June Review--Doldrums Edition

Snowy Egret, Forsythe-Barnegat

Six, count 'em, six year birds for the month.  June is a doldrums month, granted, but even last year, when I had COVID, I managed eight new birds for the year. The birds I decided to seek, I found--Cliff Swallow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Brown Pelican, and of course, the rarity for the month Bar-tailed Godwit at Brig. The effort I made to find Worm-eating Warbler this year, at the Evert Trail on Ong's Hat Road, was a failure because a tornado had come through a few days earlier and knocked trees down there, blocking the boardwalk. I was unaware of that before I went there. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. 

I found myself gravitating to the same few spots this month, places I like to walk and places that I hope (hope is a thing with feathers according to Emily Dickinson) will have something rare or at least unexpected. The only bird qualifying this month was the Least Bittern at Reeves Bogs and that was thanks to my informant who'd heard it and relayed the location to me. 

July doesn't look like it's going to be much better. It is a strange time when I have to consult the air quality index to find the least polluted place in the area--today it was Tuckerton, where the AQ was "moderate" as opposed to here, where it was "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" or Pemberton, where it was just plain "Unhealthy." 

Red-headed Woodpecker, Cloverdale Farm

123 species for the month. 

Counties birded: Atlantic, Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean
Species    First Sighting
Canada Goose   Colliers Mills WMA
Mute Swan   Lake Como
Wood Duck   Jumping Brook Preserve
Mallard   Laurel Run Park
American Black Duck   Whitesbog
Wild Turkey   35 Sunset Rd
Rock Pigeon   Seaside Park
Mourning Dove   Island Beach SP
Yellow-billed Cuckoo   Colliers Mills WMA
Common Nighthawk   35 Sunset Rd
Eastern Whip-poor-will   35 Sunset Rd
Chimney Swift   Laurel Run Park
Ruby-throated Hummingbird   35 Sunset Rd
Clapper Rail   Great Bay Blvd
American Oystercatcher   Island Beach SP
Black-bellied Plover   Great Bay Blvd
Semipalmated Plover   Island Beach SP
Killdeer   South Park Rd
Bar-tailed Godwit   Brig
Red Knot   Island Beach SP
Sanderling   Island Beach SP
Dunlin   Brig
White-rumped Sandpiper   Great Bay Blvd
Semipalmated Sandpiper   Great Bay Blvd
Short-billed Dowitcher   Brig
Spotted Sandpiper   Whitesbog
Greater Yellowlegs   Brig
Willet   Island Beach SP
Laughing Gull   Wawa South Toms River
Ring-billed Gull    Belmar
Herring Gull   Island Beach SP
Great Black-backed Gull   Island Beach SP
Least Tern   Brig
Gull-billed Tern   Brig
Common Tern   Island Beach SP
Forster's Tern   Island Beach SP
Royal Tern   Shark River Inlet
Black Skimmer   Great Bay Blvd
Double-crested Cormorant   Island Beach SP
Brown Pelican   Island Beach SP
Least Bittern   Reeves Bogs
Great Blue Heron   Colliers Mills WMA
Great Egret   Island Beach SP
Snowy Egret   Island Beach SP
Little Blue Heron   Island Beach SP
Tricolored Heron   Great Bay Blvd
Green Heron   Whitesbog
Black-crowned Night-Heron   Great Bay Blvd
Glossy Ibis   Island Beach SP
Black Vulture   Meadowview Lane
Turkey Vulture   Laurel Run Park
Osprey   Island Beach SP
Bald Eagle   Great Bay Blvd
Red-shouldered Hawk   Jumping Brook Preserve
Red-tailed Hawk   Colliers Mills WMA
Belted Kingfisher   Burrs Mill Brook
Red-headed Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-bellied Woodpecker   Colliers Mills WMA
Downy Woodpecker   35 Sunset Rd
Hairy Woodpecker   Burrs Mill Brook
Northern Flicker   Jumping Brook Preserve
Eastern Wood-Pewee   Colliers Mills WMA
Acadian Flycatcher   Whitesbog
Willow Flycatcher   Island Beach SP
Eastern Phoebe   Colliers Mills WMA
Great Crested Flycatcher   35 Sunset Rd
Eastern Kingbird   Island Beach SP
White-eyed Vireo   Colliers Mills WMA
Warbling Vireo   Colliers Mills WMA
Red-eyed Vireo   Boundary Creek Natural Resource Area
Blue Jay   35 Sunset Rd
American Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Fish Crow   35 Sunset Rd
Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd
Tufted Titmouse   35 Sunset Rd
Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Laurel Run Park
Purple Martin   Laurel Run Park
Tree Swallow   Boundary Creek Natural Resource Area
Bank Swallow   Burrs Mill Brook
Barn Swallow   Colliers Mills WMA
Cliff Swallow   Wesley Lake
White-breasted Nuthatch   35 Sunset Rd
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   South Park Rd
House Wren   Boundary Creek Natural Resource Area
Marsh Wren   Island Beach SP
Carolina Wren   35 Sunset Rd
European Starling   Wawa South Toms River
Gray Catbird   Island Beach SP
Brown Thrasher   Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Mockingbird   Wawa South Toms River
Eastern Bluebird   Colliers Mills WMA
Wood Thrush   Colliers Mills WMA
American Robin   Island Beach SP
Cedar Waxwing   Cedar Bridge Tavern County Park
House Sparrow   Laurel Run Park
House Finch   35 Sunset Rd
American Goldfinch   Island Beach SP
Grasshopper Sparrow   Laurel Run Park
Chipping Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd
Field Sparrow   Colliers Mills WMA
Seaside Sparrow   Great Bay Blvd
Song Sparrow   Island Beach SP
Swamp Sparrow   Jumping Brook Preserve
Eastern Towhee   Island Beach SP
Orchard Oriole   Colliers Mills WMA
Baltimore Oriole   Burrs Mill Brook
Red-winged Blackbird   Island Beach SP
Brown-headed Cowbird   Jumping Brook Preserve
Common Grackle   Island Beach SP
Boat-tailed Grackle   Island Beach SP
Ovenbird   Colliers Mills WMA
Black-and-white Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA
Prothonotary Warbler   Dot and Brooks Evert Trail
Common Yellowthroat   Island Beach SP
Hooded Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA
American Redstart   Colliers Mills WMA
Yellow Warbler   Island Beach SP
Pine Warbler   Colliers Mills WMA
Prairie Warbler   Laurel Run Park
Scarlet Tanager   Colliers Mills WMA
Northern Cardinal   Island Beach SP
Blue Grosbeak   South Park Rd
Indigo Bunting   Colliers Mills WMA

Double-crested Cormorant, Wesley Lake

Swallows in Odd Places

A couple of years ago, during the height of the pandemic, I was looking for places to bird that weren't overrun with people biking, jogging, or dog-walking; since all the parks were closed (ridiculous since your chance of getting COVID outside was vanishingly small), everyone was desperate for a place to be outside and that meant my usual spots, mostly WMA's which weren't closed, were getting awfully crowded. Looking at Google Maps, I noticed a trail in Burlco, right off Rt 70 that ran along a waterway called Burrs Mill Brook. When I drove down there, I found it to typical Pine Barrens topography-- a sandy road, a stream with old wooden sluices, pines and jack oak. The stream had Green Herons in it, the pines some warblers and flycatchers, and the trail was about a mile long before it ended at the property line of a sand quarry.

Bank Swallow

Sand quarries are scattered throughout the pine barrens. They're filled with water, but because no vegetation grows on the bottom and because they are very deep, they're duck deserts. Because it is all sand, there is no food for passerines. But the walls of the quarries are perfect habitat for Bank Swallows. It wasn't until last year that I climbed over some dead trees to the edge of the property and looked out over the quarry. On the far shore I could see the swallows going in and out of the holes they'd dug into the quarry wall. 

I don't go there very much, but this Sunday, I returned, curious to see if the Bank Swallow colony was an ongoing event. The answer was very much YES. This time they had dug their holes (how these little birds dig such deep holes in sand and not have it collapse on them is one of nature's engineering feats) a little closer to where I stood, though still too far to get any really good pictures. 

Since these sand quarries are scattered throughout the pine barrens, there are probably lots of Bank Swallow nest in them, but this is the only quarry I know of where you can get a good look. I have been told, and I hope it is true, that when they make their nests in sand piles on the quarry grounds, the quarrymen have instructions to leave the mounds alone until the swallows leave. And why not? I can't imagine that one pile of sand is more vital than another pile of sand. 

A couple of days prior to my visit, I was up in Monmouth County for a dental appointment. As the dentist's office was only about 10 minutes away from Ocean Grove, I drove over to Wesley Lake for my annual visit to the arched, stone bridge that crosses the lake, and where, for the last number of years, Cliff Swallows have nested underneath. There are two almost identical bridges on the lake, but they only nest in the one near the swan pedal boats. And why, out of all the possible nesting sites in the area, this is the only place they're found is another enduring mystery. 

When I got there, I found a lot of swallows flying about, but they were of the Barn variety. Then two birders I know pulled up, also on the hunt and in a few minutes, we were able to spot the Cliff Swallows, flying high over the apartment building across the street. Usually, I see them going under the bridge but that day they were feeding at altitude. Although I would like to see their nests, they manage to build them just out of sight due to the overhang of the bridge; it might be worth renting a pedal boat, just to get a look at the nests which are made of dried mud that it require hundreds of trips to build up. 

Wesley Lake 6/11-- Cliff Swallow

Barn Swallow

I probably wouldn't have made a special trip up to Wesley Lake in Ocean Grove this year to see the Cliff Swallows that nest there under one of the arched concrete bridges, but since a dental appointment in Sea Girt had me only 13 minutes away (excluding the wrong turn I always make of Rte 71), I drove up there late this morning. At first I saw no swallows, but after figuring out the parking payment machine a swallow flew right over my head. Looked good and I followed it as it swooped over the the grassy area across the street and then when it landed on a chain blocking access to a path. Was I having the good fortune of actually see a Cliff Swallow in non-motion? All the times I have gone there I have been lucky if I got a blurry shot of one zipping over the water. And, disappointingly, this bird turned out to be a Barn Swallow as it had no "headlight" on the crown. 

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

In fact, all the swallows swooping over the water and lawns looked like Barn Swallows to me--even the ones without the deep swallow-tails were obviously juveniles since I could see white spots on their tails. But finally, as I stood on the bridge I saw one with an obvious white spot and then later I could see swallows flying up into the recesses of the arches where they presumably nest. So, no pictures of Cliff Swallows. But I did get the best pictures of Northern Rough-winged Swallows I've ever taken, so that was a little bonus. The other entertainment there was watching an Osprey pick a huge fish right out of the lake by just letting its talons graze the surface of the water. 

Least Tern

My next stop was a few miles south at the Shark River, another annual visit where I like to look at the Least Tern colony. They were there, in good numbers, though this year I must have been a little early for the nestlings to have arrived since all I saw were adults courting each other with one feeding the other a small fish. I listed 40 terns, which broke the eBird filter. Forty Least Tern probably would be alot anywhere else in Monmouth County, but the filter doesn't allow for the one nesting site in the vicinity. A couple of American Oystercatchers were present, one sitting on a nest too. There are sometimes Black Skimmers there, to round out the nesting colony, but not this time. 

American Oystercatcher

On nest