Manasquan River WMA 9/15--Tennessee Warbler

 L👀k for one bird, find another. 

I haven't been up to the Manasquan River WMA since the spring. Since yesterday I saw a report of a Connecticut Warbler--a hard bird in NJ and really hard in Ocean--and since the birder was kind enough to post the exact location he found it and since I know that exact location well, I figured a late summer visit was in order. The spot he reported was where there is an unlikely guardrail blocking a path to prevent dummies from plummeting down a trail that ends in a quagmire, but when I got to that corner of the field the area was completely overgrown and the guardrail not visible. I was not about to plunge into waist high weeds so I stood around and pished. I got a Northern Parula, a few catbirds and chickadees and the like, but no rare warbler. Didn't really expect to, but you gotta try. 

Red-eyed Vireo

Just to make sure, I made 3 circuits of that field. No sparrows. Red-eyed Vireo, a Prairie Warbler, a Common Yellowthroat back at the guardrail. I decided to explore the other big field. I heard a mower and was happy to walk the new path it was making through the very high grass. The only birds that flushed from the mower were some goldfinches. I suppose the others had already beat a retreat. There's a little path that leads down to Ridge Road where I've usually had some luck, so I walked down there and found some activity--goldfinches, cardinals, catbirds, another yellowthroat. Then I spotted a warbler I couldn't place at first. A greenish back, a gray cap, pretty plain looking. At least it stayed in sight for a while for me to ponder.

Philosophers sometimes make statements that seem stupidly obvious but that they think are important. Here's one I learned: There are always two facts you know--you're here and it's now. From there you can supposedly start reasoning your way to more specific facts.  Here's a birding corollary I just made up: Every bird has a name. All I had to do was eliminate all the birds I knew the warbler was not (and notice that I knew it was a warbler and not a vireo or a different tiny passerine) and I'd know what bird it was. Looking at the bird, I knew it was not a Worm-eating Warbler, I knew it was not a Connecticut Warbler (no eye ring), I briefly considered Orange-crowned Warbler and dismissed it, I knew it was not a drab Pine Warbler (see enough of those) so...let's look up the only other dull warbler I can think of and yes, it was my FOY and county lifer Tennessee Warbler.  That made me happy. I don't see many Tennessee Warblers probably because they're so plain and nondescript that I miss them or dismiss them and I'm sure this is the first one I've ever identified on my own. I took pictures but they came out useless blurs. 

Random thought: If Oreothlypis ruficapilla hybridized with Oreothlypis peregrina it would be a Nashville Tennessee Warbler.

Perspective. If I had had Tennessee Warbler for the year and the county, I would say it was a slow day with a good walk. But, all I need is one cool bird a day. 

22 species

Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1

Red-bellied Woodpecker  1    Heard

Downy Woodpecker  1

White-eyed Vireo  1    Heard

Red-eyed Vireo  3

Blue Jay  6

American Crow  9

Carolina Chickadee  8

Tufted Titmouse  5

Red-breasted Nuthatch  1    Yank yank yank

White-breasted Nuthatch  2    Heard

Carolina Wren  3    Heard

Gray Catbird  12

American Robin  5

American Goldfinch  7

Common Grackle  1

Tennessee Warbler  1    Gray cap, greenish back, eyebrow

Common Yellowthroat  5

American Redstart  1

Northern Parula  1

Prairie Warbler  1    Very bright with strong stripes on flanks

Northern Cardinal  2