Kicking Off the Year in Ocean & Monmouth Counties--Ash-throated Flycatcher

The Dawn of a New Year
Photo: Shari Zirlin

They're all new, again. After flagging in December, I felt my birding energy coming back this morning when I stepped outside. My first bird of the year? American Crow, three of them flying around the neighborhood and over the house. Not a great bird, but better than starling, House Sparrow, or pigeon.

Then Shari & I set off for our annual Kick Off the Year trip with Scott & Linda at Sandy Hook and down the North Shore. On the drive up we ticked off Turkey Vulture and the inevitable pigeons. The weather seemed mild when we stepped outside the house, but a stiff wind was blowing at the Hook, which discouraged land birds--and me. I hate wind more than I hate rain. We got a nice assortment of ducks at the Hook including the scoter trifecta, but the highlight of the trip was refinding one of the 2 or 3 Ash-throated Flycatchers that have remarkably been hanging around the northern end of the peninsula for more than a month. Shari & I were lucky enough to see it right away (use this birding strategy: stick close to the leader), but with a group of over 30, it took probably most of an hour for everyone on the trip to get a good look at it. This shortened our list as not a lot of other birds were in the area, though a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was goodie.

Late in the morning we caravanned down to some new (for me) spots to look at the ocean in Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach where we added a few ocean-going species, but nothing rare. We then birded another new park for me--Jackson Woods--where Scott had found a Yellow-breasted Chat last year but probably the sight and sound of 30 birders discouraged it from showing itself if it was still there.

A stop at Lake Takanassee to look for the Barnacle Goose was unsuccessful too. Last week, when Scott and Linda reported this bird in the area, my reaction was I already have Barnacle Goose for the year and not only for the year but for that county so I'm not about to rush up there for it--especially in the rain on Monday. But today I really really wanted that goose. Now I have to figure out when my and the goose's vectors can intersect.

The group's final stop was at Roosevelt Avenue in Deal where we added Purple Sandpiper to the day, month, year, and county list. I was fine with that being the last birding stop as I felt like a very long day though it was only around 2:45. Shari & I stopped at the Lakewood Wawa on the way home where the last two birds of the day, a Red-tailed Hawk and a Red-bellied Woodpecker, were added to the list. Alas, the once great Killdeer field next to the parking lot is now a barren, muddy construction site, yet still not crappy enough for birds like Horned Lark. It was the only down note of the day.

For our first day of birding we tallied 41 species:

Species   First Sighting

Brant   Sandy Hook

Canada Goose   Lake Takanassee

Gadwall   Lake Takanassee

American Wigeon   Lake Takanassee

Mallard   Jackson Woods

Common Eider   Sandy Hook

Surf Scoter   Sandy Hook

White-winged Scoter   Sandy Hook

Black Scoter   Sandy Hook

Long-tailed Duck   Sandy Hook

Bufflehead   Jackson Woods

Hooded Merganser   Lake Takanassee

Red-breasted Merganser   Sea Bright Pavilion

Ruddy Duck   Lake Takanassee

Rock Pigeon   Brick

Mourning Dove   35 Sunset Rd

American Coot   Lake Takanassee

Sanderling   Sandy Hook

Purple Sandpiper   Deal

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

Black Vulture   Sandy Hook

Turkey Vulture   Toms River

Bald Eagle   Sandy Hook

Red-tailed Hawk   Wawa Lakewood

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Sandy Hook

Red-bellied Woodpecker   Wawa Lakewood

Ash-throated Flycatcher   Sandy Hook

Blue Jay   Jackson Woods

American Crow   35 Sunset Rd

Carolina Wren   Jackson Woods

Northern Mockingbird   Sandy Hook

American Robin   35 Sunset Rd

American Goldfinch   Lake Takanassee

Dark-eyed Junco   Sandy Hook

White-throated Sparrow   Jackson Woods

Yellow-rumped Warbler   Sandy Hook