoir. But the last couple of years have seen their numbers plummet. 8 is about as small a number as I can remember--even yesterday I had 11. There were lots of geese, a few <b>Mallards</b>, and some <b>Ring-neck Ducks</b>. Even the Hooded Mergansers I had been seeing lately had disappeared. </p><p>Reinforcements arrived around 8:30 in the persons of Scott and Deb. Last year, when I couldn't do the census because it fell on Shari's significant birthday, Scott filled in for me, and I was happy to have their company and their eyes and ears. I probably would have missed the siskins zipping overhead and Deb found cowbirds at the feeders when I was looking elsewhere. And where I might have had one <b>Hermit Thrush</b>, with Scott we had 5. </p><p>We walked a goodly amount in Whitebog on both sides of the borderline, picking up dribs of black ducks in Ditch Meadow and drabs of <b>Buffleheads </b>over on the Ocean County side. After we'd exhausted Whitesbog, we drove over to Pasadena Road which runs along J.J. White's property and it was there than we finally had our first raptor (not counting <b>Turkey Vultures</b>) of the day, a <b><span style="color: red;">Red-tailed Hawk</span></b>. It was there also that we finally got a <b>Carolina Wren</b> and most of our sparrows, including 9 <b>Field Sparrows</b>. The last new bird of the day was an <b>American Kestrel</b> Deb found on the roof of a shed as we were driving out. </p><p>I drove over to Country Lake Estates to look at the eponymous lake--bupkus--a vulture and two geese. This I took as a signal from the birding gods to give it up, go home, and drink a beer. </p><p>For the day 42 species, which is actually a little more, I think, than I normally tally:</p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Species<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>First Sighting<br /></i>Canada Goose
Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)<br />Tundra Swan
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Mallard Whitesbog
(Ocean Co.)<br />American Black Duck
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Ring-necked Duck
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Bufflehead Whitesbog
(Ocean Co.)<br />Mourning Dove
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Herring Gull
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Turkey Vulture
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br /><span style="color: red;">Red-tailed Hawk</span> Pasadena Road<br /><b><i>Great Horned Owl</i></b> Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Belted Kingfisher
Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)<br /><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">Yellow-bellied
Sapsucker</span> Whitesbog (Burlington
County)<br /><span style="color: red;">Red-bellied Woodpecker<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Hairy Woodpecker
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Northern Flicker
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />American Kestrel
Pasadena Road<br /><span style="color: #0070c0;">Blue Jay<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />American Crow
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Common Raven
Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)<br />Carolina Chickadee
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Tufted Titmouse
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br /><span style="background-color: #ffd966;">Golden-crowned Kinglet</span><span style="background-color: #ffd966;"> </span>
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />White-breasted Nuthatch
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Carolina Wren
Pasadena Road<br />European Starling
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Northern Mockingbird Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br /><span style="color: #0b5394;">Eastern Bluebird</span><span style="color: #00b0f0;"> </span>Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Hermit Thrush
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />American Robin
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />House Finch
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Pine Siskin
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br /><span style="background-color: #ffd966;">American Goldfinch</span>
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Field Sparrow
Pasadena Road<br />Fox Sparrow Pasadena
Road<br />Dark-eyed Junco
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />White-throated Sparrow
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br />Song Sparrow
Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br /><span style="color: red;">Red-winged </span>Blackbird Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br /><span style="color: #996633;">Brown-headed Cowbird</span> Whitesbog (Burlington County)<br /><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">Yellow-rumped
Warbler</span> Whitesbog (Burlington
County)<br />Northern Cardinal
Whitesbog (Burlington County)</span></div>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-76583031102265278952024-02-02T20:40:00.001-05:002024-02-02T20:43:02.896-05:00Crestwood Village 2/2--Wild Turkey<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiEmZuSd3_L58Hp4j24bl1ymwy7JqZacCHFLcr89iU_TKC2Qrchu6ThVSYccf7I6On72jZOtKvBvBqqPdr49QyHvwLNyMvKlEMtr6AqxmLerj0lr83Mjm9MbsN6JFqXhzA03BMohf6gA1-GCBg4yvxnIIfeyNyqLu1OIkHK-Jr6cyz54lKSpptl0BslUgg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiEmZuSd3_L58Hp4j24bl1ymwy7JqZacCHFLcr89iU_TKC2Qrchu6ThVSYccf7I6On72jZOtKvBvBqqPdr49QyHvwLNyMvKlEMtr6AqxmLerj0lr83Mjm9MbsN6JFqXhzA03BMohf6gA1-GCBg4yvxnIIfeyNyqLu1OIkHK-Jr6cyz54lKSpptl0BslUgg=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div>I didn't get very far today. My weather app claimed it wasn't raining around Whitesbog, while it was just drizzling here. I drove two blocks and found my first <b><i>Wild Turkeys</i></b> of the year. Common in Crestwood Village, they wander all over. For a long time last summer & autumn I had my own posse of turkeys that would hang around the side door until I fed them. These might have been from that gang, because as soon as I got out of the car to take their picture, they ran up to see me. Unfortunately, I had no seeds with me. <p></p><p>I find it risible that people are afraid of turkeys and complain that they've been attacked by marauding gangs of turkeys, or trapped in the house because menacing turkeys stand ready to strike in their driveway. They're turkeys. They're dumb. And they tend to run away from anything bigger than them (or smaller if they're yappy little dogs). Which is more evidence that these guys (four jakes and a tom) knew me. </p><p>While I was taking the pictures with my phone, the drizzle started to be real rain and my weather app changed its tune--suddenly it was raining at Whitesbog. And would continue all day. I turned the car around and went back home, having fulfilled the "one cool bird a day" requirement. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxvWrPg8WwseJpVzenq7BFpIMD43Pi1U_mEcqDVIszX5lk8EtnHt683MyzOYMYpyn7hwPpNBjZ4ZamXSfrrGi1ftZ-BazpMxE6tKm8hfCvPh21RBiq5Nb0XZUxqXB6KsBaDOUdB-phvMyo6RMvUPZdH188QtglC7MbNO18UHzvhOgJNpZMNk7ls_zsURs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="1385" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxvWrPg8WwseJpVzenq7BFpIMD43Pi1U_mEcqDVIszX5lk8EtnHt683MyzOYMYpyn7hwPpNBjZ4ZamXSfrrGi1ftZ-BazpMxE6tKm8hfCvPh21RBiq5Nb0XZUxqXB6KsBaDOUdB-phvMyo6RMvUPZdH188QtglC7MbNO18UHzvhOgJNpZMNk7ls_zsURs=w640-h630" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhitOb_bWrgQaqJZoHzyGq9jOkOpPsIxWYCU--gCAuyrHLRjIfVnmENUWx_qfU0EdkXQMqa4GKBE-nC6z-3GRaS_aAWo4sJJHJPhpyQUkNakaku_pnw75Yhikl5Hwjxr-KNfXFNyF8poHXcFEySbsKChNiwLxoVmnykjW4JYqRVtILHfh5E1TjHEd99h9s" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1897" data-original-width="1405" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhitOb_bWrgQaqJZoHzyGq9jOkOpPsIxWYCU--gCAuyrHLRjIfVnmENUWx_qfU0EdkXQMqa4GKBE-nC6z-3GRaS_aAWo4sJJHJPhpyQUkNakaku_pnw75Yhikl5Hwjxr-KNfXFNyF8poHXcFEySbsKChNiwLxoVmnykjW4JYqRVtILHfh5E1TjHEd99h9s=w475-h640" width="475" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcMBvl3JSIQX6VP3DpOjUQsei2sToLH6XE-EhJMThPQjwiCxZ49TrtCgWa0qdv5Ly4v7k_iIy4W92nozrtDQbiKUQorWkZKfvth87Fl9el6UaeGbwmqxp50J_onlR6ZbpY_MfhObaoHq8Bn1DMUsyWVPVxiD7IMABlaL53nueGPYDruN9g0koRomC_CFs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcMBvl3JSIQX6VP3DpOjUQsei2sToLH6XE-EhJMThPQjwiCxZ49TrtCgWa0qdv5Ly4v7k_iIy4W92nozrtDQbiKUQorWkZKfvth87Fl9el6UaeGbwmqxp50J_onlR6ZbpY_MfhObaoHq8Bn1DMUsyWVPVxiD7IMABlaL53nueGPYDruN9g0koRomC_CFs=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvEhe4f8fxF09z0EjaPG6cGpfLofjdvw8yqaRDjThSiksMEUIjRajEOEFEyOhIiNO9ilS8PDkqXrKlocefY6ru3RIWjjj3lv5n4gWXLffEP9UQ_BnpNf9jnzy_x8C8-C0TKqo6DWbC7ivvr9UP2IeS8ejsHb9FcqTpJEh5n5uFG5oyCqx_KBOsQ3psXbc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvEhe4f8fxF09z0EjaPG6cGpfLofjdvw8yqaRDjThSiksMEUIjRajEOEFEyOhIiNO9ilS8PDkqXrKlocefY6ru3RIWjjj3lv5n4gWXLffEP9UQ_BnpNf9jnzy_x8C8-C0TKqo6DWbC7ivvr9UP2IeS8ejsHb9FcqTpJEh5n5uFG5oyCqx_KBOsQ3psXbc=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisFGVfFSez6pCcio2NDKLfeDDr7SR8CISgkGQm9bcjoTSMG-2mor7Q5dqf9T13g4euULGNpu2TLAnzMjoV_Mcl4VtTOxxVv13KvRMctgrASupN5NHAOt74Smdce-w-uscg5TgJmhVCrCF5pNFZV6sudO8NI_C66EddfngeVQ3VkLQPp7Y9UEyY4wh0f1g" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEisFGVfFSez6pCcio2NDKLfeDDr7SR8CISgkGQm9bcjoTSMG-2mor7Q5dqf9T13g4euULGNpu2TLAnzMjoV_Mcl4VtTOxxVv13KvRMctgrASupN5NHAOt74Smdce-w-uscg5TgJmhVCrCF5pNFZV6sudO8NI_C66EddfngeVQ3VkLQPp7Y9UEyY4wh0f1g=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Are you <i>sure</i> there's no food in there?</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-23011648405852276472024-02-01T20:57:00.001-05:002024-02-01T20:57:53.641-05:00Brig 2/1--Northern Pintail, Clapper Rail<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhg6Iz2DZDwwY8lp5GPNn7a3hvkG8Sg0anxZd7nP1Ck03Hy9zN9IrUd_GA93pJod37VIW-jJIorxbN8yStMwbFbn2bydlePfmkml6zCtVSoO__oMZsvo0LjUHrWJI5i6STUCL0El7ibkQFNvO9MV1SQdMtwcjMZrttCgjTXzcHpiHkFo6vO0gGdneOvi60" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="2013" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhg6Iz2DZDwwY8lp5GPNn7a3hvkG8Sg0anxZd7nP1Ck03Hy9zN9IrUd_GA93pJod37VIW-jJIorxbN8yStMwbFbn2bydlePfmkml6zCtVSoO__oMZsvo0LjUHrWJI5i6STUCL0El7ibkQFNvO9MV1SQdMtwcjMZrttCgjTXzcHpiHkFo6vO0gGdneOvi60=w640-h344" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Northern Pintail</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>I made my first trip of the year down to Brig today, meeting my buddy Bob Auster there. I got there about an hour before Bob (I don't have nearly as long a drive as he does) and made my way to the Gull Pond. Not much was shaking down there, so I walked the road up to the start of the drive. I did see one interesting duck in the pond along the road, a hen <b style="background-color: #ffd966;">Common Goldeneye</b>. You don't see many goldeneyes at Brig. </p><p>I walked the first 1/8 of mile or so of the Wildlife Drive. At the start, I passed 5 women who were intently peering into the phragmites. I suspected they were looking for a bittern, but I wasn't interested in just standing around. The usual ducks were in evidence--shovelers, <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Green-winged Teal</span></b>, <b>Mallard</b>s, black ducks--nothing to stop you in your tracks, but I did hear, very loud, my first two <i><b>Clapper Rails</b> </i>of the year. </p><p>On the way back, three of the women were still standing at the corner. I asked what they were looking for and one responded that they were listening for Saltmarsh Sparrow. Not totally unreasonable, I thought, but pretty early, and besides they wouldn't be singing this time of year, not that I can hear their faint songs or calls anyway. Ergo, there are better ways to spend your time at Brig. </p><p>I moved on. The other two women in the group were on the road, looking at <b style="background-color: #fcff01;">Yellow-rumped Warblers</b>. One asked me if it was possible that she'd seen an Orange-crowned Warbler. I said it was possible but didn't tell her that the bird she described wasn't an orange-crowned. (Of course, it's a lot easier to say what a bird isn't than what it is, since it can only be one species while it cannot be 10,000 species.) It turned out that their interest in Saltmarsh Sparrows stemmed from their being from Ohio. But their real target had been the Red-flanked Bluetail. When I told them I lived in Crestwood Village, I became something of a celebrity to them--fame by association, I suppose. I didn't tell them that if the situation was reversed, and the bluetail was in Columbus, Ohio, I sure as hell wouldn't drive all the way out there to see it. </p><p>I made my way back to the parking lot and met Bob. We did two loops of the drive plus a walk on Jen's Trail and a walk around the trails by the Visitor's Center. We each had 52 species with him having a couple I missed and vice versa. My only other new bird for the year was <b><i>Northern Pintai</i></b><i><b>l</b></i>. In terms of beautiful ducks, pintail is right up there with Wood Duck and Harlequin Duck, though it is a more austere beauty. </p><p>Eagles and <b>Northern Harriers</b> were the main raptors we saw. The coolest sight of the day was when, on the east dike, we spotted a gray ghost hovering over the road right in front of the car. It then turned and glided by, seeming to look through the car window at us. It probably wasn't more than 15 feet away. Striking. </p><p>My day list:</p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Snow Goose 2500</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Brant 125</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Canada Goose 130</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Mute Swan 4</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Northern Shoveler 100</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Gadwall 12</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Wigeon 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Mallard 35</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Black Duck 250</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><i>Northern Pintail</i></b> 25</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Green-winged Teal </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 48</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Canvasback 15 <i>North Dike</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Bufflehead 15</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: #ffd966; color: #222222;">Common Goldeneye</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1 <i>Hen Gull Pond</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Hooded Merganser 25</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-breasted Merganser</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 7</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Ruddy Duck 12</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Mourning Dove 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><i><b>Clapper Rail </b></i> 2 <i>Heard</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Coot 3</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #222222;">Greater Yellowlegs </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 6</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Dunlin 40</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Ring-billed Gull 45</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Herring Gull 70</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Great Black-backed Gull 5</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Double-crested Cormorant 8 <i>Flyovers & 2 off North Dike</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Great Egret 4</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Great Blue Heron </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">10</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Black Vulture 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Turkey Vulture 3</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Northern Harrier 4</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Bald Eagle 5</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Belted Kingfisher 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-bellied Woodpecker </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Blue Jay </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Crow 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Carolina Chickadee 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Tufted Titmouse 5</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">White-breasted Nuthatch 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Carolina Wren 3</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">European Starling 15</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Hermit Thrush 3 <i> Jen’s Trail & Visitors ctr</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Robin 20</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">House Finch 6</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Fox Sparrow 1 <i>Jen’s Trail, heard</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Dark-eyed Junco 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">White-throated Sparrow 3</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Song Sparrow 3</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-winged</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> Blackbird 30</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Boat-tailed Grackle 1 <i>North dike</i></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #222222;">Yellow-rumped Warbler </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">15</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Northern Cardinal 2</span></span></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-8693542215242896362024-01-31T20:21:00.004-05:002024-01-31T20:22:44.213-05:00January Wrap-up--The Usual Suspects<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2Da28XBgbhVKEZsooyUwhT0HC1Ens_lP7BA1o0_2oaz0wPU-sgqRBRzZQnc-mtm64bz93iSvUe83ZnqtZj8N81M4CJRA-HPdiiyhgc9QltG-Pn4fF0_6N5ethscEGY1n8XcDsYMouA_Kl1AwFXHfAwvxVxTstM4uVRaSBehgjF7Zq2KXQm7gtQf4YYfo" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2Da28XBgbhVKEZsooyUwhT0HC1Ens_lP7BA1o0_2oaz0wPU-sgqRBRzZQnc-mtm64bz93iSvUe83ZnqtZj8N81M4CJRA-HPdiiyhgc9QltG-Pn4fF0_6N5ethscEGY1n8XcDsYMouA_Kl1AwFXHfAwvxVxTstM4uVRaSBehgjF7Zq2KXQm7gtQf4YYfo=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Eastern Bluebirds </span></b>w <b>House Finch</b>, Great Bay Blvd</span></td></tr></tbody></table>There was one obligatory bird this month: the (now) long-staying <u><b><span style="color: red;">Red-flanked</span><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> Bluetail</span></b> </u>that seems to have made a permanent home in a backyard in the community I live in, one mile from where I write this. This remarkable little bird that has survived temperatures well below freezing and some seriously severe storms, not to mention the hostilities of mockingbirds and Hermit Thrushes, has been seen by well over a thousand birders and the photographs of it must number ten times that amount. It has been adopted by Crestwood Village as our mascot and named "Riker" after the homeowners who originally found it and in whose yard it has stayed, living on the meal worms they put out for it every day. On the second of the month, I stopped there and instead of the long wait I expected, saw the bird within 15 or 20 minutes. In the early days of its residency, it would disappear for hours on end, but now it seems to have become accustomed to its fans and puts on a show a few times an hour. <p></p><p>Other than that bird, most of what I saw was the usual suspects, with some rarities chased as has been documented in the entries below. A few relatively close rarities I didn't chase either because I didn't feel like driving up to parks I don't know or because I really don't like the idea of standing around in someone's backyard waiting for the rare bird (in this case a Western Kingbird) to show up, no matter how gracious the homeowner is. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOv-vZGbH6IzvBAbpN4bC_My5zo4jFmlT8IeqmFmbYjy8CM2Ki3Qdklh2-qkxhrJkPb3-tJCXgUaNtgLPhFeWBCeJCuqGPFmQHkAiic2GercEV3mc3uCPhzpilm7ko2nel5RtFcQgqpzp63VwGEFqdH0UzppsbpDJDH9Zwc4tPHiIQd44ScEiTE8fIBOU" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOv-vZGbH6IzvBAbpN4bC_My5zo4jFmlT8IeqmFmbYjy8CM2Ki3Qdklh2-qkxhrJkPb3-tJCXgUaNtgLPhFeWBCeJCuqGPFmQHkAiic2GercEV3mc3uCPhzpilm7ko2nel5RtFcQgqpzp63VwGEFqdH0UzppsbpDJDH9Zwc4tPHiIQd44ScEiTE8fIBOU=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #800180; font-weight: bold;">Purple Sandpiper</span><b>, </b>Manasquan Inlet</span></td></tr></tbody></table>On my last day of birding for the month I started at Whitesbog pre-dawn, scouting for owls for the Pinelands Winter Bird Count on Sunday. I tried 5 different spots, 4 of which have usually produced and the other a spot that seems like it should be a good owl spot, and I came up empty in all 5 places. Not a happy harbinger for Sunday. I did, however, hear, as the skies lightened, a <b>Fox Sparrow</b> low in the bushes, my 122nd species of the month and thus the year. Not really a satisfactory way to end the month's list, but I know I'll see Fox Sparrows aplenty in the months to come. <p></p><p>In the back of my mind in January and through the first few months of the year, I have the notion that if I miss such and such a bird now, I get a second chance at the end of the year. You can't really say that about spring migration--the warblers in spring are a lot easier to deal with than whatever dull-plumaged birds straggle back in the autumn. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1rsd86SvSnY8O7O5_mr7fx5ycuB7-uvbUjMJoR1yw-cVgKOQZos7EM_UsGIdzEMvCOEEFZiTsp61hiIvbkZ7d3cBzCpiecL1FVxDAZjvZJONTSXItzK4L187R36tmkWbH3JqrkAnXbeYaU9A3C2hIRYewJdMwZ0IgrE8N7hUedW4mraFikwfgd1EWc2I" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1rsd86SvSnY8O7O5_mr7fx5ycuB7-uvbUjMJoR1yw-cVgKOQZos7EM_UsGIdzEMvCOEEFZiTsp61hiIvbkZ7d3cBzCpiecL1FVxDAZjvZJONTSXItzK4L187R36tmkWbH3JqrkAnXbeYaU9A3C2hIRYewJdMwZ0IgrE8N7hUedW4mraFikwfgd1EWc2I=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b>Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch</b>, taken by our feeder camera.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Our feeders have pleased me so far this year--we're attracting some unusual yard birds--<b>Pine Siskin</b> most notably, though we've had bluebirds, waxwings, a kinglet, <b>Brown Creepers</b> and 2 winter warblers. <p></p><p>As I said, 122 species. Rarities are underlined. </p><p>Counties birded: Burlington, Mercer (incidentally), Monmouth, Ocean</p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Species First Sighting<br /></i>Snow Goose Pinelands
Preservation Alliance Headquarters<br />Brant Sandy Hook<br /><u>Cackling Goose</u>
Sunset Park<br />Canada Goose Sandy
Hook<br />Mute Swan Waretown<br /><u>Trumpeter Swan</u>
Assunpink WMA<br />Tundra Swan Whitesbog<br />
Northern Shoveler
Marshall's Pond<br />Gadwall Sandy Hook<br />American Wigeon
Marshall's Pond<br />Mallard Sandy Hook<br />American Black Duck
Sandy Hook<br />Green-winged Teal
Assunpink WMA<br />Canvasback
Riverfront Landing<br />Redhead Waretown<br />Ring-necked Duck
Bamber Lake<br />Greater Scaup Waretown<br />Lesser Scaup
Assunpink WMA<br />Common Eider
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Harlequin Duck
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Surf Scoter Sandy
Hook<br />White-winged Scoter
Sandy Hook<br />Black Scoter Sandy
Hook<br />Long-tailed Duck
Sandy Hook<br />Bufflehead Sandy
Hook<br />Common Goldeneye
Sandy Hook<br />Hooded Merganser
Assunpink WMA<br />Common Merganser
Assunpink WMA<br />Red-breasted Merganser
Sandy Hook<br />Ruddy Duck Assunpink
WMA<br />Pied-billed Grebe
Prospertown Lake<br />Horned Grebe Sandy
Hook<br /><u>Red-necked Grebe</u>
Sandy Hook<br />Rock Pigeon Wawa
South Toms River<br />Mourning Dove Whitesbog<br />
American Coot Sandy
Hook<br />American Oystercatcher
Holgate<br />Killdeer Lake
Barnegat<br />Greater Yellowlegs
Lake Barnegat<br />Ruddy Turnstone
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Sanderling Sandy
Hook<br />Dunlin Barnegat
Lighthouse SP<br />Purple Sandpiper Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br /><u>Black Guillemot</u>
Shark River Inlet<br />Razorbill Sandy Hook<br />Bonaparte's Gull
Sandy Hook<br />Ring-billed Gull Conines
Millpond<br />Herring Gull Sandy
Hook<br />Great Black-backed Gull
Sandy Hook<br /><u>Glaucous Gull</u>
Sandy Hook<br /><u>Iceland Gull</u>
Sandy Hook<br />Red-throated Loon
Sandy Hook<br />Common Loon Sandy
Hook<br />Northern Gannet
Sandy Hook<br />Great Cormorant
Sandy Hook<br />Double-crested Cormorant
Sandy Hook<br />Great Egret
Manahawkin WMA<br />Great Blue Heron
Sandy Hook<br />Black Vulture BC
Fairgrounds<br />Turkey Vulture Sandy
Hook<br />Northern Harrier BC
Fairgrounds<br />Cooper's Hawk
Assunpink WMA<br />Bald Eagle Conines
Millpond<br />Red-shouldered Hawk Whitesbog<br />
Red-tailed Hawk Crestwood
Village<br /><u>Rough-legged Hawk</u>
BC Fairgrounds<br />Belted Kingfisher Whitesbog<br />
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
35 Sunset Rd<br />Red-headed Woodpecker
Colliers Mills WMA<br />Red-bellied Woodpecker
35 Sunset Rd<br />Downy Woodpecker
Sandy Hook<br />Hairy Woodpecker Whitesbog<br />
Northern Flicker Franklin
Parker Preserve<br />American Kestrel
Ephraim P. Emson Preserve<br />Merlin Waretown<br />Peregrine Falcon
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br /><u>Northern Shrike</u>
Franklin Parker Preserve<br />Blue Jay Whitesbog<br /> American Crow 35
Sunset Rd<br />Fish Crow Riverfront
Landing<br />Common Raven Sandy
Hook<br />Carolina Chickadee
35 Sunset Rd<br />Black-capped Chickadee
Sandy Hook<br />Tufted Titmouse 35
Sunset Rd<br />Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Assunpink WMA<br />Golden-crowned Kinglet
Whitesbog<br /> White-breasted Nuthatch
35 Sunset Rd<br />Brown Creeper 35
Sunset Rd<br />Winter Wren Whitesbog<br />
Carolina Wren Sandy
Hook<br />European Starling
Sandy Hook<br />Gray Catbird 35
Sunset Rd<br />Northern Mockingbird
Sandy Hook<br />Eastern Bluebird Franklin
Parker Preserve<br />Hermit Thrush Whitesbog<br />
American Robin 35
Sunset Rd<br /><u><span style="color: red;">Red-flanked </span><span style="color: #0070c0;">Bluetail</span></u><span style="color: #0070c0;"> </span> Crestwood Village<br />Cedar Waxwing Sandy
Hook<br />House Sparrow Waretown<br />American Pipit Waretown<br />House Finch Sandy
Hook<br />Pine Siskin Bamber
Lake<br />American Goldfinch Whitesbog<br />
Snow Bunting Sandy
Hook<br />Chipping Sparrow
Colliers Mills WMA<br />Field Sparrow
Pinelands Preservation Alliance Headquarters<br />American Tree Sparrow
Shelter Cove Park<br />Fox Sparrow Whitesbog<br />
Dark-eyed Junco Whitesbog<br />
White-throated Sparrow
Whitesbog<br /> Savannah Sparrow Whitesbog<br />
Song Sparrow Sandy
Hook<br />Swamp Sparrow Whitesbog<br />
Eastern Meadowlark BC
Fairgrounds<br />Red-winged Blackbird
Waretown<br />Brown-headed Cowbird
CR 526 Allentown<br />Common Grackle
Cattus Island County Park<br />Boat-tailed Grackle Great
Bay Bvld. WMA<br />Pine Warbler 35
Sunset Rd<br />Yellow-rumped Warbler
Sandy Hook<br /><u>Western Tanager</u>
Sandy Hook<br />Northern Cardinal
Sandy Hook</span></div>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-54998886424452529242024-01-24T20:30:00.002-05:002024-01-24T20:32:45.395-05:00Shark River Inlet 1/24--Black Guillemot<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGxD1pKe7zPle3GYxuY0tSVlroKxyIU2VoesicG5_2PuRj8L7L430bAAOFQrsqg-s6GVy0E9Dw9B2b8nzAVX87LMMQj_srSf4m4u8wzVCl3rTlP0lmnn--50J-brtJgJBoqc65YttLTySHu2ODmf0Z4vxJiPd5tV0vegzJRCfwOJODRGc1lqYM-NJbSr4" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1096" data-original-width="685" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGxD1pKe7zPle3GYxuY0tSVlroKxyIU2VoesicG5_2PuRj8L7L430bAAOFQrsqg-s6GVy0E9Dw9B2b8nzAVX87LMMQj_srSf4m4u8wzVCl3rTlP0lmnn--50J-brtJgJBoqc65YttLTySHu2ODmf0Z4vxJiPd5tV0vegzJRCfwOJODRGc1lqYM-NJbSr4=w250-h400" width="250" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b><i><u>Black Guillemot</u></i></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Loathe as I am to stand on a jetty scoping the ocean, under gray skies in a heavy mist, that's what I did this morning--in two places. Given the forecast, I figured there wasn't much chance of getting any walking in today, so before the bad weather really kicked in, I decided I may as well try for the continuing <b><i><u>Black Guillemot</u></i></b> that has made itself at home at the Shark River inlet. </p><p>I had read that this rare (in NJ) alcid was "off the north jetty," so naturally I set up on the south jetty, where I always go, figuring I'd be able to spy it from there. I'd also seen one comment that it was "ridiculously easy to see." Heh heh. </p><p>Within 5 minutes I was disgusted with seawatching. And the guillemot wasn't showing. But I was then joined by a birder from the exotic realms of Hunterdon County. He had reasoned that I knew what I was doing. I soon disabused him of that notion, telling him that while the bird was supposedly north of us, I was hoping to find it from our present position. And <i>he</i> did. For a moment. It was just off the tip of the north jetty and then disappeared around the corner. I, of course, missed it. </p><p>But, knowing the bird was present, still, made me feel slightly better. Now all we had to do, was walk back, go over the bridge, and get a view of the north jetty--which I didn't realize until we were on the bridge, is an inverted L, so that the guillemot could be hiding behind the long northward stretch of rocks. </p><p>However, from the height of the bridge we were lucky to be able to see over the rocks and this time I found the bird. Great. But you always want a better look, maybe even a photograph. We walked off the bridge and onto the beach. Amazingly, the guillemot was bopping along in the swells off the end of the jetty, but much too far for my camera. I tried a couple of digiscope shots, clicking at whatever bobbing object happened to pass onto the phone screen. One was a <b><span style="color: red;">Red-breasted Merganser</span></b>. The other was, <i>mirabile dictu,</i> the Black Guillemot. The others were water.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhaxUyuEy5S5xlqrBS8hhWA6FRWrP89nsR7Bv0so3hheM4ttN6eJ68hU32scb5A0gsUfViyJ5u07FzxgvOq527ylfrrM4EGebeaiw3cpRxs4bI0embK8eg0zhm_zcJj0aiG-6RkWU5wbGCL0UztO5z48NDJRRcCf4pl3u21Baec0TL5jibKhwAOyeftIXE" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhaxUyuEy5S5xlqrBS8hhWA6FRWrP89nsR7Bv0so3hheM4ttN6eJ68hU32scb5A0gsUfViyJ5u07FzxgvOq527ylfrrM4EGebeaiw3cpRxs4bI0embK8eg0zhm_zcJj0aiG-6RkWU5wbGCL0UztO5z48NDJRRcCf4pl3u21Baec0TL5jibKhwAOyeftIXE=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b>Purple Sandpiper</b></span></td></tr></tbody></table>For my Hunterdon friend the guillemot was a life bird, so there was some vicarious excitement there for me, as the bird was "only" a year bird and a Monmouth County bird on my list. He asked about other alcids and I told him I was going to go down to the Manasquan Inlet in the hopes of a Dovekie. It's only 7 or 8 miles south of where we were, but it's a long 7 miles. We met up there and I pointed out a flock of <b>Snow Buntings</b> to him. There were 3 stalwarts at the end of the jetty with scopes and we walked up to them. No Dovekies, so far (it wasn't going to be a 3 alcid day for me) but they had had 233 <b>Razorbills</b> flying north. I don't know what's more absurd--the number or the counting of them. I remember (using my old-timer voice here) when one Razorbill was a big deal and birders would come a-running to wherever it was being seen--like the guillemot today. I'd already had one Razorbill at the Shark River inlet, and I found a few floating on the water for my Ocean County list. Three <b>White-winged Scoters</b> zipped south--a duck that I often have trouble finding in Ocean County. One year, toward the end of December, when I still hadn't seen one, Steve, in exasperation, got me in his vehicle and drove up the beach at IBSP where a flock of them were just off-shore. Happily, that won't be an issue this year. <b><span style="color: #800180;">Purple Sandpipers </span></b>were skulking among the gigantic concrete jacks that buttress the jetty there. As I was leaving after an hour (about twice as much as I thought my maximum would be) I found one just sitting there. </p><p>A trip to Lake of the Lilies didn't yield much--the lake is about 90% frozen, so only gulls and coots were in abundance--one <b>Lesser Scaup</b> (hen) for the county year list. By that time the mist had turned to rain and I head back south with one year bird and 5 county birds for my efforts. </p><p><br /></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-73667359109867781972024-01-21T15:01:00.002-05:002024-01-21T15:01:57.974-05:00The Strangest Question of the Year (So Far)<p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><b>I</b></span> was walking the snow-covered trails at Colliers Mills yesterday when I saw a Jackson Police car coming up the road toward me. The officer rolled down his window, greeted me as "sir" and then asked if, since I'd obviously been walking around, I had happened to come across an ambulance. Ambulance? "Yessir." </p><p>I told him I'd noticed tire tracks on the berm along Turnmill Pond, where supposedly no vehicles are allowed, and I thought that was strange. "Yes," he said, "it would be strange riding around in a snowstorm." While he wasn't very forthcoming, I gathered that Jackson Township was missing one ambulance and had reason to believe it was somewhere in the vastness of Colliers Mills. Since I was no help, after asking me to call them should I stumble upon the wayward ambulance, he continued on up to the turnaround, and I saw him later driving up Hawkin Road toward the Joint Base MDL. Soon, another patrol car was going the same way.</p><p>That question beats the one I was asked on Success Road (a dirt road) a few years ago about whether it was the way to the Borgata in Atlantic City--but not by much. Definitely the strangest question this year, but the year is young. </p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-39560472960761285132024-01-13T14:18:00.000-05:002024-01-13T14:18:01.698-05:00Franklin Parker Preserve 1/13--Northern Shrike<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-Ym6kqtBftc2S62er_PyfMqcEmEXB1dY9z6VUXeeuauJTWtqgr-YCS2_jLko9yGUFdHNOWq6VcHnXCL3M8pEppHdTMJecc4YudUMsiFfpYln1V_rt0XOXF_EzS2Xvxoc_4fmv8CHzk2_OPE2nzq2Z7fO-oBmeGHjgL1GyxxZasoORN209VSncjy9fPGY" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="920" data-original-width="1318" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-Ym6kqtBftc2S62er_PyfMqcEmEXB1dY9z6VUXeeuauJTWtqgr-YCS2_jLko9yGUFdHNOWq6VcHnXCL3M8pEppHdTMJecc4YudUMsiFfpYln1V_rt0XOXF_EzS2Xvxoc_4fmv8CHzk2_OPE2nzq2Z7fO-oBmeGHjgL1GyxxZasoORN209VSncjy9fPGY=w640-h446" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><u><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Northern Shrike</span></u></i></b></td></tr></tbody></table>With the heavy rains and gusting winds of late causing coastal flood warnings all over, I knew my best strategy was to go inland. I drove down to Franklin Parker Preserve in the heart of the Pine Barrens for the second time this month. Even there, in old cranberry bogs that are reverting to wetlands, the water was high, making the trails impassable in some places. I bumped into a couple of Burlco birding buddies who were looking for an out-of-season Grasshopper Sparrow that had been photographed there a couple of days ago. My goal was a little less esoteric and they pointed me the way to go for the <b><i><u>Northern Shrike</u></i></b> that has, presumably, returned for the 3rd year in a row to the preserve, albeit on the on the west side of 563 this time. I climbed up the observation platform and after a few minutes found the bird in a tree with a lot of dead branches in the line of sight. Then it jumped up to the top of the tree and I managed some very distant doc shots, and I was happy. It seems that most of my shrike sightings are like this, a gray/white/black blob in the distance where I can barely make out the mask. I tried walking down a breached dam to get a better angle on the bird but couldn't it find in the mess of bare branches in front of me.</p><p>Walking south along the Bald Eagle Reservoir, I came to one of those impassable spots and turned left on a much less used trail. And there before me, sitting in a tree, was the shrike. It flew into the reservoir on the right and perched for a moment on a stick, flew, came back to the stick, and let me get a decent look at it and some very lousy photographs which I won't show you. </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhG0vO-6GwvcTjTbzwC14I7m3iTfD6e_lOhNn8VCdaVGjWPzlzLSzSpiIrW1oeZCNFF2LpGddnw9R9ybJZH2DpuW9MsarlPmpcgLFmhzPNI8NfEWnezmth0g-NZ6vr9VGdvAW4BczrppOqhjGafB0tLXNbOkVLK4IB9o3BlFmlZSPf12OuQT1cbrhKMSuY" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhG0vO-6GwvcTjTbzwC14I7m3iTfD6e_lOhNn8VCdaVGjWPzlzLSzSpiIrW1oeZCNFF2LpGddnw9R9ybJZH2DpuW9MsarlPmpcgLFmhzPNI8NfEWnezmth0g-NZ6vr9VGdvAW4BczrppOqhjGafB0tLXNbOkVLK4IB9o3BlFmlZSPf12OuQT1cbrhKMSuY=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Eastern Meadowlark</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>I continued walking down the dam. I had no idea if it was breached or not. There wasn't much activity, the winds had kicked up and I suspected that was keeping the birds hunkered down, aside from a flock of robins. I got as far as I could reasonably go without bushwhacking and turned around. A bird flew down into the grass from a pine. I my first impression was that must have been a dove. I knew I'd flush the bird on the way back and when I did, I saw that it wasn't a dove. <b>Eastern Meadowlark</b>?</p><p>One of the sentences from Roger Tory Peterson's field guides that has always stuck with me was his discussion of habitat and birds. He wrote something to the effect, "A meadowlark needs a meadow." I have found this to be only generally true. I have seen meadowlarks in the marshes along Stafford Avenue, on the barren strip behind the firing range at Colliers Mills, among other non-meadow spots. The overgrown dam at Franklin Parker certainly doesn't qualify as a meadow, yet there was the bird, roosting now in a dead pine. I still wasn't entirely certain until it flew across the water, and I saw the white outer tail feathers spread in flight. It landed in another dead tree with its back to me and was very hard to find. But when it turned around, it was like a yellow light in all the brown and gray across the water. It actually pleased me more to find the meadowlark than the shrike. My philosophy is I only need one cool bird a day. The meadowlark made it two. </p><p><br /></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-75397979400935905072024-01-09T20:43:00.001-05:002024-01-09T20:46:04.071-05:00Waretown Bay Parkway 1/9--Redhead<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQ5mtHaK2d50znvmn2B0AcMzyV3XthFTIguf37RzhrnGgdTVOXzUTtmwB9hkdjUJssfJlIi0gekRy6-HkaGx00N8hQrvtZvzF6iwUgsN6vaKOlykBZayBoz-4pPxMdinOEesztM_or2GtEPhnox20BTTo5XJIKwlVNz7wRZrJNbAhyXM1MKZfDcYmyqro" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1993" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQ5mtHaK2d50znvmn2B0AcMzyV3XthFTIguf37RzhrnGgdTVOXzUTtmwB9hkdjUJssfJlIi0gekRy6-HkaGx00N8hQrvtZvzF6iwUgsN6vaKOlykBZayBoz-4pPxMdinOEesztM_or2GtEPhnox20BTTo5XJIKwlVNz7wRZrJNbAhyXM1MKZfDcYmyqro=w640-h494" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">2 <b>Greater Scaup</b>, hens (left) 3 <b><i><span style="color: red;">Redheads</span></i></b> (drakes & hen)</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Unexpected birds are always satisfying. This blustery morning at the end of Bay Parkway in Waretown (which overlooks--surprise!--Barnegat Bay) I brought out the scope to look at ducks. I saw a big flock right off shore to the north but upon closer examination, they turned out to be decoys. Hunters were hiding in the brush just off the point. But, in front of me were some ducks, a couple hundred yards out. With just my bins, one of them appeared to have a red head. Scoping them, they turned out to be 6 ducks, 3 hen <b>Greater Scaup</b> + 1 hen and 2 drake <b><i><span style="color: red;">Redheads</span></i></b>. <p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYRmM1yuEL0C6rTgb0BtXErPxUp6f150jv3cHAxcwY1TbYJlu9XJiywDZA2fqzrFqJzU6_uAovnv0CzQkpbCOVKrbESlSwBMYTXdgvzcLHNQHGKCevVdq6Oe3bisfJA62I1D-H5GD2Yg8DyXYJHzJHOxnjkCHMz5R47dq9NAEc1-W3PMm5LeKBAKJTfy4" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img data-original-height="1494" data-original-width="1731" height="553" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYRmM1yuEL0C6rTgb0BtXErPxUp6f150jv3cHAxcwY1TbYJlu9XJiywDZA2fqzrFqJzU6_uAovnv0CzQkpbCOVKrbESlSwBMYTXdgvzcLHNQHGKCevVdq6Oe3bisfJA62I1D-H5GD2Yg8DyXYJHzJHOxnjkCHMz5R47dq9NAEc1-W3PMm5LeKBAKJTfy4=w640-h553" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Not decoys</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Last year I had no Redheads in New Jersey--it wasn't until we were in Oregon that I finally saw one. Usually there is a flock of them off some of the points in Brick, but I almost never go up there. Now, I don't have to. To find them off Bay Parkway was quite the surprise--it's a first for me at this spot and no one else has ever listed one from there either. </p><p>However, there was a nagging thought: After seeing those decoys, I couldn't help but think there was the possibility that those were loose decoys bobbing along, pushed by the wind. I didn't see any of them dive or spread their wings. The light was gray and the birds (if they <i>were</i> birds) distant. I walked up the marsh into the woods and when I got back to the end of the road, saw the two hunters wading through the water in what is usually the eel grass covered beach. I asked them about their decoys and was happy to hear they had no Redheads in their spread--just scaup. They were surprised to hear that I'd seen the Redheads, an opportunity missed I guess. To be clear, I have nothing against duck hunting--I'm a member of Ducks Unlimited which does great work maintaining and rehabilitating marshes, but hunting sea ducks doesn't make a lot of sense to me since I can't imagine they're edible, given what (and where) they eat. They had shot one scaup and one merganser which they thought was a common but, looking into their bucket, I told them it was a red-breasted. Still, we all left Bay Parkway happy. </p><p>(Update: That goose yesterday at <a href="https://birdsandwords-larryz.blogspot.com/2024/01/harvey-cedars-barnegat-lighthouse-sp-18.html" target="_blank">Harvey Cedars</a> <i>was</i> a Cackling Goose)</p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-49490906666842532522024-01-08T21:58:00.001-05:002024-01-08T21:58:14.696-05:00Harvey Cedars & Barnegat Lighthouse SP 1/8<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJVMXd-hEabh6b9iRmXXLYtikyjGEgLO_RX2f4mVC3KDHg3i6V3T-_3OTHGqJs-zwGubd0e3f7LB_o6KvsL65aE2hdyzW0hZlAk4S0qHeZYjdLD4kb2WLN6u0Psfl9weP_jJBDZn3YUypHJH1jKEnAZ77cFK56Jc4ugXX0h2JFeK5JqoKI1d7POaJzN38" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJVMXd-hEabh6b9iRmXXLYtikyjGEgLO_RX2f4mVC3KDHg3i6V3T-_3OTHGqJs-zwGubd0e3f7LB_o6KvsL65aE2hdyzW0hZlAk4S0qHeZYjdLD4kb2WLN6u0Psfl9weP_jJBDZn3YUypHJH1jKEnAZ77cFK56Jc4ugXX0h2JFeK5JqoKI1d7POaJzN38=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Hen & drake <b><u>Harlequin Ducks</u></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table>I'm usually not a very good birding ambassador (I hear that some people even refer to me as "The Curmudgeon" hmph!), but sometimes, inadvertently, I'll find myself giving strangers birding advice, as I did today at Barnegat Lighthouse when I saw a couple on the concrete walkway excitedly taking pictures of <b>Brant</b>. "Well, photographers," I said to myself, "they take pictures of anything," but, when I saw them eyeing the jetty from the end of the walk, I asked them what they were looking for, knowing the answer was probably <b><i>Harlequin Ducks</i></b>, which it was. As to the Brant, since they're from North Carolina, they turned out to be lifers for them, so their excitement was understandable. </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSwMbQp4JNAEIRmW4hFSJUmoAhwmu4KsC-TteS4sZNqUHjeLKrkFXpenooX7Q9sUAjnYHZFrLInIeACN0H5hQBWFQ6BzU34G9I0_87vKcr01DxMeX3Q4v_j3CfNm8PhEw3t0OtMjQWXyc2aLwg0kmNnddbiyFvp9YCCo75NQjZJDgIMeZxixJAjSecZsM" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSwMbQp4JNAEIRmW4hFSJUmoAhwmu4KsC-TteS4sZNqUHjeLKrkFXpenooX7Q9sUAjnYHZFrLInIeACN0H5hQBWFQ6BzU34G9I0_87vKcr01DxMeX3Q4v_j3CfNm8PhEw3t0OtMjQWXyc2aLwg0kmNnddbiyFvp9YCCo75NQjZJDgIMeZxixJAjSecZsM=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b>Savannah Sparrow (Ipswich ssp)</b></span></td></tr></tbody></table>I told them they <i>could</i> walk the jetty, but since the Harlequins would be all the way at the end of it, the less hazardous, and more birdy, route was to walk around the pond, which is what I do. They took my advice, and we walked up the berm and around the pond. There were a few treats along the way, like a <b>Snow<i> </i>Bunting</b> posing and the Ipswich subspecies of <b>Savannah Sparrow</b> picking at the rocks along the jetty. When I got to end of the beach, I climbed up to the jetty and could see the Harlequins a little farther down where the jetty extends into the water. They climbed up and I pointed out the ducks, saying "I don't need photos, so this is as far as I go." I got photos anyway, as a couple of ducks were sitting on a rock, not too far from my position. </p><p>I also saw my first <b><i><span style="color: #800180;">Purple Sandpipers </span></i></b>of the year, my first <b><i>Dunlins</i></b>, and my first <b><i>Ruddy Turnstone</i></b>, so I ticked all the boxes for what you'll usually get there this time of year. However, none of the rarities I'd been reading about on the eBird alerts were there that I could see. I look at flocks of gulls or shorebirds, but if something doesn't leap out at me the cold starts to seep in and I have to get moving again. I certainly don't spend time scanning an empty ocean or sky, waiting for the rare flyby.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_cBiAReGwWuK0g8m4Tx-4OZ1CDV7crRuFXvICJJoDFBbX40FMT17dhwl6bgD9vIEktqobYT8gdQAdN8Ei1nv8FB4e8-tEKpt1Z9saDL2e6PqZeOPO_7DiwpivTjA1E9HnhzEw6luDz9DE2Ovp6g-pw2egbZC4bSvFccvqAY2wy8STfUc6uJDNqlCZXts" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_cBiAReGwWuK0g8m4Tx-4OZ1CDV7crRuFXvICJJoDFBbX40FMT17dhwl6bgD9vIEktqobYT8gdQAdN8Ei1nv8FB4e8-tEKpt1Z9saDL2e6PqZeOPO_7DiwpivTjA1E9HnhzEw6luDz9DE2Ovp6g-pw2egbZC4bSvFccvqAY2wy8STfUc6uJDNqlCZXts=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b><i><u>Cackling Goose</u></i></b> (probably), <b>Canada Geese</b></span></td></tr></tbody></table>But, speaking of leaping out at me--it didn't exactly happen like that at Harvey Cedars, where I stopped before going up to the tip of the Island, but I did find, I think, a <b><i><u>Cackling Goose</u></i></b> that was reported there. I purposely made it my first stop so I wouldn't be too tired after Barnegat to look for <b style="background-color: #ffd966;">Common Goldeneye</b>--Sunset Park is the go-to spot in Ocean County for that duck. On the lawn were about 50 <b>Canada Geese</b>. I can stand scanning a flock of 50. Nothing looked outstanding until I got to the last goose on the left--it seemed smaller, shorter necked, maybe the beak was stubbier than the others. It stood aloof from the rest of the geese, seeming not to want to have anything to do with them. I circled around the flock and half the time I said "no" to myself and half the time I said "yeah," and when it got to be 51% "yeah," I listed it as a Cackler. There are so many subspecies of Cackling Goose (as well as Canada Goose) and the variation so wide that unless the goose is the size of a Mallard (or someone much more knowledgeable tells me so), I'm never really convinced. </p><p>And I found one Common Goldeneye in the bay. I only need one. </p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-74823735970163866312024-01-05T20:24:00.000-05:002024-01-05T20:24:46.752-05:00Assunpink 1/5--Trumpeter Swan<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVDOCibi7DWe3_s3WJEkNTyi4_O-IH-t89dO4SVl0rLwIZ4Y8BGkp6-_LD0ZmPfwAx86SOm9FYrDLA39-XVfQdixq2VUIs_TH9eGK8iRH0jG9BPJ1AaNwfEcMGgVo1l45y00LnYTiO-_8HcJnp4KEO063_4EK317HXbr_jRWN7zLClngW6fWfaC70le54" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1324" data-original-width="1836" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVDOCibi7DWe3_s3WJEkNTyi4_O-IH-t89dO4SVl0rLwIZ4Y8BGkp6-_LD0ZmPfwAx86SOm9FYrDLA39-XVfQdixq2VUIs_TH9eGK8iRH0jG9BPJ1AaNwfEcMGgVo1l45y00LnYTiO-_8HcJnp4KEO063_4EK317HXbr_jRWN7zLClngW6fWfaC70le54=w400-h289" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><b><i><u>Trumpeter Swans</u></i></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table>After failing on two rarities on Tuesday and then not finding the Townsend's Warbler at Eno's Pond yesterday (I was hoping for a rollover rarity), I decided to get a "gimme" today and drove up to Assunpink, where the presumably returning (for 10+ years) <b><i><u>Trumpeter Swans</u></i></b> can be found. Easily. They seem, this year, to hanging out at the east end of the lake, not making their annoying forays to nearby Stone Tavern Lake. All you have to do is find a couple of big swans and then wait for them to lift their heads out of the water so that you can see their all black, Canvasback-like sloping beaks. It took me all of 5 minutes to put them on '24 list. Which was fine, because I didn't feel like standing in the sub-freezing temperatures looking for them. When you can see clouds of vapor coming from the swan's mouth, it's cold. </p><p>But once you get moving, it's fine, so I walked from the east end of the lake all the way around to the sluice on the north side and then back to where I parked, at the model airplane field. Not a lot of variety of ducks today--<b><i>Ruddy Ducks</i></b> were in big numbers, but all the other waterfowl was sparse. Even the geese only totaled about 100. However, I added <b><i>Common Merganser</i></b>, <b><i>Hooded Merganser</i></b>, & <span style="color: #38761d;"><b><i>Green-winged Teal</i></b> </span>along with the Ruddy Ducks to the year list. </p><p>I haven't been to Conines Millpond (incorrectly listed at Corrines on eBird) for a couple of years, but seeing that a Black-headed Gull had been seen there the last couple of days, I drove down there--it's more or less on the way back home. My streak of 1 ended, because I couldn't find the gull--only two <b><i>Ring-bill Gulls</i></b> among the approximately 1000 geese. There once was a birder in NJ who used to post on Jerseybirds all the birds she chased and missed. I once kept a database for a month on what she didn't see. I don't want this blog to emulate her, so enough with the swings and misses. </p><p>Again, the numbers of ducks there were small--a few of both mergansers, 5 or 6 <b>Buffleheads</b>, a black duck, some <b>Mallards</b>. I did, however, see my first <b><i>Bald Eagle</i></b> of the year. </p><p>I also inadvertently started a Mercer County list. CR 539 is the dividing line between Mercer and Monmouth. On the way south, down to Allentown I saw a <b>Northern Harrier</b> hunting over one of the Reeds Sods Farms and listed it. Since it was on my right, it was in Mercer. So, my Mercer County list stands at 1. </p><p>The Assunpink List:</p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">30 species</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Canada Goose 100</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Mute Swan 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><i><u>Trumpeter Swan</u></i></b> 2 </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Mallard 13</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Green-winged Teal</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span></i></b><span style="color: #222222;"> 5</span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><i>Hooded Merganser</i></b> 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><i>Common Merganser</i></b> 4</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><i>Ruddy Duck</i></b> 185</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Great Blue Heron </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 4</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Turkey Vulture 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-tailed Hawk </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Belted Kingfisher 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-bellied Woodpecker</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 6</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Hairy Woodpecker 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Northern Flicker 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Blue Jay</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Carolina Chickadee 6</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Tufted Titmouse 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Ruby-crowned Kinglet </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: #ffd966; color: #222222;">Golden-crowned Kinglet</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">White-breasted Nuthatch 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Winter Wren 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Carolina Wren 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Hermit Thrush 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Robin 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: #ffd966; color: #222222;">American Goldfinch </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">White-throated Sparrow 17</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Song Sparrow 8</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #222222;">Yellow-rumped Warbler</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 4</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Northern Cardinal 1</span></span></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-24660314165274105902024-01-03T20:21:00.000-05:002024-01-03T20:21:11.711-05:00BC Fairground 1/3--Rough-legged Hawk<p> <span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">A</span> .333 batting average is great in the Major Leagues. Chasing birds, not so much. I started the morning at Franklin Parker Preserve. A Northern Shrike has been there since late December, but I figured I'd wait for the new year to go look for it. A shrike has been spotted there for the last 3 years, though this is the first time it has been around the reservoir. FPP is vast (at one time I believe it was the largest cranberry bog in NJ), but the shrike has been reported in a specific, easy to find area, around the observation deck. I spent, off and on, about an hour on the deck, and the rest of the time wandering around the reservoir. No Lucky Shrike for me today. </p><p>Then I saw that the Ross's Goose that has been in the Mt Laurel vicinity was spotted again this morning. It was something like 25 miles away from FPP, but I figured I give it a shot. I should have looked at the map more closely. I thought I'd be looking at flock of Canada Geese on a farm field, which is where it was originally reported, but today the pin was dropped at the entrance to a housing development where there are a couple of small retention ponds on the main road. NO TRESPASSING signs everywhere. And only about 50 geese. No Ross's among them. </p><p>I had one more idea for a rarity today. Another half-hour drive up the BC Fairgrounds to look for the continuing, semi-reliable <b><i><u>Rough-legged Hawk</u></i></b>. When I got there a couple of birders I know were also setting up scopes. They had seen the Ross's, just a bit beyond where I was, in a field behind a barn. If I knew my way around that part of Burlco, I probably would have felt comfortable exploring a bit more, but I don't. We thought we had the Rough-legged, but the light was terrible--hazy & shimmering. While I was reasonably sure the hawk I scoped on the radio tower and then saw flying was the target, it was such a lousy look that I was debating if I wanted to list it. </p><p>Another guy I know came up. He also had just seen the Ross's in a slightly different section of that field. He also had the shrike yesterday. So, as I'm gnashing my teeth, we looked for the Rough-legged. A woman drove up and told us she'd just seen the hawk west of where we were standing, so we drove a quarter of a mile and set up again joined by another searcher. Still nothing. It was well past my lunch time by then, so I got in the car and was pulling out when the guy held up his hand. The bird was in the field, hunkered down. I cut the engine and got out again. I couldn't see it but then it flew up and around the field giving great views, unmistakable, as they say. It hover-hunted over the field, like a gigantic kestrel. No pics, as you can see. But at least I felt I could legitimately list it for the year. </p><p>Other new birds there were a <b><i>Black Vulture</i></b> and <i><b>Eastern Meadowlarks</b></i>, a very handsome bird that I don't get to see all that much. The year's count is 70. Not a lot for all the driving I've done. </p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-67867852915549709122024-01-02T20:15:00.001-05:002024-01-02T20:15:37.460-05:00Crestwood Village 1/2--Red-flanked Bluetail<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbkzUXQN2crCKVZx-OPLOiYhuOogCS79WdNXe-6j8E1E-UE1sm5kNeYTyOorNzILi8gKODJ2bEky2P30BBfZHdkeLyPiAia8RcQedI6n3NJ0MOpcDxLRyLFRAlHzpEsayqghzv8t_BPx28WZVsu1fS_VWVb5-MQSWZhXXCjXnis7LPPe_aIvJ7KG3vuS8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1612" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbkzUXQN2crCKVZx-OPLOiYhuOogCS79WdNXe-6j8E1E-UE1sm5kNeYTyOorNzILi8gKODJ2bEky2P30BBfZHdkeLyPiAia8RcQedI6n3NJ0MOpcDxLRyLFRAlHzpEsayqghzv8t_BPx28WZVsu1fS_VWVb5-MQSWZhXXCjXnis7LPPe_aIvJ7KG3vuS8=w640-h374" width="640" /></a></div>On my way back from Whitesbog this morning (24 <b><i>Tundra Swans</i></b>, my highest count this season), I figured I might as well get it over with, so I parked on Wranglebrook and walked up the block to the bluetail spot. There were about 10 birders standing on the lawn, half of whom I knew. Many were, like me, returning, because we want to have <b><i><u><span style="color: red;">Red-flanked</span> <span style="color: #2b00fe;">Bluetail</span></u> </i></b>on our 2024 year list. The bird had just come out and then jumped back into the foliage. I stood there watching the now famous holly into which it seems to disappear. A<b> Hermit Thrush</b> fooled us for moment. What none of the other birders there seem to realize is that Hermit Thrush is relatively infrequent in Crestwood Village. I can count on the fingers of one hand the times we had one in our backyard. The last time was because we had the only open water in our heated birdbath for blocks around. I thought that a <b><i><span style="color: red;">Red-tailed Hawk</span></i></b>, which could be seen at the top of a tree over on the next block might discourage the bird from coming out, but after about 15 minutes it was in the front of the holly, in shadows hard to see but for its red flanks. It is a very active bird, so it jumped on the ground, perched on a branch in the open, went back to the holly, went on to the ground again and finally put on its cloaking device and got absorbed into the holly again. I managed one photo in which the blue tail is obvious. <p></p><p>Afterwards, I felt like I had finished some chore, like doing my taxes, or cleaning out the garage. The bird is on the list and now, that bird is dead to me.</p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-66671807966775102322024-01-01T20:55:00.002-05:002024-01-01T20:55:45.677-05:00Sandy Hook Kick Off the Year--Western Tanager<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzZmLqEbVlU2OX4-AmE9A6N0lLF976l_e_72CjItHrCWq22H4886M-qMp21oM9PsMNGaEjJrn4a1y9pODaoso7bFuYymH_Gbu7A5lLcNrfRITe0NPEOcDoVeWPTHCu8ZjqegS--nSOjo5vkzXeZtq3p4cmHFtCa2m3Ap2_Y8WwUGe4EEeyX_l5o5xh0OM" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzZmLqEbVlU2OX4-AmE9A6N0lLF976l_e_72CjItHrCWq22H4886M-qMp21oM9PsMNGaEjJrn4a1y9pODaoso7bFuYymH_Gbu7A5lLcNrfRITe0NPEOcDoVeWPTHCu8ZjqegS--nSOjo5vkzXeZtq3p4cmHFtCa2m3Ap2_Y8WwUGe4EEeyX_l5o5xh0OM=w400-h300" title="Western Tanager" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Western Tanager</span></u></b></td></tr></tbody></table>As is my custom, I drove up to Sandy Hook this morning to "Kick Off the Year List" with Scott, Linda, Carole, et al, and about 29 other birders, though I had to go solo this time as Shari's knee hasn't recovered enough for walking through sand. Before I got up there, I ticked off 2 birds for the year: first bird, pre-dawn, was an <i><b>American Crow</b> </i>cawing somewhere in the neighborhood. Second species was a flock <i><b>Rock Pigeons</b> </i>in South Toms River. </p><p>As usual, we spent the first part of the day seawatching, but since it wasn't too cold or windy, and there were lots of birds to look at, I wasn't as antsy as I normally get. The rare bird there was a <b><i><u>Glaucous Gull</u></i></b> which we saw before we even got on the beach. Good sightings were <b><i><span style="color: red;">Red-necked Grebe</span></i></b>, <i><b>Razorbill</b></i> and two big flocks of <b><i>Snow Buntings</i></b>. No brown ones in the bunting flocks though, which would have indicated Lapland Longspurs. Both flocks were "clean" as I heard Scott describe them. We moved north and looked in Horseshoe Cove where we found <b><i style="background-color: #ffd966;">Common Goldeneyes</i></b> and <b><i>Horned Grebes</i></b>. </p><p>We then went up to Lot M and walked the fisherman's trail to the tip of the Hook, walking along the Salt Pond trail, looking for Orange-crowned Warbler. One was found, but I missed it. I was atop a dune, peering over the phragmites, where an <b><i>American Coot </i></b>was tucked into the reeds. I found it on my second try, but I suppose I would've rather seen the warbler. However, the walk was made worth the effort when, just as we got back to the parking lot, one sharp-eyed birder spotted a yellow bird in a cedar. "Isn't that a <b><i><u>Western Tanager</u></i></b>?" he shouted, pointing frantically to the top of the tree. At first, no one could locate the bird, but then it came out for a brief moment and most of us got on it. It was, indeed, a Western Tanager, a beautiful male, and it almost immediately disappeared behind the cedar. We walked the path along the battery where the bird was sampling the cedar berries in one tree after another. A few times it sat out in the open allowing for "crippling" looks through bins and scopes. Even some non-birding dogwalkers showed an interest in the bird--it is a damned impressive sight against the deep green of the cedar. It was the first male Western Tanager I've seen in New Jersey, and a new addition to my Monmouth County life list.</p><p>Nothing was likely to top the tanager for the day, but we pushed on, checking the ocean and beach around I lot where we were hoping for longspurs and were disappointed not to find any, and then it was down to Spermaceti Cove, where, along the boardwalk, a <b><i><u>Black-capped Chickadee</u></i></b> was flitting through the high grass. I was almost as excited about the chickadee as I was about the tanager, since I don't see them that often, not birding North Jersey very much, and the chickadee population at Sandy Hook is anomalous, a peninsula of black-caps in an area where Carolina Chickadees are the expected species. I don't know that anyone has ever figured out why Black-capped Chickadee persist on the Sandy Hook peninsula. I believe I have about a 50% hit rate when I go there, so I was glad to put it on my year list. And to have Black-capped Chickadees on the list before Carolina Chickadee is an oddity for me. </p><p>The last new bird of the year I thought was going to be <b><i>Mallard</i></b>, one of which Linda found floating in the cove with black ducks and Brants, but Jason, the gull expert, patiently going through the flocks of gull roosting on the sand bars came up with an <b><i>Iceland Gull</i></b> (Thayer's ssp), and gave a convincing disquisition on why the brown gull we were looking at was not just a juvenile <b><i>Herring Gull</i></b>. To me, it was a perfect example of a "If you say so" bird, since I'm sure I would have overlooked it on my own. Too bad Thayer's Gull is no longer considered a separate species. </p><p>I left after that, not feeling like spending more time searching the ocean and beach at C lot. With 43 species and 3 rarities, I felt it was a satisfying day and the odds were against anything new. And if they did find something, I have 365 (leap year) more days to add it to the list. </p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Brant 160</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Canada Goose 90</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Gadwall 1 </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Mallard 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Black Duck 30</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Surf Scoter 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">White-winged Scoter 34</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Black Scoter 5</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Long-tailed Duck 11</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Bufflehead 58</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: #ffd966; color: #222222;">Common Goldeneye</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 8</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-breasted Merganser</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 6</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Horned Grebe 8</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-necked Grebe</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Coot 1 </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Sanderling 3</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Razorbill 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Bonaparte's Gull 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Herring Gull 300</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Great Black-backed Gull 35</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><u>Glaucous Gull</u> </b> 1 </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Iceland Gull 1 </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">Red-throated Loon</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 60</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Common Loon 50</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Northern Gannet 50</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Great Cormorant 4</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Double-crested Cormorant 3</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Great Blue Heron</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Turkey Vulture 3</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Downy Woodpecker 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">American Crow 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Common Raven 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><u><b>Black-capped Chickadee</b> </u> 1 </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Carolina Wren 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">European Starling 100</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Northern Mockingbird 3</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Cedar Waxwing 17</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">House Finch 2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Snow Bunting 80</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Song Sparrow 1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: #fcff01; color: #222222;">Yellow-rumped Warbler </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> 15</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><u><b>Western Tanager </b></u> 1 </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Northern Cardinal 1</span></span></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8313310791386942294.post-41298515603104680392023-12-31T16:44:00.000-05:002023-12-31T16:44:24.616-05:00Month & Year Wrap-up<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzFRAFKKrrTAoLO7eNCJby35EScneVQgm7C1mHl7rNbrfXcimnvbWpg6MGRjZZg_vodlYjxTRHoR078-mHxUqXyZW1yntWrXXO3tpm43dCco0WpyFwNLiG7RgmliqxQWG4X7OsLNeUq2wtjD-EEBiBNLIJPfbmbeUgNtYIKl5baLSzC8LnUshUQrj7ds/s717/Screenshot%202023-12-13%20at%209.37.06%E2%80%AFPM.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="603" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzFRAFKKrrTAoLO7eNCJby35EScneVQgm7C1mHl7rNbrfXcimnvbWpg6MGRjZZg_vodlYjxTRHoR078-mHxUqXyZW1yntWrXXO3tpm43dCco0WpyFwNLiG7RgmliqxQWG4X7OsLNeUq2wtjD-EEBiBNLIJPfbmbeUgNtYIKl5baLSzC8LnUshUQrj7ds/w336-h400/Screenshot%202023-12-13%20at%209.37.06%E2%80%AFPM.jpg" width="336" /></a></div>Nothing is going to top the Crestwood Village Celebrity Bird this month or even this year. Astoundingly, the <b><span style="color: red;">RED-FLANKED</span> <span style="color: #2b00fe;">BLUETAIL</span></b> continues in its little area of brush, hollies, and rhododendron, where at this juncture conservatively a thousand birders have parked on Wranglebrook Road and walked in the 1 1/2 blocks to see it. They have been greeted kindly and even enthusiastically by the residents of that section of the village; I would have thought that by now they would be sick of the scopes, binoculars, and cameras and by association the bird itself, but they don't seem to be (for the most part, at least). Instead, it has been embraced to the extent that the board of trustees has decided to make the Bluetail the Crestwood Village 5 mascot and is sponsoring a contest to name it. I suggested "Harry" after the guy who originally photographed it in his backyard, but as the bird has been identified as female...Harriet just doesn't seem appropriate. <p></p><p>With my aversion to crowds, it took me until the 30th to go back (with Mike) where it made a nice showing, but Shari has seen it twice while visiting our friends who happen to live directly across the street from where the stakeout hotspot pin has been placed.</p><p>It is inexplicable how this rarity of rarities wound up in our obscure little community, but as Myron Cohen once said, "Everybody's gotta be someplace." </p><p>But at least that "someplace" is relatively convenient. I used to say to Shari that I dreaded a rare bird ever turning up in our backyard (something I no longer have to worry about, odds against being even longer now) because of the chaos that would presumably ensue. However, this bird turned up where the parking is convenient--had something like this occurred in our yard, I doubt a lot of birders would be willing to walk the whole quarter mile that we are from Schoolhouse Road. </p><p>I read an article this week about a French street artist who goes by the name "Invader." He has cemented more than 4000 mosaics to buildings, bridges, pillars, subway stations, benches, railing, pipes and so forth in 172 cities in 32 countries. He calls them "invaders." He has also created a game, sort of an artistic Pokemon Go, in which you photograph ("flash") the mosaic and list it on the site. There is an even a list of top 100 "flashers" on the site, just like on eBird. The writer follows a group of people who travel from France through Switzerland to Slovenia, stopping at various sites and taking pictures of his invades. She makes them out as slightly crazed, eccentric nerds, who go to extreme lengths to find all 40 mosaics in the city they're visiting. Frankly, it didn't seem any sillier to me than doing a big day or chasing a little bird from Finland that happened to plunk down in the Pine Barrens. </p><p>Since it looks likely that the bird will winter here, it seems obligatory that I put it on my 2024 list. As to the rest of the month, there has been a lot of rain of late, so my new pair of muck boots has been put to almost constant use. The cranberry bogs on Dover Road are flooded, Whitesbog has pools where I've never seen them and, combined with the busy beavers, bogs are overflowing, pouring swift currents onto roads. Ditto with Reeves Bogs where the water coming out of the bogs is so rapid that I've considered that I might get knocked over by the force of the stream. I have 115 birds for the month, a little better than last year. Despite the Bluetail, the <b><u>Black-headed Gull </u></b>at Barnegat Light, and the <u><b>Townsend's Warbler</b></u> at Eno's Pond, the bird rarity that pleased me most was the <b><u>Dickcissel</u></b> I found at the Dover Road cranberry bogs. Why? Because I found it myself. </p><p>For the year, 368 species, boosted up our Oregon trip. Only 9 lifebirds for the year, 7 in Oregon, and 2 in New Jersey--the Bluetail and <b>Cory's Shearwater</b> off of Island Beach SP. In addition to those two, I added 3 more birds to the state list--<b><u><span style="color: #444444;">Gray Kingbird</span></u></b> at Barnegat Lighthouse SP, <b><u>Sandwich Tern </u></b>at Point Pleasant, and the <b><u>Limpkin </u></b>(which was the celebrity bird of November) in Manasquan, another unlikely locale, especially for a bird that lives on apple snails. </p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span>Lists:</span></b><br /><b>Month</b><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Counties birded: <i>Atlantic, Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean<br /></i><i>Species<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>First Sighting<br /></i>Snow Goose<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brig<br />Brant<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Barnegat
Lighthouse SP<br />Canada Goose<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> Mute Swan<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Assunpink
WMA<br />Trumpeter Swan<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Assunpink WMA<br />Tundra Swan<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> Wood Duck<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whitesbog<br /> Northern Shoveler<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Manasquan Reservoir IBA<br />Gadwall<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bunker Hill
Bogs<br />American Wigeon<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Manasquan Reservoir IBA<br />Mallard<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>GSP MM 88<br />American Black Duck<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cranberry Bogs<br />Northern Pintail<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Brig<br />Green-winged Teal<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Brig<br />Ring-necked Duck<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Butterfly Bogs WMA<br />Greater Scaup<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great
Bay Blvd<br />Lesser Scaup<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Manasquan Reservoir IBA<br />Harlequin Duck<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Surf Scoter<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Barnegat
Lighthouse SP<br />Black Scoter<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Long-tailed Duck<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Bufflehead<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whitesbog<br />
Hooded Merganser<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Assunpink WMA<br />Common Merganser<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Assunpink WMA<br />Red-breasted Merganser<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Waretown<br />Ruddy Duck<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whitesbog<br />
Wild Turkey<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>35
Sunset Rd<br />Pied-billed Grebe<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Manasquan Reservoir IBA<br />Horned Grebe<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great
Bay Blvd<br />Rock Pigeon<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>South
Toms River<br />Mourning Dove<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>35
Sunset Rd<br />American Coot<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Manasquan Reservoir IBA<br />Black-bellied Plover<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Killdeer<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jackson
Liberty HS<br />Wilson's Snipe<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> Greater Yellowlegs<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Great Bay Blvd<br />Dunlin<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great Bay
Blvd<br />Purple Sandpiper<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Bonaparte's Gull<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br /><b><i><u>Black-headed Gull</u></i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Ring-billed Gull<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Crestwood Village<br />Herring Gull<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> Great Black-backed Gull<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lake of the Lilies<br />Common Loon<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Assunpink WMA<br />Great Cormorant<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Double-crested Cormorant<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lake of the Lilies<br />Black-crowned Night Heron<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Brig<br />Great Egret<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lake of
the Lilies<br />Great Blue Heron<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Colliers Mills WMA<br /><u>White-faced Ibis</u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Manasquan Reservoir IBA</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Black Vulture Wawa Rt. 72<br />Turkey Vulture<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Manchester<br />Osprey<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eno's Pond
Park<br />Northern Harrier<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Assunpink WMA<br />Sharp-shinned Hawk<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Eno's Pond Park<br />Cooper's Hawk<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pinelands Preservation Alliance Headquarters<br />Bald Eagle<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eno's
Pond Park<br />Red-shouldered Hawk<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> Red-tailed Hawk<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Crestwood Village</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Eastern Screech-Owl Beach Avenue</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Great Horned Owl Beach Avenue<br />Belted Kingfisher<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Assunpink WMA<br />Yellow-bellied Sapsucker<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> Red-headed Woodpecker<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Colliers Mills WMA<br />Red-bellied Woodpecker<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> Downy Woodpecker<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>35
Sunset Rd<br />Hairy Woodpecker<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Assunpink WMA<br />Northern Flicker<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> Merlin<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Manasquan
Reservoir IBA<br />Blue Jay<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crestwood
Village<br />American Crow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>35
Sunset Rd<br />Common Raven<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Assunpink WMA<br />Carolina Chickadee<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>35 Sunset Rd<br />Tufted Titmouse<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>35
Sunset Rd<br />Horned Lark<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jackson
Liberty HS<br />Ruby-crowned Kinglet<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Assunpink WMA<br />Golden-crowned Kinglet<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> White-breasted Nuthatch<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>35 Sunset Rd<br />Brown Creeper<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>35
Sunset Rd<br />Winter Wren<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cranberry Bogs<br />Carolina Wren<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>35
Sunset Rd<br />European Starling<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Toms River<br />Gray Catbird<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eno's
Pond Park<br />Northern Mockingbird<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Crestwood Village<br />Eastern Bluebird<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pinelands Preservation Alliance Headquarters<br />Hermit Thrush<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> American Robin<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>35
Sunset Rd<br /><b><u><span style="color: red;">RED-FLANKED </span><span style="color: #0070c0;">BLUETAIL</span></u></b><span style="color: #0070c0;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Crestwood Village<br />Cedar Waxwing<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cranberry Bogs<br />House Sparrow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>35
Sunset Rd<br />House Finch<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>35
Sunset Rd<br /><b><i><span style="color: #7030a0;">Purple Finch</span></i></b><span style="color: #7030a0;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Eno's
Pond Park<br />Pine Siskin<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> American Goldfinch<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> Snow Bunting<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Chipping Sparrow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Patriots County Park<br />Field Sparrow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> American Tree Sparrow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> Fox Sparrow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> Dark-eyed Junco<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> White-crowned Sparrow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pinelands Preservation Alliance Headquarters<br />White-throated Sparrow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>35 Sunset Rd<br />Savannah Sparrow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cranberry Bogs<br />Song Sparrow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whitesbog<br /> Swamp Sparrow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cranberry Bogs<br />Eastern Towhee<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bunker Hill Bogs<br />Baltimore Oriole<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Eno's Pond Park<br />Red-winged Blackbird<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Assunpink WMA<br />Common Grackle<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sloop
& Potter Creek Marshes<br />Boat-tailed Grackle<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Great Bay Blvd<br />Pine Warbler<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>35
Sunset Rd<br />Yellow-rumped Warbler<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Crestwood Village<br /><b><i><u>Townsend's Warbler</u></i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eno's Pond Park<br />Northern Cardinal<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>35
Sunset Rd<br /><u>Dickcissel </u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cranberry Bogs</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">Year</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">Species First
Sighting</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u>Black-bellied Whistling-Duck</u> Cedar Point<br />Snow Goose Holgate<br /><u>Greater White-fronted Goose</u> Jackson Liberty HS<br />Brant Sandy Hook<br />Canada Goose Seven
Presidents Park<br />Mute Swan Bridge to Nowhere<br /><u>Trumpeter Swan</u>
Assunpink WMA<br />Tundra Swan
Whitesbog<br /> Wood Duck Cranberry
Bogs<br />Blue-winged Teal
Bombay Hook<br /> Cinnamon Teal
Philomath Sewage Ponds<br /> Northern Shoveler
Marshall's Pond<br />Gadwall Ocean Acres
Pond<br /><u>Eurasian Wigeon</u>
Marshall's Pond<br />American Wigeon
Marshall's Pond<br />Mallard Sandy Hook<br />American Black Duck
Sandy Hook<br />Northern Pintail
Brig<br />Green-winged Teal
Brig<br />Canvasback Brig<br />Redhead Riley Pond<br />Ring-necked Duck
Manahawkin Lake<br />Greater Scaup East
Bay Av<br />Lesser Scaup Lake of
the Lilies<br />King Eider Barnegat
Lighthouse SP<br />Common Eider Sandy
Hook<br />Harlequin Duck
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Surf Scoter Sandy
Hook<br />White-winged Scoter
Sandy Hook<br />Black Scoter Island
Beach SP<br /> Long-tailed Duck
Sandy Hook<br />Bufflehead Sandy
Hook<br />Common Goldeneye
Sandy Hook<br />Hooded Merganser
Bridge to Nowhere<br />Common Merganser
Assunpink WMA<br />Red-breasted Merganser
Sandy Hook<br />Ruddy Duck East Bay
Av<br />California Quail
Philomath Sewage Ponds<br /> Wild Turkey Jumping
Brook Preserve<br />Pied-billed Grebe
Lake Shenandoah County Park<br />Horned Grebe Sandy
Hook<br />Eared Grebe Summer
Lake Wildlife Area<br />Western Grebe Summer
Lake Wildlife Area<br />Clark's Grebe Summer
Lake Wildlife Area<br />Rock Pigeon Wawa
South Toms River<br />Band-tailed Pigeon
Reeher CCC Camp<br />Eurasian Collared-Dove
NW Salzwedel Rd<br />Mourning Dove Cedar Bridge Rd<br />Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Cranberry Bogs<br />Common Nighthawk
Double Trouble SP<br />Chuck-will's-widow
Collinstown Road<br />Eastern Whip-poor-will
35 Sunset Rd<br />Chimney Swift
Cranberry Bogs<br />Vaux's Swift Country
Inn<br />White-throated Swift
Fort Rock SP<br />Ruby-throated Hummingbird
35 Sunset Rd<br />Black-chinned Hummingbird
Summer Lake Rest Area<br />Anna's Hummingbird
Summer Lake Rest Area<br />Rufous Hummingbird
Reeher CCC Camp<br />Clapper Rail Great
Bay Blvd<br />Virginia Rail Beach
Ave<br />Sora Summer Lake
Wildlife Area<br />American Coot Lake
of the Lilies<br /><u>Limpkin </u> Manasquan<br /> Sandhill Crane
Cascade Lakes Hwy<br />Black-necked Stilt
Brig<br />American Avocet
Bombay Hook<br /> American Oystercatcher
Holgate<br />Black Oystercatcher
Haystack Rock<br />Black-bellied Plover
Sandy Hook<br />Killdeer Lake
Barnegat<br />Semipalmated Plover
Island Beach SP<br /> Piping Plover
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Snowy Plover Summer
Lake Wildlife Area<br /><u>Upland Sandpiper</u>
Reed Sod Farm<br /> Whimbrel Brig<br /><u>Bar-tailed Godwit</u>
Brig<br />Marbled Godwit
Holgate<br />Short-billed Dowitcher
Bombay Hook<br /> <u>Long-billed Dowitcher</u> Lake Barnegat<br />American Woodcock
Budd's Bogs<br /> Wilson's Snipe
Cranberry Bogs<br />Wilson's Phalarope
Summer Lake Wildlife Area<br />Red-necked Phalarope
Brig<br />Spotted Sandpiper
IBSP Marina<br />Solitary Sandpiper
Manasquan River WMA<br /> Lesser Yellowlegs
Island Beach SP<br />Willet Great Bay
Blvd<br />Greater Yellowlegs
Bridge to Nowhere<br />Ruddy Turnstone
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br /><b>BLACK TURNSTONE</b>
Seaside Cove<br />Red Knot Great Bay
Blvd<br /><b>SURFBIRD </b> Seaside Cove<br />Stilt Sandpiper Brig<br /><u>Buff-breasted Sandpiper</u> Reed Sod Farm<br /> Sanderling Sandy
Hook<br />Dunlin Holgate<br />Purple Sandpiper
Manasquan Inlet<br /> Baird's Sandpiper Summer
Lake Wildlife Area<br />White-rumped Sandpiper
Cedar Bonnet Island<br />Least Sandpiper
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Pectoral Sandpiper
Brig<br />Western Sandpiper
Necanicum Estuary<br /> Semipalmated Sandpiper
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Parasitic Jaeger
Island Beach SP<br /> Rhinoceros Auklet
Seal Rock<br />Tufted Puffin
Haystack Rock<br />Marbled Murrelet
Seal Rock<br />Pigeon Guillemot
Haystack Rock<br />Razorbill Sandy Hook<br />Dovekie Island Beach
SP<br /> <u>Common Murre</u>
Manasquan Inlet<br /> Bonaparte's Gull
Sandy Hook<br /><u>Black-headed Gull</u>
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Laughing Gull Island
Beach SP--Reed's Road<br />Franklin's Gull
Summer Lake Wildlife Area<br />Heermann's Gull
Seaside Cove<br />Ring-billed Gull
Wawa South Toms River<br />Western Gull
Necanicum Estuary<br /> Herring Gull Sandy
Hook<br />Great Black-backed Gull
Sandy Hook<br />Lesser Black-backed Gull
Island Beach SP<br />California Gull
Cascade Locks<br />Glaucous-winged Gull
Cascade Locks<br />Black Skimmer Brig<br />Least Tern Brig<br />Gull-billed Tern
Brig<br />Caspian Tern Great
Bay Blvd<br />Black Tern Silver
Lake<br />Forster's Tern IBSP
Marina<br />Common Tern Brig<br />Roseate Tern IBSP
Marina<br /><u>Sandwich Tern</u>
Baltimore Avenue<br />Royal Tern Shark
River Inlet<br />Red-throated Loon
Sandy Hook<br />Pacific Loon Seal
Rock<br />Common Loon Sandy
Hook<br />Wilson's Storm-Petrel
Manasquan Inlet<br /> <b><u>CORY'S SHEARWATER</u></b> Island Beach SP<br /> Northern Gannet
Sandy Hook<br />Brandt's Cormorant
Haystack Rock<br />Pelagic Cormorant
Seaside Cove<br />Great Cormorant
Island Beach SP<br /> Double-crested Cormorant
East Bay Av<br />American White Pelican
Summer Lake Wildlife Area<br />Brown Pelican Island
Beach SP<br />American Bittern
Manahawkin WMA<br /><u>Least Bittern</u>
Reeves Bogs<br />Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Ocean City Welcome Center<br />Black-crowned Night Heron
Great Bay Blvd<br />Little Blue Heron
Island Beach SP<br />Tricolored Heron
Shelter Cove Park<br />Snowy Egret Island
Beach SP<br />Green Heron Pond on
Schoolhouse Road<br />Great Egret Bridge
to Nowhere<br />Great Blue Heron
Beach Ave<br />White Ibis Ocean
City Welcome Center<br />Glossy Ibis Bombay
Hook<br /> <u>White-faced Ibis</u>
Meadowedge Park<br />Black Vulture
Crestwood Village<br />Turkey Vulture Sandy
Hook<br />Osprey Cattus Island
County Park<br />Golden Eagle
Brothers<br />Northern Harrier
Bridge to Nowhere<br />Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cattus Island County Park<br />Cooper's Hawk Ridge
av<br />Bald Eagle Beach Ave<br />Red-shouldered Hawk
Bridge to Nowhere<br />Broad-winged Hawk
Cranberry Bogs<br />Swainson's Hawk Fort
Rock<br />Red-tailed Hawk
Bridge to Nowhere<br /><u>Rough-legged Hawk</u>
BC Fairgrounds<br />Ferruginous Hawk
Silver Lake<br />Eastern Screech-Owl
Beach Ave<br />Great Horned Owl
Beach Ave<br />Barred Owl Beach Ave<br /><u>Long-eared Owl</u>
Imlaystown Rd<br />Short-eared Owl
Manahawkin WMA<br />Belted Kingfisher
Bridge to Nowhere<br />Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Stafford<br />Red-breasted Sapsucker
Marys River Park<br />Lewis's Woodpecker
Whispering Pine Campground<br />Red-headed Woodpecker
Colliers Mills WMA<br />Acorn Woodpecker NW
Salzwedel Rd<br />Red-bellied Woodpecker
Bridge to Nowhere<br /><b>BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER</b> McKenzie Hwy<br />Downy Woodpecker
Bridge to Nowhere<br />Hairy Woodpecker
Bridge to Nowhere<br /><b>WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER</b> Sisters Tie Trail<br />Northern Flicker
Manahawkin WMA<br />American Kestrel
Budd’s Bogs<br /> Merlin Budd’s Bogs<br /> Peregrine Falcon
Manasquan Inlet<br /> Olive-sided Flycatcher
Reeher CCC Camp<br />Western Wood-Pewee
NW Salzwedel Rd<br />Eastern Wood-Pewee
Double Trouble SP<br />Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Whitesbog<br /> Acadian Flycatcher
Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve<br />Willow Flycatcher
Cranberry Bogs<br />Least Flycatcher
Jumping Brook Preserve<br />Hammond's Flycatcher
Forest Service Road 5590<br />Gray Flycatcher
Cabin Lake<br />Dusky Flycatcher
Santiam Hwy<br />Western Flycatcher
Reeher CCC Camp<br />Black Phoebe
Philomath Sewage Ponds<br /> Eastern Phoebe
Cranberry Bogs<br />Great Crested Flycatcher
Manasquan River WMA<br /> Western Kingbird
McKenzie Hwy<br />Eastern Kingbird
Colliers Mills WMA<br /><u>Gray Kingbird</u>
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />White-eyed Vireo
Manahawkin WMA<br />Hutton's Vireo
Reeher CCC Camp<br />Yellow-throated Vireo
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br /><b>CASSIN'S VIREO</b>
Marys River Park<br />Blue-headed Vireo
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Warbling Vireo
Colliers Mills WMA<br />Red-eyed Vireo Cedar
Bonnet Island<br />Loggerhead Shrike
Fort Rock SP<br />Canada Jay NW
Cochran Rd<br />Pinyon Jay Cabin
Lake<br />Steller's Jay NW
Cochran Rd<br />Blue Jay Wawa South
Toms River<br />California Scrub-Jay
Radisson Hotel Lake<br />Black-billed Magpie
Three Sisters Viewpoint<br />Clark's Nutcracker
McKenzie Hwy<br />American Crow 35
Sunset Rd<br />Fish Crow New Egypt<br />Common Raven
Whitesbog<br /> Carolina Chickadee
Bridge to Nowhere<br />Black-capped Chickadee
Sandy Hook<br />Mountain Chickadee
Best Western Lot<br />Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Reeher CCC Camp<br />Tufted Titmouse
Bridge to Nowhere<br />Horned Lark Sandy
Hook<br />Bank Swallow
Colliers Mills WMA<br />Tree Swallow
Cranberry Bogs<br />Violet-green Swallow
Radisson Hotel Lake<br />Purple Martin Jakes
Branch County Park<br />Northern Rough-winged Swallow Great Bay Blvd<br />Barn Swallow
Cranberry Bogs<br />Cliff Swallow Wesley
Lake<br />Wrentit Cummins Peak
Rd<br />Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Whitesbog<br /> Golden-crowned Kinglet
Sandy Hook<br />White-breasted Nuthatch
35 Sunset Rd<br />Pygmy Nuthatch Best
Western Lot<br /><u>Brown-headed Nuthatch</u> Big Stone Beach Rd.<br />Red-breasted Nuthatch
Bridge to Nowhere<br />Brown Creeper Budd’s
Bogs<br /> Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Cranberry Bogs<br />Rock Wren Picture
Rock Pass<br />Canyon Wren Picture
Rock Pass<br />House Wren Cranberry
Bogs<br /><b>PACIFIC WREN</b>
Ellmaker SP<br />Winter Wren Bridge
to Nowhere<br />Sedge Wren Beach Ave<br />Marsh Wren Cattus
Island County Park<br />Carolina Wren 35 Sunset Rd<br />Bewick's Wren
Cummins Peak Rd<br />American Dipper NW
Cochran Rd<br />European Starling
Wawa South Toms River<br />Gray Catbird
Manahawkin WMA<br />Brown Thrasher
Manahawkin WMA<br />Sage Thrasher Fort
Rock SP<br />Northern Mockingbird
Wawa South Toms River<br />Eastern Bluebird
Whitesbog<br /> Western Bluebird
Round Top summit<br />Mountain Bluebird
Fremont Hwy,<br />Townsend's Solitaire
Round Top summit<br />Varied Thrush Forest
Service Road 5500<br />Veery Manasquan
River WMA<br /> Gray-cheeked Thrush
Island Beach SP<br /> Swainson's Thrush
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Hermit Thrush Bridge
to Nowhere<br />Wood Thrush Double
Trouble SP<br />American Robin Sandy
Hook<br /><b><u><span style="color: red;">RED-FLANKED </span><span style="color: #0070c0;">BLUETAIL</span></u></b><span style="color: #0070c0;"> </span> Crestwood Village<br />Cedar Waxwing Island
Beach SP<br />House Sparrow Wawa
South Toms River<br />American Pipit
Whitesbog<br /> Evening Grosbeak NW
Cochran Rd<br />House Finch Sisters<br /> Purple Finch Eno's
Pond Park<br />Cassin's Finch
McKenzie Hwy<br /><u>Red Crossbill</u>
Stafford Forge WMA<br />Pine Siskin Cascade
Lakes Hwy<br />Lesser Goldfinch
Best Western Lot<br />American Goldfinch
Stafford<br />Lapland Longspur
Sandy Hook<br />Snow Bunting
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Grasshopper Sparrow
Laurel Run Park<br />Chipping Sparrow
Ocean County Fairgrounds<br />Clay-colored Sparrow
Cattus Island County Park<br />Field Sparrow
Assunpink WMA<br />Brewer's Sparrow
Fort Rock SP<br /><u>Lark Sparrow</u>
Island Beach SP<br /> American Tree Sparrow
Bridge to Nowhere<br />Fox Sparrow
Manahawkin WMA<br />Dark-eyed Junco
Stafford<br />White-crowned Sparrow
Hancock Field<br /> <u>Harris's Sparrow</u>
Hancock Field<br /> White-throated Sparrow
Stafford<br /><b>SAGEBRUSH SPARROW</b>
Fort Rock<br /><u>Vesper Sparrow</u>
Great Bay Blvd<br />Seaside Sparrow
Cedar Bonnet Island<br />Nelson's Sparrow
Great Bay Blvd<br />Saltmarsh Sparrow
Cattus Island County Park<br />Savannah Sparrow
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br />Song Sparrow 35 Sunset
Rd<br />Lincoln's Sparrow
Union Transportation Trail<br />Swamp Sparrow Bridge
to Nowhere<br />Green-tailed Towhee
Trout Creek Butte Rd<br />Spotted Towhee
Reeher CCC Camp<br />Eastern Towhee
Budd’s Bogs<br /> Yellow-breasted Chat
Assunpink WMA<br />Yellow-headed Blackbird
Summer Lake Wildlife Area<br />Bobolink Cedar
Bonnet Island<br />Western Meadowlark
Silver Lake<br />Eastern Meadowlark
Budd’s Bogs<br /> Orchard Oriole
Jumping Brook Preserve<br />Baltimore Oriole
Colliers Mills WMA<br />Red-winged Blackbird
Bridge to Nowhere<br />Brown-headed Cowbird
Ridge av<br />Rusty Blackbird
Budd’s Bogs<br /> Brewer's Blackbird
Cascade Locks<br />Common Grackle
Bridge to Nowhere<br />Boat-tailed Grackle
Bridge to Nowhere<br />Ovenbird Whitesbog<br /> Louisiana Waterthrush
Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve<br />Northern Waterthrush
Cedar Bonnet Island<br />Blue-winged Warbler
Manasquan River WMA<br /> Black-and-white Warbler
Colliers Mills WMA<br />Prothonotary Warbler
Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve<br />Orange-crowned Warbler
Forest Service Road 2690,<br /> Nashville Warbler
Reeves Bogs<br />Connecticut Warbler
Island Beach SP<br />MacGillivray's Warbler
Reeher CCC Camp<br /><u>Kentucky Warbler</u>
Island Beach SP<br /> Common Yellowthroat
Colliers Mills WMA<br />Hooded Warbler
Colliers Mills WMA<br />American Redstart
Double Trouble SP<br />Cape May Warbler
Barnegat Lighthouse SP<br /><u>Cerulean Warbler</u>
Cedar Bonnet Island<br />Northern Parula
Cedar Bonnet Island<br />Magnolia Warbler
Island Beach SP<br /> Bay-breasted Warbler
Island Beach SP<br /> Blackburnian Warbler
Cedar Bonnet Island<br />Yellow Warbler
Meadowedge Park<br />Chestnut-sided Warbler
Island Beach SP<br />Blackpoll Warbler
Island Beach SP<br />Black-throated Blue Warbler
Island Beach SP<br />Palm Warbler Jumping
Brook Preserve<br />Pine Warbler 35
Sunset Rd<br />Yellow-rumped Warbler
Sandy Hook<br />Prairie Warbler
Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)<br /><u>Townsend's Warbler</u>
Eno's Pond Park<br />Hermit Warbler
Reeher CCC Camp<br />Black-throated Green Warbler Island Beach SP<br />Canada Warbler
Reeves Bogs<br />Wilson's Warbler NW
Cochran Rd<br />Scarlet Tanager
Island Beach SP<br /> Western Tanager
Crestwood Village<br />Northern Cardinal 35
Sunset Rd<br />Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Island Beach SP<br /> Black-headed Grosbeak
Reeher CCC Camp<br />Blue Grosbeak
Manasquan River WMA<br /> Indigo Bunting IBSP
Marina<br /><u>Dickcissel </u> Island Beach SP </span></div></div><p></p>larryzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03652844698764943075noreply@blogger.com0