May--Migration, Rarities, Lifers

Almost every day of this month's birding was interesting. I made "migration trips" to Middlesex County and Cape May County, did a Big Day for the World Series of Birding at Brig, found a number of rarities, and even added two lifers to the list on the same day! This added up to 180 species for the month, spent entirely in New Jersey. All of this has been recounted in the posts below.

And yet...many times I'd be walking around Cloverdale Farm or Colliers Mills, or else driving to a spot that was suddenly "hot" and I'd be thinking, "Boy, this seems like a peculiar way to spend your time." I don't know that I could ever explain it to someone not already sympathetic to the obsession.

Being a birder is nothing more than being a fanatical collector with the advantage that you don't end up cluttering your house with matchbooks or vases or antiques or cast iron toys or motorcycles.

I also took a few good pictures this month:

Eastern Bluebirds, Bright View Farm

Common Yellowthroat, Assunpink

Brown Thrasher, Cloverdale Farm

Least Tern, Shark River Inlet

Counties Birded: Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset

Species             First Sighting

Snow Goose   Brig

Brant   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Canada Goose   Colliers Mills WMA

Mute Swan   Forsythe -Barnegat

Wood Duck   Brig

American Black Duck   Forsythe -Barnegat

Mallard   Colliers Mills WMA

Blue-winged Teal   Brig

Northern Shoveler   Forsythe -Barnegat

Northern Pintail   Brig

Green-winged Teal   Brig

Ring-necked Duck   Bunker Hill Bogs

Lesser Scaup   Heislerville WMA

Bufflehead   Island Beach SP

Hooded Merganser   Colliers Mills WMA

Red-breasted Merganser   Brig

Ruddy Duck   Brig

Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd

Common Loon   Island Beach SP

Horned Grebe   Heislerville WMA

Double-crested Cormorant   Double Trouble State Park

Great Blue Heron   Eno’s Pond

Great Egret   Eno’s Pond

Snowy Egret   Forsythe -Barnegat

Little Blue Heron   Forsythe -Barnegat

Tricolored Heron   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Cattle Egret   New Egypt

Green Heron   Whitesbog

Black-crowned Night-Heron   Island Beach SP

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron   Meadowedge Park

Glossy Ibis   Island Beach SP

Black Vulture   Jumping Brook Preserve

Turkey Vulture   Colliers Mills WMA

Osprey   Colliers Mills WMA

Mississippi Kite   Waretown

Northern Harrier   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Sharp-shinned Hawk   Island Beach SP

Cooper's Hawk   Double Trouble State Park

Bald Eagle   Double Trouble State Park

Broad-winged Hawk   Brig

Red-tailed Hawk   Brig

King Rail   Mercer Corporate Park

Clapper Rail   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Virginia Rail   Brig

Purple Gallinule   Ocean Grove

Common Gallinule   Mercer Corporate Park

Black-necked Stilt   Brig

American Oystercatcher   Brig

Black-bellied Plover   Island Beach SP

Semipalmated Plover   Forsythe -Barnegat

Piping Plover   Shark River Inlet

Killdeer   Holly Lake

Whimbrel   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Ruddy Turnstone   Brig

Red Knot   East Point Lighthouse

Stilt Sandpiper   Brig

Dunlin   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Least Sandpiper   Holly Lake

White-rumped Sandpiper   Brig

Semipalmated Sandpiper   Forsythe -Barnegat

Short-billed Dowitcher   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Wilson's Snipe   Colliers Mills WMA

Spotted Sandpiper   Colliers Mills WMA

Solitary Sandpiper   New Egypt

Greater Yellowlegs   Forsythe -Barnegat

Willet   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Lesser Yellowlegs   Forsythe -Barnegat

Black-headed Gull   Brig

Laughing Gull   Forsythe -Barnegat

Ring-billed Gull   Brig

Herring Gull   Forsythe -Barnegat

Great Black-backed Gull   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Least Tern   Brig

Gull-billed Tern   Brig

Caspian Tern   Brig

ROSEATE TERN   Shark River Inlet

Common Tern   Brig

Forster's Tern   Forsythe -Barnegat

Black Skimmer   Brig

Rock Pigeon   New Egypt

Mourning Dove   Colliers Mills WMA

Yellow-billed Cuckoo   Island Beach SP

Black-billed Cuckoo   Colliers Mills WMA

LESSER NIGHTHAWK   Lord Stirling Park

Chuck-will's-widow   Island Beach SP

Eastern Whip-poor-will   35 Sunset Rd

Chimney Swift   Brig

Ruby-throated Hummingbird   35 Sunset Rd

Belted Kingfisher   Colliers Mills WMA

Red-bellied Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA

Downy Woodpecker   Brig

Hairy Woodpecker   Forest Resource Education Center

Northern Flicker   Colliers Mills WMA

Merlin   Brig

Peregrine Falcon   Island Beach SP

Eastern Wood-Pewee   Double Trouble State Park

Acadian Flycatcher   Belleplain State Forest

Willow Flycatcher   Island Beach SP

Eastern Phoebe   Colliers Mills WMA

Great Crested Flycatcher   Colliers Mills WMA

Eastern Kingbird   Colliers Mills WMA

White-eyed Vireo   Colliers Mills WMA

Blue-headed Vireo   Island Beach SP

Warbling Vireo   Colliers Mills WMA

Red-eyed Vireo   Eno’s Pond

Blue Jay   Colliers Mills WMA

American Crow   Island Beach SP

Fish Crow   35 Sunset Rd

Common Raven   Brig

Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Cloverdale Farm

Purple Martin   Brig

Tree Swallow   Colliers Mills WMA

Bank Swallow   Brig

Barn Swallow   Colliers Mills WMA

Carolina Chickadee   Colliers Mills WMA

Tufted Titmouse   Colliers Mills WMA

Red-breasted Nuthatch   Island Beach SP

White-breasted Nuthatch   Colliers Mills WMA

House Wren   Cloverdale Farm

Marsh Wren   Island Beach SP

Carolina Wren   Colliers Mills WMA

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Colliers Mills WMA

Eastern Bluebird   Colliers Mills WMA

Veery   Double Trouble State Park

Swainson's Thrush   William Warren County Park

Wood Thrush   Double Trouble State Park

American Robin   Colliers Mills WMA

Gray Catbird   Colliers Mills WMA

Brown Thrasher   Cloverdale Farm

Northern Mockingbird   Colliers Mills WMA

European Starling   Colliers Mills WMA

Cedar Waxwing   Island Beach SP

Ovenbird   Colliers Mills WMA

Worm-eating Warbler   Brig

Northern Waterthrush   Brig

Blue-winged Warbler   Manasquan River WMA

Black-and-white Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA

Prothonotary Warbler   Belleplain State Forest

Nashville Warbler   William Warren County Park

Common Yellowthroat   Colliers Mills WMA

Hooded Warbler   Double Trouble State Park

American Redstart   Double Trouble State Park

Cape May Warbler   Ernest L. Oros Wildlife Preserve

Northern Parula   Double Trouble State Park

Magnolia Warbler   Island Beach SP

Blackburnian Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA

Yellow Warbler   Forsythe -Barnegat

Chestnut-sided Warbler   Island Beach SP

Blackpoll Warbler   Ernest L. Oros Wildlife Preserve

Palm Warbler   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Pine Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA

Yellow-rumped Warbler   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Yellow-throated Warbler   Belleplain State Forest

Prairie Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA

Black-throated Green Warbler   William Warren County Park

Yellow-breasted Chat   Assunpink WMA

Grasshopper Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA

Saltmarsh Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Seaside Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Chipping Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA

Field Sparrow   Brig

White-throated Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA

Savannah Sparrow   Brig

Song Sparrow   Forsythe -Barnegat

Swamp Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA

Eastern Towhee   Colliers Mills WMA

Summer Tanager   Belleplain State Forest

Scarlet Tanager   William Warren County Park

Northern Cardinal   Colliers Mills WMA

Blue Grosbeak   Colliers Mills WMA

Indigo Bunting   Belleplain State Forest

Red-winged Blackbird   Colliers Mills WMA

Common Grackle   Jumping Brook Preserve

Boat-tailed Grackle   Meadowedge Park

Brown-headed Cowbird   Colliers Mills WMA

Orchard Oriole   Brig

Baltimore Oriole   Colliers Mills WMA

House Finch   35 Sunset Rd

American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd

House Sparrow   Wawa Rt 70 & CR 530