Whitesbog 8/12--Phalaropes

Every year has a few memorable birding days and today was one. I drove over to Whitesbog yet again this morning. After all, I hadn't been there since Sunday morning. Some interesting species had dropped by in the interim. Red Knot was found yesterday and that is a really rare bird for the area. We had storms last night so I was curious as to what stayed around and what came down in the storm.

When I drove onto the dikes I saw 3 birders in the far corner of the 2nd bog so I headed toward them--look for the birders, not the birds. They turned out to be Greg & Jim and another birder I hadn't met yet, Ernie. They'd had no luck with the Red Knot, but had seen a Short-billed Dowitcher, a supposed rarity for the county. I'd seen it driving up to them.

We set up our scopes and scanned around, finding the usual species for this time of year--both yellowlegs, Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers, Least & Semipalmated Sandpipers, egrets, ibises and a few Gull-billed Terns. Greg & Ernie walked up to the cut in the breached dike and after a while called over that they could use some help on an unusual bird Ernie had found. Greg had it in his scope and it only took me a moment to say "Wilson's Phalarope." I'd seen over 5000 of them last month in Utah, so I was pretty confident in the i.d. Lousy picture:

It was a delicate shorebird with yellow legs, very white on the breast and flanks, with a needle-like bill and a black line behind the eye. It ran around wildly on the mud flats as phalaropes will do. We all look for a good while, and check Sibley a few times,  before we were confident in our identification, According to eBird, this is the first sighting of Wilson's Phalarope in Burlington County. Greg put the word out on Jerseybirds.

We followed the bird for a good while then lost it then refound it, we thought, at the other end of the bog, in with a group of Greater Yellowlegs. Just before we broke up (the 3 other guys were going to drive to that side of the bog, I was going to start my walk) I found another WIPH close by, but it disappeared behind some high tufts of grass. Eventually we all got a look at it. So now we thought we had 2 Wilson's.

When we had all reconvened on the opposite side of the bog and found the phalarope with the feeding yellowlegs, we all quickly realized it wasn't the same bird we'd thought we'd seen. It was smaller, had a shorter bill, had buff stripes on the back and a large black eyepatch. I'd seen about 7000 Red-necked Phalaropes in Utah, and here was one more. Needless to say, this bird has not been recorded at Whitesbog either (though it has been seen in the county near the Delaware River). Then, after a few minutes, a Wilson's Phalarope flew in an joined the Red-necked. I think it is a second Wilson's because it looks so different than the first one we saw, but I can't be certain. In any case, as I always say, "I only need one." Here's an excellent comparison photo from Greg:

Wilson's (L), Red-necked (R)
Photo: (c) Greg Prelich

By now, other birders were joining us. I was happy to see David and his son and especially happy when the Red-necked turned out to be a lifer for him. David lives quite a distance from Whitesbog, so I asked him where he was when he got the alert. "I didn't," he said, "We were coming here anyway." As Branch Rickey said: Luck is the residue of design.

So while the Red Knot had taken flight, it was replaced by two great birds. Yet the other rarities that are common at Whitesbog--Pectoral Sandpiper, Little Blue Heron, were not to be found and the one bird I really want to find, Stilt Sandpiper, I still haven't found. Which only gives me another reason to go back tomorrow to Burlington County's mini-Brig.

My day list:
30 species
Canada Goose  15
American Black Duck  5
Mallard  25
Great Egret  11
Snowy Egret  1
Green Heron  1
Glossy Ibis  8
Turkey Vulture  1
Cooper's Hawk  1
Semipalmated Plover  20
Killdeer  15
Spotted Sandpiper  2
Solitary Sandpiper  3
Greater Yellowlegs  25
Lesser Yellowlegs  15
Least Sandpiper  10
Semipalmated Sandpiper  2
Short-billed Dowitcher  1     Possibly two. 
Wilson's Phalarope  1     
Red-necked Phalarope  1     2nd bog. WIPH flew in a few minutes later for comparison. 
Gull-billed Tern  6     Exact count of birds seen in one scope sweep 
Mourning Dove  1
Eastern Kingbird  2
American Crow  2
Purple Martin  2
Tree Swallow  2
Barn Swallow  5
Song Sparrow  1
Eastern Towhee  1     Heard
Red-winged Blackbird  1

Brig 8/8--Red Knot, White-rumped Sandpiper & a Black Swan Event

 Can't count it

It's August, which means it's shorebirding time at Brig. Except, for the 2nd year in a row, the water is high, very high, in the impoundments, due to an arcane project that could have and should have been done months ago but wasn't. Theories as to why abound. Mine is: the "contractor" that Forsythe's head biologist refers to is a college kid on summer break and this is the only time the kid can do the work.

In any case, as I said to Scott this morning, if you want shorebirds, look right. The channels on the outside of the road remain tidal and this morning there was plenty of mud to check for those of us on the NJ Audubon field trip.

Least Sandpiper on the road.

I arrived very early and was on the dikes at 6:50. Semipalmated Sandpipers were by far the most abundant bird on the flats, but I did find a few Least Sandpipers on the road itself. I've seen reports of 400 Least Sandpipers today, possible I'm sure, if one were to look at every peep on the flats. Down that road lies madness.

When I was on the north dike I ran into Dave who was out with in Utah/Nevada last week. He was scoping the swans and I jokingly asked him if he'd seen the Black Swan, which has been reported there for at least a month. And he had. Not that I've looked very  hard for this exotic which can't be counted, but it was good to finally see it and to see it fly. This tells me that it is an escape and not a release by a bored owner. I was also surprised to find that the swan had white under the wings. The Mute Swans--notoriously nasty birds--with which it was associating didn't seem to mind its presence.

Little Blue Heron (imm)

Other birds of interest I found on my solo trip were Blue Grosbeak (start of road to Gull Pond), Indigo Bunting (Gull Pond), Swamp Sparrow (Jen's Trail) and the first of a few immature Little Blue Herons (I forget where).

Despite the adverse conditions we were able to find quite a few shorebirds, including Whimbrel, Ruddy Turnstone, some handsome Black-bellied Plovers still in breeding plumage, and at least one Long-billed Dowitcher, distinguished by voice as well as morphology, from the many dowitchers of the short-billed persuasion.

But it was on the 2nd go-round that the really interesting shorebirds turned up, in quick succession, on the north dike. First Scott found a lone sleeping Red Knot hanging out with the dowitchers, bookended by Black-bellied Plovers. We scoped this bird for a long time before it woke up long enough to give us a profile of its bill and confirm its identity. As soon as we had that bird inked on the list, Linda, a little up the road, called out that they had a White-rumped Sandpiper mixed in with the semis. White-rumped Sandpiper is a tough one. I doubt I'd call one by itself because it looks so much like a semi, but, with semis to compare it to, it is fairly easy, since it looks like someone inflated a semi with a bicycle pump then extended its wings and bents its beak. A rather gruesome description but I think that give you the "giss" of the bird.

Our final project was to find the continuing White-faced Ibis that has been there since we were out west. Now, having looked at a few hundred WFIBs in Utah and Nevada, and having it already on my NJ list a few times, I can't say I was dying to find this bird. However, I dutifully scanned 55 GLIBs without success. Scott scanned the same 55 GLIBs and found the one WFIB (so I guess, really my count of GLIBs should be 54). The only decent field mark on this bird was its red eye, which, because the bird was vigorously preening itself, was hard to see for more than a moment at a time. However, everyone on the trip got their moment and the bird become #60 on my day list.

My day list:
Canada Goose  100
Mute Swan  15
Wood Duck  2     Exit Pond
Mallard  10
Double-crested Cormorant  15
Great Blue Heron  4
Great Egret  75
Snowy Egret  15
Little Blue Heron  3     
Black-crowned Night-Heron  2
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  1     North Dike
Glossy Ibis  55
White-faced Ibis  1     
Osprey  10
Cooper's Hawk  1
Clapper Rail  3
American Oystercatcher  2
Black-bellied Plover  10
Semipalmated Plover  25
Greater Yellowlegs  8
Willet  2
Lesser Yellowlegs  1
Whimbrel  2
Ruddy Turnstone  2
Red Knot  1
Least Sandpiper  4     
White-rumped Sandpiper  1
Semipalmated Sandpiper  1000
Short-billed Dowitcher  100
Long-billed Dowitcher  1
Laughing Gull  100
Ring-billed Gull  1
Herring Gull  10
Great Black-backed Gull  4
Least Tern  2
Gull-billed Tern  4
Caspian Tern  8
Forster's Tern  50
Royal Tern  2     South dike
Black Skimmer  75
Mourning Dove  1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Eastern Phoebe  1     Gull Pond
Eastern Kingbird  2
Blue Jay  1     Heard, upland trail
American Crow  2
Purple Martin  15     mobbing COHA
Tree Swallow  200
Barn Swallow  25
Gray Catbird  2
European Starling  10
Field Sparrow  1     Heard, near road to Experimental Pool
Seaside Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  4
Swamp Sparrow  1     
Northern Cardinal  1
Blue Grosbeak  1     
Indigo Bunting  1    
Red-winged Blackbird  25
American Goldfinch  4

Whitesbog 8/3--Pectoral Sandpiper

The bogs are draining at Whitesbog. 

While we were out west I knew that when I got back the annual process of draining the front, moribund bogs at Whitesbog would be underway and I was anxious to get out there, especially after I had an email from Greg who already had 7 species of shorebirds. Late yesterday afternoon I drove over there and I wasn't disappointed. I had 8 species of shorebirds--all the expected ones plus one "rarity," Pectoral Sandpiper. Burlington County has plenty of habitat suitable for Pectorals, so I don't exactly know why it's considered rare there, but there was no doubting the medium-sized shorebird when I saw its "vest" on its breast.

My count of two (!) Gull-billed Terns was also considered an outlier. Each year the Gull-billed Terns stop over at Whitesbog when the impoundments drain and each year you have to document them. I didn't have my camera with me yesterday, but a pair, I assume the same pair, were there early this morning roosting on the same exposed sandy area. 11 Glossy Ibises was also flagged.

I'm hoping this year the farmer will let the water flow out more slowly than last year, thus extending the shorebird season. Last year we had great birds there, but they didn't stay for long. If all goes well, I'll probably be stopping there 2 or 3 times a week for the next month or so.

It was great to get back to east coast birds. I didn't realize it until I heard one, but I missed the catbirds.
26 species
Canada Goose  6
American Black Duck  20
Mallard  5
Great Blue Heron  1
Great Egret  1
Glossy Ibis  11     
Turkey Vulture  1
Semipalmated Plover  6
Killdeer  5
Spotted Sandpiper  4
Solitary Sandpiper  5
Greater Yellowlegs  3
Lesser Yellowlegs  4
Least Sandpiper  10
Pectoral Sandpiper  1     
Gull-billed Tern  2   
Mourning Dove  3
Eastern Kingbird  1
American Crow  2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  10
Tree Swallow  1
Bank Swallow  1
Gray Catbird  1    
Song Sparrow  1     Heard
Red-winged Blackbird  10
Common Grackle  1

Utah & Nevada Links & Lists

Angel Lake Cirque in Nevada

At the end of July, Shari & I birded Utah and Nevada on a NJ Audubon field trip led by Scott Barnes and Linda Mack. We started and ended in Salt Lake City and used Elko for our base in Nevada. The temperature was height dependent--it was hot (but it's that "dry heat") in the desert, but up in the mountains a couple of mornings the temperatures were in the 30's! Aside from a few spritzes the day we birded the Great Salt Lake there was no rain.

Shari & I had 142 species (the group had a few more) and we each added 10 life birds to our list, a couple more than I expected, so the trip, in my mind, was wildly successful. There are still a few lifers to get out there, so I wouldn't mind a return trip in a couple of years.

Below are links to the posts and our state lists:
Salt Lake City 7/26
Antelope Island 7/27
Bear River MBR 7/27
Silver Lake 7/28
Guardsman Pass 7/28
Wasatch NF Spruce Campground 7/28
Signs Along the Way
Oasis, Pequop, Wells 7/29
Lamoille Canyon 7/30
South Fork SRA 7/31
Harrison Pass Rd 7/31
Ruby Lake NWR 7/31

UTAH 105 SPECIES

Species                 First Sighting

Canada Goose     W. Forest Rd

Gadwall     Bear River MBR

Mallard     Antelope Island SP

Redhead     Bear River MBR

Ruddy Duck     Bear River MBR

Ring-necked Pheasant     Bear River MBR

Wild Turkey     Wasatch NF Spruce Campground

Pied-billed Grebe     Bear River MBR

Eared Grebe     Antelope Island SP

Western Grebe     Bear River MBR

Clark's Grebe     Bear River MBR

Neotropic Cormorant     Lee Kay Ponds

Double-crested Cormorant     Bear River MBR

American White Pelican     Antelope Island SP

Great Blue Heron     W. Forest Rd

Great Egret     Bear River MBR

Snowy Egret     Bear River MBR

Cattle Egret     Lee Kay Ponds

Black-crowned Night-Heron     W. Forest Rd

White-faced Ibis     Bear River MBR

Turkey Vulture     W. Forest Rd

Northern Harrier     W. Forest Rd

SWAINSON'S HAWK     W. Forest Rd

Red-tailed Hawk     Silver Lake

American Coot     Bear River MBR

Sandhill Crane     W. Forest Rd

Black-necked Stilt     Antelope Island SP

American Avocet     Antelope Island SP

Killdeer     Antelope Island SP

Spotted Sandpiper     Antelope Island SP

Greater Yellowlegs     Bear River MBR

Willet     Antelope Island SP

Lesser Yellowlegs     Bear River MBR

Long-billed Curlew     Antelope Island SP

Marbled Godwit     Bear River MBR

Western Sandpiper     Bear River MBR

Long-billed Dowitcher     Antelope Island SP

Wilson's Phalarope     Antelope Island SP

Red-necked Phalarope     Antelope Island SP

FRANKLIN'S GULL     Antelope Island SP

Ring-billed Gull     Antelope Island SP

California Gull     Antelope Island SP

Caspian Tern     Bear River MBR

Forster's Tern     Antelope Island SP

Rock Pigeon     Hampton Inn

Eurasian Collared-Dove     Hampton Inn

Mourning Dove     Hampton Inn

Barn Owl     Antelope Island SP

Great Horned Owl     Antelope Island SP

Burrowing Owl     Antelope Island SP

Broad-tailed Hummingbird     Wasatch NF Spruce Campground

Red-naped Sapsucker     Wasatch NF Spruce Campground

Downy Woodpecker     Wasatch NF Spruce Campground

Hairy Woodpecker     Silver Lake

Northern Flicker     Silver Lake

American Kestrel     Antelope Island SP

Peregrine Falcon     Bear River MBR

Western Wood-Pewee     Silver Lake

CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER     Silver Lake

Western Kingbird     Hampton Inn

Eastern Kingbird     W. Forest Rd

Loggerhead Shrike     Antelope Island SP

Steller's Jay     Silver Lake

Black-billed Magpie     Natural History Museum of Utah

CLARK'S NUTCRACKER     Guardsman Pass

American Crow     Hampton Inn

Common Raven     Antelope Island SP

Northern Rough-winged Swallow     Antelope Island SP

Tree Swallow     Antelope Island SP

Violet-green Swallow     Silver Lake

Bank Swallow     Antelope Island SP

Barn Swallow     Hampton Inn

Cliff Swallow     Bear River MBR

Black-capped Chickadee     Natural History Museum of Utah

Mountain Chickadee     Silver Lake

Red-breasted Nuthatch     Silver Lake

Rock Wren     Guardsman Pass

House Wren     Guardsman Pass

Marsh Wren     Bear River MBR

American Dipper     Wasatch NF Spruce Campground

Golden-crowned Kinglet     Wasatch NF Spruce Campground

Ruby-crowned Kinglet     Guardsman Pass

Mountain Bluebird     Guardsman Pass

American Robin     Silver Lake

SAGE THRASHER     Antelope Island SP

Northern Mockingbird     Antelope Island SP

European Starling     Hampton Inn

Orange-crowned Warbler     Silver Lake

Yellow-rumped Warbler     Silver Lake

Chipping Sparrow     Guardsman Pass

Song Sparrow     Bear River MBR

Lincoln's Sparrow     Silver Lake

White-crowned Sparrow     Silver Lake

Dark-eyed Junco     Silver Lake

Black-headed Grosbeak     Silver Lake

Lazuli Bunting     Silver Lake

WESTERN MEADOWLARK     Antelope Island SP

Yellow-headed Blackbird     Antelope Island SP

Brewer's Blackbird     Hampton Inn

Great-tailed Grackle     Hampton Inn

Cassin's Finch     Silver Lake

Red Crossbill     Silver Lake

Pine Siskin     Silver Lake

American Goldfinch     Natural History Museum of Utah

House Sparrow     Hampton Inn NEVADA 107 SPECIES Species                  First Sighting Canada Goose     West Wendover WTP Trumpeter Swan     Ruby Lake NWR Gadwall     Wells - WWTP Mallard     West Wendover WTP Blue-winged Teal     South Fork State Recreation Area Cinnamon Teal     Ruby Lake NWR Northern Shoveler     West Wendover WTP Canvasback     Wells - WWTP Redhead     West Wendover WTP Lesser Scaup     Wells - WWTP Ruddy Duck     West Wendover WTP DUSKY GROUSE     Lamoille Canyon Pied-billed Grebe     South Fork State Recreation Area Eared Grebe     West Wendover WTP Western Grebe     South Fork State Recreation Area Double-crested Cormorant     West Wendover WTP American White Pelican     South Fork State Recreation Area Great Blue Heron     South Fork State Recreation Area Great Egret     Halleck Black-crowned Night-Heron     West Wendover WTP White-faced Ibis     West Wendover WTP Turkey Vulture     Pequop Golden Eagle     Lamoille Canyon Northern Harrier     Wells--Metropolis Rd Sharp-shinned Hawk     Angel Creek Campground Bald Eagle     South Fork State Recreation Area Swainson's Hawk     Wells--Metropolis Rd Red-tailed Hawk     Wells--Metropolis Rd FERRUGINOUS HAWK     South of Jiggs-- Rt 228 Virginia Rail     Wells--Metropolis Rd American Coot     West Wendover WTP Sandhill Crane     South Fork State Recreation Area Black-necked Stilt     West Wendover WTP American Avocet     West Wendover WTP Killdeer     West Wendover WTP Spotted Sandpiper     West Wendover WTP Willet     Wells - WWTP Lesser Yellowlegs     South Fork State Recreation Area Long-billed Curlew     Spring Creek Least Sandpiper     West Wendover WTP Western Sandpiper     South Fork State Recreation Area Long-billed Dowitcher     West Wendover WTP Wilson's Phalarope     West Wendover WTP Bonaparte's Gull     South Fork State Recreation Area California Gull     South Fork State Recreation Area Black Tern     South Fork State Recreation Area Eurasian Collared-Dove     Wells Mourning Dove     Halleck Burrowing Owl     Hilltop Dr.--Elko Common Nighthawk     South Fork State Recreation Area Black-chinned Hummingbird     Oasis Broad-tailed Hummingbird     Lamoille Canyon Rufous Hummingbird     Oasis LEWIS'S WOODPECKER     Lamoille Canyon Downy Woodpecker     Angel Creek Campground Northern Flicker     Lamoille Canyon American Kestrel     South of Jiggs-- Rt 228 Western Wood-Pewee     Angel Creek Campground Gray Flycatcher     Pequop Dusky Flycatcher     Harrison Pass Rd Cordilleran Flycatcher     Lamoille Canyon Say's Phoebe     Oasis Western Kingbird     West Wendover WTP Loggerhead Shrike     South Fork State Recreation Area Black-billed Magpie     Halleck Clark's Nutcracker     Lamoille Canyon American Crow     Spring Creek--Pleasant Valley Common Raven     Oasis Horned Lark     West Wendover WTP Northern Rough-winged Swallow     West Wendover WTP Tree Swallow     Wells--Metropolis Rd Violet-green Swallow     Lamoille Canyon Barn Swallow     West Wendover WTP Cliff Swallow     Wells--Metropolis Rd Black-capped Chickadee     Pequop Mountain Chickadee     Pequop Bushtit     Ruby Lake NWR House Wren     Angel Lake Blue-gray Gnatcatcher     Ruby Lake NWR Mountain Bluebird     Lamoille Canyon Swainson's Thrush     Angel Lake American Robin     Lamoille Canyon Sage Thrasher     Oasis European Starling     Halleck Orange-crowned Warbler     South Fork State Recreation Area Common Yellowthroat     Wells--Metropolis Rd Yellow Warbler     Oasis Yellow-rumped Warbler     Lamoille Canyon Black-throated Gray Warbler     Ruby Lake NWR Spotted Towhee     Harrison Pass Rd BREWER'S SPARROW     Wells - WWTP Vesper Sparrow     South Fork State Recreation Area Lark Sparrow     South Fork State Recreation Area White-crowned Sparrow     Angel Lake Dark-eyed Junco     Lamoille Canyon Western Tanager     Ruby Lake NWR Black-headed Grosbeak     Angel Lake Lazuli Bunting     Angel Creek Red-winged Blackbird     West Wendover WTP Western Meadowlark     Wells--Metropolis Rd Yellow-headed Blackbird     West Wendover WTP Brewer's Blackbird     Oasis House Finch     Oasis Cassin's Finch     Wells Pine Siskin     Lamoille Canyon Lesser Goldfinch     Lamoille Canyon House Sparrow     Wells Angel Lake Kiss