Forsythe-Barnegat | Great Bay Blvd | Backyard 5/7--Wilson's Phalarope, Stilt Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Saltmarsh Sparrow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

There aren't a whole lot of birds I'm inclined to chase these days, but a county lifer qualifies. When I noticed that a Wilson's Phalarope was found yesterday afternoon down at the Forsythe-Barnegat viewing platform I decided I'd go down there first thing in the morning. If this phalarope had the same habits as the ones that show up at Brig, I thought there was a pretty good chance of it sticking around. Finding it, of course, was another story.

Of late that impoundment has been full of both flavors of yellowlegs, so I knew I'd have to pick through the feeding flock which was spread out about 180 degrees. Going early had the advantage that I beat the rush--I've been on that platform searching for a rarity rubbing shoulders with a crowd of birders and didn't enjoy it. On the other hand, someone to help would be appreciated. Just as I was about to give up, having scanned back and forth twice, that someone showed up, a good (in both senses) birder I know, who had seen the bird yesterday. Almost immediately he picked out the female phalarope, way in the back--here's my excuse: when I was looking for it was behind a dead cedar. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Funnily enough, just this weekend I was talking to Scott about how I'd never seen a Wilson's Phalarope in the county; neither had he. And now it turns up. Eerie. The phalarope was #332 for the county. Why that seems important to me remains an enduring mystery. 

What I don't have an excuse for missing, other than focusing on find the rarity, was to miss the Stilt Sandpiper that was close to the platform, feeding with the yellowlegs. Of course, the good birder pointed it out. 

After that I was on my own. I drove down to Great Bay Blvd in Tuckerton, which was my original plan for the day. I was just setting up the scope at Tuckerton Cove when I got a text from Shari with this picture:

Arghh! We annually get Rose-breasted Grosbeak in our backyard, but they usually only stay for the day. I had to hope that the safflower seeds were enticing enough to keep around until I got back home. 

The marshes were full of shorebirds and in contrast to Forsythe where the yellowlegs predominated, most of the sandpipers were Short-billed Dowitchers. But picking through them I did find a few Semipalmated Sandpipers, new for the year. I was also building up the state and county list with birds I'd already seen in Mexico, like Semipalmated Plover & Gull-billed Tern.

Down at the end of the road on the beach, I was hoping for Red Knots but it is probably a little early for them. I did, however, see my first Saltmarsh Sparrows of the year. As always, they flushed up as I was walking in the marsh grass. I got great looks but neither one posed for me. It reminded me of last summer when my friend Lon was here and needed both Seaside Sparrow and Saltmarsh Sparrow to complete his photographic collection of the Norther American sparrows. We tried Tuckerton, we tried Brig, we even tried Bombay Hook, but it wasn't until we went to Cattus Island (where, I told, even I could get pictures of those sparrows) that he successfully added both to his collection. Hey kids, collect 'em all!

Indigo Bunting

I came off the beach and was walking to my car when I found the most unexpected bird of the day (save for the phalarope) --an Indigo Bunting feeding on the gravel. I spent most of yesterday at Colliers Mills looking for one and then went over to the Emson Preserve where they're usually easy to find with no success. But of course, when I'm not looking for one, there it is. That may be a new Law of Birding.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak female

When I got home, I took a look out the side window, figuring I'd start my vigil for the grosbeak. And there it was. Except it wasn't the male Shari saw. I had a female. That's the first time we've ever had two Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in our yard. About a half hour later I looked out again, and the male was scarfing down the safflower seeds. So, a pretty good day.

For Great Bay Blvd I had 42 species: 

Brant  5
Canada Goose  2
American Black Duck  1
Mourning Dove  2
Clapper Rail  8
American Oystercatcher  2
Black-bellied Plover  40
Semipalmated Plover  11
Short-billed Dowitcher  230
Spotted Sandpiper  2
Willet  20
Greater Yellowlegs  7
Ruddy Turnstone  8
Dunlin  100
Least Sandpiper  12
Semipalmated Sandpiper  5
Laughing Gull  25
American Herring Gull  15
Black Skimmer  3
Gull-billed Tern  1
Forster's Tern  25
Common Loon  1
White Ibis  1     Immature
Glossy Ibis  2
Black-crowned Night Heron  11
Little Blue Heron  1
Snowy Egret  30
Great Egret  25
Osprey  6
Bald Eagle  1
Fish Crow  1
Tree Swallow  1
Barn Swallow  10
Gray Catbird  7
Seaside Sparrow  4
Saltmarsh Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  4
Red-winged Blackbird  50
Boat-tailed Grackle  40
Common Yellowthroat  4
Northern Cardinal  1
Indigo Bunting  1

Colliers Mills 5/6--Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Warbling Vireo, Veery, Baltimore Oriole, Blue Grosbeak

Blue Grosbeak, male and female

I went over to Colliers Mills in the early A.M. to look for some of the birds still not on the list for either the year or the county. Warbling Vireo--I'm sorry, Eastern Warbling Vireo, is usually singing at the parking lot, but not this morning. It took me until I had circled Turnmill Pond--I'm sorry Turnmill Lake--and was in the field on Success Road until I heard one (you hardly ever see them and truth be told, they're not much to look at anyway). There's a mnemonic for their song that the late Pete Bacinski tried to teach me; something like "If I sees you I will seize you till I squeeze you...." I forget the rest. As I used to say to Pete, "I need a mnemonic for the mnemonic." 

I'd already heard Eastern Wood-Pewee on Hawkin Road and had successfully called out Hooded Warbler in its usual spot (which Scott discovered a few years ago) behind a patch of Mountain Laurel on the road off Hawkin that leads to the Borden's Branch wetlands. I was so intent on getting the Hooded Warbler that it didn't register with me until I walked away that I'd also heard a Veery there (Veeer!), along with a Wood Thrush. Wood Thrush is expected; Veery is infrequent there. 

I'd also heard the tick of a Blue Grosbeak in along the edge of the police shooting range field, but I wanted more than that for that species and I was able to see one walking up the east side of Colliers Mills Lake. I also heard and briefly saw two Baltimore Orioles, so overall, it was a good morning. I also went back to the woods north of Success Road just to see how many Red-headed Woodpeckers I could find there--three was the number and it only takes three to break the eBird filter.  I suspect the reviewer keeps the filter tight to eliminate those birders who, either through fat finger or just plain ignorance, list Red-bellied Woodpeckers as RHWO. 

In terms of breeding, the Canada Geese have goslings, and I saw a couple of juvenile Killdeer on the sand strip that runs along the shooting range field. 

Canada Geese with goslings.

Juvenile Killdeer, near police shooting range. 

For the hike around Turnmill the Borden's Branch wetlands and along the length of Colliers Mills Lake into the woods I had 45 species:

Canada Goose  14
Mallard  2
Mourning Dove  2
Killdeer  6
Laughing Gull  30     Flyover
Turkey Vulture  4
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Red-headed Woodpecker  3     
Red-bellied Woodpecker  4
Northern Flicker  2
Eastern Wood-Pewee  2
Great Crested Flycatcher  6
Eastern Kingbird  2
White-eyed Vireo  4
Eastern Warbling Vireo  2
Red-eyed Vireo  2
Blue Jay  6
American Crow  1
Carolina Chickadee  3
Tufted Titmouse  3
Tree Swallow  3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  5
Carolina Wren  1
European Starling  5
Gray Catbird  10
Brown Thrasher  3
Northern Mockingbird  2
Eastern Bluebird  1
Veery  1    
Wood Thrush  1
American Robin  15
Chipping Sparrow  3
Eastern Towhee  10
Baltimore Oriole  2
Red-winged Blackbird  20
Brown-headed Cowbird  4
Ovenbird  10
Black-and-white Warbler  4
Common Yellowthroat  10
Hooded Warbler  1     
Pine Warbler  2
Yellow-rumped Warbler  1
Prairie Warbler  7
Northern Cardinal  3
Blue Grosbeak  3

Whiting Home Not Listed on Zillow

Shari & I have been watching a couple of Red-bellied Woodpeckers drill a nest hole in a dead pine tree behind the house. Yesterday, Shari got a video of the male finishing up the details. Today, he was at the top of the broken trunk, pounding away. It's good to have food so close to home. 

 

April Wrap-up--Tropics Edition

Plain Chachalaca, Puerto Morelos

Our trip to the Yucatan bolstered the year list of course. What strikes me looking at a list divided between a cold spring in New Jersey and 12 days in the tropics is the range of the list--it starts with a winter waterfowl (Brant) and ends with a tropical tanager (Black-headed Saltator). A lot of the birds on the month list are birds I might have seen migrating in New Jersey but saw them on their way up in Mexico. On the other hand, I might not have encountered them, since it seems this year, like every year, was a rather "lame" migration. I cannot recall ever, in the close to 50 years I've been birding, hearing anyone describe migration in the Northeast as "great." Everyone (except me, who, like the Rolling Stones "got no expectations") is always disappointed in the spring migration. It's like they forget all the dire reports of population plunges in myriad species and expect the trees to be dripping with warblers and vireos and the beaches crammed with shorebirds. Of course, migration still has a month to go, but I don't expect much change in the grumbling--the weather is too cold, the winds aren't right, it's raining, big rocks are falling out of the sky...there's always a reason that there aren't enough birds except for the real ones no one wants to face...we're exterminating them with our parking lots, housing developments, windmills, insecticides, and tall buildings. 

And, while I have limited experience, I suppose it isn't much different in other parts of the country. I remember years ago going to Magee Marsh in Ohio, one of the premier migration hot spots, and had no sooner stepped out of the car, saw a year bird, only to have a disgruntled birder next to me mumble that that was about as good as I could expect, because migration stunk that year. I was amazed. I didn't even have my right foot out of the car and already I was listening to complaints!

I added bird #180 for the month this morning on a long walk around Double Trouble SP--an Orchard Oriole back in the Sweetwater bogs where they can be reliably found every year. 

White-fronted Amazon, Puerto Morelos

For the month it was 180 species.

Counties Birded: 

Mexico: Quintana Roo, Yucatan

New Jersey: Burlington, Ocean

Species   First Sighting
Brant   Waretown
Canada Goose   Colliers Mills WMA
Mute Swan   Waretown
Wood Duck   Colliers Mills WMA
Mallard   Colliers Mills WMA
American Black Duck   Double Trouble SP
Green-winged Teal   Eno’s Pond
Ring-necked Duck   Colliers Mills WMA
Bufflehead   Waretown
Red-breasted Merganser   Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education
Plain Chachalaca   Puerto Morelos
Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd
Rock Pigeon   South Toms River
RED-BILLED PIGEON   Puerto Morelos
Eurasian Collared-Dove   Puerto Morelos
Ruddy Ground Dove   Puerto Morelos
White-tipped Dove   Yaax Che
White-winged Dove   Parque Cancun
Mourning Dove   Colliers Mills WMA
Common Squirrel-Cuckoo   Yaax Che
Eastern Whip-poor-will   35 Sunset Rd
Ruby-throated Hummingbird   35 Sunset Rd
Clapper Rail   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
American Oystercatcher   Island Beach SP
Black-bellied Plover   Reserva de la Biosfera Ria Lagartos
Killdeer   Colliers Mills WMA
Semipalmated Plover   Playa Puerto Morelos
Short-billed Dowitcher   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Wilson's Snipe   Whitesbog
Spotted Sandpiper   Playa Bonita
Solitary Sandpiper   Whitesbog
Lesser Yellowlegs   Forsythe--Barnegat
Willet   Cooperativa Pescadores de Rio Lagartos
Greater Yellowlegs   Eno’s Pond
Ruddy Turnstone   Reserva de la Biosfera Ria Lagartos
Sanderling   Playa Puerto Morelos
Dunlin   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Least Sandpiper   Playa Bonita
Laughing Gull   Wawa Rt 70 & CR 530
Ring-billed Gull   Colliers Mills WMA
American Herring Gull   Eno’s Pond
Great Black-backed Gull   Island Beach SP
Black Skimmer   Cooperativa Pescadores de Rio Lagartos
Gull-billed Tern   Cooperativa Pescadores de Rio Lagartos
Forster's Tern   Reserva de la Biosfera Ria Lagartos
Sandwich Tern   Playa Puerto Morelos
Royal Tern   Playa Puerto Morelos
AMERICAN FLAMINGO   Reserva de la Biosfera Ria Lagartos
Horned Grebe   Colliers Mills WMA
Common Loon   Whitesbog
Magnificent Frigatebird   Playa Puerto Morelos
Anhinga   Playa Puerto Morelos
Double-crested Cormorant   Whitesbog
Neotropic Cormorant   Rio Lagartos
White Ibis   Waretown
Glossy Ibis   Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education
Roseate Spoonbill   Puerto Morelos
BARE-THROATED TIGER-HERON   Reserva de la Biosfera Ria Lagartos
BOAT-BILLED HERON   Playa Bonita
Yellow-crowned Night Heron   Playa Bonita
Black-crowned Night Heron   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Little Blue Heron   Waretown
Tricolored Heron   Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education
Reddish Egret   Cooperativa Pescadores de Rio Lagartos
Snowy Egret   Eno’s Pond
Green Heron   Cooperativa Pescadores de Rio Lagartos
Western Cattle-Egret   Reserva de la Biosfera Ria Lagartos
Great Egret   Waretown
Great Blue Heron   Colliers Mills WMA
American White Pelican   Reserva de la Biosfera Ria Lagartos
Brown Pelican   Playa Puerto Morelos
Black Vulture   Cooperativa Pescadores de Rio Lagartos
Turkey Vulture   Colliers Mills WMA
LESSER YELLOW-HEADED VULTURE   Playa Puerto Morelos
Osprey   Eno’s Pond
Sharp-shinned Hawk   Cranberry Bogs
Cooper's Hawk   35 Sunset Rd
Common Black Hawk   Cenote Kambulnah
ROADSIDE HAWK   Parque Cancun
Red-shouldered Hawk   Whitesbog
Red-tailed Hawk   Cranberry Bogs
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl   Casa Carolina
Black-headed Trogon   Yaax Che
Belted Kingfisher   Colliers Mills WMA
American Pygmy Kingfisher   Cenote Kambulnah
Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Yucatan Woodpecker   Puerto Morelos
Golden-fronted Woodpecker   Puerto Morelos
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Downy Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker   Whitesbog
Northern Flicker   Colliers Mills WMA
American Kestrel   Robert J. Miller Air Park
Merlin   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
White-fronted Amazon   Casa Carolina
Olive-throated Parakeet   Cenote Kambulnah
GRAY-COLLARED BECARD   Parque Cancun
Eastern Phoebe   Colliers Mills WMA
Dusky-capped Flycatcher   Puerto Morelos
Great Crested Flycatcher   Manasquan River WMA
Brown-crested Flycatcher   Puerto Morelos
Great Kiskadee   Casa Carolina
Social Flycatcher   Puerto Morelos
Tropical Kingbird   Puerto Morelos
Couch's Kingbird   Puerto Morelos
Eastern Kingbird   Colliers Mills WMA
Rufous-browed Peppershrike   Parque Cancun
Lesser Greenlet   Yaax Che
White-eyed Vireo   Yaax Che
Mangrove Vireo   Cooperativa Pescadores de Rio Lagartos
Blue-headed Vireo   Island Beach SP
Red-eyed Vireo   Sooy Pl Road
Green Jay   Playa Bonita
YUCATAN JAY   Puerto Morelos
Blue Jay   35 Sunset Rd
American Crow   Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education
Fish Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Common Raven   Island Beach SP
Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd
Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd
Bank Swallow   Hotel Rio Lagartos
Tree Swallow   Whitesbog
Purple Martin   Woodmansee Blvd
Gray-breasted Martin   Aeropuerto Internacional de Cancun
Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Double Trouble SP
Barn Swallow   Puerto Morelos
Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Reeves Bogs
Golden-crowned Kinglet   Whitesbog
White-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd
Red-breasted Nuthatch   Island Beach SP
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Island Beach SP
Northern House Wren   Manasquan River WMA
Carolina Wren   Eno’s Pond
White-bellied Wren   Yaax Che
European Starling   35 Sunset Rd
Gray Catbird   Puerto Morelos
Brown Thrasher   Colliers Mills WMA
Tropical Mockingbird   Puerto Morelos
Northern Mockingbird   Colliers Mills WMA
Eastern Bluebird   35 Sunset Rd
Hermit Thrush   Eno’s Pond
Wood Thrush   Manasquan River WMA
American Robin   Colliers Mills WMA
House Finch   35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd
Chipping Sparrow   Eno’s Pond
Field Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Dark-eyed Junco   Colliers Mills WMA
White-throated Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Seaside Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Song Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
Swamp Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Eastern Towhee   Colliers Mills WMA
Orchard Oriole   Double Trouble SP
Hooded Oriole   Puerto Morelos
Yellow-tailed Oriole   Parque Cancun
Orange Oriole   Parque Cancun
Altamira Oriole   Parque Cancun
Red-winged Blackbird   Colliers Mills WMA
Bronzed Cowbird   Puerto Morelos
Brown-headed Cowbird   Colliers Mills WMA
Melodious Blackbird   Puerto Morelos
Common Grackle   Whitesbog
Boat-tailed Grackle   Island Beach SP--Reed's Road
Great-tailed Grackle   Puerto Morelos
Ovenbird   Double Trouble SP
Worm-eating Warbler   Manahawkin WMA
Northern Waterthrush   Puerto Morelos
Blue-winged Warbler   Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
Black-and-white Warbler   Puerto Morelos
Prothonotary Warbler   Yaax Che
Common Yellowthroat   Puerto Morelos
Hooded Warbler   Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
American Redstart   Playa Bonita
Northern Parula   Manahawkin WMA
Magnolia Warbler   Puerto Morelos
Northern Yellow Warbler   Parque Cancun
MANGROVE YELLOW WARBLER   Cooperativa Pescadores de Rio Lagartos
Palm Warbler   Whitesbog
Pine Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Island Beach SP
Prairie Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Cardinal   Colliers Mills WMA
Black-headed Saltator   Parque Cancun

Whitesbog 4/29--Solitary Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

 I have found that if I don't feel like going to certain section of a place I'm birding, it's usually a good idea to ignore that feeling and go. Today, walking around Union Pond at Whitesbog, instead of turning right when I came back out onto the bogs, I turned left, even though my first impression scanning the little mudflats, was that nothing was on them. I was wrong, of course. First, I saw a Killdeer, no excitement there, but it had eluded me in the glare from the west side of the pond. Next to it was a shorebird and I immediately saw that it was a Solitary Sandpiper. A little early, perhaps, but as it happens, exactly one year ago I saw the same species there.  

The bird flew off the mudflat it was sharing with the Killdeer to one about 10 feet away and with it a little flock of Least Sandpipers swooped in. We "had" Least Sandpiper in Mexico earlier this month, but these were Jersey Least Sandpipers. So, had I followed my inclination and just turned right, I'd have missed both those species. And what persuaded me besides a Constanza-like contrariness? The fact that I wanted to take a longer walk than usual today and going left probably added about three-quarters of a mile to my hike. 

It was a good day there: 42 species in all, plus I had a long chat with my informant and made his dog very happy scratching him under the chin (the dog, not my informant). 

Canada Goose  15
Wood Duck  6
Mallard  13
Mourning Dove  5
Killdeer  1
Solitary Sandpiper  1     
Greater Yellowlegs  1
Least Sandpiper  8     
Turkey Vulture  1
Red-shouldered Hawk  1     Heard village
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  1
Great Crested Flycatcher  2
White-eyed Vireo  3
American Crow  2
Fish Crow  4
Common Raven  1     Croaking
Carolina Chickadee  5
Tufted Titmouse  1
Tree Swallow  3
Purple Martin  2
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  3
Northern House Wren  1
Carolina Wren  2
Gray Catbird  5
Brown Thrasher  2
American Robin  1
American Goldfinch  1
Chipping Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  3
Swamp Sparrow  1
Eastern Towhee  3
Red-winged Blackbird  30
Common Grackle  8
Ovenbird  10
Black-and-white Warbler  5
Common Yellowthroat  20
Pine Warbler  3
Prairie Warbler  7
Northern Cardinal  1

Manahawkin WMA | Barnegat 4/28--Lesser Yellowlegs, Purple Martin, Northern Parula, Worm-eating Warbler

 I parked high up on Stafford Avenue this morning, on the northern edge of the Manahawkin WMA and walked down about a mile, ear birding for the most part. The most intriguing bird I heard was a Worm-eating Warbler.I'd seen that Worm-eating had been reported there the day before, but I was skeptical.  Manahawkin isn't a place I'd expect to find one, but the zinging call was pretty loud. Merlin is notorious for mixing up Pine Warbler (also there), Chipping Sparrow, and Worm-eating. Their calls are very similar, and Merlin is far from perfect. In order to convince myself that it wasn't a Chipping Sparrow I was hearing, I played back the so-called song of the Worm-eating. It got an immediate response, and that was good enough for me.

I also heard another warbler I wouldn't be looking for there--a Blue-winged Warbler was obvious with its "Buzz-kill" "song." This was a bonus bird for me since I'd spent yesterday morning circling the back field at the Manasquan River WMA looking unsuccessfully for one. Farther down the road I heard my FOY Northern Parula. Ovenbirds and Common Yellowthroats were background noise. Of all the warblers I heard along that stretch of road, the only one I saw was Black-and-white Warbler. 

After that I drove down to the marsh and parked by the trail that runs between the impoundments. The DEP had recently hired a contractor to rehabilitate the water control system, putting in new sluice gates and culverts and they did a wonderful job clearing the trail and widening it at the "T" so that mowers can now run down the full length of the berm. They're supposedly doing it so that it will be better habitat for shorebirds, but the water was high today and the only shorebirds I saw were 3 Greater Yellowlegs. But it's early.

Lesser Yellowlegs with Dunlin

Speaking of yellowlegs, after I made a quick stop at Woodmansee Blvd to check out the Purple Martin houses (a spot that we used to check when I did the World Series of Birding with Pete and Mike), I thought I'd look at the impoundment at Forsythe-Barnegat from the observation platform. Most of the time there's very little to see there, but today, as was the case last year, the shallow water was loaded with Lesser Yellowlegs. I estimated a filter-busting 100, but there were probably more. Unfortunately, they were not mixing with the Greater Yellowlegs that were there, so I didn't get any good comparison photos. There was also a big flock of Dunlin, most of them half-way into their alternate plumage. Again, Merlin came in handy, since recording the flock proved they were Lesser Yellowlegs. A lot of softer "do-do's" instead of the louder, more insistent "do-do-do" of the Greater. 

for the three spots this morning I had 50 species. The Manahawkin list is the one of interest.

44 species
Canada Goose  2
Mute Swan  5
Mallard  1
Mourning Dove  1
Willet  1
Greater Yellowlegs  3
Laughing Gull  2
American Herring Gull  3
Forster's Tern  6
Double-crested Cormorant  3
Glossy Ibis  15
Tricolored Heron  1
Snowy Egret  2
Great Egret  4
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Hairy Woodpecker  1     Heard Stafford
Northern Flicker  3
Great Crested Flycatcher  3
White-eyed Vireo  4
Red-eyed Vireo  1
Blue Jay  2
American Crow  1
Carolina Chickadee  3
Tufted Titmouse  2
Tree Swallow  12
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  3
Gray Catbird  4
Wood Thrush  5
American Robin  4
American Goldfinch  2
White-throated Sparrow  1
Seaside Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  1
Red-winged Blackbird  40
Brown-headed Cowbird  3
Ovenbird  25
Worm-eating Warbler  1
Blue-winged Warbler  1     
Black-and-white Warbler  4
Common Yellowthroat  30
Northern Parula  1
Northern Yellow Warbler  3
Pine Warbler  2
Northern Cardinal  1

Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve | Sooy Place Road 4/26--Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-winged Warbler, Hooded Warbler

For no good reason I seem to reserve Sunday mornings for Burlco birding.  This morning I decided to seek out the warbler specialties beyond Prairie Warbler at the Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve. The hotspot of this hotspot begins about a half mile in at the bridge that runs across a little creek. Here, if you wait for a while, a Prothonotary Warbler will always show up. Today I didn't have to wait--a Prothonotary jumped up onto the railing of the bridge just as I got to it, show itself nicely, then dove down beneath the bridge where it may have a nest. Good to add to Jersey list, but I already had one down at Yaax Che in Mexico last week. 

Hooded Warbler

On the way to the bridge I'd already had the aforesaid Prairie Warbler, along with Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Pine Warbler, and lots of Ovenbirds. Beyond the bridge is a section I like to think of as Hooded Warbler Alley--it is a stretch of about 1000 feet that runs through thick woods and it is almost impossible not to hear the warbler's Wheaty-wheaty-wheaty-O song. Today, I was lucky enough to actually see one of the warblers--for a striking yellow bird with a black hood they can be difficult to get eyes on. Even more amazingly, I was actually able to get a photo of the bird after it hopped around from side of the trail to the other, giving me nice photos of typical pine barrens vegetation. Taking photos of warblers with a camera with a slow focus is a mug's game, but I try--sometimes. 

After you emerge from the alley, there is a little area just before the White trail intersects with the tick-infested Yellow trail that is often good for Blue-winged Warbler. They weren't present when I first went by, but on my return trip I heard the little buzzy song of one and was able to get eyes on it. There might have been two--you only need one. I walked about another mile and half along the white trail, past Gum Spring (where I saw a Merlin in a dead tree in the swamp, a patch bird for me), but the birding dies down pretty quickly there and it becomes more exercise than birding. But, aside from the Pine Warblers, I was able to get eyes on at least of each of the warblers I listed. 

23 species
Mourning Dove  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  3
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  1
Merlin  1
White-eyed Vireo  4
Blue Jay  3
Carolina Chickadee  4
Tufted Titmouse  4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  5
Field Sparrow  1
White-throated Sparrow  1
Eastern Towhee  10
Brown-headed Cowbird  2
Ovenbird  10
Blue-winged Warbler  1     
Black-and-white Warbler  3
Prothonotary Warbler  1
Common Yellowthroat  5
Hooded Warbler  6
Pine Warbler  3
Prairie Warbler  5
Northern Cardinal  1

Prothonotary Warbler

When I was done at Huber, I drove about 3/4 of a mile down Sooy Place Road to where it crosses Burr's Mill Brook. The brook is very wide at this juncture, more a swamp than a stream with many dead trees and stumps sticking up out of the water. It was here that I heard my FOY Red-eyed Vireo, high in the canopy behind me where the brook is still a brook, and it was also here that I managed to get a very good look another Prothonotary Warbler and even get a photograph that is one step up from a doc shot. While I was standing on the bridge, a local came along and asked me, as they always do, if I had seen anything good. He was walking a heavyset, muscular dog. I asked him what kind it was and he told me it was Caen Corso--it looked like it would be very happy to bite off my kneecap, but he swore the dog was extremely friendly while also telling me that the Romans bred them as war dogs, it weighed 175 pounds, and that its jaw was twice a powerful as a pit bull's, equivalent to the chomping power of a lion. I took his word for the friendliness of the dog and inched my way back to the car.