March Review--20 Year Birds

Immature Bald Eagle, Cranberry Bogs

March came in like a lion...and pretty much went out like one too. Cold and/or windy for most of the month, with only the last couple of days giving a hint of the warm weather to come...which everyone will start complaining about as soon as it arrives. 

Red-headed Woodpecker, Colliers Mills

I wrapped up the month at Double Trouble SP this morning where I heard the familiar buzz of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, which after about 5 minutes I was able to get eyes on way high up in the just budding trees. That was my 20th year bird for the month, a not-bad number for a mostly winter month. As chronicled here previously, I went to Barnegat Lighthouse SP 3 times and visited my usual haunts like Whitesbog and Colliers Mills, Manahawkin and the cranberry bogs on Dover Road on several occasions. I had a few "rare" birds, mostly birds like Barn Swallow, Tricolored Heron, and Snowy Egret that were just early, though the Sandhill Cranes continued at Whitesbog well into the middle of the month and I think everyone who wanted a look at them got it. I was actually a bit relieved when they finally disappeared, because I was getting tired of trying to explain where Rome Pond or Ditch Meadow is to birders who only know the 3 main bogs. And don't get me started on trying to explain where the borderline between Ocean and Burlington counties is at Whitesbog. I know from looking at pictures that a lot of supposedly Ocean County listings of the crane were really in Burlington. (Am I bit possessive about Whitesbog...oh I don't think so.) 

I was thinking about titling this entry "March Madness," but there was no madness involved other than basic silliness of walking around every day looking at and listening to birds. And typing the phrase "March Madness" exhausts my knowledge of college basketball, which you could not find my interest in with an electron scanning microscope. 

120 species for the month:
Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Ocean
Species   First Sighting
Brant   Bayview Ave Marina
Canada Goose   Lake Carasaljo
Mute Swan   Lake Carasaljo
Tundra Swan   Reeves Bogs
Wood Duck   Reeves Bogs
Blue-winged Teal   Brig
Northern Shoveler   Lake Carasaljo
Gadwall   Lake Shenandoah County Park
American Wigeon   Manahawkin WMA
Mallard   Lake Carasaljo
American Black Duck   Lake Carasaljo
Northern Pintail   Manahawkin WMA
Green-winged Teal   Cranberry Bogs
Redhead   Lake of the Lilies
Ring-necked Duck   Lake Carasaljo
Greater Scaup   Bayview Ave Marina
Lesser Scaup   Lake Carasaljo
Common Eider   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Harlequin Duck   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Surf Scoter   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Black Scoter   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Long-tailed Duck   Bayview Ave Marina
Bufflehead   Lake Carasaljo
Common Goldeneye   Brig
Hooded Merganser   Lake Carasaljo
Common Merganser   Lake Carasaljo
Red-breasted Merganser   Bayview Ave Marina
Ruddy Duck   Lake Carasaljo
Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd
Rock Pigeon   Manahawkin Lake
Mourning Dove   35 Sunset Rd
American Coot   Little Silver Lake
Sandhill Crane   Whitesbog
American Oystercatcher   Bayview Ave Marina
Killdeer   Reeves Bogs
Piping Plover   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Long-billed Dowitcher   Brig
American Woodcock   Manahawkin WMA
Wilson's Snipe   Cranberry Bogs
Lesser Yellowlegs   Brig
Greater Yellowlegs   Manahawkin WMA
Ruddy Turnstone   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Sanderling   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Dunlin   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Purple Sandpiper   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Laughing Gull   Baltimore Avenue
Ring-billed Gull   Lake Carasaljo
American Herring Gull   Manahawkin WMA
Great Black-backed Gull   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Pied-billed Grebe   Double Trouble SP
Red-throated Loon   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Common Loon   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Northern Gannet   Manasquan Inlet
Great Cormorant   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Double-crested Cormorant   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
White Ibis   Brig
Black-crowned Night Heron   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Tricolored Heron   Manahawkin WMA
Snowy Egret   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Great Egret   Lake of the Lilies
Great Blue Heron   Whitesbog
Black Vulture   Colliers Mills WMA
Turkey Vulture   Lake Carasaljo
Osprey   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Cooper's Hawk   Whitesbog
Northern Harrier   Manahawkin WMA
Bald Eagle   Reeves Bogs
Red-shouldered Hawk   Whitesbog
Red-tailed Hawk   Whitesbog
Eastern Screech-Owl   Whitesbog
Belted Kingfisher   Reeves Bogs
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Lake Shenandoah County Park
Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Lake Carasaljo
Downy Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Flicker   Whitesbog
American Kestrel   Robert J. Miller Air Park
Eastern Phoebe   Cranberry Bogs
Blue Jay   Lake Carasaljo
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Common Raven   Whitesbog
Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd
Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd
Horned Lark   Robert J. Miller Air Park
Tree Swallow   Whitesbog
Purple Martin   Brig
Barn Swallow   Cranberry Bogs
Golden-crowned Kinglet   Reeves Bogs
White-breasted Nuthatch   Reeves Bogs
Red-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Double Trouble SP
Carolina Wren   35 Sunset Rd
European Starling   Lake Carasaljo
Gray Catbird   Cranberry Bogs
Northern Mockingbird   Lake Carasaljo
Eastern Bluebird   Reeves Bogs
Hermit Thrush   deCamp WildlifeTrail
American Robin   Whitesbog
House Sparrow   Lake Carasaljo
House Finch   35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd
Chipping Sparrow   Cranberry Bogs
Field Sparrow   Cranberry Bogs
Fox Sparrow   Reeves Bogs
Dark-eyed Junco   Lake Carasaljo
White-throated Sparrow   Lake Carasaljo
Savannah Sparrow   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Song Sparrow   Lake Carasaljo
Swamp Sparrow   Whitesbog
Eastern Towhee   Cattus Island County Park
Red-winged Blackbird   Lake Carasaljo
Brown-headed Cowbird   Colliers Mills WMA
Rusty Blackbird   Lake Carasaljo
Common Grackle   Lake Carasaljo
Boat-tailed Grackle   Bayview Ave Marina
Palm Warbler   Cranberry Bogs
Pine Warbler   35 Sunset Rd
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Lake Carasaljo
Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd

Sandhill Cranes, Rome Pond, Whitesbog (Burlington County)