Southern NJ again

Let's try this all again, shall we. In fact I did exactly the same trip, ostensibly with better light, although when I got out of the car at Jake's Landing and looked westward I let out a stream of expletives as I saw storm clouds approaching. Sunny day my ass.

Nevertheless it was photographically more productive and the combination of Jake's Landing, South Cape May Meadows and Brigantine/Forsythe NWR. Compared to last week Jake's Landing was much the same, SCMM was a little less productive but still decent (and sunnier!) and Brigantine had Bank Swallow, Bald Eagle and a lot more voracious Greenheads to add to the total.

Gadwall
American Black Duck
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Glossy Ibis
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Clapper Rail
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
American Oystercatcher
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Gull-billed Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Least Tern
Eastern Kingbird
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Marsh Wren
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Seaside Sparrow
Indigo Bunting

Southern NJ, June 12th

I headed out pre-dawn to try my luck with the weather and look for breeding birds in southern NJ. With rather mixed success. At 6:30am at Jake's Landing the typical birds were evident: Osprey with young, Seaside Sparrow, Marsh Wren, vocal Clapper Rails, Willets. I didn't find any Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows and the cloud cover was not especially conducive to photography since photo ops and sunny intervals were rather asynchronous.

Headed back through the woodland to the road I heard Pine Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, White-eyed Vireo and saw Brown Thrasher. I decided to try and wait out the variable cloud cover and went to the nearby Sunset Rd bridge at Belleplain State Forest. Despite being early in the day the amount of song was limited: Ovenbird, Black-and-white Warbler, an emphatic Acadian Flycatcher were heard but there was no sign of Prothonotary Warbler or Louisiana Waterthrush. Or much else.

I went further down along the Delaware Bay shore and stopped at Kimball's Beach Rd at Cape May NWR to check out shorebirds - there in small numbers and to my eyes just Semipalmated Sandpipers, with no sign of their larger cousins (Dunlin, Sanderling, Turnstone, Knot).

From there I headed down to South Cape May Meadows (SCMM), the Nature Conservancy site near Cape May Point that is more correctly called "The Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge" these days. The weather was overcast so I went to the Concrete Ship and scanned the ocean, picking up a few Northern Gannets heading north. All immatures. At SCMM I left the camera in the car courtesy of unremitting cloud cover and walked around, seeing Piping Plovers getting agitated over every crow and Osprey. There were also Killdeer, American Oystercatcher, Black Skimmer, Least Tern and Foster's Tern. Best birds were the duo of singing Indigo Bunting and Blue Grosbeak at the entrance. Activity was relatively low and the light was pretty bad so I started to work my way north, filling up with gas near the road for Wildwood. I was just turning onto the Garden State Parkway northbound when I caught sight of a clearing patch in my rear view mirror, so turned around at the next exit and headed back to SCMM in the hopes of better light.

At SCMM I had basically the same species, but at least a little sun as the overcast cleared out for a while, and a few birds including Least Terns were relatively cooperative fishing near the viewing platform along northernmost trail. A small number of Common Terns dropped in, and at one point full alternate plumage adults, a first summer Common Tern were on the same sandbar as adult Forster's Tern and first summer Laughing Gulls. An interesting mix of plumages but apart from the Common Terns nothing new was seen on my second go around SCMM. Least Terns were in an active colony on the beach, and American Oystercatcher and Piping Plover chicks were present along the roped off areas of the beach.

Finally I went north once again and visited Brigantine/Forsythe NWR to see if there were any residual migrating shorebirds. While I did get a view of two Clapper Rails bathing in the channel, the number of shorebirds (apart from the breeding Willet) was quite low and consisted of three Greater Yellowlegs and a small group of Semipalmated Sandpipers. Gull-billed Tern was also a new bird for the day. Greenheads were out, but not yet in truly ferocious numbers and the dearth of shorebirds let me keep my car windows up for most of the time. The main benefit of birding Brig on this day is that it delayed my arrival home so that I missed the first half of that rather dire 1-1 draw between the USA and England in the World Cup.

Stirling Forest, May 31st

I did the same loop as my May 22nd trip:
http://nycbirding.blogspot.com/2010/05/stirling-forest-and-nw-nj-may-22nd.html
although perhaps with less success.

The trail along Long Meadow Road was quieter, although most of the same species were seen, and the powerline cut at Ironwood Road was productive in terms of singing birds including Golden-winged Warbler but most of them were less cooperative, either because of the heat of the day or because territories were more established. No Ravens this time, although I did have a singing Cerulean Warbler and a Green Heron.

Green Heron
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Great Crested Flycatcher
Black-capped Chickadee
Wood Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Field Sparrow
Indigo Bunting


After that I skipped Oil City Road/Wallkill NWR but headed out to High Point SP (Sawmill Rd), Stokes SF (Crigger Rd) and Layton. Sawmill Rd was as loud as before, with Redstart, Ovenbird, Yellow Warbler being the main species, and one Least Flycatcher that refused to show its face. In Stokes SF I didn't hear any Ceruleans but did hear a Yellow-throated Vireo. I found a single Acadian Flycatcher at it's normal space at the cool evergreen grove downstream along the Flatbrook River, heard what sounded an awful lot like a Blue-headed Vireo, and also a Black-throated Green in the same location, and there was a singing Chestnut-sided Warbler at the bridge.

Layton was quiet in the midday heat, there were no Alder Flycatchers, and a grassy/ticky walk down to the wet area didn't yield any singing ones either.

Six Mile Run, Griggstown, Pole Farm: May 30th

Results for Six Mile Run (Franklin, NJ) were almost identical to the visit on the 26th:
http://nycbirding.blogspot.com/2010/05/six-mile-run-may-26th.html
The most cooperative bird was the same Willow Flycatcher, actively marking territory.

Dropping down to Griggstown the grass has grown up but there was somewhat of a dearth of singing heard from the parking lot. Orchard Oriole and Rose-breasted Grosbeak were fly-bys but I didn't linger there.

Instead I headed to Pole Farm to check for Bobolink, which were there in modest numbers (4-5 males, 1 female) along with Eastern Meadowlark and Willow Flycatcher. Despite the new kestrel box, I didn't see any raptors.

Heislerville WMA, May 29th

The first foray of the long Memorial Day weekend was down to the Delaware bay shore for migrating shorebirds. At the pullout before I hiked the beach road a nice find was Blue Grosbeak (singing male) along with House Wren and Cedar Waxwing. Along the road there were the predictable Marsh Wrens and Seaside Sparrows and fly-over Herons.

The weather was overcast with mediocre light for photo ops, but that wasn't so bad because the shorebirds at the bay were 99% Semipalmated Sandpipers, with very few Dunlin, Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones and absolutely NO Red Knots. Erosion was evident here and some of the coastal marsh from the previous year had been rendered into a pile of vegetation washed up by the tide. Not sure if this was a factor or if timing and food supply led to the Knots being concentrated elsewhere. There were certainly a number of Horseshoe Crabs and eggs, as the abundant Laughing Gulls can attest to. I snapped a few pictures of Semipalmated in very average light and left. On the walk back Semipalmated Plover and Least Sandpipers flew by.

I actually had to take a little jaunt down to Kimball's Beach (Cape May NWR) to see Red Knots along the roped off area of the beach although the number of shorebirds here was quite modest. On the way back up I stopped at CMBO at Goshen in the hopes of finding a hummingbird but the seed feeders here were empty and there were no hummingbird feeders at all - previously this location was good for hummingbirds.

After that I went to Belleplain SF along Sunset Road, but activity there was low in the late morning. I could hear and not see Louisiana Waterthrush, Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Acadian Flycatcher so left unsuccessful.

And finally the coup de grace was at the impoundments at Heislerville where despite the high tide there were relatively few shorebirds, and certainly no Curlew Sandpiper or Ruff.

Six Mile Run, May 26th

A quick hour-and-a-bit around the main field trails (east of the parking lot) before work. Three male Willow Flycatchers (one on marginal territory but the most active singer), two Orchard Oriole males (one first spring), two or three singing Grasshopper Sparrow males were the highlights of this trip and not coincidentally also year birds. Otherwise a worthwhile but totally predictable list of species. The biggest miss was Indigo Bunting, neither seen nor heard.

Great Blue Heron (fly-over)
Red-tailed Hawk
Black Vulture
Willow Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Tree Swallow
House Wren
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Field Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Orchard Oriole
American Goldfinch

Stirling Forest and nw NJ, May 22nd

A better title might be "Stirling Forest and afterthoughts" since the action was squarely at the first location.

Along Long Meadow Road there was a beautiful male Brewster's Warbler (Golden-winged X Blue-winged hybrid) singing, along with more silent Golden-winged males, something that sounded like a Blue-winged, Great Crested Flycatcher and some fast-acting Eastern Phoebe's that already had two fledgelings. There was signs of trimming and herbicide use here, which has damaged the habitat. A Pileated Woodpecker was touring its territory, making big drumming noises and flying over twice. Warbling Vireo, Eastern Kingbird, Yellow Warbler, American Redstart fleshed out the list here.

On to the other part of the power line cut at Ironwood Road where the same patches of herbicide use were evident. However there were still good numbers of Golden-winged Warblers, a Blue-winged, several Prairie Warblers and Indigo Buntings and a pair of Field Sparrows. A calling pair of Common Ravens drifted over. Unseen but vocal birds included Eastern Wood-Peewee, Hooded Warber, Ovenbird and a quick burst from a Worm-eating Warbler. I didn't hear any Ceruleans, however.

That was a good start, with several "year" birds, although the Brewster's was the #1 star since I see this hybrid rarely. I then cut across through Warwick toward Oil City Road and the northern edge of Wallkill River NWR. Not a great deal there, just a few swallows and Least and Solitary Sandpipers. And then on to High Point State Park, although en route I did see a few Wild Turkeys.

Following a fairly typical route I coasted down Sawmill Road listening for Ceruleans, although I failed to find any. Despite it being 1pm many birds were in full song: American Redstart, Red-eyed Vireo, Ovenbird were the most frequent. A brief sprint along Deckertown Pike brought me to Stokes State Forest and more Cerulean territory and eventually I did find an actively singing one. I walked along the trail downstream along the Flatbrook River and saw Ovenbird, Veery and heard a Black-throated Green Warbler. What was missing here were Empidonax flycatchers - no Acadian on the Flatbrook, no Least near the parking lot, no Willow at Wallkill and as it turned out there would be no Alder at Layton. Dropping out of Stokes SF I heard a couple more Ceruleans singing.

And then finally to Layton and the Delaware Water Gap at Van Ness Rd, itself a destination for several early morning forays over the years. Prairie, Yellow and Blue-winged Warblers sounded off. There was no sign of any Golden-winged. The habitat here has filled in compared to my first years here and has probably become too overgrown for Golden-winged, now nearly extirpated in NJ. It's probably getting too "mature" for Blue-winged too. Wood Thrushes and Veeries were singing in the background, but it was relatively quiet (and late in the day) for a "good" day at Layton.

For the final stop I took a somewhat circuitous route before finding the Kay Environmental Center just south of Chester (west of Morristown). I was trying for a Golden-winged sweep by seeing the Lawrence's Warbler (another hybrid) that was reported there, but directions were a little vague and a Priarie Warbler was the only species in evidence here.

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)

May 15th-16th, Central Park

As luck would have it the two best spring days have been Fridays that I can't make the park: April 30th and May 14th. May 14th was probably the biggest day of spring, but Sat May 15th wasn't too bad although Sunday was a lot slower.

Highlights Saturday were Bay-breasted Warbler and Blackburnian Warbler at Tanner's Spring, Mourning Warbler in the Maintenance Field, heard Yellow-throated Vireo at Delacorte Theater and a Philadelphia Vireo at the edge of Evodia Field. Additionally Canada Warbler and Least Flycatcher were first-of-year for me. Sunday was slower with two female Cape May Warblers at the south edge of the reservoir being the best birds I found. 18 warblers aggregated over two days was acceptable but Sat was almost certainly a 20 warbler sp day if I hadn't spent too much time at Tanner's Spring and was carrying the camera.

Least Flycatcher
Blue-headed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Barn Swallow
House Wren
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Mourning Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting