Southern NJ - August 25th/26th

A non-birding trip to the Atlantic City area led me to (inevitably) add in some visits to the Brigantine Division of Forsythe NWR and a quick look around Cape May.

I started the 25th on the beach at Longport NJ, which is at the south end of the Atlantic City island and not a specific birding location.  Nevertheless there were good numbers of Sanderling on the beach and a few Semipalmated Plovers mixed in - not really the bird you associate with feeding at the surf line but a reminder that on migration these birds do get everywhere.  A local Peregrine Falcon and an Osprey kept the shorebirds moving around.

At Sunset Beach in Cape May (aka the Concrete Ship) there were no pelagics, but instead a handful of terns - Common, Forster's, Royal and with three Black Terns in the mix.  A few shorebirds on the beach were Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone and one Semipalmated Sandpiper.

At the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge (the place that I always call South Cape May Meadows - its former name) had a few shorebirds on the ponds (Least/Semipalmated Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs) and quite a few flyby terns - mostly Forster's and one Gull-billed over the preserve and Royal Tern seen flying up the beach.  A juvenile Peregrine Falcon spent a little time scaring things on the pond (including Green-winged Teal) but there were few passerines in evidence.  Two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were seen migrating through.

At Brig over the two days I had basically the same birds on both visits: huge numbers of Tree Swallows (with some Barns) over the marsh, a typical assortment of shorebirds (Semipalmated Plover, Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstone, Dowitcher sp, Black-bellied Plover), Egrets, Herons and Ibis and the usual raptors: Osprey and Peregrines.  The first Northern Harrier for the colder months was over the marsh.  The tide was very high for the first visit which led me to see a Clapper Rail sprinting across an open channel between the flooded saltmarsh.

Nothing unusual or unseasonal on this trip, although the Black Terns were my first for the year.

Jamaica Bay: Ruff

It seems to have been a pretty good year for Ruff (see: eBird data) and over the last week there have actually been two at Jamaica Bay WR: a white-headed one and a more rufous-cinnamon one.  Although I'd reduced birding during the heat wave I braved things on Sunday, was only 90.  The Ruff was seen at distance but seen well courtesy of others' scopes - stupidly I'd forgotten to bring my own which is not a bright idea on the East Pond.  The Ruff was seen on the mud and in flight, where the dark belly on it made it look like an anomalous Black-bellied Plover.  This was only my second Ruff in the USA (first one: a Reeve in Wayne NJ in 2002) and my first in NYC.

Shorebird numbers were decent but this was early July and actual diversity was pretty low.  A few of the more interesting shorebirds: Pectoral Sandpiper; Stilt Sandpiper, were in evidence but it was mostly Dowitchers and Yellowlegs.  Eventually I buckled under the heat after the sun emerged (90 degrees in waders is not fun) and crawled back to the car.

Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Glossy Ibis
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
American Black Duck
Osprey
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Ruff
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Gull-billed Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Least Tern
Black Skimmer
Willow Flycatcher
Marsh Wren
Yellow Warbler

Brigantine, May 16th

After two park days and getting home from NYC at 4pm I somehow mustered the energy to do a late afternoon sprint to Brigantine NWR to look for the reported Bar-tailed Godwit. The route, mainly via NJ-539, took about 90 minutes so that's not too bad - most of the (beach) traffic was going the other way.

At Brig I failed to find the Bar-tailed Godwit since it had left the scene mid-morning (this wasn't evident from the email lists) and did not return. Nevertheless it was a fun time, albeit a brief one, and one that could have been enhanced if I'd remembered to pack the bug spray. Best birds were Whimbrel (several), 4 seen Clapper Rails, hoards of shorebirds mostly in full alternate plumage, and some Brant flocks. Some of the earlier Brant flocks before sundown looked almost as if they were migrating since they were at higher altitude. The later Brant flocks were lower and seemed content to remain locally. A fly-by northbound Common Loon was unexpected. A variety of first-of-year birds included Seaside Sparrow, Clapper Rail, Short-billed Dowitcher, Whimbrel, Purple Martin. Observation time was relatively short (I got there at 6:15pm, sunset was at 7:40pm) so some birds were missed and the "uplands" were totally ignored so there were no passerines other than the saltmarsh ones.

An extra bonus was a flock of ~15 Common Nighthawks hunting lower over the freshwater marsh near the exit of the drive - this might be the first time I've seen them at Brig, but not unrelated to the fact that I don't usually stay after sunset.

Brant (several hundred)
American Black Duck
Mallard
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Glossy Ibis
Osprey
Clapper Rail
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
American Oystercatcher
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Whimbrel
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Gull-billed Tern
Forster's Tern
Common Nighthawk
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Common Yellowthroat
Seaside Sparrow (multiple singing males)

Jamaica Bay, August 7th

A quiet day at the south end of the East Pond, where in retrospect the action was all happening at the north end. The shorebirds were very skittish, doubtless because of a Peregrine Falcon that was hunting the pond intermittently. The individuals were nearly all adults (I saw one juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs) although we are reaching the point there the juveniles should start arriving. The greening of the mud at the south end was just starting to happen with short grass present, destined to become thicker (and more heavily cropped by the Canada Geese) in the weeks to come.

Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Glossy Ibis
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
American Black Duck
Mallard
Ruddy Duck
Osprey
Peregrine Falcon
Semipalmated Plover
American Oystercatcher
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Gull-billed Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Barn Swallow
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Waterthrush
American Goldfinch

Jamaica Bay and Nickerson Beach, August 4th

Arrived at Jamaica Bay to find that in my comatose state that morning I'd left the mud gear at home, so I took a walk along the West Pond before heading further east. There were several Common Yellowthroats as well as single Yellow Warblers and American Redstart. The shorebirds on the West Pond were limited but the usual suspects, lacking some of those that might be considered regular on the East Pond (i.e. no Lesser Yellowlegs or Semipalmated Plover).

After Jamaica Bay I went to Nickerson Beach to check out the Black Skimmer and Common Tern beach colony for the first time. In retrospect I narrowly managed to avoid paying a fairly stiff beach toll by arriving before 8am. At the beach there were a few shorebirds including Semipalmated Plover and Sandpiper, several American Oystercatchers including full-grown juveniles. The colony had many Common Terns (some independent juveniles) and Black Skimmers in a modest-sized roped off area.


Jamaica Bay list:
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Glossy Ibis
Mute Swan
American Black Duck
Mallard
Osprey
Peregrine Falcon
Greater Yellowlegs
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Yellow Warbler
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Baltimore Oriole

Jamaica Bay, Sept 4th - Wilson's Phalaropes

Ahead of the deluge that was TS Hanna I decided to do some afternoon birding at Jamaica Bay. Tide levels were non-ideal, approaching low tide. The numbers of shorebirds on the East Pond were modest, and 90% of them were Semipalmated Sandpipers. Few Least, and few Semipalmated Plovers. But this being early September there were one or two interesting shorebirds around, with Stilt Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper and Pectoral Sandpiper. One juvenile Pectoral was fairly tame, the White-rumped somewhat, and the Stilt Sandpipers relatively spooky. There were a few juvenile Red Knots in the mix.

Not a great birding experience, but decent for photography now that the water levels have dropped a bit. As I was leaving, at sundown, I finally dug out the spotting scope from my camera pack and confirmed my suspicions - there were 3 Wilson's Phalaropes feeding along the north-east corner of the Pond - I could see them as gray-white blobs using binoculars, standing out from the Yellowlegs.


Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Gadwall
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Osprey
Semipalmated Plover
American Oystercatcher
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Red Knot
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Phalarope
Forster's Tern
Black Skimmer
Northern Waterthrush

Brigantine NWR, August 24th

Did a little birding at Brigantine/Forsythe NWR at Oceanville NJ. Somewhat of an ill-timed visit since we managed to get there both at high tide and at noon. There were a lot of shorebirds in the impoundments, but heat shimmer and high contrast light made identification a challenge. The best birds of the trip were Black Tern - several in the north-east corner of the impoundments, one or two Northern Harriers hunting the saltmarsh, and a single Cattle Egret hunting along the road, still in breeding plumage. Otherwise it was largely the usual suspects:

Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Glossy Ibis
American Black Duck
Mallard
Bufflehead
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Willet
Spotted Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Forster's Tern
Least Tern
Black Tern
Black Skimmer
Eastern Kingbird
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Seaside Sparrow

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Red-necked Stint at Jamaica Bay

At 6:40am on Sunday morning (Aug 3rd) I was the first birder at the north end of the East Pond at Jamaica Bay. Almost the first bird I set my eyes on was very unusual - the structure of a Pectoral Sandpiper but heavily barred with barring going well into the flanks. The overall color and pattern reminded me more of breeding plumage Stilt Sandpiper or Western Sandpiper. Another birder turned up but ironically set up so that when I tried to point out the bird to him I was right in his line of sight, and the "mystery" bird flew before I could get him on it.

Ten minutes of thinking later, I decided the most likely candidate was full alternate plumage White-rumped Sandpiper, something I doubt I've seen very much of, even though the structure of the bird was much more Pectoral-like. I was wrong with the initial ID, but I was never comfortable with it anyway.

30 minutes later there were a few more birders and the mystery bird turned up again, in better light, and for a little longer look. There was a rufous cap and partially rufous scapulars, and when it took flight there was only a weak pale wing bar and a strong dark line through the upper tail coverts and the tail. Very Pectoral-like. This wasn't a White-rumped Sandpiper - this was a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. An adult, in full breeding plumage - probably a little worn and darker because of that.

An amazing way to start the day. We saw the bird a couple more times after that. As of writing (8/4) it had been found the following morning (Monday).

After another 90+ minutes Jim Schlick did find the nominal target, a Red-necked Stint, which was the whole reason I went down to Jamaica Bay in the first place. Views were distant (east side of the pond viewed from the west side) and in bad light, but this bird glows in the right light given that it's in pretty much full breeding plumage. The Sharp-tailed remains more special for me, given that it's the first rarity that I've found.

Other, still interesting, birds present were two Wilson's Phalaropes, White-rumped Sandpiper and several Stilt Sandpipers. Other peeps were numerous, and there were some yellowlegs and Short-billed Dowitchers. I didn't see a Pectoral Sandpiper but these were reported by others.

Heislerville WMA, May 26th

I made an afternoon run to Heislerville WMA in southern NJ to take photos of shorebirds. High tide was ~2pm so by the time I got down there it was 3 hours past high, with a few birds exiting the impoundment that had been drawn down for them. But many remained - mostly Semipalmated Sandpipers but also Dunlin, Semipalmated Plover, a few Short-billed Dowitchers. And a Curlew Sandpiper. As in 2007, a brightly-plumaged male Curlew Sandpiper was present on the north side of the impoundment, and not particularly shy either.

Despite being the Monday afternoon of Memorial Day, traffic was not too horrendous either.

Shorebird list:

Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Willet (East Point Road)
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot (East Point Road)
Sanderling (East Point Road)
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Dunlin
Curlew Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher