Cattus Island CP 4/3--Tricolored Heron

I started off this soggy day up at the Manasquan River WMA in Brick, where yesterday a Townsend's Solitaire was briefly seen and photographed. I knew it was unlikely that I'd see the bird but since it was reported late in the afternoon and since they have a history of sticking around, I thought there might be a little bit of chance to get this rarity for the county. The only one I've seen in the state was  10 years ago at Sandy Hook. Shari, who couldn't care less about the game of county birding, does have it on her Ocean County list. On the very first trip she took with NJ Aububon her group saw a long-staying bird at Cedar Run Dock Road.

I got to the WMA around 8 AM and saw more cars in its little lot than I've ever seen before. I knew most of the birders there. None of us, of course, refound the bird. There's a lot of habitat there. I circled the little pond where it was seen twice, I circled the big field, looking at every robin in the burnt grass or up in the trees, I walked down a trail that is finally blocked by the phragmites that hide the Manasquan River, but, as I suspected and expected, that bird didn't go on my list today.

I still had some time, I thought, before the serious rain, and looking at the weather map, saw that Tuckerton was in a downpour, but Cattus Island, which was most closer, was still dry, so I headed there, only to have the Tuckerton storm move up the coast and hit Cattus Island just as I arrived.

Still, I thought there might be some herons/egrets there. Cattus Island is a reliable spot for Tricolored Heron and though I was looking for the more mundane Snowy Egret, I found 3 (appropriately) of the Tricolors. The rain was off and on and I walked most along the edge of the marsh, peering in at various blinds and cuts. The Ospreys are on nest and noisy. Ducks, aside from a few Buffleheads, have pretty much cleared out. My other happy find was a Belted Kingfisher, a species I missed all of March.

The forecast continues to look gloomy with snow even predicted for Saturday. They say bad weather brings the best birds. But since I'll be inside, I'll never know.

25 species
Canada Goose 2
Bufflehead 7
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Egret 8
Tricolored Heron 3 Marsh behind Visitor's Ctr
Osprey 8
Greater Yellowlegs 1 Heard
Ring-billed Gull 2
Herring Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Mourning Dove 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 2
Blue Jay 10
American Crow 2
Fish Crow 2
Tufted Titmouse 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 2 Heard
Pine Warbler 3 Heard
Dark-eyed Junco 1
White-throated Sparrow 1 Heard
Song Sparrow 2
Red-winged Blackbird 10