Princeton, Sept 17th

Only a brief time before work and a 10am meeting - enough time to wander down the gravel road to the water company and back. Northern Parula, Nashville Warbler, American Redstart, Black-throated Blue Warbler and Black-and-white Warbler were of note. A high vireo couldn't be ID'd to species. Undoubtedly more there, but I didn't have time to check them out.

Central Park, Sept 16th

Faced with a drop in temperatures and a north wind overnight I went into Central Park for a day's birding. The weather was overcast rather than the forecast partly sunny, and there were less birds around than I was expecting - later reports came in of Connecticut Warblers in various city locations, but one was not found in Central Park. Nevertheless there was a decent selection of species to be found in modest numbers:

Gadwall
Osprey
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Great Crested Flycatcher
Red-eyed Vireo
House Wren
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Pine Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Baltimore Oriole

Also of note was a group of 6 migrating Chimney Swifts riding a thermal over the Maintenance Field going south.

Central Park, Sept 13th

A warm and slow day in the park had a few redeeming features. Finding nothing much at Strawberry Fields (Rose-breasted Grosbeak) or the Lower Lobe (Green Heron), I found a few Gadwall on the Lake on my way to the Upper Lobe where things were a little more interesting. While photographing a flock of Cedar Waxwings coming down to feed on pokeberry, a Yellow-breasted Chat popped up. This wasn't an easy bird to re-find, although Tony Lance saw it about 45 minutes later. There was also a Ruby-throated Hummingbird feeding nearby and a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher vocalizing over our heads. The warbler count was low in species and numbers - a Palm Warbler in the Maintenance Field was the most interesting one.

Green Heron
Gadwall
Cooper's Hawk
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Song Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
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

Jamaica Bay, August 16th

I made an early morning trek across the Verrazano Bridge to Jamaica Bay WR in search of shorebirds and some decent photographic opportunities. If anything the water in the East Pond was even higher than on my previous visit, but there was some exposed mud at the south end which is where I started. Shorebird numbers were fairly low, and diversity even lower, with the most novel shorebirds being a single Short-billed Dowitcher and two Spotted Sandpipers. Semipalmated Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Least Sandpipers and a few Lesser Yellowlegs dominated the activity. I have a lot of photos of those so I gave up early and went to the north end.

Here the water was even higher than on my previous trip - the Sharp-tailed Sandiper one - and the water was up to the edge of the phragmites in most cases. Really quite remarkable conditions for mid-August, when they normally have the pond drawn down. However I was able to pull out a distant Red-necked Phalarope (always a good bird here), a few White-rumped Sandpipers, and two fly-by juvenile Gull-billed Terns. The situation was so odd that I was standing in about 6 inches of water looking at shorebirds and taking photos of White-rumped Sandpipers while looking back toward the phragmites. Thankfully nobody attempted to go past the cove, sparing some exposed mud for roosting and feeding shorebirds. You'd probably sink up to your neck in that section anyway.

Griggstown Preserve, August 10th

A late summer visit to Griggstown after several weekends bogged down with house-hunting revealed no great surprises. Song Sparrows, Field Sparrows and a few Indigo Buntings were in evidence. The Red-winged Blackbirds had moved off breeding territories although a few appeared to be staging at the cherry trees over toward Canal Rd. Also there were two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, chasing each other. There were a few Bobolinks - either all females/juveniles or the males had already molted. I'm not sure if they bred here this year, but at the very least they were using it in late summer - a promising sign. Other species were several Eastern Bluebirds including juveniles (despite the wet and cold spring), Barn Swallows, House and Carolina Wrens, Common Yellowthroat, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Towhee, Orchard Oriole and heard Baltimore Oriole. A loud begging juvenile Red-tailed Hawk was making its way around the edge of one of the fields and there was also a large (female?) immature Cooper's Hawk being far more unobtrusive.

Very little singing, as you might expect, apart from a Song Sparrow or two and an Indigo Bunting.

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.

Suburban birding

I've been bogged down buying a house (or trying to find one to buy) for much of June and July and not doing much birding. However the apartment complex I'm living in does have an unusually interesting mix of birds at times. It's built adjacent to some sort of state park (apparently closed to the public), near some wet woods and there's a fallow field across the way. So despite being suburban it has a semi-rural aspect to it.

My list of "apartment complex birds" are basically those I've seen and heard from the complex itself.

The best birds in the apartment complex have been American Woodcock singing right next to the parking lot, a Peregrine Falcon harassing a Ring-billed Gull and Bald Eagle. There's also been novelties like Common Merganser (I once picked up a dead female from the apt complex road), Sharp-shinned Hawk and Tree Swallow. There are breeding birds on and around the complex - Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat and Northern Flicker in the wet areas, House Finch and American Goldfinch, the sadly ubiquitous Brown-headed Cowbird and the typical suburban Song Sparrow and Northern Mockingbird. However the more heavily wooded areas near the edge of the complex have also yielded Great Crested Flycatcher and Eastern Phoebe, and in the fields I have heard Field Sparrow and Indigo Bunting - these two species appeared to move in in mid-summer, and were not singing initially in spring.

But the best bird, one that was no more than 300 yards from my apartment, was a bird I didn't actually see myself - a Barnacle Goose was reported from the edge of Quakerbridge Rd on the grassy area beyond the field, in what is a now-abandoned corporate lot. I never did manage to see that goose, which was only found a couple of times, and ironically had to go further afield (Califon, Montauk) to find one.