September Review

Red-breasted Nuthatches have been abundant this month

Although I have a month list totaling 163 species, I never felt in sync with migration during September. A combination of stubbornness--I went birding  in places I like to be rather than in places that promised the most birds--and Zirlin's Third Law of Bird (Wherever you are you should be someplace else) yielded a lot relatively small lists for each day, which over time accumulated to a decent number. But I never had one those "Wow" days where the warblers are just dripping from the trees and you don't know which way to look.

There were a lot of wet, dreary days during the month which made birding dispiriting at times. Whitesbog was pretty much a bust because the bogs weren't drawn down this year and while Sandy Hook had a couple of year birds, the winds, when I was there, were always wrong. I went up on Friday, for instance, for a few hours and found nothing of note. Saturday, apparently, there was a fallout while I was kicking around
Whitesbog for the nth time--thus Zirlin's Third Law.

Dunlins, Brig

Brig, early in the month was good for shorebirds. When I was there last week the only shorebirds I saw were a few yellowlegs and 3 Dunlins that popped into the impoundment for a few minutes then flew off. I guess that's to be expected since shorebird migration starts around late June, but it just didn't seem like migration was an event--more of a process.

Then the warblers started to come back from their breeding grounds but again, I picked up a few here and there and missed the rarities that usually appear like Connecticut Warbler.

I bought a new camera this month, nothing really fancy, but any camera know is essentially a hand-held computer so there are a lot of different settings to get used to. I've spent the last couple of weeks taking pictures of birds, most of them not very good and never I'm never sure whether I should blame the camera or me--most of the time I think ME. But, stopping so often to take photos of birds (I usually only take pictures when there's a rarity or oddity) has reinforced what could become Zirlin's Fourth Law of Birding--You can't bird and take photos at the same time.

So often these last couple of weeks I've been so intent on getting a picture of a bird (or getting the setting right to get a picture of a bird) that I've lost sight of the bird itself and I've also missed other birds that were flying around in the vicinity. Today I was at the Manasquan River WMA (where I should have been last week instead of Reed's Road on Island Beach) and I was trying to get a picture of a Northern Parula. Now, warblers are hard because they don't sit still for a moment. Later, looking at the photo I took I saw that there were actually two parulas in the tree--no wonder I was having such a hard time getting a bird in the frame!

Two Northern Parulas, Manasquan River WMA

Close-up of parula

I still have to find the optimal settings for the camera or alternately, give up the idea of optimal settings and get quick enough with the controls to set the camera up for the specific situation. So how did this happen--the camera is not really automatic if I have to consider the scene before I click the shutter.

All this would be a lot less aggravating if I was actually interested in photography. Instead, all I really want are pictures good enough not to offend your eye dear reader and photos good enough to proof I actually saw the bird I say I saw.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Whitesbog

Six birds were added to the year list this month.
Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean

Species   First Sighting

Canada Goose   Brig

Mute Swan   Brig

Wood Duck   Brig

Blue-winged Teal   Brig

Northern Shoveler   Brig

American Wigeon   Lake of the Lilies

Mallard   Brig

American Black Duck   Brig

Northern Pintail   Brig

Green-winged Teal   Brig

Common Eider   Island Beach SP

Black Scoter   Island Beach SP

Ruddy Duck   Brig

Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd

Pied-billed Grebe   Brig

Rock Pigeon   Jumping Brook Preserve

Mourning Dove   35 Sunset Rd

Yellow-billed Cuckoo   Whitesbog

Eastern Whip-poor-will   35 Sunset Rd

Chimney Swift   Union Transportation Trail

Ruby-throated Hummingbird   Brig

Clapper Rail   Brig

Virginia Rail   Brig

American Coot   Lake of the Lilies

American Oystercatcher   Island Beach SP

Black-bellied Plover   Brig

Semipalmated Plover   Brig

Piping Plover   Holgate

Killdeer   Whitesbog

Whimbrel   Sandy Hook

Hudsonian Godwit   Brig

Marbled Godwit   Island Beach SP

Ruddy Turnstone   Island Beach SP

Stilt Sandpiper   Brig

Sanderling   Island Beach SP

Dunlin   Brig

Baird's Sandpiper   Brig

Least Sandpiper   Brig

White-rumped Sandpiper   Brig

Pectoral Sandpiper   Brig

Semipalmated Sandpiper   Brig

Western Sandpiper   Brig

Short-billed Dowitcher   Brig

Wilson's Phalarope   Brig

Red-necked Phalarope   Brig

Spotted Sandpiper   Whitesbog

Greater Yellowlegs   Brig

Willet   Island Beach SP

Lesser Yellowlegs   Brig

Laughing Gull   Brig

Ring-billed Gull   Brig

Herring Gull   Brig

Lesser Black-backed Gull   Island Beach SP

Great Black-backed Gull   Brig

Least Tern   Brig

Gull-billed Tern   Brig

Caspian Tern   Brig

Common Tern   Island Beach SP

Forster's Tern   Brig

Royal Tern   Island Beach SP

Black Skimmer   Brig

Common Loon   Island Beach SP

Double-crested Cormorant   Brig

Brown Pelican   Island Beach SP

Least Bittern   Brig

Great Blue Heron   Brig

Great Egret   Brig

Snowy Egret   Brig

Little Blue Heron   Island Beach SP

Tricolored Heron   Brig

Green Heron   Brig

Black-crowned Night-Heron   Brig

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron   Brig

White Ibis   Brig

Glossy Ibis   Brig

White-faced Ibis   Brig

Turkey Vulture   Crosswicks Creek Park

Osprey   Brig

Northern Harrier   Brig

Sharp-shinned Hawk   Cape May Point SP

Cooper's Hawk   Manasquan River WMA

Bald Eagle   Brig

Red-tailed Hawk   Brig

Belted Kingfisher   Mercer Corporate Park

Red-bellied Woodpecker   BC Fairgrounds

Downy Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA

Hairy Woodpecker   Whitesbog

Northern Flicker   Island Beach SP

American Kestrel   Pinehurst Rd

Merlin   Brig

Peregrine Falcon   Brig

Eastern Wood-Pewee   35 Sunset Rd

Eastern Phoebe   Whitesbog

Great Crested Flycatcher   Colliers Mills WMA

Eastern Kingbird   Colliers Mills WMA

White-eyed Vireo   Colliers Mills WMA

Red-eyed Vireo   Island Beach SP

Blue Jay   Whitesbog

American Crow   Brig

Fish Crow   Brig

Common Raven   Sandy Hook

Purple Martin   Whitesbog

Tree Swallow   Brig

Bank Swallow   Brig

Barn Swallow   Brig

Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd

Black-capped Chickadee   Sandy Hook

Tufted Titmouse   Union Transportation Trail

Red-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd

White-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd

House Wren   Colliers Mills WMA

Winter Wren   Whitesbog

Marsh Wren   Island Beach SP

Carolina Wren   Brig

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Colliers Mills WMA

Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Whitesbog

Eastern Bluebird   Colliers Mills WMA

Veery   Colliers Mills WMA

Wood Thrush   Sandy Hook

American Robin   Colliers Mills WMA

Gray Catbird   Whitesbog

Brown Thrasher   Great Bay Blvd

Northern Mockingbird   Great Bay Blvd

European Starling   Brig

Cedar Waxwing   Brig

House Finch   35 Sunset Rd

Purple Finch   Sandy Hook

American Goldfinch   Brig

Chipping Sparrow   Crosswicks Creek Park

Field Sparrow   Crosswicks Creek Park

Lark Sparrow   Sandy Hook

Seaside Sparrow   Great Bay Blvd

Saltmarsh Sparrow   Great Bay Blvd

Savannah Sparrow   Great Bay Blvd

Song Sparrow   Crosswicks Creek Park

Swamp Sparrow   Whitesbog

Eastern Towhee   Whitesbog

Yellow-breasted Chat   Manasquan River WMA

Bobolink   Sandy Hook

Baltimore Oriole   Brig

Red-winged Blackbird   Brig

Brown-headed Cowbird   35 Sunset Rd

Common Grackle   Crosswicks Creek Park

Boat-tailed Grackle   Great Bay Blvd

Blue-winged Warbler   Assunpink WMA

Black-and-white Warbler   Union Transportation Trail

Common Yellowthroat   Whitesbog

American Redstart   Union Transportation Trail

Northern Parula   Assunpink WMA

Yellow Warbler   Great Bay Blvd

Blackpoll Warbler   Manasquan River WMA

Black-throated Blue Warbler   Plainsboro Preserve

Palm Warbler   Island Beach SP

Pine Warbler   Brig

Yellow-rumped Warbler   Whitesbog

Prairie Warbler   Double Trouble State Park

Black-throated Green Warbler   Island Beach SP

Scarlet Tanager   Sandy Hook

Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd

Rose-breasted Grosbeak   Sandy Hook

Blue Grosbeak   Brig

Indigo Bunting   Crosswicks Creek Park

House Sparrow   Wawa Rt 70 & CR 530