Mon. 4/14: Brig/Forsythe NWR- Caspian Terns, Chimney Swift, etc.

I made a brief spin around Brig/Forsythe NWR this morning before class, with some of the following highlights:

- 2 Caspian Terns sitting together at Gull Pond. As an immature Bald Eagle passed overhead, both birds circled up to well over 100ft and proceeded to chase the eagle away! I can't say I know much about Caspian Tern behavior on their breeding grounds, as they are an extremely rare breeding bird here, but unless these were just two rather ill-tempered Caspian Terns, I think the possibility of a "pair" being here can't be overlooked, especially when one considers that the Brigantine area has been home to breeding Caspians in the recent past.

- I saw my first Chimney Swift of the year, flying over Gull Pond.

- There was a nice mix of lingering waterfowl, highlighted by 250-300 Ruddy Ducks in the NW Pool.

- Eastern Bluebirds are staking claim to a nestbox (or at least trying to) near the Experimental Pool.

Full list included-

Location: E B Forsythe NWR--Autoloop
Observation date: 4/14/08
Number of species: 73

Snow Goose 2
Brant 600
Canada Goose 20
Mute Swan 6
American Black Duck 350
Mallard 40
Northern Shoveler 30
Northern Pintail 75
Green-winged Teal 175
Hooded Merganser 1
Ruddy Duck 275
Double-crested Cormorant 45
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 35
Snowy Egret 40
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Glossy Ibis 15
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 5
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 2
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Greater Yellowlegs 40
Lesser Yellowlegs 9
Dunlin 12
Short-billed Dowitcher 2
Laughing Gull 6
Ring-billed Gull 20
Herring Gull 45
Great Black-backed Gull 25
Caspian Tern 2
Forster's Tern 20
Mourning Dove 4
Chimney Swift 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 4
Fish Crow 9
Purple Martin 6
Tree Swallow 35
Barn Swallow 12
Carolina Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Eastern Bluebird 2
American Robin 20
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 15
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 3
Palm Warbler 1
Eastern Towhee 4
Chipping Sparrow 2
Field Sparrow 5
Savannah Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 6
Dark-eyed Junco 4
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle 9
Brown-headed Cowbird 6
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 6

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/)