January Wrap-up--135 Species

Ash-throated Flycatcher, New Egypt

I finished off the month today with one new year bird--Eastern Phoebe, one of those half-hardy species, in New Egypt--and one new county bird--a Red-headed Woodpecker that I tracked down in the woods east of the police shooting range at Colliers Mills. When I was out in New Egypt this morning, I thought I spotted the phoebe but it turned out to be the Ash-throated Flycatcher that has been there since Sunday. I'd already seen that bird. In fact, I've seen Ash-throated Flycatchers 6 times this month in 3 places two times each--Sandy Hook, LBI, and New Egypt. I did see the phoebe about two minutes later, but it shows how jaded you can become when a rarity is not the bird you "need" for the month.

Black Guillemot, Island Beach SP

Of course, probably the biggest rarity in the county this month was the Black Guillemot that spent a couple of weeks at Barnegat Light.  I was glad I saw that one early and avoided the birding frenzy. I was lucky enough to come across that bird twice more, both times from the Island Beach side, where the viewing was much better though the walking was much longer. Yesterday's Northern Shrike was also a bird that created pandemonium among twitchers, mostly because of the logistical problems of parking and access. Not many birders go into those bogs, so they don't know the way around. I don't go there as often as I'd like because I either don't like where I have to park, or don't want to risk dealing with the adjacent landowner's wild dogs, or don't feel like walking around in my knee-high boots to wade through the flooded entrance. To give an idea of how little birded that hot spot is, I have 105 species listed there. The next person on the list has 49.

Savannah Sparrow, Ephraim P Emson Preserve
The newest refuge in Ocean County

I did all right with owls this month finding 4 species. I hid my Long-eared Owl sighting for a week to avoid calumny from the owl police, so it didn't appear in the rare bird alerts and I didn't write about finding one in full view staring at me eye level in the middle of a branch while I tried to softly call Mike over to where I was, but it really doesn't matter. That owl roost is now well-known and the owls have been there for 7 or 8 years and don't really seem to care who knows where they are. Still, it's the principle of the thing.

If my goal is to list 300 species in New Jersey, in one month I got 45% of the way to that target. But now each addition becomes incrementally more difficult. In February it will be hard to add many birds to the list. It won't be until spring that the list can start to balloon. I better just go out and enjoy the one I find.
This month's list:
Counties birded:
New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean
New York: New York

Species             First Sighting

Snow Goose   Sandy Hook

Brant   Sandy Hook

Cackling Goose   Conines Millpond

Canada Goose   Lake Takanassee

Mute Swan   Oceanic Bridge

Trumpeter Swan   Stone Tavern Lake

Tundra Swan   Bamber Lake

Muscovy Duck   Fletcher Lake

Wood Duck   Lake of the Lilies

Northern Shoveler   Brig

Gadwall   Lake Takanassee

Eurasian Wigeon   MacLearie Park

American Wigeon   Lake Takanassee

Mallard   Jackson Woods

American Black Duck   Sandy Hook

Northern Pintail   Ocean Acres

Green-winged Teal   Brig

Canvasback   Mathis Veteran's Memorial Park

Ring-necked Duck   Stone Tavern Lake

Greater Scaup   Oceanic Bridge

Lesser Scaup   Riverfront Landing

Common Eider   Sandy Hook

Harlequin Duck   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Surf Scoter   Sandy Hook

White-winged Scoter   Sandy Hook

Black Scoter   Sandy Hook

Long-tailed Duck   Sandy Hook

Bufflehead   Jackson Woods

Common Goldeneye   Bamber Lake

Hooded Merganser   Lake Takanassee

Common Merganser   Stone Tavern Lake

Red-breasted Merganser   Sea Bright Pavilion

Ruddy Duck   Lake Takanassee

Wild Turkey   Brig

Pied-billed Grebe   Bamber Lake

Horned Grebe   Sandy Hook

Rock Pigeon   Brick

Mourning Dove   35 Sunset Rd

American Coot   Lake Takanassee

American Oystercatcher   Brigantine Island

Black-bellied Plover   Brigantine Island

Killdeer   New Egypt

Marbled Godwit   Brigantine Island

Ruddy Turnstone   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Sanderling   Sandy Hook

Dunlin   Brigantine Island

Purple Sandpiper   Deal

American Woodcock   Beach Ave

Greater Yellowlegs   Brig

Willet   Brigantine Island

Razorbill   Manasquan Inlet

Black Guillemot   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Ring-billed Gull   Lake Takanassee

Herring Gull   Sandy Hook

Great Black-backed Gull   Sandy Hook

Red-throated Loon   Sandy Hook

Common Loon   Monmouth Beach

Northern Gannet   Sandy Hook

Great Cormorant   Island Beach SP

Double-crested Cormorant   Oceanic Bridge

American Bittern   Brig

Great Blue Heron   Sylvan Lake

Great Egret   Brig

Black-crowned Night-Heron   Brig

Black Vulture   Sandy Hook

Turkey Vulture   Toms River

Northern Harrier   Beach Ave

Sharp-shinned Hawk   Brig

Cooper's Hawk   Beach Ave

Bald Eagle   Sandy Hook

Red-shouldered Hawk   Manahawkin WMA

Red-tailed Hawk   Wawa Lakewood

Eastern Screech-Owl   Manahawkin WMA

Great Horned Owl   Collinstown Rd

Long-eared Owl   Assunpink WMA

Short-eared Owl   BC Fairgrounds

Belted Kingfisher   Lake Takanassee

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Sandy Hook

Red-headed Woodpecker   Brig

Red-bellied Woodpecker   Wawa Lakewood

Downy Woodpecker   Whiting WMA

Hairy Woodpecker   Manahawkin WMA

Northern Flicker   Sandy Hook

American Kestrel   BC Fairgrounds

Peregrine Falcon   Beach Ave

Eastern Phoebe   New Egypt

Ash-throated Flycatcher   Sandy Hook

Northern Shrike   Cranberry Bogs

Blue Jay   Jackson Woods

American Crow   35 Sunset Rd

Fish Crow   Manahawkin WMA

Common Raven   New Egypt

Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd

Black-capped Chickadee   Sandy Hook

Tufted Titmouse   Whiting WMA

Horned Lark   Harvey Cedars--Sunset Park

Tree Swallow   Holgate

Golden-crowned Kinglet   Whiting WMA

Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Cattus Island County Park

White-breasted Nuthatch   Whiting WMA

Brown Creeper   Colliers Mills WMA

Winter Wren   Great Bay Blvd

Carolina Wren   Jackson Woods

European Starling   Howell

Gray Catbird   Island Beach SP

Northern Mockingbird   Sandy Hook

Eastern Bluebird   Whiting WMA

Hermit Thrush   Sandy Hook

American Robin   35 Sunset Rd

Cedar Waxwing   Sandy Hook

House Sparrow   Riverfront Landing

House Finch   Whiting WMA

American Goldfinch   Lake Takanassee

Snow Bunting   Island Beach SP

Chipping Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd

Field Sparrow   Stone Tavern Lake

Lark Sparrow   Plainsboro

American Tree Sparrow   Holgate

Fox Sparrow   Whitesbog

Dark-eyed Junco   Sandy Hook

White-crowned Sparrow   New Egypt

White-throated Sparrow   Jackson Woods

Savannah Sparrow   Brig

Song Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd

Swamp Sparrow   Beach Ave

Eastern Towhee   Manahawkin WMA

Eastern Meadowlark   Colliers Mills WMA

Red-winged Blackbird   Sandy Hook

Brown-headed Cowbird   New Egypt

Common Grackle   Oxycocus Bog

Boat-tailed Grackle   Manahawkin WMA

Orange-crowned Warbler   Holgate

Pine Warbler   Whitesbog Road

Yellow-rumped Warbler   Sandy Hook

Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd