Brig 11/5--Black-headed Gull

Black-headed Gull, Gull Pond

Even though Brig only has about a mile and half of the wildlife drive open, I still thought it was worth the drive to go on Mike's & Pete's trip this morning. At this time of year, duckage predominates and that was the case at both the Gull Pond and in the SW Pool: 14 species of geese, swans or ducks (including a couple of early Canvasbacks that Pete found) along with Pied-billed Grebes and coots. There were also hundreds of yellowlegs and Dunlins. By the time we got off the dike, around 11 o'clock, I had around 40 species, not bad.

We took a quick run down to Absecon Creek in the hope of finding something rare but the most interesting bird we found down there was a large flock of Fish Crows. After lunch the group was going up to Great Bay Blvd in Tuckerton, but I demurred. I have my own way of birding Tuckerton--I prefer walking rather than driving slowly along peering into the marshes. Instead, I hung around Brig, walking along the old railroad bed trail and down to Gull Pond with another birder I ran into. We added a few birds to the day list and were standing around the parking lot when a guy I met a couple of months ago at Sandy Hook came up to us and asked if we'd seen the Black-headed Gull. Where? At the Gull Pond where we had just been standing (but, without a scope and not really looking closely). My friend was a little skeptical at first, but two months ago our informant had found a Parasitic Jaeger harassing the terns, so I told him this guy knew what he was talking about and ran (well, walked very fast) for my car.

In Europe, a Black-headed Gull is about as common as one of our Ring-billed or Herring Gulls, but I've only seen a couple in the states and they were both in Delaware. When we 3 reconvened at the Gull Pond, the BHGU was easy to spot amid the flock of Greater Yellowlegs. It was the only gull there, so that was a relief. Usually you have to sort one out from a flock of other gulls. But this one was obvious: white head with an "ear spot;" bi-colored bill; orange legs, soft gray mantle.

Check 'em off:
Year birdü

Jersey liferü

County liferü

In these incredibly dreary times, it is moments like these that have kept me from slipping totally into the slough of despair.

For the day: 55 species

Brant    50

Canada Goose    25

Mute Swan    7

Wood Duck    2

Gadwall    13

American Black Duck    35

Mallard    50

Northern Shoveler    18

Northern Pintail    10

Green-winged Teal    5

Canvasback    2

Lesser Scaup    1

Hooded Merganser    10

Ruddy Duck    10

Pied-billed Grebe    2

Double-crested Cormorant    11

Great Blue Heron    5

Great Egret    1

Snowy Egret    4

Turkey Vulture    2

Northern Harrier    2

Sharp-shinned Hawk    1

Bald Eagle    1

Red-tailed Hawk    1

American Coot    17

Black-bellied Plover    2

Dunlin    200

Greater Yellowlegs    440

Lesser Yellowlegs    1

Black-headed Gull    1

Ring-billed Gull    1

Herring Gull    26

Great Black-backed Gull    3

Belted Kingfisher    1

Red-bellied Woodpecker    3

Peregrine Falcon    2

Blue Jay    6

American Crow    65

Fish Crow    30

Tufted Titmouse    1

Red-breasted Nuthatch    2

Carolina Wren    2

Golden-crowned Kinglet    3

Ruby-crowned Kinglet    1

Eastern Bluebird    6

American Robin    16

Gray Catbird    1

European Starling    100

Cedar Waxwing    1

White-throated Sparrow    1

Song Sparrow    6

Red-winged Blackbird    2

House Finch    1

American Goldfinch    1

House Sparrow    3

October's Birds

FOS Ring-necked Ducks, Butterfly Bogs

It was not a terribly "productive" month with only 4 year birds added, 3 of them, not surprisingly, sparrows. Naturally, as the year progresses, it gets harder to add birds to the list, but there are autumn birds being reported that I'm not seeing, foremost, Nelson's Sparrow, which I again looked for on Sunday with no luck. Some have the theory that they are best found at high tide  because they are pushed up into the grass (yesterday disproved that) while I think they're easier to see at low tide, when there is more area for them to run around and feed, though last week's low tide coincided with a stiff breeze and that keeps them down.

Anyway, the only true rarity of the month came very early, 2 American White Pelicans at mostly-closed Brig. I found a Lincoln's Sparrow at Island Beach, and on separate trips to Great Bay Blvd, a Clay-colored Sparrow and a Vesper Sparrow.

Here are the birds, in no particular order, that I would have like to have found this month:
Nelson's Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Snow Bunting
Lapland Longspur
American Pipit

Now that hunting season is upon, finding places to walk and bird can get problematical. Colliers Mills scares me; Assunpink, for some reason, I feel safe at, but the gun fire is annoying. Supposedly there's hunting at Whitesbog, but I've never seen it, but, this time of year, there aren't many birds there either. Today, to end the month, I took a 5 mile walk around the perimeter of Manasquan Reservoir, which was fairly birdy (though I only added American Coot to the month list) and it is to places like that I'll have to turn my attentions to until the shooting stops.

Solitary Sandpiper at a rarely visited pond in Colliers Mills

For the month I managed 140 species. All the birding was in NJ except for a brief foray on Staten Island during one of the very many trips I made accompanying a loved one to a doctor.
Counties birded:
New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean
New York: Richmond

Species   Location

Brant   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Canada Goose   Horicon Lake

Mute Swan   Brig

Wood Duck   Whitesbog

Gadwall   Brig

American Wigeon   Marshall's Pond

American Black Duck   Sandy Hook

Mallard   Palmyra Cove Nature Park

Blue-winged Teal   Cranberry Bogs--Dover Rd

Green-winged Teal   Forsythe--Barnegat

Ring-necked Duck   Butterfly Bogs

Greater Scaup   Bamber Lake

Surf Scoter   Island Beach SP

White-winged Scoter   Island Beach SP

Black Scoter   Island Beach SP

Hooded Merganser   Bamber Lake

Ruddy Duck   Assunpink WMA

Wild Turkey   Palmyra Cove Nature Park

Red-throated Loon   Island Beach SP

Common Loon   Island Beach SP

Pied-billed Grebe   Assunpink WMA

Northern Gannet   Island Beach SP

Great Cormorant   Island Beach SP

Double-crested Cormorant   Horicon Lake

American White Pelican   Brig

Brown Pelican   Island Beach SP

Great Blue Heron   Horicon Lake

Great Egret   Whitesbog

Snowy Egret   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Tricolored Heron   Island Beach SP

Green Heron   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Black-crowned Night-Heron   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Black Vulture   35 Sunset Rd

Turkey Vulture   Wawa Rt 70 & CR 530

Osprey   Sandy Hook

Northern Harrier   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Sharp-shinned Hawk   Crestwood Village

Cooper's Hawk   Sandy Hook

Bald Eagle   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Red-tailed Hawk   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Common Gallinule   Brig

American Coot   Manasquan Reservoir IBA

American Oystercatcher   Island Beach SP

Black-bellied Plover   Sandy Hook

Semipalmated Plover   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Killdeer   Field next to Lakewood Wawa

Marbled Godwit   Holgate

Sanderling   Island Beach SP

Dunlin   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Least Sandpiper   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Semipalmated Sandpiper   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Solitary Sandpiper   Colliers Mills WMA

Greater Yellowlegs   Whitesbog

Willet   Holgate

Bonaparte's Gull   Island Beach SP

Laughing Gull   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Ring-billed Gull   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Herring Gull   Whitesbog

Lesser Black-backed Gull   Holgate

Great Black-backed Gull   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Caspian Tern   Holgate

Forster's Tern   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Royal Tern   Island Beach SP

Rock Pigeon   Robert Wood Johnson Hospital Rahway

Mourning Dove   35 Sunset Rd

Yellow-billed Cuckoo   Sandy Hook

Black-billed Cuckoo   Cattus Island County Park

Chimney Swift   Palmyra Cove Nature Park

Belted Kingfisher   Whitesbog

Red-bellied Woodpecker   Whitesbog

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Palmyra Cove Nature Park

Downy Woodpecker   Whitesbog

Hairy Woodpecker   Assunpink WMA

Northern Flicker   Crestwood Village

American Kestrel   Island Beach SP

Merlin   Brig

Peregrine Falcon   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Eastern Wood-Pewee   Sandy Hook

Eastern Phoebe   Island Beach SP

Blue-headed Vireo   Assunpink WMA

Philadelphia Vireo   Sandy Hook

Warbling Vireo   Sandy Hook

Red-eyed Vireo   Sandy Hook

Blue Jay   35 Sunset Rd

American Crow   Whitesbog

Fish Crow   Crestwood Village

Common Raven   Sandy Hook

Tree Swallow   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Carolina Chickadee   35 Sunset Rd

Black-capped Chickadee   Sandy Hook

Tufted Titmouse   Whitesbog

Red-breasted Nuthatch   Whitesbog

White-breasted Nuthatch   Whitesbog

Brown Creeper   Island Beach SP

House Wren   Crestwood Village

Carolina Wren   35 Sunset Rd

Golden-crowned Kinglet   Island Beach SP

Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Eastern Bluebird   Colliers Mills WMA

Hermit Thrush   Island Beach SP

American Robin   Crestwood Village

Gray Catbird   Whitesbog

Brown Thrasher   Horicon Lake

Northern Mockingbird   Horicon Lake

European Starling   DaVita-Woodbridge

Cedar Waxwing   Sandy Hook

Ovenbird   Palmyra Cove Nature Park

Black-and-white Warbler   Palmyra Cove Nature Park

Common Yellowthroat   Whitesbog

American Redstart   Sandy Hook

Magnolia Warbler   Island Beach SP

Yellow Warbler   Palmyra Cove Nature Park

Blackpoll Warbler   Sandy Hook

Black-throated Blue Warbler   Palmyra Cove Nature Park

Palm Warbler   Brig

Pine Warbler   Whitesbog

Yellow-rumped Warbler   Whitesbog

Prairie Warbler   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Black-throated Green Warbler   Island Beach SP

Chipping Sparrow   35 Sunset Rd

Clay-colored Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Field Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Dark-eyed Junco   Island Beach SP

White-crowned Sparrow   Sandy Hook

White-throated Sparrow   Island Beach SP

Vesper Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Savannah Sparrow   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Song Sparrow   Horicon Lake

Lincoln's Sparrow   Island Beach SP

Swamp Sparrow   Whitesbog

Eastern Towhee   35 Sunset Rd

Northern Cardinal   35 Sunset Rd

Red-winged Blackbird   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Common Grackle   Butterfly Bogs

Boat-tailed Grackle   Great Bay Bvld. WMA

Brown-headed Cowbird   Palmyra Cove Nature Park

House Finch   35 Sunset Rd

American Goldfinch   Brig

House Sparrow   Palmyra Cove Nature Park Black Vultures on our roof

Great Bay Blvd 10/23--Vesper Sparrow

After being confined to quarters for the last day and a half by wind & rain (a Friday morning trip to Sandy Hook was aborted when the showers started much earlier than predicted), I took a run down to Tuckerton, despite knowing that the wind was not going to abate. I was hoping against hope for a Nelson's Sparrow at the inlet, but Nelson's Sparrow (in fact, most birds) like me, don't like wind. So while I managed to find one sparrow running in the grass, whether it was a Nelson's or a Saltmarsh is up in the air because it quickly hunkered down and wasn't coming out.

However, at the little grove of trees just before the beach at the end of the road, I espied, briefly, a largish sparrow, streaked on the breast, with an eye ring like a whitewall tire--Vesper Sparrow. It quickly dived down into the foliage and would not come up again, but this is the time of the year for these birds and Great Bay Blvd is the place I go for my (relatively) rare sparrows.

Usually I walk the road from the inlet up to the first wooden bridge (about 1.7 miles) then back, but with the wind today that seemed like it would be unpleasant. So, looking for someplace protected, I drove up to Stafford Forge WMA and walked in the woods, where there was very little in the trees and nothing in the water. I did, however, see a pheasant in the field. Unfortunately, pheasants are stocked there so it is uncountable. Too bad. Going by my idiosyncratic (or idiotic) counting rules, if I see a pheasant outside a WMA, like on the side of the road, I'll count it, figuring it is now "wild," whereas, if I know a bird is stocked in a WMA, I won't.

By far, the greatest number of a single species today was Boat-tailed Grackle. A conservative estimate would be 250. The picture below is just a sampling of the flock that was on the mud flats off the 2nd wooden bridge at dead low tide.


My wind-blown list for Great Bay Blvd:
17 species
Brant  50
American Black Duck  10
Double-crested Cormorant  25
Great Blue Heron  4
Great Egret  35
Black-crowned Night-Heron  3
Northern Harrier  1
Black-bellied Plover  3
Semipalmated Plover  2
Dunlin  1
Greater Yellowlegs  1
Herring Gull  25
Great Black-backed Gull  10
European Starling  40
Yellow-rumped Warbler  10
Vesper Sparrow  1
Boat-tailed Grackle  250