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
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, August 11, 2008
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.
Very little singing, as you might expect, apart from a Song Sparrow or two and an Indigo Bunting.
Monday, August 4, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, July 4, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Delaware Little Egret - not - June 14th
Emboldened by my successful run for the Prime Hook Wood Sandpiper a few weeks back I made a trip to familiar territory of the Bombay Hook NWR near Smyrna, DE in search of the reported Little Egret. I'd seen a few Little Egrets at my old UK childhood birding patch in January (much to my surprise), but I'd never seen one in the USA.
Little Egret looks a lot like a white Western Reef-Heron, and in fact one may be a subspecies of the other - the taxonomy is in flux. The most pressing problem is telling it from Snowy Egret, with which it shares similar overall size, black legs with yellow feet, and of course an overwhelming whiteness. Telling Little Egret from Snowy is not an issue in the UK. However here in the USA more subtle clues are needed. For one thing Little Egret has a rather thicker and longer bill - it presents as heavier than the Snowy's. The other thing, and something shown by the Delaware bird, is the presence of two thick plumes on the back of the head in contrast to the wispier plumes of the Snowy Egret. A recent post on BIRDWG01 by Alvaro Jaramillo also mentioned that the breast plumes were thicker and coarser in Little Egret. Of much less use, in general, are the bare parts since Little Egret can show yellow lores and the feet have a variable color too. In the case of this specific individual the Little Egret's lores were dull blue-gray so this was another ID mark for this bird, although perhaps not for the species in general.
Getting to Bombay Hook around 8am the tide was high, which I figured would push the small egrets into the pools. Barn Swallows and Purple Martins were at the visitor center. The first pool contained a decent number of Great Egrets, showing just how variable the size of a Great Egret can look when you're looking for small white herons. There were one or two Great Blue Herons as well. In the second pool, Shearness, there were quite a few of both those heron species, Black-necked Stilt and some nervous Killdeer. At the far end of the pool there were a couple of Snowy Egrets. Then onto Bear Swamp pool where there were almost no herons at all. I alternated between Shearness and Bear Swamp while I was there, because this is where the bird was seen. After 3 hours of covering the 3 pools at the reserve, and I wasn't the only one doing this, I gave up and came home. I've seen no sightings of the Little Egret from the past weekend, either.
Nice sightings while I was there were a couple of in-flight Clapper Rails, 5 Bald Eagles (one adult, 4 immatures), several Black-necked Stilts, Marsh Wren. Very few terns were in evidence - perhaps on breeding colonies elsewhere. Other birds included Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Indigo Bunting, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Kingbird, Common Yellowthroat and Swamp Sparrow. I attempted a wander down the boardwalk trail to look for other passerines but was literally bombarded by biting insects within the first 50 yards (the greenheads grew more enthusiastic as it got hotter through the morning) so I gave up on that. Not a bad trip, 2 hours each way from Princeton and some relatively cheap gas found at Carney's Point on the NJ side, but ultimately the first failed chase after ten successful ones got me from 599-609.
Can't get them all.
Little Egret looks a lot like a white Western Reef-Heron, and in fact one may be a subspecies of the other - the taxonomy is in flux. The most pressing problem is telling it from Snowy Egret, with which it shares similar overall size, black legs with yellow feet, and of course an overwhelming whiteness. Telling Little Egret from Snowy is not an issue in the UK. However here in the USA more subtle clues are needed. For one thing Little Egret has a rather thicker and longer bill - it presents as heavier than the Snowy's. The other thing, and something shown by the Delaware bird, is the presence of two thick plumes on the back of the head in contrast to the wispier plumes of the Snowy Egret. A recent post on BIRDWG01 by Alvaro Jaramillo also mentioned that the breast plumes were thicker and coarser in Little Egret. Of much less use, in general, are the bare parts since Little Egret can show yellow lores and the feet have a variable color too. In the case of this specific individual the Little Egret's lores were dull blue-gray so this was another ID mark for this bird, although perhaps not for the species in general.
Getting to Bombay Hook around 8am the tide was high, which I figured would push the small egrets into the pools. Barn Swallows and Purple Martins were at the visitor center. The first pool contained a decent number of Great Egrets, showing just how variable the size of a Great Egret can look when you're looking for small white herons. There were one or two Great Blue Herons as well. In the second pool, Shearness, there were quite a few of both those heron species, Black-necked Stilt and some nervous Killdeer. At the far end of the pool there were a couple of Snowy Egrets. Then onto Bear Swamp pool where there were almost no herons at all. I alternated between Shearness and Bear Swamp while I was there, because this is where the bird was seen. After 3 hours of covering the 3 pools at the reserve, and I wasn't the only one doing this, I gave up and came home. I've seen no sightings of the Little Egret from the past weekend, either.
Nice sightings while I was there were a couple of in-flight Clapper Rails, 5 Bald Eagles (one adult, 4 immatures), several Black-necked Stilts, Marsh Wren. Very few terns were in evidence - perhaps on breeding colonies elsewhere. Other birds included Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Indigo Bunting, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Kingbird, Common Yellowthroat and Swamp Sparrow. I attempted a wander down the boardwalk trail to look for other passerines but was literally bombarded by biting insects within the first 50 yards (the greenheads grew more enthusiastic as it got hotter through the morning) so I gave up on that. Not a bad trip, 2 hours each way from Princeton and some relatively cheap gas found at Carney's Point on the NJ side, but ultimately the first failed chase after ten successful ones got me from 599-609.
Can't get them all.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Fledgelings, Princeton
The European Starlings and American Robins had their first fledgelings in mid May, the Common Grackles appeared to have starting fledging shortly after that, but this week's new birds of the season were Chipping Sparrows that seem to be popping up all over Princeton University campus in their highly streaked juvenile plumage and begging for food noisily. Over at my apartment complex the Brown Cowbirds are still in evidence but I'm thankful that I haven't run into any juveniles of that species yet.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Delaware Water Gap, June 7th
In a slightly insane move I ignored the prospects of getting fried in 90+ degree heat and drove to the Delaware Water Gap NRA on Sunday to look for breeding warblers.
Van Ness Rd, near Layton, has been in recent years a pretty reliable spot for Golden-winged Warbler, including a male that sings a "Blue-winged" song, albeit with somewhat of a flourish. Visually the bird looks like a pure Golden-winged. However I was reading a paper from 1997 by Frank Gill (Evolution, Vol. 51, No. 2, pp. 519-525) that indicated that gene flow from Blue-winged to Golden-winged was strictly one way and that Blue-winged supplanted Golden-winged within 50 years. The cheery title was "Local Cytonuclear Extinction of the Golden-Winged Warbler".
If that wasn't rough enough on Golden-winged, the habitat along Van Ness Rd has been going through rapid succession, possibly aided and abetted by non-native species like multiflora rose. So, as you might have guess, there were no Golden-winged Warblers this year along Van Ness Rd, although that same weekend a "Lawrence's" Warbler (Golden-winged X Blue-winged) was reported singing a few miles to the north. There were plenty of Blue-winged Warblers, along with Chestnut-sided, Yellow, Prairie Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Scarlet Tanager and Eastern Towhee. Still a good place but the best area for Golden-winged is now Sterling Forest over the border in NY where they still hang on.
After finishing up at Van Ness I took a run into Stokes State Forest over the other side of Rt. 206. I stopped at the bridge over the Flatbrook River (Crigger Rd). At this parking lot, where the road becomes one-way, it was less productive than usual. I had heard Blackburnian Warbler and Least Flycatcher on the way up Grau Rd, but they weren't here where I'd seen them in previous years (in 2007 I watched a Blackburnian male bathe at the water standpipe here). However following the trail down the Flatbrook from the bridge I did hear Blackburnian and Black-throated Green in the dense pines, along with the usual Acadian Flycatcher and as a bonus a single tame Hermit Thrush. Based on the range map from the Birds of North America Online this would be the southerly limit of breeding for Hermit Thrush in the more coastal areas around here.
Going back along Crigger Rd towards High Point State Park, and after shedding two noisy Harleys that were tailing me, it wasn't all that difficult to find Cerulean Warbler singing along the road. Their favorite spot seems to shift from year to year. Also here was Yellow-throated Vireo. After turning right (east) onto Deckertown Pike I cut north along Sawmill Rd into High Point State Park. Here again, Least Flycatcher, Cerulean Warbler and Yellow-throated Vireo were audible along the road. There was abundant American Redstarts on these higher elevations, and Ovenbirds were heard throughout.
Because the temperature was rising rapidly into the 90's I didn't chase every single bird song or go chasing after northern NJ highland specialties like Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, so I retreated out of High Point and Stokes SF back to Rt. 206 and returned home.
Van Ness Rd, near Layton, has been in recent years a pretty reliable spot for Golden-winged Warbler, including a male that sings a "Blue-winged" song, albeit with somewhat of a flourish. Visually the bird looks like a pure Golden-winged. However I was reading a paper from 1997 by Frank Gill (Evolution, Vol. 51, No. 2, pp. 519-525) that indicated that gene flow from Blue-winged to Golden-winged was strictly one way and that Blue-winged supplanted Golden-winged within 50 years. The cheery title was "Local Cytonuclear Extinction of the Golden-Winged Warbler".
If that wasn't rough enough on Golden-winged, the habitat along Van Ness Rd has been going through rapid succession, possibly aided and abetted by non-native species like multiflora rose. So, as you might have guess, there were no Golden-winged Warblers this year along Van Ness Rd, although that same weekend a "Lawrence's" Warbler (Golden-winged X Blue-winged) was reported singing a few miles to the north. There were plenty of Blue-winged Warblers, along with Chestnut-sided, Yellow, Prairie Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Scarlet Tanager and Eastern Towhee. Still a good place but the best area for Golden-winged is now Sterling Forest over the border in NY where they still hang on.
After finishing up at Van Ness I took a run into Stokes State Forest over the other side of Rt. 206. I stopped at the bridge over the Flatbrook River (Crigger Rd). At this parking lot, where the road becomes one-way, it was less productive than usual. I had heard Blackburnian Warbler and Least Flycatcher on the way up Grau Rd, but they weren't here where I'd seen them in previous years (in 2007 I watched a Blackburnian male bathe at the water standpipe here). However following the trail down the Flatbrook from the bridge I did hear Blackburnian and Black-throated Green in the dense pines, along with the usual Acadian Flycatcher and as a bonus a single tame Hermit Thrush. Based on the range map from the Birds of North America Online this would be the southerly limit of breeding for Hermit Thrush in the more coastal areas around here.
Going back along Crigger Rd towards High Point State Park, and after shedding two noisy Harleys that were tailing me, it wasn't all that difficult to find Cerulean Warbler singing along the road. Their favorite spot seems to shift from year to year. Also here was Yellow-throated Vireo. After turning right (east) onto Deckertown Pike I cut north along Sawmill Rd into High Point State Park. Here again, Least Flycatcher, Cerulean Warbler and Yellow-throated Vireo were audible along the road. There was abundant American Redstarts on these higher elevations, and Ovenbirds were heard throughout.
Because the temperature was rising rapidly into the 90's I didn't chase every single bird song or go chasing after northern NJ highland specialties like Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, so I retreated out of High Point and Stokes SF back to Rt. 206 and returned home.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Heislerville WMA, May 29th 2008
In another part of Heislerville WMA I spent Thursday morning admiring the collection of shorebirds and Laughing Gulls gathered to feed off Horseshoe Crab eggs. There were a good number of Red Knots, second only in number to the abundant Semipalmated Sandpipers. Laughing Gulls and Ruddy Turnstones were also numerous, there were several Sanderlings (less than I had anticipated) and a few Short-billed Dowitchers. And precisely one Willet.
What there weren't many of, however, were Horseshoe Crabs, and I saw several dead ones and about 10 live ones. Of course it's past full moon, and despite the presumably warming water it is not optimal spawning conditions. Who knows if they will wait for the next full moon (mid-late June) or will finish spawning sooner ?
Further away from the shore I found my first-of-season Willow Flycatcher, and the Seaside Sparrows and Marsh Wrens were numerous in the salt marsh. The water level in the impoundment at Heislerville had dropped considerably since as recently as last Monday, making it less than ideal for photography. I watched shorebirds trickling into the impoundment as the tide rose, but I decided to try and beat traffic and left the area at 3:30pm. I did not find the Curlew Sandpiper(s) but the light was harsh and the birds were in the center of the impoundment rather than pushed further towards the edges.
Links:
Tide predictor for Delaware Bay
Moon phase predictor
What there weren't many of, however, were Horseshoe Crabs, and I saw several dead ones and about 10 live ones. Of course it's past full moon, and despite the presumably warming water it is not optimal spawning conditions. Who knows if they will wait for the next full moon (mid-late June) or will finish spawning sooner ?
Further away from the shore I found my first-of-season Willow Flycatcher, and the Seaside Sparrows and Marsh Wrens were numerous in the salt marsh. The water level in the impoundment at Heislerville had dropped considerably since as recently as last Monday, making it less than ideal for photography. I watched shorebirds trickling into the impoundment as the tide rose, but I decided to try and beat traffic and left the area at 3:30pm. I did not find the Curlew Sandpiper(s) but the light was harsh and the birds were in the center of the impoundment rather than pushed further towards the edges.
Links:
Tide predictor for Delaware Bay
Moon phase predictor
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