August Review--One (Count 'em) One Year Bird

Pied-billed Grebe, Whitesbog

 The Third Law of Birding states that "Wherever you are, you should be somewhere else." But what if you don't feel like being somewhere else?  Then you get my August. 

Places like Cedar Bonnet Island, Barnegat Lighthouse, Sandy Hook, Island Beach, were the places where the interesting birds of summer were to be found, but the triple threats of insects, people, and traffic kept me away. 

Purple Martins, Franklin Parker Preserve

Instead, I cycled through my favorite places: Whitesbog, Colliers Mills, the cranberry bogs on Dover Road, Franklin Parker Preserve and hoped that the birds would be where I wanted to be.  Aside from the White Ibis at Whitesbog, the birds I found this month were predictable species. The Purple Martin show at Franklin Parker was spectacular--every dead tree in the reservoir had a couple of hundred martins perched on it, and the Red-headed Woodpeckers at Colliers Mills are always worth looking
for. 

Red-headed Woodpecker, Colliers Mills

I got a little jolt mid-month at Whitesbog when I saw that the Fenwick Bogs (the working bogs that haven't been worked for the past couple of years) had barriers put up.  Since they haven't been growing cranberries there it didn't make sense to put them off-limits but then the explanation came out that the water in the bogs was going to be used in the harvest and that they wanted to keep the dogwalkers out so the dog feces wouldn't contaminate water. Which made sense, on the face of it. And then I thought: and every time an egret takes flight, it ejects a stream of guano into the water, and of course, the deer know enough to wander outside the bogs to do their business, as do the bunny rabbits, the groundhogs, the raccoons, and squirrels. Still, on my last couple of walks there, my trespassing has been discreet--I go in on a trail with no barrier and thus have plausible deniability. One morning I found myself away well before dawn and drove over there just in time to see the Common Nighthawks flying around in the east. It was bittersweet, because back in the days when the bogs would be drawn down, that was just the appetizer for a long day's banquet of shorebirds and waders. 

I made one trip to Brig, where I got my only year bird for the month--the American Avocets, and they made up for the missed birds there. The flies at Brig weren't too bad, though they didn't encourage one to stand in the road and endlessly scope for rare sandpipers 1000 yards away.  I made a couple of trips down to Great Bay Blvd in Tuckerton--early in the month it was a doable walk; last week, the flies drove me away. 

Caspian Tern, Franklin Parker Preserve

For the month 112 species, the last two this morning at Double Trouble--Chimney Swifts and a calling Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a very unusual bird for this time of year. 

Species                First Sighting
Canada Goose    Costco parking lot, Brick
Mute Swan    Holly Lake
Wood Duck    Cranberry Bogs
Northern Shoveler    Brig
Mallard    Cranberry Bogs
American Black Duck    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Wild Turkey    South Park Rd
Rock Pigeon    South Toms River
Mourning Dove    Cranberry Bogs
Yellow-billed Cuckoo    Colliers Mills WMA
Common Nighthawk    Whitesbog
Eastern Whip-poor-will    35 Sunset Rd
Chimney Swift    Double Trouble SP
Ruby-throated Hummingbird    Cranberry Bogs
Clapper Rail    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
American Avocet    Brig
American Oystercatcher    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Black-bellied Plover    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Killdeer    Franklin Parker Preserve
Semipalmated Plover    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Hudsonian Whimbrel    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Short-billed Dowitcher    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Spotted Sandpiper    Whitesbog
Solitary Sandpiper    Franklin Parker Preserve
Lesser Yellowlegs    Franklin Parker Preserve
Greater Yellowlegs    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Ruddy Turnstone    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Least Sandpiper    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Semipalmated Sandpiper    Brig
Laughing Gull    Cranberry Bogs
American Herring Gull    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Great Black-backed Gull    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Black Skimmer    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Least Tern    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Gull-billed Tern    Whitesbog
Caspian Tern    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Forster's Tern    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Royal Tern    Waretown
Pied-billed Grebe    Whitesbog
Double-crested Cormorant    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
White Ibis    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Glossy Ibis    Brig
Black-crowned Night Heron    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Little Blue Heron    Cranberry Bogs
Tricolored Heron    Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education
Snowy Egret    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Green Heron    Cranberry Bogs
Great Egret    Cranberry Bogs
Great Blue Heron    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Turkey Vulture    South Park Rd
Osprey    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Cooper's Hawk    Brig
Bald Eagle    Cranberry Bogs
Red-tailed Hawk    Cranberry Bogs
Belted Kingfisher    Cranberry Bogs
Red-headed Woodpecker    Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker    South Park Rd
Downy Woodpecker    Cranberry Bogs
Hairy Woodpecker    Cattus Island County Park
Northern Flicker    Whitesbog
American Kestrel    Colliers Mills WMA
Eastern Wood-Pewee    Cranberry Bogs
Willow Flycatcher    Cattus Island County Park
Eastern Phoebe    Colliers Mills WMA
Great Crested Flycatcher    35 Sunset Rd
Eastern Kingbird    Cranberry Bogs
White-eyed Vireo    Whitesbog
Eastern Warbling Vireo    Lake Shenandoah County Park
Red-eyed Vireo    Whitesbog
Blue Jay    Cranberry Bogs
American Crow    35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow    35 Sunset Rd
Common Raven    Whitesbog
Carolina Chickadee    Cranberry Bogs
Tufted Titmouse    South Park Rd
Tree Swallow    Cranberry Bogs
Purple Martin    Cranberry Bogs
Barn Swallow    Cranberry Bogs
White-breasted Nuthatch    South Park Rd
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher    Cranberry Bogs
Northern House Wren    Cattus Island County Park
Marsh Wren    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Carolina Wren    Colliers Mills WMA
European Starling    Pinelands Alliance Headquarters
Gray Catbird    Cranberry Bogs
Brown Thrasher    Whitesbog
Northern Mockingbird    Cranberry Bogs
Eastern Bluebird    Cranberry Bogs
American Robin    Cranberry Bogs
Cedar Waxwing    Cranberry Bogs
House Sparrow    35 Sunset Rd
House Finch    Cranberry Bogs
American Goldfinch    Cranberry Bogs
Chipping Sparrow    Cranberry Bogs
Field Sparrow    Cranberry Bogs
Seaside Sparrow    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Saltmarsh Sparrow    Cattus Island County Park
Song Sparrow    35 Sunset Rd
Eastern Towhee    Cranberry Bogs
Baltimore Oriole    35 Sunset Rd
Red-winged Blackbird    Cranberry Bogs
Common Grackle    Franklin Parker Preserve
Boat-tailed Grackle    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Ovenbird    Whitesbog
Black-and-white Warbler    Cranberry Bogs
Common Yellowthroat    Cranberry Bogs
Pine Warbler    Whitesbog
Prairie Warbler    Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Cardinal    Cranberry Bogs
Rose-breasted Grosbeak    Double Trouble SP
Blue Grosbeak    South Park Rd
Indigo Bunting    Brig

May Wrap-up--Migration in Fits

Black-necked Stilt, Manahawkin WMA

May never quite felt like May this year. Cold mornings, wrong winds, rain, and the usual complaints from birders about migration. I don’t know if migration was good or bad this year—seeing reports of 1 million birds over Ocean County would lead me to believe “good” but I’ve been doing this close to fifty years and I still haven’t heard anyone say, “What a great migration.” It’s always too something: too cold, too windy, too rainy. Meanwhile the real reasons for fewer birds — habitat loss, pesticides, building lights, wind turbines — are too depressing to contemplate

Still, the list grew. It always does. Sandy Hook and Island Beach carried most of the weight. Inland, Colliers Mills was its usual reliable mix of sand, gunfire, and birds, with the occasional surprise —Grasshopper Sparrow, Veery, Worm‑eating Warbler. Manahawkin WMA produced the flycatchers and and yet another Black-necked Stilt! The Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve had the expected warblers and vireos, and remains one of the few places in the area where you can stand on a trail deep in the preserve and not hear any noise from civilization save the occasional airplane.

Shari & I went on our annual date: dinner then down to Collinstown Road for Chuck-will’s-widow. Warblers came in fits and starts: Magnolia, Bay‑breasted, Blackpoll, Chestnut‑sided, Northern Parula on the good days; not much of anything on the others.

By the end of the month the list stretched from Brant to Indigo Bunting, a respectable range for a month that never quite got going. Nothing dramatic, but still May, and still worth being out.

June, with migration over, tends to be a dull month or so they say. I say, go out and see what’s around.

For the month, 168 species in Ocean and Burlington Counties.

Species    First Sighting
Brant    Sandy Hook
Canada Goose    Sandy Hook
Mute Swan    Manahawkin WMA
Wood Duck    Reeves Bogs
Mallard    Island Beach SP
American Black Duck    Sandy Hook
Green-winged Teal    Island Beach SP
Surf Scoter    Island Beach SP
White-winged Scoter    Island Beach SP
Black Scoter    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Bufflehead    Island Beach SP
Red-breasted Merganser    Sandy Hook
Wild Turkey    Crestwood Village
Rock Pigeon    South Toms River
Mourning Dove    Sandy Hook
Yellow-billed Cuckoo    Whitesbog
Black-billed Cuckoo    Cranberry Bogs
Chuck-will's-widow    Collinstown Road
Eastern Whip-poor-will    35 Sunset Rd
Chimney Swift    Sandy Hook
Ruby-throated Hummingbird    35 Sunset Rd
Clapper Rail    Island Beach SP
Black-necked Stilt    Double Trouble SP
American Oystercatcher    Sandy Hook
Black-bellied Plover    Sandy Hook
Killdeer    Island Beach SP
Semipalmated Plover    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Piping Plover    Island Beach SP
Hudsonian Whimbrel    Cedar Bonnet Island
Short-billed Dowitcher    Island Beach SP
Wilson's Phalarope    Forsythe-Barnegat
Spotted Sandpiper    Horicon Lake
Solitary Sandpiper    Cranberry Bogs
Lesser Yellowlegs    Sandy Hook
Willet    Island Beach SP
Greater Yellowlegs    Island Beach SP
Ruddy Turnstone    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Red Knot    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Stilt Sandpiper    Forsythe-Barnegat
Sanderling    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Dunlin    Island Beach SP
Purple Sandpiper    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Least Sandpiper    Island Beach SP
Semipalmated Sandpiper    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Laughing Gull    Sandy Hook
Ring-billed Gull    Horicon Lake
American Herring Gull    Sandy Hook
Great Black-backed Gull    Sandy Hook
Lesser Black-backed Gull    Sandy Hook
Black Skimmer    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Least Tern    Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Gull-billed Tern    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Forster's Tern    Sandy Hook
Common Tern    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Royal Tern    Island Beach SP
Red-throated Loon    Island Beach SP
Common Loon    Sandy Hook
Northern Gannet    Island Beach SP
Double-crested Cormorant    Sandy Hook
White Ibis    Island Beach SP
Glossy Ibis    Island Beach SP
Yellow-crowned Night Heron    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Black-crowned Night Heron    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Little Blue Heron    Island Beach SP
Tricolored Heron    Island Beach SP
Snowy Egret    Sandy Hook
Green Heron    Cranberry Bogs
Great Egret    Sandy Hook
Great Blue Heron    Sandy Hook
Black Vulture    Sandy Hook
Turkey Vulture    Sandy Hook
Osprey    Sandy Hook
Sharp-shinned Hawk    Sandy Hook
Cooper's Hawk    Sandy Hook
Northern Harrier    Sandy Hook
Bald Eagle    Sandy Hook
Red-tailed Hawk    Sandy Hook
Red-headed Woodpecker    Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker    Sandy Hook
Downy Woodpecker    35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker    35 Sunset Rd
Northern Flicker    Sandy Hook
Merlin    Sandy Hook
Eastern Wood-Pewee    Colliers Mills WMA
Acadian Flycatcher    Manahawkin WMA
Willow Flycatcher    Manahawkin WMA
Eastern Phoebe    Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
Great Crested Flycatcher    Reeves Bogs
Eastern Kingbird    Sandy Hook
White-eyed Vireo    Island Beach SP
Yellow-throated Vireo    Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
Blue-headed Vireo    Island Beach SP
Eastern Warbling Vireo    Colliers Mills WMA
Red-eyed Vireo    Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
Blue Jay    Sandy Hook
American Crow    Colliers Mills WMA
Fish Crow    35 Sunset Rd
Common Raven    Sandy Hook
Carolina Chickadee    Island Beach SP
Tufted Titmouse    Reeves Bogs
Bank Swallow    Sandy Hook
Tree Swallow    Sandy Hook
Purple Martin    Cranberry Bogs
Northern Rough-winged Swallow    Sandy Hook
Barn Swallow    Sandy Hook
Cliff Swallow    Cedar Bridge Tavern County Park
Ruby-crowned Kinglet    Sandy Hook
White-breasted Nuthatch    Whiting WMA
Red-breasted Nuthatch    Island Beach SP
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher    Reeves Bogs
Northern House Wren    Sandy Hook
Marsh Wren    Cattus Island County Park
Carolina Wren    Horicon Lake
European Starling    Sandy Hook
Gray Catbird    Sandy Hook
Brown Thrasher    Sandy Hook
Northern Mockingbird    Sandy Hook
Eastern Bluebird    35 Sunset Rd
Veery    Colliers Mills WMA
Wood Thrush    Colliers Mills WMA
American Robin    Sandy Hook
Cedar Waxwing    Cedar Bonnet Island
House Sparrow    35 Sunset Rd
House Finch    35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch    Sandy Hook
Grasshopper Sparrow    Colliers Mills WMA
Chipping Sparrow    35 Sunset Rd
Field Sparrow    Whiting WMA
White-throated Sparrow    Sandy Hook
Seaside Sparrow    Sandy Hook
Saltmarsh Sparrow    Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Savannah Sparrow    Sandy Hook
Song Sparrow    35 Sunset Rd
Swamp Sparrow    Reeves Bogs
Eastern Towhee    Sandy Hook
Orchard Oriole    Manahawkin WMA
Baltimore Oriole    Colliers Mills WMA
Red-winged Blackbird    Sandy Hook
Brown-headed Cowbird    35 Sunset Rd
Common Grackle    Sandy Hook
Boat-tailed Grackle    Sandy Hook
Ovenbird    Sandy Hook
Worm-eating Warbler    Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Waterthrush    Cedar Bonnet Island
Blue-winged Warbler    Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
Black-and-white Warbler    Reeves Bogs
Prothonotary Warbler    Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
Nashville Warbler    Cedar Bonnet Island
Common Yellowthroat    Sandy Hook
Hooded Warbler    Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
American Redstart    Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
Northern Parula    Island Beach SP
Magnolia Warbler    Cedar Bonnet Island
Bay-breasted Warbler    Cedar Bonnet Island
Northern Yellow Warbler    Sandy Hook
Chestnut-sided Warbler    Island Beach SP
Blackpoll Warbler    Cedar Bonnet Island
Black-throated Blue Warbler    Island Beach SP
Pine Warbler    35 Sunset Rd
Yellow-rumped Warbler    Reeves Bogs
Prairie Warbler    Reeves Bogs
Black-throated Green Warbler    Cedar Bonnet Island
Summer Tanager    Manasquan River WMA
Scarlet Tanager    Island Beach SP
Northern Cardinal    35 Sunset Rd
Rose-breasted Grosbeak    35 Sunset Rd
Blue Grosbeak    Colliers Mills WMA
Indigo Bunting    Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Barnegat Lighthouse SP 2/3--Common Eider, Ruddy Turnstone, Red-necked Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Talk about your Frozen Wastes. This morning, having determined yesterday that there is nothing by icy paths and roads at all my usual spots, I tried Barnegat Lighthouse SP, figuring that the beach would clear of snow from wind and waves. The temperature was a balmy 27 degrees when I got there and the view from the concrete walkway showed I was partially right in my assumption. Not that that there weren't some slippery slidey parts of the walkway itself. Scoping out over the inlet, I saw mostly Red-breasted Mergansers and Common Loons. If I wanted to see anything new for the year, I was going to have to make my way out to the ocean, I thought. I was weighing my adventurous potential on the way back toward the lighthouse, reminding myself that slush was safer to walk on than what might be hidden beneath snow, when I turned to my right just at the entrance and saw a bird I hadn't seen all of last year. With its long, yellow, dagger-like beak and bulky body, there was no mistaking a Red-necked Grebe. The question was, with three pairs of gloves on would I be able to extricate my camera from my bag and would if I could, would I be able to take photos before the bird dove or disappeared. The answer was obviously "yes" but it wasn't easy especially considering that the outer pair of gloves were actually mittens. I may as well have been wearing boxing gloves. 

Ruddy Turnstones

But the sight of the grebe reinvigorated me and, after eschewing the ice-caked steps down to the beach and taking another path instead, I made my way across the permafrost to the inland pond which was almost completely frozen. Some of the walking was fine, frozen sand, and some of the walking was on and occasionally through 6 or 7 inches of ice and snow. When I finally made my way out to the ocean I was rewarded with the sight of 7 Common Eiders, new for the year, along with lots of Great Cormorants on the jetty and far out along the rocks 4 Harlequin Ducks. Scanning along the jetty (which was totally inaccessible) looking for Purple Sandpipers, I came across some sleeping Ruddy Turnstones another bird that has avoided me this year. A couple of big flocks of Dunlins flew onto the jetty and in the second one I managed to find the Purple Sandpiper scattered through the flock. 

Now, I only needed one more species to make the trek more or less a success. I turned off the beach and walked through what in the summer would be the pond's mud flats, looking for land birds of which there were none. Back up on the slope overlooking the pond, I found a few more new species for the day, including a couple of Black-bellied Plovers and then, out of nowhere, the birds I was hoping for--Snow Buntings--flew over my shoulder and practically landed on my toes before moving along in front of me. While I had Snow Bunting for the year, up at Sandy Hook, I hadn't come across them yet in county.

For the morning's efforts 36 species, which is way more than I've been getting in the frozen parks and bogs. They were:

Brant  5
Canada Goose  10
American Wigeon  1     Inlet!
Mallard  10
American Black Duck  40
Greater Scaup  2
Common Eider  7
Harlequin Duck  4
Surf Scoter  2
White-winged Scoter  3
Black Scoter  25
Long-tailed Duck  50
Bufflehead  15
Red-breasted Merganser  100
Black-bellied Plover  2
Ruddy Turnstone  11
Sanderling  6
Dunlin  125
Purple Sandpiper  13
American Herring Gull  100
Great Black-backed Gull  30
Red-necked Grebe  1
Great Cormorant  30     Many. Probably more
Double-crested Cormorant  10
Great Blue Heron  1
Bald Eagle  1     Flew over inlet toward IBSP
American Crow  1
Horned Lark  1     Pool
European Starling  15
American Robin  25
House Sparrow  1
Snow Bunting  20     Pool
Savannah Sparrow  1
Savannah Sparrow (Ipswich)  2
Song Sparrow  6
Yellow-rumped Warbler  1
Northern Cardinal  1

End of the Year

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Port Royal Golf Course, Bermuda

Steve Weiss, in one of his posts on his interesting and informative blog (I've learned more about cetaceans than I ever thought I'd know) mentioned in passing his rules for chasing rarities. Which got me to wondering about what rules I seem to follow, and since I'm a believer in the psychological precept that you don't do what you think but you think what you do, I thought that examining some bird chases might give an idea as to my de facto rules. Because a lot of birds have come up "nah" the last couple of years, so what was it about the ones that did pique my interest? 

The Trumpeter Swan last week is a good example of a chase I'd make. First of all, very few Trumpeters show up in NJ. Secondly, this would be record for my home county; so it would have been a year bird and a county bird. Thirdly, it wasn't all that far away, and it was in a spot I know well. Finally, if I failed at finding it, there was still a lot of birding to be done in the area. 

The ideal chase was a couple of years ago, when possibly the rarest bird ever to show up in New Jersey--the Red-flanked Bluetail--appeared in a backyard in my development about a mile from here. I could just walk over there (and I did). Life bird, state bird, county bird. The next year, early in January, I went over again--year bird for county and state. 

When a Pomarine Jaeger showed up at Barnegat Light a couple of years ago, that was also a bird I just had to see, since Pomarine Jaegers are rarely seen from shore and I don't go out on boats. Also a life bird. The Townsend's Warbler at Eno's Pond was not a life bird, but it was a county bird and again, Eno's Pond is a place I know well and easy to get to. Gray Kingbird a few years ago at Barnegat Light? That's worth a look. Western Kingbird in Tuckerton--that became a nemesis bird, it took me at least four tries (I'm not usually that persistent) but it was a county bird. 

This year there was a Yellow-headed Caracara in an industrial park in Wilmington, Delaware. That would have been a life bird, but as I said to Shari, I really don't relish the idea of chasing a bird in an industrial park. There was a Short-billed Gull up in Raritan Bay earlier this month that a lot of birders went running for. It's a fantastic find, especially by the bird expert who loves to look through the big gull flocks looking for the oddity. I've seen Short-billed Gulls (in Alaska). They were called Mew Gulls then. I didn't cotton to the idea of driving up the parkway standing around waiting for the right tide and then picking through hundreds of gulls to find one that had a mirror on P10. 

Nor did I want to go to Hunterdon County for the long-staying MacGillivray's Warbler. Too far, too hard, I've seen it out west. 

It appears that my rules for chasing must meet most of these conditions: 

Lifer or at least a

County bird +

Site familiarity +

Ease of access +

High possibility of success.

Of course, it's always better if you just happen to be there when a rarity shows up--like the Say's Phoebe at Sandy Hook this year, or the Bell's Vireo there a few years ago. 

Roseate Spoonbill, Forked River

With all that said, looking at my list, I did chase a little this year: Clay-colored Sparrow at the PPA, Eurasian Wigeon at Lake of the Lilies, Kind Eider at Tuckerton, Upland Sandpiper at a sod farm in Burlington with 45 American Golden Plovers, Roseate Spoonbill in an obscure neighborhood in Forked River (this sort of broke a rule, but it was a county year bird and it also goes on the Goofy Looking Bird list) Black-necked Stilt in Manahawkin. For the year only 267 species. There wasn't much traveling--only a couple of non-birding trips to Bermuda and North Carolina and a couple of visits to Delaware. 

The list below is color-coded Bermuda, Delaware, North Carolina, New Jersey, and typographically Rarity, LIFE BIRD (only one of those all year)

WHITE-TAILED TROPIC BIRD, Bermuda

Species                            First Sighting                                    .

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck   Port Royal GC #17 Pond
Snow Goose   35 Sunset Rd
Greater White-fronted Goose   Lake Carasaljo
Brant   Sandy Hook
Cackling Goose   Marshall's Pond
Canada Goose   35 Sunset Rd
Mute Swan   Manahawkin Lake
Trumpeter Swan   Stafford Forge WMA
Tundra Swan   Whitesbog
Wood Duck   Lake Carasaljo
Blue-winged Teal   Brig
Northern Shoveler   Marshall's Pond
Gadwall   Ocean Acres Pond
Eurasian Wigeon   Lake of the Lilies
American Wigeon   Marshall's Pond
Mallard   Whitesbog
American Black Duck   Sandy Hook
Northern Pintail   Double Trouble SP
Green-winged Teal   Ocean Acres Pond
Canvasback   Riverfront Landing
Redhead   Lake Carasaljo
Ring-necked Duck   Butterfly Bogs WMA
Greater Scaup   Sandy Hook
Lesser Scaup   Double Trouble SP
King Eider   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Common Eider   Sandy Hook
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   Harvey Cedars
Hooded Merganser   Bunker Hill Bogs
Common Merganser   Pemberton Lake WMA
Red-breasted Merganser   Sandy Hook
Ruddy Duck   East Bay Av
Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd
Rock Pigeon   Manahawkin Lake
Mourning Dove   35 Sunset Rd
Yellow-billed Cuckoo   Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
Common Nighthawk   35 Sunset Rd
Chuck-will's-widow   Collinstown Road
Eastern Whip-poor-will   35 Sunset Rd
Chimney Swift   Whitesbog
Ruby-throated Hummingbird   35 Sunset Rd
Clapper Rail   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Common Gallinule   Spittal Pond NR
American Coot   Lake of the Lilies
Sandhill Crane   Whitesbog
Black-necked Stilt   Manahawkin WMA
American Avocet   Brig
American Oystercatcher   Holgate
Black-bellied Plover   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
American Golden-Plover   Brig
Killdeer   Manahawkin Lake
Semipalmated Plover   Manahawkin WMA
Piping Plover   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Upland Sandpiper   Allen Sod Farms
Hudsonian Godwit   Brig
Marbled Godwit   Brig
Short-billed Dowitcher   Brig
Long-billed Dowitcher   Brig
American Woodcock   Manahawkin WMA
Wilson's Snipe   Cranberry Bogs
Wilson's Phalarope   Brig
Red-necked Phalarope   Brig
Spotted Sandpiper   Colliers Mills WMA
Solitary Sandpiper   Colliers Mills WMA
Lesser Yellowlegs   Brig
Willet   Cedar Bonnet Island
Greater Yellowlegs   Bridge to Nowhere
Ruddy Turnstone   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Red Knot   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Curlew Sandpiper   Bombay Hook
Stilt Sandpiper   Bombay Hook
Buff-breasted Sandpiper   Reed Sod Farm
Sanderling   Sandy Hook
Dunlin   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Purple Sandpiper   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Baird's Sandpiper   Sandy Hook
White-rumped Sandpiper   Bombay Hook
Least Sandpiper   Island Beach SP
Pectoral Sandpiper   Bombay Hook
Western Sandpiper   Bombay Hook
Semipalmated Sandpiper   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Parasitic Jaeger   Island Beach SP
Bonaparte's Gull   Brig
Black-headed Gull   Bayview Ave Marshes
Laughing Gull  Baltimore Avenue
Ring-billed Gull   Bunker Hill Bogs
American Herring Gull   Sandy Hook
Great Black-backed Gull   Sandy Hook
Lesser Black-backed Gull   Island Beach SP
Black Skimmer   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Least Tern   Graveling Point
Gull-billed Tern   Brig
Caspian Tern   Holly Lake
Forster's Tern   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Common Tern   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Roseate Tern   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Royal Tern   Fort Fisher SRA
Pied-billed Grebe   Manasquan Reservoir IBA
Horned Grebe   Sandy Hook
Eared Grebe   Brig
WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRD   Dockyard
Red-throated Loon   Sandy Hook
Common Loon   Sandy Hook
Northern Gannet   Sandy Hook
Anhinga   Cape Fear River
Great Cormorant   Sandy Hook
Double-crested Cormorant   Sandy Hook
White Ibis   Brig
Glossy Ibis   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
White-faced Ibis   Manahawkin WMA
Roseate Spoonbill   Forked River
American Bittern   Manahawkin WMA
Least Bittern   Brig
Yellow-crowned Night Heron   Ocean City Welcome Center
Black-crowned Night Heron   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Little Blue Heron   Island Beach SP
Tricolored Heron   Manahawkin WMA
Snowy Egret   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Green Heron   Whitesbog
Great Egret   Island Beach SP
Great Blue Heron   Sandy Hook
American White Pelican   Brig
Brown Pelican   Kure Beach
Black Vulture   New Egypt
Turkey Vulture   Sandy Hook
Osprey   Barnegat Lighthouse SP
Sharp-shinned Hawk   Whitesbog
Cooper's Hawk   35 Sunset Rd
Northern Harrier   Sandy Hook
Bald Eagle   Sandy Hook
Red-shouldered Hawk   Whitesbog
Red-tailed Hawk   Forest Resource Education Center
Eastern Screech-Owl   Stafford Avenue
Great Horned Owl   Beach Ave
Barred Owl   Cranberry Bogs
Long-eared Owl   Beach Ave
Belted Kingfisher   Manahawkin WMA
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Bridge to Nowhere
Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Whitesbog
Downy Woodpecker   Sandy Hook
Hairy Woodpecker   Whitesbog
Pileated Woodpecker   Snow’s Cut Trail
Northern Flicker   BC Fairgrounds
American Kestrel   Pasadena Road
Merlin   Island Beach SP
Peregrine Falcon   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Olive-sided Flycatcher   Cranberry Bogs
Eastern Wood-Pewee   Manahawkin WMA
Acadian Flycatcher   Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
Willow Flycatcher   Cedar Bonnet Island
Eastern Phoebe   Whitesbog
Say's Phoebe   Sandy Hook
Great Crested Flycatcher   Lakehurst Railroad Tracks
Great Kiskadee   Dockyard
Eastern Kingbird   Cloverdale Farm
White-eyed Vireo   Manahawkin WMA
Yellow-throated Vireo   Sooy Pl Road
Blue-headed Vireo   Island Beach SP
Eastern Warbling Vireo   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-eyed Vireo   Manasquan River WMA
Blue Jay   Forest Resource Education Center
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Common Raven   Sandy Hook
Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd
Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd
Horned Lark   Jackson Liberty HS
Bank Swallow   Thompson/Wright Preserve
Tree Swallow   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Purple Martin   Brig
Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Double Trouble SP
Barn Swallow   Cranberry Bogs
Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Cranberry Bogs
Golden-crowned Kinglet   Whitesbog
White-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd
Brown-headed Nuthatch   Carolina Beach State Park
Red-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd
Brown Creeper   Colliers Mills WMA
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Double Trouble SP
Northern House Wren   Island Beach SP
Winter Wren   Whitesbog
Marsh Wren   Cattus Island County Park
Carolina Wren   35 Sunset Rd
European Starling   BC Fairgrounds
Gray Catbird   Manahawkin WMA
Brown Thrasher   Island Beach SP
Northern Mockingbird   35 Sunset Rd
Eastern Bluebird   Whitesbog
Veery   Double Trouble SP
Swainson's Thrush   Double Trouble SP
Hermit Thrush   Whitesbog
Wood Thrush   Manasquan River WMA
American Robin   35 Sunset Rd
Cedar Waxwing   Island Beach SP
House Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
American Pipit   Island Beach SP
House Finch   Sandy Hook
Purple Finch   Whitesbog
Pine Siskin   35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch   Sandy Hook
Snow Bunting   Sandy Hook
Grasshopper Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Chipping Sparrow   Forest Resource Education Center
Clay-colored Sparrow   Pinelands Preservation Alliance Headquarters
Field Sparrow   New Egypt
American Tree Sparrow   Whitesbog
Fox Sparrow   Beach Ave
Dark-eyed Junco   35 Sunset Rd
White-crowned Sparrow   New Egypt
White-throated Sparrow   Forest Resource Education Center
Vesper Sparrow   Double Trouble SP
Seaside Sparrow   Cattus Island County Park
Nelson's Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Saltmarsh Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Savannah Sparrow   Ephraim P. Emson Preserve
Song Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
Lincoln's Sparrow   Island Beach SP
Swamp Sparrow   Cranberry Bogs
Eastern Towhee   Cattus Island County Park
Yellow-breasted Chat   Cranberry Bogs
Bobolink   Bombay Hook
Eastern Meadowlark   Robert J. Miller Air Park
Orchard Oriole   Colliers Mills WMA
Baltimore Oriole   Whitesbog
Red-winged Blackbird   Bridge to Nowhere
Brown-headed Cowbird   New Egypt
Rusty Blackbird   Lake Carasaljo
Common Grackle   BC Fairgrounds
Boat-tailed Grackle   Bridge to Nowhere
Ovenbird   Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
Worm-eating Warbler   Dot and Brooks Evert Memorial Nature Trail
Louisiana Waterthrush   Double Trouble SP
Northern Waterthrush   Cedar Bonnet Island
Blue-winged Warbler   Manasquan River WMA
Black-and-white Warbler   Double Trouble SP
Prothonotary Warbler   Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
Common Yellowthroat   Manahawkin WMA
Hooded Warbler   Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
American Redstart   Cedar Bridge Tavern County Park
Cape May Warbler   Island Beach SP
Northern Parula   Manasquan River WMA
Magnolia Warbler   Cedar Bonnet Island
Bay-breasted Warbler   Island Beach SP
Blackburnian Warbler   Double Trouble SP
Northern Yellow Warbler   Cattus Island County Park
Chestnut-sided Warbler   Cedar Bonnet Island
Blackpoll Warbler   Whitesbog
Black-throated Blue Warbler   Manasquan River WMA
Palm Warbler   Cranberry Bogs
Pine Warbler   35 Sunset Rd
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Sandy Hook
Prairie Warbler   Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
Black-throated Green Warbler   Island Beach SP
Summer Tanager   Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
Scarlet Tanager   Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve
Western Tanager   Sandy Hook
Northern Cardinal   Whitesbog
Rose-breasted Grosbeak   Manasquan River WMA
Blue Grosbeak   Colliers Mills WMA
Indigo Bunting   Ephraim P. Emson Preserve
Painted Bunting   Fort Fisher SRA

September Wrap-up--All Over the Place

The month began with dozens of American Golden Plovers on a sod farm in Burlco and ended with a semi-nemesis bird for Ocean County--2 Pileated Woodpeckers at Colliers Mills (only my second county sighting of this local rarity).  Neither one was a year bird--the plovers were repeats from the last day of August and Shari & I saw two Pileated Woodpeckers at Bombay Hook in August. Still, nice bookends for the month. 

In between those days I ranged farther afield than I usually do in a month--my first trip up to Sandy Hook since New Year's Day, a day at Brig, a couple of forays into Monmouth County, one of them co-leading a field trip with some Brooklyn birders, a few trips over to Island Beach SP--and in all these places, there were rare birds. Of course, it helps that in most of these spots I was with really good birders which always increases your chances of seeing some cool birds. 

Drake & hen Wood Ducks, Cranberry Bogs

As the month wound up, I was walking around Reeves Bogs with my informant and his dog. I guess my mind hadn't made the transition from early fall migration to the end of fall migration, because I said possibly the dumbest thing I've ever said when trying to identify a bird. We saw a warbler flitting around a tree, and we couldn't get good looks at it, but then it flew a little higher and I caught a glimpse of a patch of yellow on its rump. My brain, still living in early September, went into what warblers have yellow-rumps--Magnolia? Cape May? "How about Yellow-rumped Warbler?" my friend said. Yeah, like duh, it's September 28, of course the Yellow-rumps are back! And this is why I am not qualified to lead field trips.

9 year birds in a  month where I tallied 143 species, which is quite a bit more than my usual count this time of year.

Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean

Species               First Sighting
Canada Goose   Whitesbog
Mute Swan   Lake Carasaljo
Wood Duck   Whitesbog
Northern Shoveler   Brig
Mallard   Whitesbog
American Black Duck   Brig
Northern Pintail   Island Beach SP
Green-winged Teal   Brig
King Eider   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Ruddy Duck   Brig
Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd
Rock Pigeon   Shelter Cove Park
Mourning Dove   Whitesbog
Eastern Whip-poor-will   35 Sunset Rd
Chimney Swift   Lake Carasaljo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird   35 Sunset Rd
Clapper Rail   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
American Coot   Lake of the Lilies
American Avocet   Brig
American Oystercatcher   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Black-bellied Plover   Sandy Hook
American Golden-Plover   Allen Sod Farms
Killdeer   Allen Sod Farms
Semipalmated Plover   Cattus Island County Park
Short-billed Dowitcher   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Spotted Sandpiper   Double Trouble SP
Solitary Sandpiper   Double Trouble SP
Lesser Yellowlegs   Double Trouble SP
Willet   Sandy Hook
Greater Yellowlegs   Double Trouble SP
Curlew Sandpiper   Brig
Buff-breasted Sandpiper   Reed Sod Farm
Dunlin   Brig
Baird's Sandpiper   Sandy Hook
White-rumped Sandpiper   Sandy Hook
Least Sandpiper   Double Trouble SP
Pectoral Sandpiper   Double Trouble SP
Semipalmated Sandpiper   Double Trouble SP
Laughing Gull   Cattus Island County Park
American Herring Gull   Shelter Cove Park
Great Black-backed Gull   Sandy Hook
Least Tern   Sandy Hook
Caspian Tern   Brig
Forster's Tern   Sandy Hook
Royal Tern   Sandy Hook
Pied-billed Grebe   Whitesbog
Eared Grebe   Brig
Common Loon   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Double-crested Cormorant   Whitesbog
White Ibis   Lighthouse Center
Glossy Ibis   Brig
Yellow-crowned Night Heron   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Black-crowned Night Heron   Lighthouse Center
Little Blue Heron   Island Beach SP
Tricolored Heron   Island Beach SP
Snowy Egret   Cattus Island County Park
Green Heron   Whitesbog
Great Egret   Cattus Island County Park
Great Blue Heron   Whitesbog
Brown Pelican   Island Beach SP
Black Vulture   35 Sunset Rd
Turkey Vulture   Allen Sod Farms
Osprey   Shelter Cove Park
Cooper's Hawk   Sandy Hook
Northern Harrier   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Bald Eagle   Island Beach SP
Red-tailed Hawk   Cranberry Bogs
Belted Kingfisher   Cattus Island County Park
Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Cattus Island County Park
Downy Woodpecker   Whitesbog
Hairy Woodpecker   Whitesbog
Pileated Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Flicker   Whitesbog
American Kestrel   Colliers Mills WMA
Merlin   Cedar Bonnet Island
Eastern Wood-Pewee   Whitesbog
Eastern Phoebe   Whitesbog
Say's Phoebe   Sandy Hook
Great Crested Flycatcher   Cattus Island County Park
Eastern Kingbird   Whitesbog
White-eyed Vireo   Double Trouble SP
Warbling Vireo   Lake Carasaljo
Red-eyed Vireo   Double Trouble SP
Blue Jay   35 Sunset Rd
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow   Wawa South Toms River
Common Raven   Cranberry Bogs
Carolina Chickadee   Whitesbog
Tufted Titmouse   Whitesbog
Horned Lark   Reed Sod Farm
Tree Swallow   Double Trouble SP
Barn Swallow   Whitesbog
Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Island Beach SP
White-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd
Red-breasted Nuthatch   Double Trouble SP
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Whitesbog
Northern House Wren   Cranberry Bogs
Marsh Wren   Island Beach SP
Carolina Wren   Whitesbog
European Starling   Shelter Cove Park
Gray Catbird   Whitesbog
Brown Thrasher   Island Beach SP-
Northern Mockingbird   Whitesbog
Eastern Bluebird   Lighthouse Center
American Robin   Cattus Island County Park
Cedar Waxwing   Island Beach SP
House Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
House Finch   35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch   Whitesbog
Chipping Sparrow   Whitesbog
Field Sparrow   Sandy Hook
White-throated Sparrow   Island Beach SP
Seaside Sparrow   Cattus Island County Park
Nelson's Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Saltmarsh Sparrow   Brig
Savannah Sparrow   Brig
Song Sparrow   Whitesbog
Lincoln's Sparrow   Island Beach SP
Swamp Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Eastern Towhee   Whitesbog
Bobolink   Cedar Bonnet Island
Baltimore Oriole   Island Beach SP
Red-winged Blackbird   Cranberry Bogs
Brown-headed Cowbird   Sandy Hook
Common Grackle   Double Trouble SP
Boat-tailed Grackle   Island Beach SP
Ovenbird   Lighthouse Center
Black-and-white Warbler   Assunpink WMA
Common Yellowthroat   Whitesbog
American Redstart   Cedar Bonnet Island
Cape May Warbler   Island Beach SP
Magnolia Warbler   Island Beach SP
Bay-breasted Warbler   Island Beach SP
Yellow Warbler   Great Bay Bvld. WMA
Blackpoll Warbler   Island Beach SP
Black-throated Blue Warbler   Island Beach SP
Palm Warbler   Whitesbog
Pine Warbler   Whitesbog
Yellow-rumped Warbler   Reeves Bogs
Prairie Warbler   Island Beach SP
Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd
Indigo Bunting   Assunpink WMA

Sandy Hook 9/5--Baird's Sandpiper, Say's Phoebe

Say's Phoebe

When I told Bob Auster a few days ago that I was going to sign up for Scott's Half-day Friday at Sandy Hook, he said that the winds didn't look favorable for migration. I told him that since I don't understand the winds, I don't worry about them and that I'd take what I could get.  What we could get (Bob signed up too) on a slow day at The Hook was a fairly rare sandpiper and a vagrant flycatcher far from its dry western habitat. 

We were going to poke around the officer's club area by Battery Potter when Scott got a text of the flycatcher at the end of the Fisherman's Trail. This required the dreaded death march through the sand, but the weather, at least, was fairly cool, and so with scopes shouldered, about 10 of us made the trek. I thought that a) chances were slim the bird would in sight and b) if it was, it would be lousy looks, but your chances are zero if you don't try. 

We trudged up to the stringed off area where the discoverer of the bird was maintaining a watch. As I feared, the bird had been seen in a far-off dune which wasn't promising for good looks, and hadn't been seen in a while, which was less promising. The group stood around for a while but, surprisingly, there were antsier people there than me, so, when Scott saw some shorebirds on a mud flat behind us, we left, hoping the bird wouldn't show up while we were gone. 

Almost immediately Scott found a Baird's Sandpiper on the mud flat. I too, almost immediately found it in my scope, after discarding a Semipalmated Plover just to its left. The whole group got on the bird, which scurried around from dry sand to mud and then we lost it somehow. In a bait and switch, a bird further down the flat looked like the Baird's but turned out to be a White-rumped Sandpiper. They look similar, but the Baird's was tawnier and flatter. We were hemming and hawing over where the Baird's might have gone--there's lots of wrack for it to disappear behind--when a late-comer to our group ran up to say that she'd seen the flycatcher--obviously, if you look at the header of this entry you know it was a Say's Phoebe--at the end of the Fisherman's Trail, just before you hit the beach. Baird's be damned, we all fast-walked back to the trail head and within a few minutes Bob said, "What's that bird on the sign? " It was, of course, the Say's and it put on quite show, affording beautiful looks through bins, scope, and naked eyes. It was especially amusing to watch it hawk flies that were buzzing around small dead fish that had died when puddles in a mud flat dried up. Driving up there this morning I was sort of hoping for a Baird's Sandpiper, since I knew they'd been seen the last couple of days, but Say's Phoebe certainly wasn't on my bingo card. Three tick marks: year bird, county bird, and most importantly, state bird. Who cares which way the wind blows when you can get a vagrant like that!

Not a prepossessing list, but quality over quantity.

34 species
Canada Goose  4
Mourning Dove  3
Black-bellied Plover  25
Killdeer  1
Semipalmated Plover  5
Willet  1
Greater Yellowlegs  1
Baird's Sandpiper  1     
White-rumped Sandpiper  1
Least Sandpiper  10
Semipalmated Sandpiper  5
Laughing Gull  25
American Herring Gull  35
Great Black-backed Gull  40
Least Tern  1
Forster's Tern  4
Royal Tern  10
Double-crested Cormorant  15
Snowy Egret  2
Osprey  6
Cooper's Hawk  1
Say's Phoebe  1    
Tree Swallow  500
Carolina Wren  1
European Starling  6
Gray Catbird  2
Northern Mockingbird  1
House Sparrow  2
House Finch  4
Chipping Sparrow  1
Field Sparrow  3
Eastern Towhee  1
Brown-headed Cowbird  1
Common Yellowthroat  1