March Summary

It's gray and misty this last day of the month so it looks like my birding ended yesterday with my only look at Pier One this month and not much shaking there. So I may as well sum up the month now. In a  word: unsatisfactory.

Life intruded this month and while I was happy to discover some woods in Iselin (where I spent the majority of the month) where I could escape for an hour to look for birds, aside from Eastern Phoebe (first Middlesex County record of the year) I found only the expected, common birds.

Donaldson Park in Highland Park was a little treat and I enjoyed my walks in Mount Loretto, but frankly, my mind was elsewhere much of the time and birding often seemed a guilty pleasure.  I'm hoping April, with migration starting, will be a better month, both for birds and especially for my mother.

Counties birded:
NJ: Middlesex
NY: Kings, Queens, Richmond
Species total for March: 65

Species	First Location
Snow Goose	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Brant	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Canada Goose	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Mute Swan	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--East Pond
Wood Duck	Prospect Park
Gadwall	Mount Loretto Unique Area
American Black Duck	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Mallard	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Northern Shoveler	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Northern Pintail	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Green-winged Teal	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Ring-necked Duck	Prospect Park
Greater Scaup	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Lesser Scaup	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--East Pond
Bufflehead	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Hooded Merganser	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--East Pond
Common Merganser	Donaldson Park
Red-breasted Merganser	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Ruddy Duck	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Pied-billed Grebe	Marine Park--West
Horned Grebe	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Double-crested Cormorant	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Great Cormorant	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Great Blue Heron	Iselin
Black-crowned Night-Heron	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Turkey Vulture	Iselin
Northern Harrier	Marine Park--West
Red-tailed Hawk	Mount Loretto Unique Area
American Coot	Prospect Park
American Oystercatcher	Marine Park--West
Greater Yellowlegs	Marine Park--West
Ring-billed Gull	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Herring Gull	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Great Black-backed Gull	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Rock Pigeon	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Mourning Dove	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Barn Owl	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--East Pond
Belted Kingfisher	Mount Loretto Unique Area
Red-bellied Woodpecker	Iselin
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	Prospect Park
Downy Woodpecker	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Northern Flicker	Iselin
Eastern Phoebe	Iselin
Blue Jay	18 Aberdeen Avenue
American Crow	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Fish Crow	Gurley Ave
Tree Swallow	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Black-capped Chickadee	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
Tufted Titmouse	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Carolina Wren	Iselin
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	Prospect Park
American Robin	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Northern Mockingbird	Iselin
European Starling	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Yellow-rumped Warbler	Marine Park--West
Song Sparrow	Iselin
White-throated Sparrow	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Dark-eyed Junco	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Northern Cardinal	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Red-winged Blackbird	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Common Grackle	18 Aberdeen Avenue
Brown-headed Cowbird	18 Aberdeen Avenue
House Finch	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
American Goldfinch	Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge--West Pond
House Sparrow	18 Aberdeen Avenue