September Wrap-up--Migration Edition

Buff-breasted Sandpiper with Semipalmated Plover, Big Tank, Whitesbog OC side

September was certainly a more wide-ranging month for me than August. While I continued visiting Whitesbog fairly regularly, I expanded my searches to the shore (Sandy Hook, IBSP, Brig, Great Bay Blvd) and the Delaware River (Palmyra in the south and Pennsylvania, where we attended a hippie/hick wedding overlooking the river, to the north). 

September is migration month. The shorebird migration that started in August continued at a decent pace through the first two weeks of September--Baird's Sandpiper being the standout at Whitesbog, along with Long-billed Dowitcher, Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Big Tank on the OC side, county lifer) and American Golden-Plover. The warblers started showing up at IBSP and Sandy Hook, and I got a "second chance" on at least one bird that I missed in spring, Cape May Warbler. Connecticut Warbler, that fall rarity, I had three times--once each at Sandy Hook, IBSP, and yesterday at Palmyra.  Other second chance birds were Swainson's Thrush, and Gray-cheeked Thrush. The first Swainson's was on Reed's Road at IBSP. Yesterday at Palymyra the park was awash in Swainson's (Jim & I counted 18, which has to be personal high for me) and we tracked down a Gray-cheeked Thrush that practically had a sign on it reading "I am not a Swainson's." 

Up in Beach Lake, Pennsylvania, Shari & I were thrilled to get a Black-capped Chickadee for the year. Since we rarely get above the Raritan, we hardly ever see this very common bird. While we didn't do too much birding there, I did find a few warblers, a Pileated Woodpecker, and our first Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers of the season. A week later, the sapsuckers had made it down to south Jersey. 

Toward the end of the month the sparrows were the show. I missed Clay-colored Sparrow at Whitesbog while in Pennsylvania (Jim's text set off some serious teeth-gnashing), but Lincoln's Sparrow at IBSP, Nelson's Sparrow at GBB were some compensation, and White-throated Sparrow, and Dark-eyed Junco (early) signaled the arrival of fall; the American Tree Sparrow I had at Whitesbog this morning on the OC side clinched it. 

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, female, backyard feeders

In the closer to home the better the bird category I have this little vignette: earlier this week, while reading on the patio, I looked up at the feeders (I put them back up a little more than a week after the bear incident) and had one of those "What the heck is that?" moments. Fortunately, the bird was happily chowing down on the dish of seeds and nuts and stayed long enough for me to identify it as a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak (our first of the year in the backyard, another second chance bird) and to let me get photographs of it. Aside from the Lark Sparrow at Reeves Bogs, it was my happiest sighting of the month. 

For the month: 166 species 13 year birds.

Counties birded:

New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean, Sussex

New York: Sullivan

Pennsylvania: Pike, Wayne

Species           First Sighting
Canada Goose  Whitesbog
Mute Swan  Brig
Wood Duck  Whitesbog
Blue-winged Teal  Whitesbog
Northern Shoveler  Brig
Mallard  Whitesbog
American Black Duck  Whitesbog
Green-winged Teal  Whitesbog
Red-breasted Merganser  Island Beach SP
Northern Bobwhite  Colliers Mills WMA
Wild Turkey  Schoolhouse Rd
Pied-billed Grebe  Brig
Rock Pigeon  Wrangle Brook
Mourning Dove  Whitesbog
Yellow-billed Cuckoo  Island Beach SP
Common Nighthawk  Whitesbog
Eastern Whip-poor-will  Whitesbog
Chimney Swift  Whitesbog
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  Whitesbog
American Avocet  Brig
American Oystercatcher  Sandy Hook
Black-bellied Plover  Great Bay Blvd
American Golden-Plover  Union Transportation Trail
Semipalmated Plover  Whitesbog
Killdeer  Whitesbog
Stilt Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Sanderling  Island Beach SP
Baird's Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Least Sandpiper  Whitesbog
White-rumped Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Buff-breasted Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Pectoral Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Semipalmated Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Short-billed Dowitcher  Whitesbog
Long-billed Dowitcher  Whitesbog
Wilson's Snipe  Whitesbog
Spotted Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Solitary Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Greater Yellowlegs  Whitesbog
Lesser Yellowlegs  Whitesbog
Laughing Gull  Whitesbog
Ring-billed Gull  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Herring Gull  Whitesbog
Great Black-backed Gull  Sandy Hook
Caspian Tern  Sandy Hook
Common Tern  Island Beach SP
Forster's Tern  Great Bay Blvd
Royal Tern  Island Beach SP
Common Loon  Island Beach SP
Double-crested Cormorant  Island Beach SP
Brown Pelican  Island Beach SP
American Bittern  Sandy Hook
Great Blue Heron  Whitesbog
Great Egret  Whitesbog
Snowy Egret  Island Beach SP
Little Blue Heron  Island Beach SP
Tricolored Heron  Island Beach SP
Green Heron  Whitesbog
Black-crowned Night-Heron  Whitesbog
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  Great Bay Blvd
Glossy Ibis  Brig
Black Vulture  35 Sunset Rd
Turkey Vulture  Whitesbog
Osprey  Whitesbog
Northern Harrier  Sandy Hook
Sharp-shinned Hawk  Brig
Cooper's Hawk  Whitesbog
Bald Eagle  Whitesbog
Red-shouldered Hawk  Whitesbog
Red-tailed Hawk  Union Transportation Trail
Eastern Screech-Owl  Whitesbog
Belted Kingfisher  Island Beach SP
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  Beach Lake
Red-bellied Woodpecker  35 Sunset Rd
Downy Woodpecker  35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker  35 Sunset Rd
Pileated Woodpecker  Beach Lake
Northern Flicker  Whitesbog
American Kestrel  Sandy Hook
Merlin  Whitesbog
Peregrine Falcon  Island Beach SP
Eastern Wood-Pewee  Whitesbog
Eastern Phoebe  Whitesbog
Great Crested Flycatcher  Whitesbog
Eastern Kingbird  Whitesbog
White-eyed Vireo  Whitesbog
Philadelphia Vireo  Sandy Hook
Warbling Vireo  Sandy Hook
Red-eyed Vireo  Sandy Hook
Blue Jay  35 Sunset Rd
American Crow  Whitesbog
Fish Crow  Whiting Commons
Common Raven  Island Beach SP
Carolina Chickadee  Whitesbog
Black-capped Chickadee  Beach Lake
Tufted Titmouse  35 Sunset Rd
Purple Martin  Whitesbog
Tree Swallow  Whitesbog
Bank Swallow  Whitesbog
Barn Swallow  Whitesbog
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  Sandy Hook
Golden-crowned Kinglet  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Red-breasted Nuthatch  Whitesbog
White-breasted Nuthatch  Whitesbog
Brown Creeper  Sandy Hook
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  Whitesbog
House Wren  Whitesbog
Marsh Wren  Sandy Hook
Carolina Wren  Whitesbog
European Starling  Whitesbog
Gray Catbird  Whitesbog
Brown Thrasher  Whitesbog
Northern Mockingbird  Whitesbog
Eastern Bluebird  Reeves Bogs
Veery  Island Beach SP
Gray-cheeked Thrush  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Swainson's Thrush  Island Beach SP
Hermit Thrush  Beach Lake
Wood Thrush  Whitesbog
American Robin  Whitesbog
Cedar Waxwing  Sandy Hook
House Sparrow  Union Transportation Trail
House Finch  35 Sunset Rd
Purple Finch  Island Beach SP
American Goldfinch  35 Sunset Rd
Chipping Sparrow  35 Sunset Rd
Field Sparrow  Sandy Hook
Lark Sparrow  Reeves Bogs
American Tree Sparrow  Whitesbog
Dark-eyed Junco  Island Beach SP
White-throated Sparrow  Island Beach SP
Nelson's Sparrow  Great Bay Blvd
Saltmarsh Sparrow  Great Bay Blvd
Savannah Sparrow  Colliers Mills WMA
Song Sparrow  Whitesbog
Lincoln's Sparrow  Island Beach SP
Swamp Sparrow  Whitesbog
Eastern Towhee  Whitesbog
Bobolink  Whitesbog
Baltimore Oriole  Island Beach SP
Red-winged Blackbird  Whitesbog
Brown-headed Cowbird  35 Sunset Rd
Common Grackle  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Boat-tailed Grackle  Island Beach SP
Ovenbird  Island Beach SP
Northern Waterthrush  Whitesbog
Black-and-white Warbler  Sandy Hook
Nashville Warbler  Whitesbog
Connecticut Warbler  Sandy Hook
Common Yellowthroat  Whitesbog
American Redstart  Whitesbog
Cape May Warbler  Sandy Hook
Northern Parula  Sandy Hook
Magnolia Warbler  Beach Lake
Bay-breasted Warbler  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Yellow Warbler  Sandy Hook
Blackpoll Warbler  Sandy Hook
Black-throated Blue Warbler  Whitesbog
Palm Warbler  Sandy Hook
Pine Warbler  Whitesbog
Yellow-rumped Warbler  Whitesbog
Prairie Warbler  Whitesbog
Black-throated Green Warbler  Sandy Hook
Scarlet Tanager  Island Beach SP
Northern Cardinal  35 Sunset Rd
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  Sandy Hook
Indigo Bunting  Sandy Hook

September Summary--11 Year Birds

Roseate Spoonbill, Bombay Hook

 After nailing myself down to Whitesbog for the month of August, in September I feel like I was all over the place, including a trip to Delaware at the end of the month (and the beginning of this one). More on that trip later. 

Migration means warblers and as usual I didn't do as well as I'd like--never had much luck on a couple of trips to the Island Beach bay side trails, though my one trip on the other side of the state to Palmyra was a success. As an honorary Burlco birder I was gassed to finally get a chance to explore Budd's Bogs where we started in the rain and dark and ended in sunshine with 62 species on a "slow" day. Plus, the American Bittern we flushed was a county bird for me. 

I made one trip to South Park Road in Burlco with an agenda and checked off all three target birds there before it was much past 7: Great Horned Owl, Eastern Screech-Owl and Red-headed Woodpecker. 

I even made it as far north as Sandy Hook where I had a so-so day. I realized there that you have to really love a place to bird it well, and walking along the trash-strewn beaches, trying to find a parking lot that wasn't either a construction site or a reserved for Boy Scouts, trying to find a rest room that wasn't arbitrarily closed, it dawned on me that I don't love Sandy Hook

Whitesbog continued to produce for me when I went there: The American Golden-Plover finally showed up and over on the Ocean County side on one of the first cool days of the month I found my year Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. 

I did a couple of trips to Brig, one with Mike, one solo. Shari & I spent the last day of the month at Bombay Hook in Delaware. Comparing the two, I prefer the latter. There's more variety down there than Brig and, while I don't know this for a fact, I get the feeling that everyone isn't always bitching about the water levels in the various impoundments. There are four Roseate Spoonbills down there that have been hanging in the same spot for about two months now. They are not hard to find. While we were looking at them I spotted a Common Gallinule nearby and a Sora was whinnying off and on the whole time we were at the Daly Overlook. That's what I call fun. 

The Sora brought me to 282 for the year, one more species than I had all of last year. A pandemic makes for easy comps. 

Counties Birded:
Delaware: Kent, New Castle

New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean

177 Species

Species                           Location
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck  Brig
Snow Goose  Brig
Canada Goose  Whitesbog
Mute Swan  Island Beach SP
Wood Duck  Whitesbog
Blue-winged Teal  Brig
Northern Shoveler  Brig
Gadwall  Brig
American Wigeon  Brig
Mallard  Whitesbog
American Black Duck  Whitesbog
Northern Pintail  Budd’s Bogs
Green-winged Teal  Whitesbog
King Eider  Island Beach SP
Common Eider  Island Beach SP
Black Scoter  Island Beach SP
Common Merganser  Whitesbog
Wild Turkey  35 Sunset Rd
Pied-billed Grebe  Whitesbog
Rock Pigeon  Budd’s Bogs
Mourning Dove  Whitesbog
Yellow-billed Cuckoo  Sandy Hook
Common Nighthawk  Budd’s Bogs
Eastern Whip-poor-will  35 Sunset Rd
Chimney Swift  Budd’s Bogs
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  Whitesbog
Clapper Rail  Sandy Hook
Virginia Rail  Brig
Sora  Bombay Hook
Common Gallinule  Bombay Hook
American Avocet  Brig
American Oystercatcher  Sandy Hook
Black-bellied Plover  Sandy Hook
American Golden-Plover  Whitesbog
Semipalmated Plover  Whitesbog
Killdeer  Whitesbog
Marbled Godwit  Bombay Hook
Ruddy Turnstone  Island Beach SP
Stilt Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Sanderling  Sandy Hook
Dunlin  Brig
Least Sandpiper  Whitesbog
White-rumped Sandpiper  Brig
Pectoral Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Semipalmated Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Western Sandpiper  Brig
Short-billed Dowitcher  Brig
Long-billed Dowitcher  Brig
Spotted Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Solitary Sandpiper  Whitesbog
Greater Yellowlegs  Whitesbog
Willet  Bombay Hook
Lesser Yellowlegs  Whitesbog
Laughing Gull  Budd’s Bogs
Ring-billed Gull  Island Beach SP
Herring Gull  Sandy Hook
Lesser Black-backed Gull  Island Beach SP
Great Black-backed Gull  Sandy Hook
Caspian Tern  Whitesbog
Common Tern  Island Beach SP
Forster's Tern  Island Beach SP
Royal Tern  Sandy Hook
Black Skimmer  Brig
Double-crested Cormorant  Budd’s Bogs
Brown Pelican  Island Beach SP
American Bittern  Budd’s Bogs
Great Blue Heron  Whitesbog
Great Egret  Reeves Bogs
Snowy Egret  Sandy Hook
Little Blue Heron  Budd’s Bogs
Tricolored Heron  Great Bay Blvd
Green Heron  Whitesbog
Black-crowned Night-Heron  Island Beach SP
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  Great Bay Blvd
White Ibis  Great Bay Blvd
Glossy Ibis  Brig
Roseate Spoonbill  Bombay Hook
Black Vulture  Budd’s Bogs
Turkey Vulture  Whitesbog
Osprey  Whitesbog
Northern Harrier  Whitesbog
Cooper's Hawk  Whitesbog
Bald Eagle  Whitesbog
Red-shouldered Hawk  Whitesbog
Red-tailed Hawk  Budd’s Bogs
Eastern Screech-Owl  South Park Rd
Great Horned Owl  South Park Rd
Belted Kingfisher  Whitesbog
Red-headed Woodpecker  South Park Rd
Red-bellied Woodpecker  Whitesbog
Downy Woodpecker  Whitesbog
Hairy Woodpecker  Budd’s Bogs
Northern Flicker  Whitesbog
American Kestrel  Budd’s Bogs
Merlin  Island Beach SP
Peregrine Falcon  Budd’s Bogs
Eastern Wood-Pewee  Whitesbog
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher  Whitesbog
Acadian Flycatcher  Budd’s Bogs
Willow Flycatcher  Cedar Bonnet Island
Least Flycatcher  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Eastern Phoebe  Whitesbog
Great Crested Flycatcher  Whitesbog
Eastern Kingbird  Whitesbog
White-eyed Vireo  Whitesbog
Warbling Vireo  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Red-eyed Vireo  Whitesbog
Blue Jay  35 Sunset Rd
American Crow  Whitesbog
Fish Crow  Whitesbog
Common Raven  Whitesbog
Carolina Chickadee  Whitesbog
Tufted Titmouse  35 Sunset Rd
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  Whitesbog
Purple Martin  Whitesbog
Tree Swallow  Whitesbog
Bank Swallow  Whitesbog
Barn Swallow  Whitesbog
Cliff Swallow  Whitesbog
Red-breasted Nuthatch  Double Trouble State Park
White-breasted Nuthatch  Whitesbog
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
House Wren  Whitesbog
Marsh Wren  Brig
Carolina Wren  Whitesbog
European Starling  Whitesbog
Gray Catbird  Whitesbog
Brown Thrasher  Whitesbog
Northern Mockingbird  Budd’s Bogs
Eastern Bluebird  Whitesbog
Swainson's Thrush  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
American Robin  Whitesbog
Cedar Waxwing  Sandy Hook
House Sparrow  Sandy Hook
House Finch  35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch  Whitesbog
Chipping Sparrow  Whitesbog
Field Sparrow  Budd’s Bogs
Seaside Sparrow  Great Bay Blvd
Nelson's Sparrow  Great Bay Blvd
Savannah Sparrow  Brig
Song Sparrow  Whitesbog
Swamp Sparrow  Cedar Bonnet Island
Eastern Towhee  Whitesbog
Bobolink  Whitesbog
Baltimore Oriole  Island Beach SP
Red-winged Blackbird  Whitesbog
Brown-headed Cowbird  Brig
Common Grackle  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Boat-tailed Grackle  Island Beach SP
Ovenbird  Whitesbog
Northern Waterthrush  Whitesbog
Black-and-white Warbler  Budd’s Bogs
Tennessee Warbler  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Connecticut Warbler  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Common Yellowthroat  Whitesbog
American Redstart  Whitesbog
Cape May Warbler  Island Beach SP
Northern Parula  Bunker Hill Bogs
Magnolia Warbler  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Bay-breasted Warbler  Island Beach SP
Blackburnian Warbler  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Yellow Warbler  Island Beach SP
Chestnut-sided Warbler  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Blackpoll Warbler  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Palm Warbler  Brig
Pine Warbler  35 Sunset Rd
Yellow-rumped Warbler  Cedar Bonnet Island
Prairie Warbler  Whitesbog
Black-throated Green Warbler  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Canada Warbler  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Scarlet Tanager  Island Beach SP
Northern Cardinal  35 Sunset Rd
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Blue Grosbeak  Colliers Mills WMA
Indigo Bunting  Palmyra Cove Nature Park
Dickcissel  Island Beach SP

Palmyra Cove Nature Park 9/12--Least Flycatcher, Connecticut Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Canada Warbler

Pewee

Yes, it's time for the confusing fall warblers and what better place than Palmyra Cove Nature Park, hard by the Delaware River to either stay confused or sort them out. I arrived around 7:30 and started make my way up the Cove Trail. The first bird I spotted was a Least Flycatcher, new for the year. An auspicious start. I had no plan since I have only a very sketchy idea of the layout of the park and that mental picture is from last year before a lot of trails have been closed and geographic features altered due to a construction site next to the park. 

I wandered up a trail and started picking up warblers, mostly American Redstarts. On the trails, wherever I looked, little groups of birders were staring up at tall trees. I wasn't there very long before I started to run into people I know and for the rest of the day I seemed to be part of an amoeba of birders which fluctuated in size and personnel, sometimes just two of us, sometimes 4 or 5. Almost everyone I ran into acted amazed that I wasn't at Whitesbog. I offered to show my birding passport that allows me to go to other places. 

At one point, in a group with some birders I usually see at Whitesbog, one of them asked me if I wanted to go to such a such spot. Since a wink is as good as a nod to a blind horse and since at that juncture I had no idea where we actually were (except for here and now), I said I had to stick with them because otherwise, I'd never get back to the parking lot. 

They were looking for a Connecticut Warbler in the mugwort. I was a tad skeptical about finding one but they certainly know better than me because without much effort, one popped up for a moment. As they run on the ground it was hard for me to see at first but then for a 10 or 15 seconds it hopped up on a fallen branch and I got field guide looks at it. 

I saw a few Blackburnian Warblers, which I was surprised to find were new for the year, and a few Chestnut-sided Warblers, which I wasn't surprised were new. By noon, I was birding only with Matt and he guided me back to the main trail and then headed off home. I was going to scout out the river, made a left and ran into Scott and Deb and a Canada Warbler that I'd never would have seen without them. We walked along the Cove trail and then onto the beach of the Delaware, picking up a nice Caspian Tern and on the decrepit boardwalk ducks and a little flock of Great Egrets. Scott asked me where I'd seen the CT Warbler but I had to give him the big "Duh" on that. I couldn't find which wooded area we were in for love or money. 

By the time we finally made it back to the parking lot it was around 3. 54 species and 5 year birds was pretty good work. I haven't added to the year list like that since spring migration. 

Canada Goose  75

Mallard  65

American Black Duck  1    Cove with Mallards

Northern Pintail  1    Cove with Mallards

Wild Turkey  3

Chimney Swift  8

Laughing Gull  10

Herring Gull  1

Caspian Tern  1

Double-crested Cormorant  2

Great Egret  9

Black Vulture  4

Turkey Vulture  7

Cooper's Hawk  1

Bald Eagle  2

Red-tailed Hawk  2

Red-bellied Woodpecker  2

Downy Woodpecker  3

Eastern Wood-Pewee  8

Least Flycatcher  2

Eastern Phoebe  1

Great Crested Flycatcher  2

Warbling Vireo  3

American Crow  4

Common Raven  1

Tufted Titmouse  1

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  3

House Wren  1    Heard

Carolina Wren  4

Gray Catbird  2

Brown Thrasher  1    Heard

Swainson's Thrush  3

American Robin  4

Cedar Waxwing  18

Chipping Sparrow  10

Red-winged Blackbird  25

Common Grackle  1

Ovenbird  1

Black-and-white Warbler  1

Tennessee Warbler  2

Connecticut Warbler  1    Gray hood yellow below bold eye ring.

Common Yellowthroat  2

American Redstart  20

Northern Parula  4

Magnolia Warbler  6

Bay-breasted Warbler  1

Blackburnian Warbler  3

Chestnut-sided Warbler  4

Blackpoll Warbler  1

Black-throated Green Warbler  1

Canada Warbler  1    Cove trail

Northern Cardinal  1

Rose-breasted Grosbeak  1

Indigo Bunting  2

Palmyra Cove Nature Park 9/20--Sora

Sora

I don't know why, but Palmyra seems much farther away than say Brig or Sandy Hook, even though it takes me more or less the same amount of travel time to get to any of them. Assuming I go a Sunday to Palmyra. Maybe it's because birding a dredge spoil site on the Delaware seems more exotic than being on the coast. 

I was up early this morning and left the house in the dark. By the time I reached Palmyra's parking lot, the sun had been up for only a few minutes. Just as I was starting to walk out of the parking lot M pulled up, then K, so I joined them. We walked out to the bridge where we found, as expected Jim & Tom. I hung around while M & K went a-wandering and I joined Jim and Tom in counting the huge Blue Jay migration taking place. Flocks of 30 or 40 birds would pass by every few minutes. My count seems enormous to me but it is a couple of hundred under theirs. Suffice it to say that Blue Jays out numbered all the other species today, including gulls. 

We were hanging around in the cove when Scott turned up and the four of us birded together for a while. Jim and Tom of course, know the park inside and out; Scott and I haven't birded it nearly as much as they and Tom, during the course of the day showed us a lot of the hot spots in this hot spot. I would say that I wish I had a map of the park, but it would be next to useless because a lot of the places Tom took us aren't places on the map--we bushwhacked through some woods, up over a dike and around over to a hidden pond where a Connecticut Warbler had been reported. I can go years without seeing a Connecticut and now, after a minor amount of pishing, I had my 3rd bird in 2 days. 

Before that we had stopped at the Perimeter Pond and looked for a Sora that was supposedly there. We couldn't find it. We met M & K coming back to look for the bird and they told us about the Connecticut report. We set off for the spot and were about halfway there when M called Tom. They had the Sora. Turn around, walk back, and find it about 50 feet away from where we'd been looking. A very cooperative bird, feeding beneath a stalk of bent over reed. Then we headed back to Connecticut territory, though, Jim, who was lugging his scope, peeled off to put it away. It kind of reminded me of days at Prospect Park when rare birds would be reported on a primitive alert system and I would fast walk from pond to trail to lawn in the park 

While there were a lot of warblers, the big push seemed to have been yesterday, as it was on Island Beach. Fall is definitely in the air--I got my first of season Yellow-rumped Warbler today. Tom continued walking us around to great spots where there was always something of interest--an Ovenbird here, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak (county lifer) there, and finally, into "The Pit" which you would never know was once a dredge spoil pit being as flat as the surrounding area, where some sparrows and warblers were flying hither and yon and giving us a hard time until Scott picked out one bird that was puzzling and said it was a Yellow-throated Vireo. Always a good bird, but, apparently at Palmyra, a very good bird. 

It was a great tour of the park, but I had the same feeling I get sometimes when I'm on a trip with Scott out west--I have no idea where I am or how to get back to the car. It is then that I revert to the philosophical adage, "I am here and it's now." 

Looking at my list about 3/4 of the way through the day I was astonished to find I was at over 60 species. I didn't feel like I was birding very hard. It just seem every tree, field, or body of water had something new for the day. I ended up with 68 species. It hasn't been a bad 2 days...at least in terms of birds. 

Canada Goose  46

Wood Duck  18

Mallard  24

Wild Turkey  6

Mourning Dove  1

Chimney Swift  30

Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1

Sora  1    Small striped Rail w yellow beak black patch around eye. 

Killdeer  1

Least Sandpiper  8

Semipalmated Sandpiper  5

Spotted Sandpiper  1

Laughing Gull  100

Herring Gull  5

Great Black-backed Gull  1

Caspian Tern  2

Double-crested Cormorant  71

Great Blue Heron  2

Great Egret  8

Green Heron  3

Turkey Vulture  5

Osprey  1

Northern Harrier  1

Cooper's Hawk  2

Bald Eagle  7

Red-shouldered Hawk  2

Red-tailed Hawk  1

Belted Kingfisher  1

Red-bellied Woodpecker  2

Downy Woodpecker  2

Northern Flicker  3

Eastern Wood-Pewee  2

Least Flycatcher  1

Eastern Phoebe  3

Yellow-throated Vireo  1    Yellow throat. Prominent spectacles. White wing bars. In the pit

Red-eyed Vireo  2

Blue Jay  335

American Crow  17

Carolina Chickadee  8

Northern Rough-winged Swallow  5

Tree Swallow  1

Barn Swallow  2

Red-breasted Nuthatch  1

House Wren  1    Heard

Marsh Wren  1    Heard cove

Carolina Wren  2

Gray Catbird  8

American Robin  7

Cedar Waxwing  13

American Goldfinch  5

Chipping Sparrow  5

Song Sparrow  1    Heard

Red-winged Blackbird  10

Common Grackle  150

Ovenbird  1

Northern Waterthrush  2    Heard

Black-and-white Warbler  3

Connecticut Warbler  1    Flea market pond area

Common Yellowthroat  1

American Redstart  4

Cape May Warbler  3

Northern Parula  3

Blackpoll Warbler  1

Black-throated Blue Warbler  1

Yellow-rumped Warbler  1

Scarlet Tanager  3

Rose-breasted Grosbeak  1

Indigo Bunting  4

Brig 9/8--Little Stint

Luck was with me today. Over the weekend, at Brig, it was discovered that the odd sandpiper photographed by one persistent birder who, admirably, is always looking for what shouldn't be there was, actually, a mega-rarity. On Sunday the Bird Jam began, with hundreds of birders flocking (pun intended) to the area between markers 3 & 4. I was texted by Mike while I was at Palmyra, but I had no intention of getting involved with that craziness. Just the images of 40 or 50 cars "parked" haphazardly, with a hundred thousand dollars worth of scopes lined up along the dike made me light-headed. The crowds continued on Labor Day. I abstained. 

I wasn't really that interested in the bird. I had to remind myself while I was mentally sneering, that for most of those birders, a Little Stint (for that indeed was what the odd sandpiper turned out to be) was a life bird, a rare wanderer from the Eastern Hemisphere. However, I'd already had Little Stint a couple of times in South Africa and, compared to the other shorebirds I was seeing at St Lucia and Muzi Pan (African Jacana, Blacksmith Lapwing, Crowned Lapwing, Kittlitz's Plover, White-fronted Plover, Three-banded Plover), the stint was just another sandpiper. It would be great to have it on my ABA list, my Jersey list, and so forth, but not at the price of my nerves. (Not to mention the possibility that it could become the first birding super-spreader event, though, to their credit, almost everyone today was wearing a mask and I hear it was similar behavior the previous two days.)

So this morning, hoping that most people who wanted it would have seen it already, and hoping that it would stay, I drove down there without any real enthusiasm. It felt like something I should do and I hate being told what I should do, even if I'm the one telling myself. 

2/3 of a Little Stint

My plan was to try to get some walking in by leaving the car in the lot and hoofing it down to the area on the south dike, but when I saw an email that the bird was present, I figured, let's just get this bird and drove over to marker 3 where 5 or 6 birders were congregated. It was then, while getting my bins out of my backpack, that I discovered that I'd left the camera at home. I shouldered my scope, walked up to the first guy I saw, asked about the stint. He had his iPhone attached to his scope and showed me the bird on the screen. I was then able, after a minute or so, to find the bird on my own (ain't an official sighting until I see it in my scope) and got most of the field marks--spindly legs, pale head, mottled appearance, hint of rufous on the body. I couldn't really see the "braces" on its back because of the angle I was at. The bird moved around a lot, playing 3 card monte with some other peeps, but I was able to track it pretty well. The only digiscope photo I was able to take is horrible--through the vegetation, if you look hard, you can see about 2/3 of a Little Stint. 

Then a Peregrine Falcon came along and buzzed the birds which all took off. This has been going on, I understand, since the bird was originally rediscovered. I drove down the dike a bit but the bird was not to be found until a few hours later. But I only need to see it once. And I only saw it once because I nixed the walking idea--luck. 

Brown Pelican with Laughing Gull

Frankly, the more interesting birds to me were the two Brown Pelicans I found on the north dike, just before the dogleg. I've seen white pelicans at Brig numerous times, but these were the first brown one I'd ever encountered. They are "infrequent" according to eBird. And, I found them. 

All in all the day exceeded my expectations, which were admittedly low. Because there has been some speculation that this stint is the same stint that summered on a beach in Rhode Island, I had the notion that it might stick around. But I was almost positive I'd need help getting on the bird. As someone said today, "If that bird had landed on the hood of my car, I wouldn't have known it was a stint." So all praise to the birder who originally found it, a great guy, who studies every peep as if he's never seen one before. That's birding.

For the loop and Gull Pond, I managed 57 species. I probably could have done a little better walking on Jen's Trail, but the mosquitoes were awful. 

Canada Goose  110

Mute Swan  39

Wood Duck  1    Gull Pond.

Blue-winged Teal  6    Gull Pond

Mallard  35

American Black Duck  1

Mourning Dove  1    Atop Visitor's Ctr

Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1    Gull Pond Road

Clapper Rail  2

American Avocet  11    Exact count

American Oystercatcher  1    NE Corner

Black-bellied Plover  18

Semipalmated Plover  8

Little Stint  1    MEGA 

Least Sandpiper  50

White-rumped Sandpiper  1

Semipalmated Sandpiper  25

Western Sandpiper  1

Greater Yellowlegs  1    Heard flyover

Lesser Yellowlegs  2

Laughing Gull  300

Herring Gull  100

Great Black-backed Gull  2

Caspian Tern  29

Common Tern  1

Forster's Tern  65

Royal Tern  4

Black Skimmer  30

Double-crested Cormorant  320

Brown Pelican  2    

Great Blue Heron  8

Great Egret  85

Snowy Egret  28

Little Blue Heron  5

Black-crowned Night-Heron  1    Roosting in tree along road to Gull Pond

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  4

Turkey Vulture  4

Osprey  10

Northern Harrier  1

Bald Eagle  1

Northern Flicker  1

Peregrine Falcon  2

White-eyed Vireo  1    Heard Jen’s Trail

Blue Jay  3    Heard

American Crow  4

Carolina Chickadee  3    Heard

Tufted Titmouse  2

Tree Swallow  100

Marsh Wren  1

Carolina Wren  2

European Starling  150

Gray Catbird  2    Heard Gull Pond Road

American Goldfinch  2

Song Sparrow  2

Red-winged Blackbird  75

Ovenbird  1    Jen’s Trail

Black-and-white Warbler  1

Brown Pelicans with Herring Gull, Double-crested Cormorant, and Great Egret