Union Transportation Trail 12/26

Gray Catbird, UTT

It looks like the temperature is going to stay below the freezing mark into the new year--not ideal for this dyed-in-the-wool (get it?) winter-hater. Still, I need my exercise, so this morning I hied myself to Upper Freehold to take a walk on the Union Transportation Trail, which has the twin advantages of being away from the water and sheltered from the wind for long stretches by a line of trees. It also has birds. I added four species to this fairly inactive month's list--Wild Turkey (29 of them in a horse pasture on W. Millstream Road, just south of the trail), Red-tailed Hawk, Eastern Bluebird, & Gray Catbird.

Gray Catbirds are "half-hardy" species. I've never been clear if that means that half of them can survive a winter, or if the winter isn't too severe than some will stick around, or if half of them are named Oliver. Whatever the case, after being thoroughly sick of seeing--and hearing--them throughout the summer, it was a treat to find one munching on seeds of a dried out plant pod.

The oddest birds I saw today were 3 Ruddy Ducks in a little pond on one of the tree farms along the route. Three seasons out of the year this pond, as well as another one closer to the head of the trail, is hidden by foliage. I didn't realize these ponds were even there until a couple of years ago and it always makes me wonder, when the weather is warm, what I'm missing through the dense woods.

23 species
Canada Goose 40 Flyover
Ruddy Duck 3
Black Vulture 6
Turkey Vulture 15
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Ring-billed Gull 85 Flyover
Mourning Dove 20
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 3
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 2
Carolina Chickadee 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Heard
Carolina Wren 6
Eastern Bluebird 4
Gray Catbird 1 Between MM 2 & 2.5
Northern Mockingbird 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 10
Dark-eyed Junco 15
White-throated Sparrow 30
Northern Cardinal 3 Pair between MM 2 & 2.5, male at creek overpass
House Sparrow 10