January Wrap-up

Greater White-Fronted Goose

It's winter in New Jersey; it's supposed to be cold. But I don't remember a stretch a sub-freezing weather lasting this long--over a week--where the mid-20's might be the high for the day. And with no temperatures above 32 that leaves the 9 or so inches of ice-covered snow still on the ground. Which really cuts down on the places one can bird, since paths through woods or fields don't usually get ploughed. I went to Whitesbog this week to check out what was accessible, since it is part of my territory for the Pinelands Winter Bird Count which was scheduled for tomorrow. Happily, that got postponed, since only a very small portion of Whitesbog was clear enough to walk. The conditions around here are so bad that I can't even get to our feeders because the backyard is like an ice rink and as much as I love birds, I'm not going to break a leg for them. 

So, with those lousy conditions at the end of the month, how did I do? 105 species. Exactly the same as last January, which was, according to Jersey Central Power & Light, actually 2 degrees colder on average than this month. It was a good month for the rare geese--Cackling Goose, Ross's Goose, and the Greater White-fronted Geese Mike & I found on the CBC. I got the immature Trumpeter Swan on the year and county list before it disappeared from Stafford Forge. The early herons at the Lighthouse Center were the last new birds I listed for the month before the deep freeze set in. 

But, you know me: Always the optimist, always the one looking for the positive aspect of any situation and here's the good news about the relentlessly bitter weather: It will keep the tick population down this summer because even now the inner fluids of those little bastards are freezing beneath the snow and they are exploding from the internal pressure. Thus, the happy consequence of this weather: Death.

Species              First Sighting
Ross's Goose   Maris Stella
Greater White-fronted Goose   Ocean Acres Park
Brant   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Cackling Goose   Marshall's Pond
Canada Goose   Sandy Hook
Mute Swan   Holly Lake
Trumpeter Swan   Stafford Forge WMA
Tundra Swan   Bamber Lake
Northern Shoveler   Marshall's Pond
Gadwall   Marshall's Pond
American Wigeon   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Mallard   Sandy Hook
American Black Duck   Sandy Hook
Green-winged Teal   Ocean Acres Pond
Ring-necked Duck   Stanley H. 'Tip' Seaman County Park
Greater Scaup   Sandy Hook
Lesser Scaup   Lake Carasaljo
Harlequin Duck   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Surf Scoter   Sandy Hook
White-winged Scoter   Sandy Hook
Black Scoter   Sandy Hook
Long-tailed Duck   Sandy Hook
Bufflehead   Sandy Hook
Common Goldeneye   Sandy Hook
Hooded Merganser   Bridge to Nowhere
Common Merganser   Lake Carasaljo
Red-breasted Merganser   Sandy Hook
Ruddy Duck   Cattus Island County Park
Rock Pigeon   Wawa South Toms River
Mourning Dove   35 Sunset Rd
Black-bellied Plover   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Killdeer   Ocean Acres Park
Greater Yellowlegs   Eno’s Pond
Sanderling   Sandy Hook
Dunlin   Holgate
Purple Sandpiper   Seven Presidents Park
Razorbill   Island Beach SP
Ring-billed Gull   35 Sunset Rd
American Herring Gull   Sandy Hook
Great Black-backed Gull   Sandy Hook
Pied-billed Grebe   Lake Carasaljo
Red-throated Loon   Island Beach SP
Common Loon   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Great Cormorant   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Double-crested Cormorant   Sandy Hook
Little Blue Heron   Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education
Tricolored Heron   Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education
Great Egret   West Creek Dock Rd.
Great Blue Heron   Holly Lake
Black Vulture   Manahawkin
Turkey Vulture   Stafford Township
Sharp-shinned Hawk   Stafford Township
Cooper's Hawk   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Northern Harrier   Bridge to Nowhere
Bald Eagle   Stanley H. 'Tip' Seaman County Park
Red-shouldered Hawk   Butterfly Bogs WMA
Red-tailed Hawk   Colliers Mills WMA
Eastern Screech-Owl   Beach Ave
Great Horned Owl   Beach Ave
Belted Kingfisher   Manahawkin WMA
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Stanley H. 'Tip' Seaman County Park
Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Sandy Hook
Downy Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker   Beach Ave
Northern Flicker   Beach Ave
Merlin   Cranberry Bogs
Blue Jay   35 Sunset Rd
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow   Mud City
Common Raven   Stanley H. 'Tip' Seaman County Park
Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd
Black-capped Chickadee   Sandy Hook
Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd
Horned Lark   Sandy Hook
Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Manahawkin WMA
Golden-crowned Kinglet   Manahawkin WMA
White-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd
Red-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd
Brown Creeper   Colliers Mills WMA
Carolina Wren   35 Sunset Rd
European Starling   Stanley H. 'Tip' Seaman County Park
Northern Mockingbird   Sandy Hook
Eastern Bluebird   35 Sunset Rd
Hermit Thrush   Stanley H. 'Tip' Seaman County Park
American Robin   35 Sunset Rd
House Sparrow   Holly Lake
House Finch   35 Sunset Rd
Red Crossbill   Whitesbog
American Goldfinch   35 Sunset Rd
Lapland Longspur   Sandy Hook
Snow Bunting   Sandy Hook
Chipping Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Dark-eyed Junco   35 Sunset Rd
White-throated Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
Savannah Sparrow   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Song Sparrow   Stanley H. 'Tip' Seaman County Park
Swamp Sparrow   Beach Ave
Red-winged Blackbird   Manahawkin WMA
Brown-headed Cowbird   Little Egg Harbor Twp
Rusty Blackbird   Manahawkin WMA
Common Grackle   Cattus Island County Park
Boat-tailed Grackle   West Creek Dock Rd.
Yellow-rumped Warbler   35 Sunset Rd
Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd

Lighthouse Center 1/23--Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron

Little Blue Heron

 I had never been to the Lighthouse Center in the winter, but since I was in the neighborhood this morning, I swung by there. I know from the Barnegat CBC that it can be a productive spot and with the two over-wintering rarities that I found there, it turned out to be so. 

Tricolored Herons are turning up more frequently in winter and in more places in the county than in previous years. It used to be that you'd be able to find one on LBI in the marshes off Bayview Avenue, but this year there are confirmed reports from Island Beach SP, Manahawkin, and the Lighthouse Center as well as LBI. Today, the tide was very low, so I was able to walk around a point and up a little creek that empties into the bay. About 100 yards into the marsh, I saw four Great Egrets and with them, two Tricolored Herons. Great Egrets do hang around in small numbers, but four, to eBird is apparently not a small number. I tried to very surreptitiously creep up a little closer, getting behind a stand of phragmites while I dug my camera out of my bag, but I wasn't sneaky enough since all six birds flew off. As I stood on the bank of the creek cursing, I saw one more white heron way out in the marsh. I took a couple of shots of what I though was one of the egrets since I already had my camera out. However, when I looked at the bird blown up in the viewfinder, I saw that it had a gray/blue beak and realized that it was an immature Little Blue Heron hunkered down in the reeds. It's a crappy shot, but it's all I got. 

I walked around some and then returned to the creek, hoping that the birds would have returned. I looked out in the marsh where I had previously seen them and they weren't there. But much closer, standing in the creek, was one of the Tricoloreds, which promptly flew away as soon as I reached for my camera. More cursing. 

In a few months, these two herons won't be rare. It hasn't been an especially warm winter, but the marshes freeze at a little lower temperature than the freshwater ponds, so there has been food for them to find. With the oncoming storm and absolutely frigid temperatures for the next few days, it will be interesting to see if they stick around. 

27 species
Brant  40
Canada Goose  7
Mute Swan  8
American Black Duck  7
Greater Scaup  20
Long-tailed Duck  2
Bufflehead  50
Red-breasted Merganser  8
Mourning Dove  3
Killdeer  4
American Herring Gull  5
Common Loon  1
Little Blue Heron  1     
Tricolored Heron  2     
Great Egret  4     
Great Blue Heron  1
Northern Harrier  1
Belted Kingfisher  1
Northern Flicker  1
Blue Jay  1
American Crow  1
Tufted Titmouse  1
American Robin  50
House Finch  1
Song Sparrow  1
Red-winged Blackbird  2
Yellow-rumped Warbler  3

Ocean Acres Lake Park | Stafford Forge WMA 1/4--Greater White-fronted Goose, Trumpeter Swan

Greater White-fronted Geese, Ocean Acres Lake Park

The day started at 5 AM down on Beach Avenue in Manahawkin, where I met Mike to start our annual survey for the Barnegat Christmas Bird Count. Obviously, in winter, in the dark, the only birds one expects are owls. We had one Eastern Screech-Owl and one Great Horned Owl call from different parts of the woods along the road and after about 40 minutes we moved over to Stafford Avenue where we heard 3 more Screech Owls and another Great Horned.  We hope for other more exotic owls--we've had them in the past, but we were happy with these two species, especially the individuals that were calling loudly and seemed like they were just off the road. 

We moved down the road just before sunrise and parked at the Bridge to Nowhere. We were hoping for Short-eared Owls hunting the marsh, but we struck out, the second time in a couple of weeks where I've been unlucky in the morning. For some reason, they get reported at sundown. They should still be active before the sun comes up, but apparently they don't know that. We did get a Northern Harrier starting the day shift, as well a Bald Eagle and little flock of Great Blue Herons, but we didn't linger, since we have a fair amount of territory to cover. 

We parked my car in the Manahawkin WMA lot on Hilliard and took a walk in the woods and fields there--best birds were a Rusty Blackbird in with a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds, both kinglets and a Belted Kingfisher. 

After a Wawa coffee run, we looked around the fields near MATES, and had some Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Sharp-shinned Hawk. We also had our first huge flock of Canada Geese--about 400--on an athletic field. We scanned them for Cackling Geese, but there weren't any in there. Driving around the residential area nearby we didn't find much beyond the expected tweety birds. 

We hit our other spots--the bay from East Bay Avenue, a drive through Mud City and then we drove over to Manahawkin Lake where there was another huge flock of Canada Geese, but they were too far to pick out anything unusual. We did get about 20 Ring-necked Ducks there. 

Then it was up Rt 72 to Ocean Acres where we like to check out the retention pond just off the highway. About half the water was stiff, but among the big flock of Mallards we managed to add Green-winged Teal to our day list. Deeper in the community there is a big park with a lake but for the last few years it hasn't produced very much, and Mike suggested skipping it, but since it was still early we figured what the heck and drove over. Again, most of the water was frozen, but standing on the ice was our third big flock of Canada Geese. These were close enough to scan with a scope and while Mike was hoping for a Cackling, for some reason I got it into my head that finding something more exotic would be cool. Again, out of the 300 or so geese there, nothing looked like a candidate for the RBA. We did get a couple of Killdeer and had our first bluebirds of the day. We got in the car and were driving through the parking lot to turn around when we saw more geese feeding the in the grass. "Wait a minute, I said, one of those isn't a Canada Goose." Mike stopped and we looked and I said, "Greater White-Fronted Goose!" Mike, looking through the flock, said, "They're all white-fronted geese."

"No, there must be 15 of them." (It turned out to be 17 in the flock when we carefully counted.) Finding one GWFG is a noteworthy. Finding a flock of them is an event. Last year, Steve found about 24 GWFG at Shelter Cove, which I think is the record for the NJ. The Sixth Law of Birding is "You only need one." But 17 is pretty impressive. Since neither Mike nor I am on any social media or rare bird alerts we couldn't get the word out directly, but Mike texted one of our friends who runs the local RBA and she put out the message. Not that it mattered. No sooner did we get back in the car than the grass was empty of geese. Mike said they flew back into the lake, but we couldn't find them. Word reached me later in the day that someone had gone to look for them and they weren't there, so there, as in so much of birding was luck for us with that flock's life line briefly intersecting our life lines and adding a bird to the Barnegat CBC. 

Trumpeter Swan,
Stafford Forge WMA

We putzed around some more after lunch, but I was getting fatigued and we both had another rarity on our agenda--the continuing juvenile Trumpeter Swan at Stafford Forge.  So around 2 o'clock we wrapped our end of the CBC and drove down the parkway about 6 miles. I'd gone there yesterday--twice-- when the entire lake was frozen and dipped. I was especially outrage when I saw someone report the swan sleeping on the ice because I scoped that lump and it was either ice-caked vegetation or a dead swan. But later in the day the real swan reappeared--there must be hidden, inaccessible areas of the lake where it can hang out unseen--so I was determined to add it to my year list for the state and county. It took us all of about 2 minutes to find the bird this time--it was the only swan on the lake--in fact, aside from 3 Mallards, it was the only waterfowl there. We looked, we snapped some pictures, we headed home. 

For the day we had 53 species for our contribution to the 101st (!) Barnegat CBC, plus the Trumpeter Swan. 

Barnegat CBC 1/5/2025--16 Year Birds

First bird, best bird. I met Mike yesterday morning at 5 A.M down on Beach Avenue in Manahawkin, where we have started our section of the Barnegat Christmas Bird Count ever since the days when Pete Bacinksi was still with us. Owling is the goal and we're happy if we hear a few Great Horned Owls or Eastern Screech-Owls. But nothing was calling down at the end of the road, so we drove about a quarter mile up the broken asphalt. As soon as we both got out of our cars we said, simultaneously, "Did you hear that?!"  What we had heard, as if it was right next to us, was a harsh hoot, which we were pretty certain was a Long-eared Owl. Playing the call on my phone confirmed it. We heard it again, but this time much farther away in the woods to the north. Still, Long-eared Owl, a "sensitive" species, is a great bird for the year. It is the second time I've heard one there. The first time was with the aforementioned Pete on the CBC of 2016.  

Mike heard a screech-owl on Beach, but I missed it, so it wasn't until we moved over to Stafford Avenue which runs between the state's Manahawkin WMA and Forsythe's Bridge to Nowhere section (which is crazy-making when you're trying to keep accurate lists), that I heard one, along with a couple of Great Horneds. 

As it was just about dawn, we moved down Stafford to its end where the actual Bridge to Nowhere sits. Once, on a previous CBC, Mike and I saw hundreds, if not a thousand, Boat-tailed Grackles levitate from the marsh at sun-up. We didn't get that show yesterday, but we did have a big flock fly across. Because all the water on either side of Stafford was stiff, ducks were at a premium, but we did have a few mergansers, both hooded and red-breasted. Mike spotted a Peregrine Falcon, and that, along with a Red-tailed Hawk I saw in Mud City, stands as the only two possible year-birds we both didn't see during the day. 

Our section includes a part of Barnegat Bay, but viewing it is a problem since our original lookout spot is now posted as private, with warnings about security cameras and dire consequences for trespassers. But, from a couple of spots we were able to see Ruddy Ducks, Buffleheads, a Greater Scaup, and the usual Mallards. However, we didn't find any cormorants sitting on a concrete structure in the bay, where they usually are. 

Because we were trying to hit as many spots as possible, and because the weather was impossibly cold and windy, we tended to do a lot of birding by car. The only real walking we did was in the Manahawkin WMA. There we found a Gray Catbird, one of those half-hearty species that sometimes winter in the area. Given the weather conditions, I'd say this bird was 3/4 hearty. Trying hard, we scanned a big flock of House Finches hoping for a Purple Finch, but they were all the same. Not even one we could ponder. 

Manahawkin Lake was surprisingly open and, as has been its history lately, unsurprisingly devoid of interesting birds. Gulls and geese were all we saw on the water, but, luckily, they have warm facilities, and as we about to make use of them I heard a Killdeer, and Mike found it, along with two others on the beach. Amusingly, we had just discussed how we used to see Killdeer there in the parking lot. We also padded our list with Rock Pigeons. 

Before lunch we stopped at a spot, Levi's Road, in Stafford, that is usually good for passerines, but it too was full of private property notices, so we didn't find much there aside from our first juncos of the day. 

After lunch we drove down Beach Avenue in the daylight and added Fox Sparrow and Eastern Bluebirds to the list. We then drove up 72 to the edge of our territory, a little pond behind a medical facility where there are always ducks. We were hoping the water wasn't frozen, and aside from the edges, it was open and there we added Green-winged Teal and Gadwall. I had an interesting looking duck that I thought might be a Eurasian Wigeon, but the light was horrible and then the flock it was in flew away to the far corner of the pond and I had to let it go. Mike was pretty sure that I was just seeing a teal in bad light. 

We returned for one more run down Stafford Avenue, checking both sides, but by then were getting diminishing returns. I was hoping for a Short-eared Owl early in the morning there, which we didn't see, and I wasn't inclined to hang out until dusk for a second chance. When I got home, I saw that on Beach Avenue at dawn, another birder, not part of the count, had heard a Sedge Wren in the spot we have had them in the past. That annoyed me, but, as the Firesign Theatre sang, "How can you be two places at once when you're not anywhere at all?"

For the day we listed 54 species for the Barnegat Count; I had 51. Surprisingly, I heard from the compiler, our Long-eared Owl was not the only one for the day. Someone else had one at a, naturally, undisclosed location. 

Species                First Sighting
Canada Goose   Mud City
Mute Swan   Manahawkin Lake
Gadwall   Ocean Acres Pond
Mallard   1355 E Bay Ave, Manahawkin
American Black Duck   Mud City
Green-winged Teal   Ocean Acres Pond
Greater Scaup   1355 E Bay Ave, Manahawkin
Bufflehead   1355 E Bay Ave, Manahawkin
Hooded Merganser   Bridge to Nowhere
Red-breasted Merganser   1355 E Bay Ave, Manahawkin
Ruddy Duck   East Bay Av, Stafford Township
Rock Pigeon   Manahawkin Lake
Mourning Dove   Bridge to Nowhere
Killdeer   Manahawkin Lake
Greater Yellowlegs   Bridge to Nowhere
Ring-billed Gull   Manahawkin Lake
American Herring Gull   Bridge to Nowhere
Great Blue Heron   Bridge to Nowhere
Turkey Vulture   Manahawkin Lake
Northern Harrier   Bridge to Nowhere
Bald Eagle   Manahawkin WMA
Red-tailed Hawk   Mud City
Eastern Screech-Owl   Stafford Avenue
Great Horned Owl   Beach Ave
Long-eared Owl   Beach Ave
Belted Kingfisher   Manahawkin WMA
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Bridge to Nowhere
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Manahawkin WMA
Downy Woodpecker   Bridge to Nowhere
Blue Jay   Bridge to Nowhere
American Crow   Manahawkin Lake
Carolina Chickadee   Bridge to Nowhere
Tufted Titmouse   Bridge to Nowhere
White-breasted Nuthatch   Bridge to Nowhere
Carolina Wren   Manahawkin WMA
European Starling   Manahawkin WMA
Gray Catbird   Manahawkin WMA
Northern Mockingbird   1355 E Bay Ave, Manahawkin
Eastern Bluebird   Beach Ave
Hermit Thrush   Manahawkin WMA
American Robin   Bridge to Nowhere
House Finch   Manahawkin WMA
American Goldfinch   Manahawkin WMA
Fox Sparrow   Beach Ave
Dark-eyed Junco   Levi's Rd--Stafford
White-throated Sparrow   Manahawkin WMA
Song Sparrow   Mud City
Red-winged Blackbird   Bridge to Nowhere
Boat-tailed Grackle   Bridge to Nowhere
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Manahawkin WMA
Northern Cardinal   Manahawkin WMA

Ocean County Fairgrounds 2/20--Chipping Sparrow

 The deadness of winter continues. For the last few days I've been driving all over Hell and Gone (another name for Ocean County), looking for the most, supposedly, common of birds to add to my year lists and getting very little bang for my $3.22 gallon gas. True, yesterday at Reed's Road I heard an Eastern Towhee, new for the county, and at the end of the Johnny Allen Cove Trail I espied, distantly, a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls, but those weren't the birds I had in mind.  I mean, where are my waxwings? Where are my Snow Buntings? Where are my Fish Crows for crying out loud!

Today was more of the same nothing. I hit a couple of places where there are large expanses of grass surrounded by trees, hoping they would attract something of the above (except Snow Buntings, of course) and the soccer fields and baseball fields were active, but with robins, cowbirds, starlings and the like. 

I rarely go out after lunch, but I saw a report from the Ocean County Fairgrounds, a spot I almost never go to--even when on the rare occasion I visit the Robert J. Miller Airfield across the road. It isn't even a 15 minute drive from here so I drove over and walked on the empty field. Looked like nothing was there at first but at the far end I saw a flock of birds hopping around. Of course, before I could even start for them, they flew up into the trees. Pete used to say any sparrow on the ground that flew up into a tree was a Chipping Sparrow until proven otherwise. But with the flashing white outer tail feathers, these looked like juncos to me. 

However, when the flock came down, and mixed in with the robins, there were a few sparrows that were not gray & white--they were, indeed, Chippies. Chipping Sparrows use to be really rare in winter--I remember a CBC where ours got flagged--but with the warmer weather of late they are just "infrequent." Seems to me not so infrequent that everyone else in the county hasn't already listed them. Still, I was happy to get them on my list. In a few weeks, I know, they'll be all over my backyard, but in dreary February, I want novelty now.

January Wrap-up--126 Species

Red-shouldered Hawk, New Egypt

 It's the usual drill: Run around to all the hot spots and pick up the common rarities and the winter birds (mostly ducks), because you "need" all these birds for the year. Why you need them is best left unquestioned. 

So, Barnegat Light, for the King Eider, Assunpink for the Trumpeter Swans. Luckily, Marshall's Pond had a Eurasian Wigeon, so I didn't have to go all the way up to the Shark River. The Barnegat CBC on the 2nd got me a couple of cool birds (in addition to my owl fix) like Virginia Rail and Sedge Wren. There was a Dovekie incursion earlier in the month and I was able to spot one (while others were making my teeth grind with multiple sightings). 

Greater White-fronted Goose, Jackson

The big chase was the Greater White-fronted Goose that decided to plunk itself down on a high school foot
ball field in Jackson. I went back a week later (to "get" Green-winged Teal in the retention pond) and it was still there along with the always entertaining, eBird filter-busting flock of Horned Larks. 

I have left a few birds that I got last January for the upcoming month, which might have been inadvertently smart, since February is such a dreary month, especially if the ponds freeze, that it will be good to have some targets to keep me interested. 

The winter months can be a slog as the excitement of the new year wears off. With birders the conversation always comes around to the dearth of birds lately, both ducks and land birds. The ducks are understandable, since they don't migrate unless they have to, and with the warmer weather up north becoming the norm, they don't have to. The land birds, I think, are analogous to the frog in a pot of water brought slowly to a boil. Their numbers have been declining for years (remember the 3 billion birds missing articles from a couple of years ago?) and it is only now that we realize the frog has been cooked. 

Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean

Species   First Sighting

Snow Goose   Holgate

Greater White-fronted Goose   Jackson Liberty HS

Brant   Sandy Hook

Canada Goose   Seven Presidents Park

Mute Swan   Bridge to Nowhere

Trumpeter Swan   Assunpink WMA

Tundra Swan   Whitesbog

Northern Shoveler   Marshall's Pond

Gadwall   Ocean Acres Pond

Eurasian Wigeon   Marshall's Pond

American Wigeon   Marshall's Pond

Mallard   Sandy Hook

American Black Duck   Sandy Hook

Northern Pintail   Brig

Green-winged Teal   Brig

Canvasback   Brig

Ring-necked Duck   Manahawkin Lake

Greater Scaup   East Bay Av

Lesser Scaup   Lake of the Lilies

King Eider   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Common Eider   Sandy Hook

Harlequin Duck   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Surf Scoter   Sandy Hook

White-winged Scoter   Sandy Hook

Black Scoter   Island Beach SP

Long-tailed Duck   Sandy Hook

Bufflehead   Sandy Hook

Common Goldeneye   Sandy Hook

Hooded Merganser   Bridge to Nowhere

Common Merganser   Assunpink WMA

Red-breasted Merganser   Sandy Hook

Ruddy Duck   East Bay Av

Ring-necked Pheasant   Assunpink WMA

Pied-billed Grebe   Lake Shenandoah County Park

Horned Grebe   Sandy Hook

Rock Pigeon   Wawa South Toms River

Mourning Dove  Cedar Bridge Rd

Virginia Rail   Beach Av

American Coot   Lake of the Lilies

American Oystercatcher   Holgate

Black-bellied Plover   Sandy Hook

Killdeer   Lake Barnegat

Marbled Godwit   Holgate

Ruddy Turnstone   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Sanderling   Sandy Hook

Dunlin   Holgate

Purple Sandpiper   Manasquan Inlet

Least Sandpiper   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Long-billed Dowitcher   Lake Barnegat

American Woodcock   Budd’s Bogs

Greater Yellowlegs   Bridge to Nowhere

Dovekie   Island Beach SP

Razorbill   Sandy Hook

Bonaparte's Gull   Sandy Hook

Ring-billed Gull   Wawa South Toms River

Herring Gull   Sandy Hook

Great Black-backed Gull   Sandy Hook

Red-throated Loon   Sandy Hook

Common Loon   Sandy Hook

Northern Gannet   Sandy Hook

Great Cormorant   Island Beach SP

Double-crested Cormorant   East Bay Av

Great Blue Heron   Beach Av

Great Egret   Bridge to Nowhere

Black Vulture   Crestwood Village

Turkey Vulture   Sandy Hook

Northern Harrier   Bridge to Nowhere

Sharp-shinned Hawk   Cattus Island County Park

Cooper's Hawk   Ridge Av

Bald Eagle   Beach Av

Red-shouldered Hawk   Bridge to Nowhere

Red-tailed Hawk   Bridge to Nowhere

Eastern Screech-Owl   Beach Av

Great Horned Owl   Beach Av

Barred Owl   Beach Av

Long-eared Owl   Undisclosed Location

Belted Kingfisher   Bridge to Nowhere

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Levi's Rd

Red-bellied Woodpecker   Bridge to Nowhere

Downy Woodpecker   Bridge to Nowhere

Hairy Woodpecker   Bridge to Nowhere

Northern Flicker   Manahawkin WMA

American Kestrel   Budd’s Bogs

Merlin   Budd’s Bogs

Peregrine Falcon   Manasquan Inlet

Blue Jay   Wawa South Toms River

American Crow   35 Sunset Rd

Common Raven   Whitesbog

Carolina Chickadee   Bridge to Nowhere

Tufted Titmouse   Bridge to Nowhere

Horned Lark   Sandy Hook

Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Whitesbog

Golden-crowned Kinglet   Sandy Hook

Red-breasted Nuthatch   Bridge to Nowhere

White-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd

Brown Creeper   Budd’s Bogs

Winter Wren   Bridge to Nowhere

Sedge Wren   Beach Av

Carolina Wren   35 Sunset Rd

European Starling   Wawa South Toms River

Gray Catbird   Manahawkin WMA

Northern Mockingbird   Wawa South Toms River

Eastern Bluebird   Whitesbog

Hermit Thrush   Bridge to Nowhere

American Robin   Sandy Hook

House Sparrow   Wawa South Toms River

House Finch   Bridge to Nowhere

American Goldfinch   Levi's Rd

Lapland Longspur   Sandy Hook

Field Sparrow   Assunpink WMA

American Tree Sparrow   Bridge to Nowhere

Fox Sparrow   Manahawkin WMA

Dark-eyed Junco   Levi's Rd

White-throated Sparrow   Levi's Rd

Savannah Sparrow   Barnegat Lighthouse SP

Song Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd

Swamp Sparrow   Bridge to Nowhere

Eastern Towhee   Budd’s Bogs

Eastern Meadowlark   Budd’s Bogs

Red-winged Blackbird   Bridge to Nowhere

Brown-headed Cowbird   Ridge Av

Rusty Blackbird   Budd’s Bogs

Common Grackle   Bridge to Nowhere

Boat-tailed Grackle   Bridge to Nowhere

Yellow-rumped Warbler   Sandy Hook

Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd