August Wrap-up

"Sedge" seemed to be the theme of the month. We had our lifer SEDGE WREN at Bombay Hook this month and I made 3 canoe trips with Greg to Great Sedge Island off Island Beach. I'm not even sure what sedge is even after reading up on it a little--apparently it is a grass with triangular stems and spiraling flowers and there are 5500 varieties of it so I'm sure I've stumbled on some this month.

The month started off with me going to Whitesbog almost every day. The bogs were drained and for a little under 2 weeks abounded in shorebirds. Then the water got too low and the birds disappeared.

Pectoral Sandpiper, Whitesbog

But for a while there, we had a mini-Brig only 15 minutes away from the house.

We had a good trip to Delaware, adding 5 year birds there, and we made a number of trips to Brig. Shorebirds there, at Barnegat, on the sandbars around Sedge Island...we even got shorebirds on dirt when we birded the sod farms in Monmouth County.

There was also productive birding around the house, surprising for summer. A Merlin made an early appearance, counting as a rarity, and continued to perch for a number of nights at the top of the same dead tree in the drainage basin.

One night last week I went out to take pictures of it and found 6 Common Nighthawks flying overhead, while a pewee called from another branch in the tree. Then, after the Merlin flew off, a Cedar Waxwing came in to take it's place.

Cedar Waxwing

 
                      Merlin

For the month I had 145 species, including 10 year birds.
Counties birded
Delaware: Kent, Sussex
New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Monmouth, Ocean
New York: New York

Species                First Sighting

Snow Goose     Bombay Hook

Canada Goose     Whitesbog

Mute Swan     Brigantine

Tundra Swan     Bombay Hook

Wood Duck     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Gadwall     Cape May Meadows

American Black Duck     Whitesbog

Mallard     Whitesbog

Northern Shoveler     Bombay Hook

Green-winged Teal     Great Sedge Island

Black Scoter     Port Mahon

Ruddy Duck     Bombay Hook

Northern Bobwhite     Bombay Hook

Wild Turkey     Whitesbog

Pied-billed Grebe     Whitesbog

Double-crested Cormorant     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Brown Pelican     Great Sedge Island

Great Blue Heron     Whitesbog

Great Egret     Whitesbog

Snowy Egret     Forsythe-Barnegat

Little Blue Heron     Whitesbog

Tricolored Heron     Great Sedge Island

Green Heron     Whitesbog

Black-crowned Night-Heron     Brigantine

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron     Brigantine

Glossy Ibis     Forsythe-Barnegat

Black Vulture     Whitesbog

Turkey Vulture     Whitesbog

Osprey     Forsythe-Barnegat

Northern Harrier     Brigantine

Cooper's Hawk     Brigantine

Bald Eagle     Prime Hook NWR

Red-tailed Hawk     Brigantine

Clapper Rail     Brigantine

Black-necked Stilt     Prime Hook NWR

American Avocet     Bombay Hook

American Oystercatcher     Great Sedge Island

Black-bellied Plover     Whitesbog

American Golden-Plover     Reed's Sod Farm--CR 526

Semipalmated Plover     Whitesbog

Piping Plover     Great Sedge Island

Killdeer     Whitesbog

Spotted Sandpiper     Whitesbog

Solitary Sandpiper     Whitesbog

Greater Yellowlegs     Forsythe-Barnegat

Willet     Great Sedge Island

Lesser Yellowlegs     Whitesbog

Whimbrel     Brigantine

Marbled Godwit     Great Sedge Island

Ruddy Turnstone     Great Sedge Island

Red Knot     Great Sedge Island

Stilt Sandpiper     Whitesbog

Sanderling     Great Sedge Island

Least Sandpiper     Whitesbog

White-rumped Sandpiper     Jarvis Sound

Buff-breasted Sandpiper     Brigantine

Pectoral Sandpiper     Whitesbog

Semipalmated Sandpiper     Whitesbog

Western Sandpiper     Brigantine

Short-billed Dowitcher     Whitesbog

Long-billed Dowitcher     Brigantine

Laughing Gull     Forsythe-Barnegat

Ring-billed Gull     Great Sedge Island

Herring Gull     Forsythe-Barnegat

Great Black-backed Gull     Forsythe-Barnegat

Least Tern     Brigantine

Gull-billed Tern     Whitesbog

Caspian Tern     Great Sedge Island

Black Tern     Brigantine

Common Tern     Great Sedge Island

Forster's Tern     Forsythe-Barnegat

Royal Tern     Great Sedge Island

Black Skimmer     Brigantine

Rock Pigeon     Berkeley--Pinewald-Keswick Rd

Mourning Dove     Whitesbog

Yellow-billed Cuckoo     Double Trouble State Park

Black-billed Cuckoo     35 Sunset Rd

Common Nighthawk     Whitesbog

Eastern Whip-poor-will     35 Sunset Rd

Chimney Swift     Double Trouble State Park

Ruby-throated Hummingbird     35 Sunset Rd

Belted Kingfisher     Cattus Island County Park

Red-bellied Woodpecker     Double Trouble State Park

Downy Woodpecker     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Northern Flicker     35 Sunset Rd

Merlin     35 Sunset Rd

Peregrine Falcon     Brigantine

Eastern Wood-Pewee     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Eastern Phoebe     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Great Crested Flycatcher     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Eastern Kingbird     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

White-eyed Vireo     Whitesbog

Red-eyed Vireo     Bombay Hook

Blue Jay     Whitesbog

American Crow     Whitesbog

Fish Crow     Whitesbog

Horned Lark     Whitehall Crossroads - Leipsic

Northern Rough-winged Swallow     Whitesbog

Purple Martin     Whitesbog

Tree Swallow     Whitesbog

Bank Swallow     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Barn Swallow     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Carolina Chickadee     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Tufted Titmouse     Double Trouble State Park

White-breasted Nuthatch     35 Sunset Rd

House Wren     Whitesbog

SEDGE WREN     Bombay Hook

Marsh Wren     Bombay Hook

Carolina Wren     Whitesbog

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Eastern Bluebird     Whitesbog

American Robin     35 Sunset Rd

Gray Catbird     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Brown Thrasher     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Northern Mockingbird     Island Beach SP

European Starling     Brigantine

Cedar Waxwing     35 Sunset Rd

Ovenbird     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Northern Waterthrush     Central Park

Black-and-white Warbler     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Common Yellowthroat     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

American Redstart     Double Trouble State Park

Yellow Warbler     Brigantine

Pine Warbler     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Prairie Warbler     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Eastern Towhee     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Chipping Sparrow     35 Sunset Rd

Field Sparrow     Brigantine

Saltmarsh Sparrow     Great Sedge Island

Seaside Sparrow     Great Sedge Island

Song Sparrow     Whitesbog

Swamp Sparrow     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Northern Cardinal     Whitesbog

Blue Grosbeak     Brigantine

Indigo Bunting     Bombay Hook

Bobolink     Bombay Hook

Red-winged Blackbird     Whitesbog

Common Grackle     Whitesbog

Boat-tailed Grackle     Brigantine

Brown-headed Cowbird     Clara Barton rest stop

Orchard Oriole     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

Baltimore Oriole     Whitesbog  (Ocean Co.)

House Finch     35 Sunset Rd

American Goldfinch     Whitesbog

House Sparrow     Clara Barton rest stop