Whitesbog | Ocean City Welcome Center 4/29--Chimney Swift, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Baltimore Oriole

Yellow-crowned Night-Herons

Before Shari & I took our annual jaunt down to the Ocean City Welcome Center to view the rookery, I took my morning walk in Whitesbog on both sides of the county line, where I was happy to meet up with my informant, whom I hadn't seen in more than a couple of months.  In Ditch Meadow, on the Burlington side, I heard a Baltimore Oriole, but couldn't see it because the trail down to where it was singing was flooded and I wasn't wearing waders, and on the Ocean County side, over one of the former, now-flooded, blueberry fields I saw my first Chimney Swift of the year, but no pictures because, well, they're swift. 

White Ibis with eggs
Photo: Shari Zirlin

The rookery on the Ocean City causeway is always entertaining and a photographer's delight. The first time we ever went there was on July 4th weekend, battling the traffic into Ocean City, because a White Ibis was there and it was an event. Fast forward 10 years and there are anywhere from 75 to 200 White Ibis in the rookery, with many nests being sat upon and many eggs tended. This bird is moving its range north, possibly because of habitat destruction down south. And the downside is that where there used to be perhaps a few dozen Yellow-crowned Night Herons nesting there, they have been pushed out by the White Ibises, and today I was only able to find perhaps 5 of them on the margins of the rookery. Fortunately, the White Ibises haven't displaced the Great Egrets, of which there were at least 100 in the trees and probably 50 or 60 nest. Throw in a few Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Herons and 15 or so Glossy Ibises (who'd ever think I'd see more White Ibises than Glossy Ibises in NJ?) and you have quite a show. With a scope and lot of patience (I'm patting myself on the back) I was able to find two American Oystercatchers for Shari far out on a sandbar. Altogether, a very successful excursion. 

For the day I had exactly 50 species, not counting our backyard turkeys and whip-poor-wills. 

Species          Location
Brant   Ocean City Welcome Center
Canada Goose   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Mallard   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
American Black Duck   Ocean City Welcome Center
Rock Pigeon   Ocean City Welcome Center
Chimney Swift   Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)
Clapper Rail   Ocean City Welcome Center
American Oystercatcher   Ocean City Welcome Center
Solitary Sandpiper   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Greater Yellowlegs   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Laughing Gull   Ocean City Welcome Center
American Herring Gull   Ocean City Welcome Center
Forster's Tern   Ocean City Welcome Center
Common Loon   Ocean City Welcome Center
Double-crested Cormorant   Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)
White Ibis   Ocean City Welcome Center
Glossy Ibis   Ocean City Welcome Center
Yellow-crowned Night Heron   Ocean City Welcome Center
Black-crowned Night Heron   Ocean City Welcome Center
Little Blue Heron   Ocean City Welcome Center
Snowy Egret   Ocean City Welcome Center
Great Egret   Ocean City Welcome Center
Osprey   Ocean City Welcome Center
Northern Flicker   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Eastern Kingbird   Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)
Blue Jay   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Fish Crow   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Carolina Chickadee   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Tufted Titmouse   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Tree Swallow   Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)
Barn Swallow   Ocean City Welcome Center
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Gray Catbird   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Eastern Bluebird   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Hermit Thrush   Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)
Song Sparrow   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Swamp Sparrow   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Eastern Towhee   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Baltimore Oriole   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Red-winged Blackbird   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Brown-headed Cowbird   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Boat-tailed Grackle   Ocean City Welcome Center
Ovenbird   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Black-and-white Warbler   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Common Yellowthroat   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Yellow Warbler   Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)
Pine Warbler   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Whitesbog (Ocean Co.)
Prairie Warbler   Whitesbog (Burlington County)
Northern Cardinal   Whitesbog (Burlington County)

Great Egrets in abundance

Backyard | Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve 4/20--Eastern Whip-poor-will, Ovenbird, Prothonotary Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Prairie Warbler

Prothonotary Warbler

At 5:19 this morning, I was awakened by the demented "song" of an Eastern Whip-poor-will in our backyard. Shari was awakened by me so she could share in the return of reliable summer resident, which probably explains why she is napping right now. I was starting to get worried because only one other year since 2012 has the whip-poor-will been this late in arriving. Every year, I go through the same anxiety--suppose it doesn't come back (as if it is the same bird for 13 years)? But every year it seems to find its spot in the weeping cherry tree. And I ever never, ever, have found one in the woods around the house during the daytime. Where they nest is a mystery, but now that one has arrived, we can expect to hear them calling around the neighborhood all through June, and then sporadically until September. 

It is amazing what a good mood hearing the whip put me in, and since I was already up, I decided to drive down to Sooy Place, deep in the Pine Barrens, and check out the Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve. I was there before 7.  By the time I had walked about a half mile to the red gate at the bridge over Burnt Bridge Branch I had listed 20 species and hadn't seen one. Two of them were new for the year: Ovenbird, first bird I heard after I got out of the car, and of course, Prairie Warbler. At the creek I finally started seeing birds. Two Prothonotary Warblers, which nest there, were right out on a branch over the water. Right before I had seen them I heard the song--a wheat a wheat a wheaty o--of a Hooded Warbler, flagged as rare, but not for that section of the county. Also in attendance were Black-and-white Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and the gimme Pine Warbler. By far the most warbler species I have seen/heard so far this year.  A White-eyed Vireo was singing loudly in small tree next to the bridge and Eastern Phoebes were all around, seemingly fighting for the nesting spot beneath the bridge. 

After a while, I continued down the white trail (advice if you go there--stick to the white trail, I once took the horseshoe yellow trail and emerged with 28 ticks clinging to my boots) past Gum Spring, but the activity quickly petered out once I came out of the wet woods. Looking at other lists, I see I missed a few species, no surprise, but I'm pleased with a spring day adding 5 year birds. 

29 species
Canada Goose  1
Wood Duck  1     creek
Mallard  1     flyover
Mourning Dove  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  3
Downy Woodpecker  1
Eastern Phoebe  4
White-eyed Vireo  2
Blue Jay  2
Carolina Chickadee  5
Tufted Titmouse  6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  4
Carolina Wren  1
American Goldfinch  2
White-throated Sparrow  3
Swamp Sparrow  1
Eastern Towhee  7
Brown-headed Cowbird  4
Ovenbird  5
Black-and-white Warbler  6
Prothonotary Warbler  2
Common Yellowthroat  3
Hooded Warbler  2    
Pine Warbler  7
Yellow-rumped Warbler  2
Prairie Warbler  4
Northern Cardinal  1

Time + Place/Effort Expended=

I walked around the cranberry bogs off Dover Road for 2 hours, covering around 2 miles. I saw or heard:

8 species
Mourning Dove  20
Turkey Vulture  3
Blue Jay  1
American Crow  1
Carolina Chickadee  1
American Robin  2
American Goldfinch  1

Song Sparrow  1 

I came home, looked out my back window for 2 minutes. I saw:

8 species
Mourning Dove  5
Carolina Chickadee  1
Tufted Titmouse  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Red-breasted Nuthatch  1     
American Robin  1
House Finch  5
American Goldfinch  3

More Absurdities from Our Feeder-Cam

BLACK GUILLEMOT

 

CHRISTMAS SHEARWATER

BRANDT'S CORMORANT

RED-FACED CORMORANT

OMAO

HIMALAYAN SNOWCOCK

Note: As my friend Steve pointed out, perhaps the camera settings were for the wrong geographical area. Of course, this wouldn't explain why the "AI-enabled" software would "think" a shearwater or cormorant was at a feeder, but, as it happens, I checked the settings today and the "AI-enabled" software "knows" it is in the Eastern Time Zone of the United States. 

The Limits of AI

One of the toys we have in the backyard is a "feeder cam" hooked up to our wi-fi, which you can view remotely to see the birds attracted to it. It also takes a photo of every bird that lands in front of the camera, so you can, in a rather clunky interface, view all the birds you've had there on any particular day. It also has a feature that will identify the birds for you. This is handy for a beginning birder, I suppose, but I've never paid any attention to it until today, when, stuck inside the house for the 4th day due to high winds, I looked at some of the pictures it had taken. 

Boy, do we get some rarities in our backyard! 

THICK-BILLED MURRE

JAPANESE QUAIL

WESTERN JACKDAW

GREAT EGRET

I figured I'd better clean the schmutz off the lens. Didn't seem to make much difference:

SPOTTED RAIL

BLUE-AND-WHITE SWALLOW

JAVA SPARROW

NORTHERN GOSHAWK

This is the perfect accessory for the upcoming Great Backyard Bird Count. Guaranteed to drive the eBird reviewers into retirement. 

Backyard 1/4--Pine Warbler

When I first started keeping backyard lists on eBird around 13 years ago, every time I listed Pine Warbler it would be flagged as "rare."  Dutifully, I would take a picture and embed the photo in my list. But because the bird was "rare," and I am borderline OCD, I felt compelled to take a picture and list it every time I saw a Pine Warbler in our backyard, and I saw a Pine Warbler in our backyard every day. Sometimes more than one; once, I saw seven hanging around the suet and in the cedars. Finally, it got to be too much even for me. I wrote to the eBird reviewer and told him that I had Pine Warblers in the backyard all the time, that they weren't really all that rare in the (who'da thunk it) Pine Barrens, and that as my late friend Pete Bacinksi use to explain, they were just overlooked because they were more or less silent. Something must have resonated, because now Pine Warbler is merely "infrequent" at least in the 20km x 20km square that eBird uses as measure in which our house sits. 

Today, looking out the window in the living room at our camera feeder I saw our first Pine Warbler of 2025. Naturally, I had to list that one. I checked the history on the camera feeder and saw that it has been snatching seeds all morning. The camera feeder takes pretty good pictures, so long as you remember to clean the lens every once in a while.

April Recap--Migration Begins

Common Yellowthroat, Double Trouble SP

 I thought my last new bird for the year this month was going to be the Blue-winged Warbler (chased by a very territorial Prairie Warbler) that I saw this morning at the Manasquan River WMA (where they are the house specialty), but this afternoon Shari called me to come outside and finally I saw a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, which she has been seeing, periodically, for the last two weeks. That made 135 for the cruelest month, and 36 year birds.

Judging from the reports the last couple of days from the migration traps like Reed's Road on Island Beach and Cedar Bonnet Island, migration has begun in earnest. I think I'm doing pretty good with 40+ species in my favorite spots and then I see friends of mine tallying numbers in the 80's. It recalls the Third Law of Birding:

    Wherever you are, you should be someplace else.

In our backyard we have had Pine Siskins at the tube feeders every day, and every day I list them--up until today they were flagged as "infrequent" on eBird (meaning that in a 3 week window--2 back, 1 forward--they aren't listed much), but today they popped up as "rare." Considering that most years we go without seeing any siskins, having them in the spring is kind of treat. The whip-poor-will is a constant presence, and the other day I went into the kitchen to find a turkey standing on the stoop, looking through the screen door, waiting to be fed. Shari got so annoyed with me feeding them that she went out and bought "cheap" seed for them. When I think of how much money we spend feeding these birds, it goes dark behind my eyes. 

Counties birded: Burlington, Cape May, Ocean
Species        First Sighting
Brant   Island Beach SP
Canada Goose   Double Trouble SP
Mute Swan   Golden Drive
Wood Duck   Cranberry Bogs
Northern Shoveler   Great Bay Bvld
Mallard   Cranberry Bogs
American Black Duck   Cranberry Bogs
Northern Pintail   Island Beach SP
Green-winged Teal   Island Beach SP
Ring-necked Duck   Cranberry Bogs
Greater Scaup   Island Beach SP
Lesser Scaup   Island Beach SP
Long-tailed Duck   Island Beach SP
Bufflehead   Cranberry Bogs
Hooded Merganser   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-breasted Merganser   Island Beach SP
Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd
Pied-billed Grebe   Cranberry Bogs
Horned Grebe   Island Beach SP
Rock Pigeon   South Toms River
Mourning Dove   35 Sunset Rd
Eastern Whip-poor-will   35 Sunset Rd
Chimney Swift   Cranberry Bogs
Ruby-throated Hummingbird   35 Sunset Rd
Clapper Rail   Ocean City Welcome Center
Sora   Whitesbog
American Oystercatcher   Island Beach SP
Black-bellied Plover   Island Beach SP
Killdeer   Cranberry Bogs
Wilson's Snipe   Cranberry Bogs
Solitary Sandpiper   Colliers Mills WMA
Lesser Yellowlegs   Double Trouble SP
Willet   Cedar Bonnet Island
Greater Yellowlegs   Double Trouble SP
Dunlin   Island Beach SP
Laughing Gull   Mathis Veteran's Memorial Park
Ring-billed Gull   Mathis Veteran's Memorial Park
Herring Gull   Double Trouble SP
Great Black-backed Gull   Island Beach SP
Caspian Tern   Great Bay Bvld
Forster's Tern   Island Beach SP
Common Loon   Island Beach SP
Double-crested Cormorant   Mathis Veteran's Memorial Park
Yellow-crowned Night Heron   Ocean City Welcome Center
Black-crowned Night Heron   Ocean City Welcome Center
Little Blue Heron   Island Beach SP
Tricolored Heron   Cattus Island County Park
Snowy Egret   Cattus Island County Park
Green Heron   Reeves Bogs
Great Egret   Cranberry Bogs
Great Blue Heron   Colliers Mills WMA
White Ibis   Island Beach SP
Glossy Ibis   Island Beach SP
Black Vulture   Cranberry Bogs
Turkey Vulture   Whitesbog
Osprey   Shelter Cove Park
Northern Harrier   Whitesbog
Sharp-shinned Hawk   Cedar Bonnet Island
Cooper's Hawk   Colliers Mills WMA
Bald Eagle   Jumping Brook Preserve
Red-shouldered Hawk   Jumping Brook Preserve
Red-tailed Hawk   Cranberry Bogs
Belted Kingfisher   Whitesbog
Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Double Trouble SP
Downy Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker   Double Trouble SP
Northern Flicker   Cranberry Bogs
American Kestrel   Colliers Mills WMA
Merlin   Cranberry Bogs
Peregrine Falcon   Island Beach SP
Eastern Phoebe   Cranberry Bogs
Great Crested Flycatcher   Reeves Bogs
Eastern Kingbird   Cranberry Bogs
White-eyed Vireo   Island Beach SP
Blue-headed Vireo   Cedar Bonnet Island
Red-eyed Vireo   Island Beach SP
Blue Jay   Cranberry Bogs
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Common Raven   Double Trouble SP
Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd
Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd
Tree Swallow   Cranberry Bogs
Purple Martin   Jumping Brook Preserve
Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Cranberry Bogs
Barn Swallow   Cranberry Bogs
Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Whitesbog
Golden-crowned Kinglet   Cranberry Bogs
White-breasted Nuthatch   Double Trouble SP
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Double Trouble SP
House Wren   Cranberry Bogs
Carolina Wren   35 Sunset Rd
European Starling   35 Sunset Rd
Gray Catbird   Island Beach SP
Brown Thrasher   Island Beach SP
Northern Mockingbird   Shelter Cove Park
Eastern Bluebird   35 Sunset Rd
Hermit Thrush   Island Beach SP
Wood Thrush   Colliers Mills WMA
American Robin   35 Sunset Rd
Cedar Waxwing   Island Beach SP
House Sparrow   Mathis Veteran's Memorial Park
House Finch   Cranberry Bogs
Pine Siskin   35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd
Chipping Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
Field Sparrow   Cranberry Bogs
Fox Sparrow   Double Trouble SP
Dark-eyed Junco   35 Sunset Rd
White-throated Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
Seaside Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld
Savannah Sparrow   Shelter Cove Park
Song Sparrow   Cranberry Bogs
Swamp Sparrow   Cranberry Bogs
Eastern Towhee   Colliers Mills WMA
Baltimore Oriole   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-winged Blackbird   Cranberry Bogs
Brown-headed Cowbird   Double Trouble SP
Common Grackle   Whitesbog
Boat-tailed Grackle   Island Beach SP
Ovenbird   Double Trouble SP
Worm-eating Warbler   Double Trouble SP
Blue-winged Warbler   Manasquan River WMA
Black-and-white Warbler   Jumping Brook Preserve
Common Yellowthroat   Whitesbog
Hooded Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Parula   Manasquan River WMA
Yellow Warbler   Whitesbog
Palm Warbler   Jumping Brook Preserve
Pine Warbler   35 Sunset Rd
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Cranberry Bogs
Prairie Warbler   Double Trouble SP
Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd
Rose-breasted Grosbeak   35 Sunset Rd

Palm Warbler, Island Beach SP

Double Trouble SP | Backyard 4/22--Prairie Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

I suppose it's because impatience is one of my defining characteristics that it seemed urgent this morning at Double Trouble that I at least find a Prairie Warbler there, despite knowing that I'm going to see a Prairie Warbler without a doubt this year, barring getting run over by a backhoe.  So instead of taking my usual route up to Ore Pond and back to the village walking along the canal (where the Louisiana Waterthrush often lurks--and did today but eluded me), I headed straight to the Hurricane Sandy Cedar Restoration area and almost immediately heard a Prairie. Talk about a misnamed bird! Prairie Warblers have absolutely no interest in prairies--they should be called Pine Barrens Warblers, so much do they love the jack oaks and pitch pines around here.  Only the Pine Warbler (which lingers all year) seems more of a Piney than the Prairie. 

Everything else there was what I'd expect and had already seen. Not only did I not find the Looie, but there was also no sign of the Pileated Woodpecker reported there yesterday by very reliable birders, which I believe will be a new species for the park, nor did I see the American Bittern someone else found in the reeds, nor did I see the Spotted Sandpiper on one of the ponds. Of those four, the sandpiper is the only one I'm certain I'll see this year. 

I left mid-morning because I had an appointment and came home after that. Putzing around the house, I glanced out the back window and said to myself, "That's no House Finch!" Picking up the bins I was thrilled to see our first Rose-breasted Grosbeak gorging on sunflower seeds. We usually get a Rose-breasted once a year and it may hang for a day or two, but they're certainly not regular. This one seems to be a little early for these parts as it was flagged "rare." But I have the photographic evidence. 

About an hour later our roofmate called me and said, "Larry go look at what's on my feeder." I already knew what it was before I looked back there, but he was just flabbergasted at how stunning this male looked. He says he saw the bird last week so maybe another one spent a day or so here. I don't think we've ever had one stay more than 2 days. 

A Rose-breasted Grosbeak is not a gimme and getting one in the backyard after a disappointing walk at Double Trouble was (ahem) doubly satisfying. 

Backyard 4/12--Eastern Whip-poor-will

 At 8:03 tonight the first Eastern Whip-poor-will of the year started singing in the woods behind the house. When I stepped out the door, I thought I heard one warming up but it was so faint I couldn't be certain, and then, just as I was saying to myself, "not tonight," it began to sing. Shari, sitting in the bedroom with the window open, heard it at the same time. 

March Recap--Brink of Disaster Edition

Eastern Bluebird, backyard

 Considering how close I came to catastrophe this month, I'm rather pleased with its results. One minute I was looking at Killdeer in a drawn down bog, the next minute my car was practically in the bog, reaffirming my core belief that you are always that one minute from disaster. Around that unfortunate incident I got in some good birding in Delaware and New Jersey, finding some of my favorites (American Avocet, Sandhill Crane, Brown-headed Nuthatch, all in Delaware) and adding 21 birds to the year list. All the additions have been previously documented save for the Red-breasted Nuthatch on the list. That was a happy find at Reeves Bogs, where I was forced, due to flooding, to walk a long distance on Cooper Road in the woods, where I not only heard the RB Nut but saw it climbing down a pine along with a couple of its white-breasted cousins. In Burlco, at that time, it was flagged as rare. 

Our feeders have been entertaining this month, hosting so many Pine Siskins that sometimes they can't all fit on the feeder and end up grazing in the grass, and quite a few Eastern Bluebirds. Shari, seeing the bluebirds bought mealworms for them, which they seem to snub. The starlings like them, though. 

For the month, 125 species. 

Species             First Sighting
Snow Goose   Whitehall Neck Rd.
Brant   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Canada Goose   Colliers Mills WMA
Mute Swan   Sunset Park
Tundra Swan   Whitesbog
Wood Duck   Whitesbog
Blue-winged Teal   Manahawkin WMA
Northern Shoveler   Bombay Hook
Gadwall   Bombay Hook
American Wigeon   Waretown
Mallard   Colliers Mills WMA
American Black Duck   Bayview Ave Park
Northern Pintail   Whitesbog
Green-winged Teal   Bombay Hook
Ring-necked Duck   Colliers Mills WMA
Greater Scaup   Sunset Park
Lesser Scaup   Sunset Park
King Eider   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Common Eider   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Harlequin Duck   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Surf Scoter   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Black Scoter   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Long-tailed Duck   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Bufflehead   Sunset Park
Hooded Merganser   Colliers Mills WMA
Common Merganser   Bombay Hook
Red-breasted Merganser   Sunset Park
Ruddy Duck   Sunset Park
Wild Turkey   Bombay Hook
Pied-billed Grebe   Bombay Hook
Horned Grebe   Waretown
Rock Pigeon   Bayview Ave Marina
Mourning Dove   35 Sunset Rd
American Coot   Lake of the Lilies
Sandhill Crane   Bombay Hook
American Avocet   Bombay Hook
American Oystercatcher   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Black-bellied Plover   DuPont Nature Center
Killdeer   Colliers Mills WMA
Piping Plover   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Long-billed Dowitcher   Brig
American Woodcock   Crestwood Community Gardens
Wilson's Snipe   Brig
Greater Yellowlegs   Bombay Hook
Ruddy Turnstone   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Dunlin   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Purple Sandpiper   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Bonaparte's Gull   DuPont Nature Center
Ring-billed Gull   DuPont Nature Center
Herring Gull   Sunset Park
Great Black-backed Gull   Sunset Park
Forster's Tern   Prime Hook
Red-throated Loon   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Common Loon   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Northern Gannet   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Great Cormorant   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Double-crested Cormorant   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Black-crowned Night Heron   Point Pleasant Canal
Little Blue Heron   Manahawkin WMA
Tricolored Heron   Joe Torg Nature Preserve
Snowy Egret   Brig
Great Egret   Bombay Hook
Great Blue Heron   Colliers Mills WMA
Black Vulture   Dover
Turkey Vulture   Colliers Mills WMA
Osprey   Bayview Ave Park
Northern Harrier   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Cooper's Hawk   Whitesbog
Bald Eagle   Bombay Hook
Red-shouldered Hawk   Whitesbog
Red-tailed Hawk   Colliers Mills WMA
Short-eared Owl   Bombay Hook
Belted Kingfisher   Whitesbog
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Whitesbog
Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Downy Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker   Whitesbog
Northern Flicker   Whitesbog
American Kestrel   Milford
Peregrine Falcon   Cedar Bonnet Island
Eastern Phoebe   Whitesbog
Blue Jay   Colliers Mills WMA
American Crow   Colliers Mills WMA
Fish Crow   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Common Raven   Colliers Mills WMA
Carolina Chickadee   Colliers Mills WMA
Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd
Horned Lark   Whitehall Neck Rd.
Tree Swallow   Bombay Hook
Purple Martin   Brig
Golden-crowned Kinglet   Whitesbog
White-breasted Nuthatch   Colliers Mills WMA
Brown-headed Nuthatch   Prime Hook
Red-breasted Nuthatch   Reeves Bogs
Brown Creeper   Colliers Mills WMA
Carolina Wren   35 Sunset Rd
European Starling   Colliers Mills WMA
Gray Catbird   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Brown Thrasher   Brig
Northern Mockingbird   Colliers Mills WMA
Eastern Bluebird   Colliers Mills WMA
Hermit Thrush   Colliers Mills WMA
American Robin   35 Sunset Rd
Cedar Waxwing   35 Sunset Rd
House Sparrow   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
House Finch   35 Sunset Rd
Pine Siskin   35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd
Chipping Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
Field Sparrow   Cranberry Bogs--Dover Rd
Fox Sparrow   Prime Hook
Dark-eyed Junco   35 Sunset Rd
White-throated Sparrow   Crestwood Community Gardens
Savannah Sparrow   Cranberry Bogs
Song Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Swamp Sparrow   Whitesbog
Eastern Towhee   Bombay Hook
Red-winged Blackbird   Colliers Mills WMA
Brown-headed Cowbird   Colliers Mills WMA
Common Grackle   Colliers Mills WMA
Boat-tailed Grackle   Bayview Ave Park
Pine Warbler   Whitesbog
Yellow-rumped Warbler   35 Sunset Rd
Northern Cardinal   Colliers Mills WMA

Killdeer, Lake of the Lilies

February--One Day Longer But Still a Dreary Month

Wood Ducks, Cranberry Bogs, Dover Road

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--Sharp-shinned Hawk flying across the cedar alley on Great Bay Blvd or didn't allow for any pictures like the hide-and-seek Lapland Longspur on Scott's Sandy Hook trip--are the exceptions. 

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. Pine Siskins 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 Eastern Bluebirds 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. Cedar Waxwings--big flocks on Sandy Hook, and scattered all about on my walks, eating cedar berries. Purple Sandpipers 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 Horned Larks--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. 

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. 

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 Rhynchophanes mccownii. So, you're just sweeping the name under the rug. 

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. 

But here are some interesting alternate names I've gleaned:

Harris's Sparrow was also known as Hood-crowned Sparrow or Blackhood.  Either would be a fine name for the bird.

Bachman's Sparrow was once the Pine-woods Sparrow

Cooper's Hawk could go back to being called Big Blue Darter, or simply Striker (I think Chicken Hawk is off the table)

Another bird that Wilson lost is the Veery, which once was Wilson's Thrush.

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. 

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.

And probably my favorite so far: the simple Ovenbird used to be known as the Golden-crowned Accentor. 

For the month 114 species.

Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean

Species             First Sighting
Snow Goose   Brig
Brant   Brig
Canada Goose   Brig
Mute Swan   Brig
Tundra Swan   Whitesbog
Wood Duck   Reeves Bogs
Northern Shoveler   Brig
Gadwall   Brig
American Wigeon   Brig
Mallard   Brig
American Black Duck   Brig
Northern Pintail   Brig
Green-winged Teal   Brig
Canvasback   Brig
Redhead   Holly Lake
Ring-necked Duck   Whitesbog
Greater Scaup   Bayview Ave Park
Lesser Scaup   Lake of the Lilies
Harlequin Duck   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Surf Scoter   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Black Scoter   Manasquan Inlet
Long-tailed Duck   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Bufflehead   Brig
Common Goldeneye   Brig
Hooded Merganser   Brig
Common Merganser   Lake Shenandoah County Park
Red-breasted Merganser   Brig
Ruddy Duck   Brig
Wild Turkey   Crestwood Village
Horned Grebe   Graveling Point
Rock Pigeon   Jackson Liberty HS
Mourning Dove   Brig
Clapper Rail   Brig
American Coot   Brig
Black-bellied Plover   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Killdeer   Lake of the Lilies
Greater Yellowlegs   Brig
Ruddy Turnstone   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Sanderling   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Dunlin   Brig
Purple Sandpiper   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Least Sandpiper   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Razorbill   Manasquan Inlet
Ring-billed Gull   Brig
Herring Gull   Brig
Great Black-backed Gull   Brig
Lesser Black-backed Gull   Lake of the Lilies
Red-throated Loon   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Common Loon   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Northern Gannet   Manasquan Inlet
Great Cormorant   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Double-crested Cormorant   Brig
Black-crowned Night Heron   Bayview Ave Park
Great Egret   Brig
Great Blue Heron   Brig
Black Vulture   Brig
Turkey Vulture   Brig
Northern Harrier   Brig
Sharp-shinned Hawk   Great Bay Bvld
Cooper's Hawk   35 Sunset Rd
Bald Eagle   Brig
Red-shouldered Hawk   Reeves Bogs
Red-tailed Hawk   Pond on Schoolhouse Road
Great Horned Owl   Whitesbog
Belted Kingfisher   Brig
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Whitesbog
Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Brig
Downy Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker   Whitesbog
Northern Flicker   Whitesbog
American Kestrel   Pasadena Road
Blue Jay   Brig
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Common Raven   Whitesbog
Carolina Chickadee   Brig
Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd
Horned Lark   Jackson Liberty HS
Golden-crowned Kinglet   Whitesbog
White-breasted Nuthatch   Brig
Brown Creeper   Cranberry Bogs
Winter Wren   Whitesbog
Carolina Wren   Brig
European Starling   Brig
Northern Mockingbird   Whitesbog
Eastern Bluebird   35 Sunset Rd
Hermit Thrush   Brig
American Robin   Brig
Cedar Waxwing   Lake Shenandoah County Park
House Sparrow   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
House Finch   Brig
Red Crossbill   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Pine Siskin   35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd
Lapland Longspur   Sandy Hook
Snow Bunting   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Chipping Sparrow   Bamber Lake
Field Sparrow   Pasadena Road
American Tree Sparrow   Cranberry Bogs
Fox Sparrow   Brig
Dark-eyed Junco   Brig
White-crowned Sparrow   New Egypt
White-throated Sparrow   Brig
Savannah Sparrow   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Song Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
Swamp Sparrow   Whitesbog
Red-winged Blackbird   Brig
Brown-headed Cowbird   Whitesbog
Rusty Blackbird   Reeves Bogs
Common Grackle   Lakehurst Railroad Tracks
Boat-tailed Grackle   Brig
Pine Warbler   Crestwood Village
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Brig
Northern Cardinal   Brig

January Wrap-up--The Usual Suspects

Eastern Bluebirds w House Finch, Great Bay Blvd

There was one obligatory bird this month: the (now) long-staying Red-flanked Bluetail 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. 

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. 

Purple Sandpiper, Manasquan Inlet

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 Fox Sparrow 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. 

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. 

Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, taken by our feeder camera.

Our feeders have pleased me so far this year--we're attracting some unusual yard birds--Pine Siskin most notably, though we've had bluebirds, waxwings, a kinglet, Brown Creepers and 2 winter warblers. 

As I said, 122 species. Rarities are underlined. 

Counties birded: Burlington, Mercer (incidentally), Monmouth, Ocean

Species             First Sighting
Snow Goose   Pinelands Preservation Alliance Headquarters
Brant   Sandy Hook
Cackling Goose   Sunset Park
Canada Goose   Sandy Hook
Mute Swan   Waretown
Trumpeter Swan   Assunpink WMA
Tundra Swan   Whitesbog
Northern Shoveler   Marshall's Pond
Gadwall   Sandy Hook
American Wigeon   Marshall's Pond
Mallard   Sandy Hook
American Black Duck   Sandy Hook
Green-winged Teal   Assunpink WMA
Canvasback   Riverfront Landing
Redhead   Waretown
Ring-necked Duck   Bamber Lake
Greater Scaup   Waretown
Lesser Scaup   Assunpink WMA
Common Eider   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Harlequin Duck   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Surf Scoter   Sandy Hook
White-winged Scoter   Sandy Hook
Black Scoter   Sandy Hook
Long-tailed Duck   Sandy Hook
Bufflehead   Sandy Hook
Common Goldeneye   Sandy Hook
Hooded Merganser   Assunpink WMA
Common Merganser   Assunpink WMA
Red-breasted Merganser   Sandy Hook
Ruddy Duck   Assunpink WMA
Pied-billed Grebe   Prospertown Lake
Horned Grebe   Sandy Hook
Red-necked Grebe   Sandy Hook
Rock Pigeon   Wawa South Toms River
Mourning Dove   Whitesbog
American Coot   Sandy Hook
American Oystercatcher   Holgate
Killdeer   Lake Barnegat
Greater Yellowlegs   Lake Barnegat
Ruddy Turnstone   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Sanderling   Sandy Hook
Dunlin   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Purple Sandpiper   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Black Guillemot   Shark River Inlet
Razorbill   Sandy Hook
Bonaparte's Gull   Sandy Hook
Ring-billed Gull   Conines Millpond
Herring Gull   Sandy Hook
Great Black-backed Gull   Sandy Hook
Glaucous Gull   Sandy Hook
Iceland Gull   Sandy Hook
Red-throated Loon   Sandy Hook
Common Loon   Sandy Hook
Northern Gannet   Sandy Hook
Great Cormorant   Sandy Hook
Double-crested Cormorant   Sandy Hook
Great Egret   Manahawkin WMA
Great Blue Heron   Sandy Hook
Black Vulture   BC Fairgrounds
Turkey Vulture   Sandy Hook
Northern Harrier   BC Fairgrounds
Cooper's Hawk   Assunpink WMA
Bald Eagle   Conines Millpond
Red-shouldered Hawk   Whitesbog
Red-tailed Hawk   Crestwood Village
Rough-legged Hawk   BC Fairgrounds
Belted Kingfisher   Whitesbog
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   35 Sunset Rd
Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd
Downy Woodpecker   Sandy Hook
Hairy Woodpecker   Whitesbog
Northern Flicker   Franklin Parker Preserve
American Kestrel   Ephraim P. Emson Preserve
Merlin   Waretown
Peregrine Falcon   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Northern Shrike   Franklin Parker Preserve
Blue Jay   Whitesbog
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow   Riverfront Landing
Common Raven   Sandy Hook
Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd
Black-capped Chickadee   Sandy Hook
Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd
Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Assunpink WMA
Golden-crowned Kinglet   Whitesbog
White-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd
Brown Creeper   35 Sunset Rd
Winter Wren   Whitesbog
Carolina Wren   Sandy Hook
European Starling   Sandy Hook
Gray Catbird   35 Sunset Rd
Northern Mockingbird   Sandy Hook
Eastern Bluebird   Franklin Parker Preserve
Hermit Thrush   Whitesbog
American Robin   35 Sunset Rd
Red-flanked Bluetail   Crestwood Village
Cedar Waxwing   Sandy Hook
House Sparrow   Waretown
American Pipit   Waretown
House Finch   Sandy Hook
Pine Siskin   Bamber Lake
American Goldfinch   Whitesbog
Snow Bunting   Sandy Hook
Chipping Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Field Sparrow   Pinelands Preservation Alliance Headquarters
American Tree Sparrow   Shelter Cove Park
Fox Sparrow   Whitesbog
Dark-eyed Junco   Whitesbog
White-throated Sparrow   Whitesbog
Savannah Sparrow   Whitesbog
Song Sparrow   Sandy Hook
Swamp Sparrow   Whitesbog
Eastern Meadowlark   BC Fairgrounds
Red-winged Blackbird   Waretown
Brown-headed Cowbird   CR 526 Allentown
Common Grackle   Cattus Island County Park
Boat-tailed Grackle   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Pine Warbler   35 Sunset Rd
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Sandy Hook
Western Tanager   Sandy Hook
Northern Cardinal   Sandy Hook

A Contradiction in Terms

Somehow, with all the trips I've made to Colliers Mills, I missed this sign until today.  First of all, it impressed me that we have sometimes had over $10,000 worth of turkeys feeding in our backyard. But the $500 replacement fee made me ponder. If the Department of Fish & Wildlife charges to replace a Wild Turkey...how wild is the turkey? 

The sign also seems to me to misplaced--in the over 300 times I've been to Colliers Mills, I have seen turkeys there exactly once. You'd have better luck poaching in my backyard. 

Jumping Brook Preserve 2/26--Wild Turkey

I thought I would eventually be writing a post that said something along the lines of, "Well, finally, the turkeys have returned to our backyard. I haven't seen them since October 24th of last year." I may note the first half that sentence sometime this year, but it won't be my first sighting of them since last fall. 

Since someone built a rudimentary bridge over one of the breaches between bogs at Jumping Brook Preserve, I've been exploring paths that were inaccessible previously. These dikes go back to the boundary line between the preserve and Fort Dix and today had a few sparrows, some which, like Savannah and Swamp Sparrows, are supposedly infrequently reported and some of which were too fast to identify.  I also came across a Greater Yellowlegs, which, according to eBird had never been reported in the 20km x 20km square that I was in at this time of year--amazing. And while I was documenting that yellowlegs, 8 Common Ravens flew over head, breaking the filter. When I emerged from the preserve on to Cranberry Canners Road 2½ hours later, I had 28 species for the day, which lately, ain't bad, though I missed easy ones like chickadee and White-throated Sparrow. 

I was opening the door to my car when I looked to my right and saw 3 Wild Turkeys, two toms, one on either side of the cannery fence and another turkey, which I think was immature, crossing the road. The toms would occasionally display, I guess trying to establish dominance, which was amusing considering the fence between them. I don't know if one flew into the cannery's yard, or two flew over  the fence. When I say "cannery" I mean the ruins of the cannery, which was once a big New Egypt operation and one of the precursors of Ocean Spray. 

I've been seeing reports of turkeys in Toms River, but nothing from the western section of the county, so it was good to finally run into these guys. 

My Jumping Brook list:

29 species
Canada Goose  4
Mallard  1
Ring-necked Duck  15
Hooded Merganser  18
Wild Turkey  3     CC Road by cannery fence
Mourning Dove  2
Killdeer  3     Heard on 3 separate bogs
Greater Yellowlegs  1     Possibly 2. Saw one on different bog after first one flew off
Turkey Vulture  2
Red-shouldered Hawk  1     Heard CC Road
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Downy Woodpecker  2
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  11     Exact count. 6 at cannery 3 on entrance path 2 on bogs
Blue Jay  4
American Crow  1     Heard
Common Raven  8     Exact count. 6 then 2 all croaking as they flew overhead
Tufted Titmouse  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  2     Heard
Carolina Wren  1     Heard
Eastern Bluebird  1     Heard entrance
American Robin  1
House Finch  1     Heard
Dark-eyed Junco  3
Savannah Sparrow  2     Bogs near Ft Dix
Song Sparrow  2
Swamp Sparrow  1     Bogs near Ft Dix
Red-winged Blackbird  10
Northern Cardinal  1     Heard CC Road