Central Park Sept 15th and 16th

The front passed too late in the night to make Saturday a good migration day and so birding was extremely patchy.  Strawberry Fields was extremely slow, the Ramble a little better, but excitement came in the form of an Eastern Whip-poor-will found in the Ramble.  This is the first one I've seen in CPK in quite a few years (spring 2004 was the last), and also the first one in fall.  Based on pointed tail feathers it appeared to be an immature bird.  While watching the nightjar other good birds of the day were Cape May Warblers (possible ad. female and imm. male) and a Least Flycatcher.  The final icing was the ongoing American Bittern at Turtle Pond - I almost missed it until it flew across the pond to the island just as I turned to leave.  This is only my second Bittern in the park (last: in April 2004).  Other migrants included Eastern Wood-Pewee, Great Crested Flycatcher, Scarlet Tanager and only three other species of warbler (American Redstart, Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat).

As of Monday morning the Whip-poor-will reappeared in the same tree - I'm pretty confident that this is the first time anyone's refound a bird like that in the same roosting spot in the park.


On Sunday migrant volume was better, although still not spectacular and the initial stop at Strawberry Fields included my first Red-breasted Nuthatch for the year - a bird that had been tormenting me.  There was also a start of a change-over in warbler species: Black-throated Green, Blackpoll and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet being evidence of that.  Swainson's Thrushes were numerous but Cedar Waxwings were putting up the best migrant numbers in the park with multiple flocks moving through places like the Maintenance Field while I was there.  A decent raptor flight occurred in the morning with multiple Broad-winged Hawks and an Osprey.  I also had my first White-throated Sparrows of fall.  The American Bittern remained at Turtle Pond, this time giving good views while hunting on the north side of the island.  Despite its persistence here it's a pretty rare bird in Central Park, actually a rarer sighting than the Connecticut Warbler that evaded me in the Ramble later that morning.

Princeton: Bittern, White-eyed Vireo 4/14

A quite cooperative American Bittern had been at Princeton's Rogers Refuge most of the week. After a quick check on Monday, when I found only a few Wilson's Snipe, I returned on a warm Thursday evening where I found the bird out in the open at the edge of the phragmites. Not a bad bird for NJ. I also saw one Wilson's Snipe again as it flushed from further back in the pond.

Additional birds were Wood Duck, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and a White-eyed Vireo. The vireo is noteworthy because my personal early date for WEVI in the north-east was April 22nd 2008 (Sandy Hook), so this bird was 8 days early.

March 7th: Brigantine to Belmar

Starting off at Brigantine NWR shortly after sunrise, I spent the first few hours taking pictures of the accommodating White-winged Crossbills that were feeding in a low (Black? Japanese) Pine in the parking lot area. Conditions were balmy and emphasized by early spring birds like Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Wood Duck and Hermit Thrush at flew over or hopped around the general area. Mixed blackbird flocks flew over, with at least some birds sounding like Brown-headed Cowbirds.

Then down to the impoundments were there were thousands of waterfowl: Brant and Snow Geese, dabbling ducks dominated by Northern Pintail and American Black Duck, thousands of Greater and Lesser Scaup with Redhead and Canvasback in the impoundments. All three merganser sp. were to be found. The most interesting find were two Short-eared Owls that were hunting near the south-west corner of the impoundments in broad daylight.

After Brigantine I went north to Barnegat Inlet which was swarming with humanity in this warm day. That and a sore left knee reduced my desire to walk out on the jetty too far. Common Loons were numerous, some in near breeding plumage, as were Long-tailed Duck. Other ducks included Harlequins, Black Scoter and Red-breasted Merganser. There were Red-throated Loon and Red-necked Grebe mixed in with the Common Loons, and Northern Gannet were working the coast offshore.

A brief visit to Wells Mills County Park showed that the feeders were quiet with no Siskins.

Then on the way north I visited Wreck Pond in Spring Lake, Lake Como and Silver Lake in Belmar. At Wreck Pond the most unusual bird was an American Bittern hunting at the edge of the phragmites. At Lake Como a small toy watercraft had limited the number of birds but one Redhead was in the small Canvasback/Lesser Scaup flock. At Silver Lake there was no Eurasian Wigeon but a few Americans and a large number of Brant.