Michael O'Brien sent me a note last evening that a/"the" Barnacle Goose was sitting in the South Cape May Meadows, a.k.a. the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge. Michael hypothesized that the bird might spend the night.
He was right, because Glen Davis just walked into the Center for Research and Education and reported that the Barnacle Goose was found in the meadows early this morning (Paul Lehman apparently had it from 6:15 or so on), and flew out around 7:00 a.m.
In other news, Cave Swallows continue around the point and a Barn Swallow was seen from the hawk watch yesterday.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Christmas Bird Count Announcements, & yesterday at the hawk and sea watches
It's that time of year again, time to begin thinking about CBC's. Three counts occur in the Cape May area:
Cape May CBC - Sunday December 16. Contact compiler Louise Zemaitis by email at swallowtailstudio@comcast.net.
Belleplain CBC - Sunday, December 23. Contact compiler Paul Kosten at (609) 861-5827 .
Cumberland CBC - Sunday, December 30. Contact compiler Mike Fritz at king-fisher@comcast.net or
(609)703-4726.
In the rain yesterday, only 29 raptors were recorded at the hawk watch, but one of them was a goshawk. The Sea Watch, however, had over 27,000 birds! Included in that total were 8 Black-legged Kittewakes and 2 Red-necked Grebes.
Cape May CBC - Sunday December 16. Contact compiler Louise Zemaitis by email at swallowtailstudio@comcast.net.
Belleplain CBC - Sunday, December 23. Contact compiler Paul Kosten at (609) 861-5827 .
Cumberland CBC - Sunday, December 30. Contact compiler Mike Fritz at king-fisher@comcast.net or
(609)703-4726.
In the rain yesterday, only 29 raptors were recorded at the hawk watch, but one of them was a goshawk. The Sea Watch, however, had over 27,000 birds! Included in that total were 8 Black-legged Kittewakes and 2 Red-necked Grebes.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Herons, egrets, and cranes, oh my
[Amy Gaberlein digiscoped the two Sandhill Cranes at Bunker Pond, here, in the top photo, with Great Egret and Great Blue Heron.]
Sandhill Cranes and Red-headed Woodpeckers
Two Sandhill Cranes spent most of the day yesterday at Bunker Pond, and a Cave Swallow and two more goshawks were recorded from the platform. Despite the "questionable origin" crane flock up Cumberland/Salem way, Sandhill Crane is still quite a rarity in NJ. I remember chasing my lifer in the South Cape May Meadows 20 years ago.
George Myers' report from CMBO's Sunday walk (below) indicates that Villas WMA is the place to go to tick your year Red-headed Woodpecker, if you haven't already. Villas WMA's habitat seems appropriate for RHWP nesting, here's hoping!
Another Villas bird of note is George's Yellow-billed Cuckoo, since the record late date in Sibley's The Birds of Cape May is November 8 - this bird was 10 days later than that! Global warming at work, perhaps. Although it is raining steadily in Cape May right now and that may finally put an end to this protracted fall color, Cumberland County yesterday was a stunning palette of red (maples, red oaks and scarlet oaks), yellow (hickories and tulips), and maroon (white oaks).
George's notes follow:
"Highlights from the Villas Walk Sunday 11/18/07: Lots of American Robins, as usual. There are now 4 immature Red-headed Woodpeckers in the area. It would be nice if they decide to winter here.
Also 35+ Rusty Blackbirds
2 Hairy Woodpeckers
1 Virginia Rail (heard calling from the marsh)
1 imm. Yellow-billed Cuckoo
1 Brown Creeper.
2 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 very cooperative, imm Red-shouldered Hawk
A Merlin feasting on an unidentified songbird
Several Eastern Bluebirds and American Goldfinches
In the 'Gazebo' pond were 10 Ring-necked Ducks and a female Lesser Scaup."
George Myers' report from CMBO's Sunday walk (below) indicates that Villas WMA is the place to go to tick your year Red-headed Woodpecker, if you haven't already. Villas WMA's habitat seems appropriate for RHWP nesting, here's hoping!
Another Villas bird of note is George's Yellow-billed Cuckoo, since the record late date in Sibley's The Birds of Cape May is November 8 - this bird was 10 days later than that! Global warming at work, perhaps. Although it is raining steadily in Cape May right now and that may finally put an end to this protracted fall color, Cumberland County yesterday was a stunning palette of red (maples, red oaks and scarlet oaks), yellow (hickories and tulips), and maroon (white oaks).
George's notes follow:
"Highlights from the Villas Walk Sunday 11/18/07: Lots of American Robins, as usual. There are now 4 immature Red-headed Woodpeckers in the area. It would be nice if they decide to winter here.
Also 35+ Rusty Blackbirds
2 Hairy Woodpeckers
1 Virginia Rail (heard calling from the marsh)
1 imm. Yellow-billed Cuckoo
1 Brown Creeper.
2 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 very cooperative, imm Red-shouldered Hawk
A Merlin feasting on an unidentified songbird
Several Eastern Bluebirds and American Goldfinches
In the 'Gazebo' pond were 10 Ring-necked Ducks and a female Lesser Scaup."
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Cumberland County Birding
I spent the day birding Cumberland on a CMBO trip co-led by Associate Naturalists Karen Johnson (a.k.a. the Queen of Cumberland County) and Janet Crawford. Rain threatened all day, but never materialized, and the birding proved to be excellent. We found roughly 75 species, including some quality stuff: Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Fox Sparrow, American Pipit, all amidst glorious scenery. Cumberland seems to still be lingering at peak fall foliage.
We started at East Point on Delaware Bay. The Bay was almost devoid of birds, other than gulls and a smattering of Black Ducks, but raptors quickly made their presence known, always the case in Cumberland: a Sharp-shinned dogged a redtail, and two Cooper's Hawks appeared. There's a good reason why CMBO offers a 3-day Raptor Workshop in winter - Cape May and Cumberland County host plenty! This year, the "Winter Hawks, Eagles and Owls" workshop will happen from Friday February 8 through Sunday, Feb 10, 2008. Pete Dunne and I will be leading it; thirteen diurnal raptors and all eight New Jersey owls are possible on this workshop, thanks to southern New Jersey’s mosaic of prey-rich habitats. Check http://www.birdcapemay.org/school.php for more info.
Heislerville WMA held many birds (a full day list is below), including the expected duck mix for this time of year, featuring many Bufflehead, Ruddy Ducks, Lesser Scaup (punctuated by one female Greater), Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, and Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers. The raptor list grew, thanks to an adult Peregrine settled on an Osprey platform feeding on a recent kill, and a 3rd year Bald Eagle, the first of roughly 7 Bald Eagles on the day.
I so well remember the days when, if you saw a Bald Eagle, you watched it from the first glimpse until it finally sailed out of view - you didn't know when you might see another one. In the late 70's, NJ was down to a last lingering Bald Eagle nest in Bear Swamp, Cumberland County. Now, rebounded thanks to the ban of DDT and an intensive re-introduction effort by the state, more than 60 pairs breed here, and well over 100 are recorded on CMBO's mid-winter eagle census.
Egrets continue to linger, and Heislerville held two Snowy Egrets (one with a bad leg that, sadly, most likely won't live to see the new year) and 3 Greats, along with at least 6 Great Blue Herons, some of which likely will weather the entire winter here, switching to mice for food if all water freezes over. 6 Forster's Terns foraged at the Heislerville Impoundments, as did 20 Lesser and 25 Greater Yellowlegs.
We visited the Natural Lands Trust's Peek Preserve at lunchtime (this preserve is off Route 47 north of it's intersection with Route 55), where we saw adult Bald Eagle,Wood Ducks, and a flock of goldfinches feeding on the wild rice growing along the Maurice River. Later we crossed the river and explored The Nature Conservancy's Maurice River Bluffs preserve, where two adult Bald Eagles (one of which likely was the same bird as the one we saw at Peek) and one first year thrilled the group, and where my first Fox Sparrow of the fall "seeep'd", higher pitched and more rising than the seep note of white-throats and song sparrows. A pish or two and the Fox Sparrow posed for us, this species being particularly susceptible to pishing. The Purple Finches, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and Cedar Waxwings set me to listening hard (and negatively) for Evening Grosbeaks - but the grosbeaks have been detected at Cape May, so keep the sunflower feeders full and your ears alert. We all enjoyed a magnificent, open-grown Chestnut Oak, limbs spreading in all directions and trunk 4' plus across.
Our final stop was Bay Point Road near Cedarville, where 10 American Pipits joined 50+ Horned larks in the fields. Karen says the Horned Lark flock lately has included as many as 300 birds. I heard a Snow Bunting, but we never located it. The day finished with the Bald Eagle pair that nests along Bay Point Road.
The list for Heislerville WMA is below.
Location: Heislerville WMA
Observation date: 11/18/07
Notes: CMBO Birding Cumberland Field Trip
Number of species: 49
Mute Swan 4
American Black Duck 75
Northern Pintail 2
Green-winged Teal 5
Greater Scaup 1
Lesser Scaup 25
Bufflehead 75
Hooded Merganser 3
Red-breasted Merganser 3
Ruddy Duck 35
Double-crested Cormorant 10
Great Blue Heron 6
Great Egret 3
Snowy Egret 2
Turkey Vulture 25
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 7
Cooper's Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Peregrine Falcon 1
Black-bellied Plover 1
Greater Yellowlegs 25
Lesser Yellowlegs 20
Dunlin 30
Laughing Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern 6
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 5
Belted Kingfisher 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
American Crow 5
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
Carolina Wren 2
American Robin X
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 75
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Boat-tailed Grackle 5
House Finch 10
American Goldfinch 5
We started at East Point on Delaware Bay. The Bay was almost devoid of birds, other than gulls and a smattering of Black Ducks, but raptors quickly made their presence known, always the case in Cumberland: a Sharp-shinned dogged a redtail, and two Cooper's Hawks appeared. There's a good reason why CMBO offers a 3-day Raptor Workshop in winter - Cape May and Cumberland County host plenty! This year, the "Winter Hawks, Eagles and Owls" workshop will happen from Friday February 8 through Sunday, Feb 10, 2008. Pete Dunne and I will be leading it; thirteen diurnal raptors and all eight New Jersey owls are possible on this workshop, thanks to southern New Jersey’s mosaic of prey-rich habitats. Check http://www.birdcapemay.org/school.php for more info.
Heislerville WMA held many birds (a full day list is below), including the expected duck mix for this time of year, featuring many Bufflehead, Ruddy Ducks, Lesser Scaup (punctuated by one female Greater), Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, and Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers. The raptor list grew, thanks to an adult Peregrine settled on an Osprey platform feeding on a recent kill, and a 3rd year Bald Eagle, the first of roughly 7 Bald Eagles on the day.
I so well remember the days when, if you saw a Bald Eagle, you watched it from the first glimpse until it finally sailed out of view - you didn't know when you might see another one. In the late 70's, NJ was down to a last lingering Bald Eagle nest in Bear Swamp, Cumberland County. Now, rebounded thanks to the ban of DDT and an intensive re-introduction effort by the state, more than 60 pairs breed here, and well over 100 are recorded on CMBO's mid-winter eagle census.
Egrets continue to linger, and Heislerville held two Snowy Egrets (one with a bad leg that, sadly, most likely won't live to see the new year) and 3 Greats, along with at least 6 Great Blue Herons, some of which likely will weather the entire winter here, switching to mice for food if all water freezes over. 6 Forster's Terns foraged at the Heislerville Impoundments, as did 20 Lesser and 25 Greater Yellowlegs.
We visited the Natural Lands Trust's Peek Preserve at lunchtime (this preserve is off Route 47 north of it's intersection with Route 55), where we saw adult Bald Eagle,Wood Ducks, and a flock of goldfinches feeding on the wild rice growing along the Maurice River. Later we crossed the river and explored The Nature Conservancy's Maurice River Bluffs preserve, where two adult Bald Eagles (one of which likely was the same bird as the one we saw at Peek) and one first year thrilled the group, and where my first Fox Sparrow of the fall "seeep'd", higher pitched and more rising than the seep note of white-throats and song sparrows. A pish or two and the Fox Sparrow posed for us, this species being particularly susceptible to pishing. The Purple Finches, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and Cedar Waxwings set me to listening hard (and negatively) for Evening Grosbeaks - but the grosbeaks have been detected at Cape May, so keep the sunflower feeders full and your ears alert. We all enjoyed a magnificent, open-grown Chestnut Oak, limbs spreading in all directions and trunk 4' plus across.
Our final stop was Bay Point Road near Cedarville, where 10 American Pipits joined 50+ Horned larks in the fields. Karen says the Horned Lark flock lately has included as many as 300 birds. I heard a Snow Bunting, but we never located it. The day finished with the Bald Eagle pair that nests along Bay Point Road.
The list for Heislerville WMA is below.
Location: Heislerville WMA
Observation date: 11/18/07
Notes: CMBO Birding Cumberland Field Trip
Number of species: 49
Mute Swan 4
American Black Duck 75
Northern Pintail 2
Green-winged Teal 5
Greater Scaup 1
Lesser Scaup 25
Bufflehead 75
Hooded Merganser 3
Red-breasted Merganser 3
Ruddy Duck 35
Double-crested Cormorant 10
Great Blue Heron 6
Great Egret 3
Snowy Egret 2
Turkey Vulture 25
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 7
Cooper's Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Peregrine Falcon 1
Black-bellied Plover 1
Greater Yellowlegs 25
Lesser Yellowlegs 20
Dunlin 30
Laughing Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern 6
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 5
Belted Kingfisher 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
American Crow 5
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
Carolina Wren 2
American Robin X
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 75
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Boat-tailed Grackle 5
House Finch 10
American Goldfinch 5
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Rare bird news, plus Beanery, Cape May Point and Island Beach today
Pete Bacinski called us today while we were at Island Beach to tell of an Ash-throated Flycatcher at Brigantine, found by Jack and Jessie Connor near the bridge on Great Creek Road at the entrance to the refuge. Pete's trip also found 24 Marbled Godwits in the East Pool and several Bald Eagles.
It turns out a number of rarities are around; first this from Laurie Larson, posted to NJBIRDS:
"An Ash-throated Flycatcher was present about 12:15 to 12:30 at Brigantine (Forsythe) NWR today. Found by Jack and Jessie Connor, it was seen by a NJAS field trip and heard calling as well. The bird was located on the entrance road between the bridge with ponds on both sides, and the main entrance sign/HQ parking lot.
Also, at the Cape May Point in the past hour Sandhill Cranes as well as a Barnacle Goose (in a flock of Canadas) have been seen circling over the hawk watch; neither crossed the bay, and may still be in the area."
Jessie Barry fills out Laurie's report with the following "Non-raptor Observations:BARNACLE GOOSE (1), Sandhill Crane (2), Red Crossbill (10), Cave Swallow(30+), Tundra Swan (9)." Among other things, Jessie clicked 190 Red-tailed Hawks today.
Paul Lehman, also on NJBIRDS, adds: "No surprise given the weather the past number of days (i.e., 2+ days of mild weather with S/SW winds, followed by a sharp cold front), but yesterday (Friday) before dark there were 24+ Cave Swallows along the Cape May city waterfront hotels, and this morning (Saturday), in a more thorough check, there were 44 Cave Swallows. These birds roost on these hotels in colder weather and then disperse locally and/or totally depart the area during the day. Smaller number of Caves have been seen recently at the Cape May hawkwatch and at the Avalon seawatch. Also yesterday and today, three separate small flocks of Red Crossbills were seen flying by, one at the Avalon seawatch and two around Cape May Point. There has been a recent surge of Red Crossbills (but no White-wingeds) in Massachusetts and elsewhere the past few days. Another one or two fly-by Evening Grosbeaks.
Otherwise, the number of western passerines and late-lingering landbirds (other than Baltimore Orioles) the past couple weeks has seemingly been mediocre to poor this year. Sparrow numbers also seem sub-par."
Karl and Judy Lukens send this report from the CMBO Beanery walk today: "A brisk and partly sunny morning walk at the "Beanery" produced some interesting birds. Raptors included Harrier (Gray Ghost), Kestrel, Red-shoulder, Red-tail, Sharpies and Bald Eagle. Robins were present in the hundreds, with 40 Pipits, 25 Bluebirds, 4 Downy and 4 Hairy Woodpeckers, a Brown Creeper, and a Cave Swallow. And we almost stepped on 2 Woodcock before they startled us as they flushed. A Baltimore Oriole was also a nice sighting. Alas no other rarities." A full list is below.
Chuck and Mary Jane Slugg sent a report from the afternoon Cape May Point State Park walk, which "yawn" detected 5 Cave Swallows and, very much not a yawn, ever, a Northern Goshawk which was also counted at the hawk watch.
Our second day in a row at Island Beach ("our" means me, Scott Barnes, Karla Risdon, Tom Gilmore, and a number of NJAS supporters on a special donor field trip) was thankfully much less windy, so we managed to scrape up some interesting landbirds. Scott Barnes detected a very elusive chat on the road to the Winter Anchorage, and a much more cooperative thrasher was also along that road. On Barnegat Bay, Bufflehead were abundant, and we observed 12 Horned Grebes there as well. My favorite, and perhaps everyone else's, was the Rusty Blackbird that flew into a holly at the parking lot for the Fisherman's Walkway, proceeding to feed on Virginia Creeper and other berries. Pretty much every woody plant at Island Beach produces some sort of bird-friendly berry - the thrasher was involved with Eastern Redcedar berries as we watched it. Interestingly, the blackbird seemed to have come in off the ocean, even though it was about 2:00 p.m., and was clearly very hungry. The day list for this trip is also below.
SPECIES SEEN ~ CMBO TRIP
11/17/2007 ~ in Beanery ~ New Jersey Checklist ~ 57 seen
Common Loon 2
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Canada Goose 20
Gadwall 4
Mallard 6
Black Vulture 3
Turkey Vulture 5
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 4
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 1
American Woodcock 2
Ring-billed Gull 5
American Herring Gull 3
Rock Pigeon 15
Mourning Dove 40
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 4
Hairy Woodpecker 4
Northern Flicker 5
Tree Swallow 5
Cave Swallow 1
American Pipit 40
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Cedar Waxwing 10
Carolina Wren 2
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
Eastern Bluebird 25
American Robin 500
Carolina Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 1
Brown Creeper 1
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 15
European Starling 25
House Sparrow 5
Purple Finch 5
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 20
Yellow-rumped Warbler 8
Chipping Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 5
Fox Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Eastern Meadowlark 3
Rusty Blackbird 2
Common Grackle 10
Brown-headed Cowbird 10
Baltimore Oriole 1
Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 11/17/07
Number of species: 41
Canada Goose 30
Mute Swan 8
Tundra Swan 3
Wood Duck 6
Gadwall 20
American Wigeon 50
American Black Duck 6
Mallard 30
Northern Pintail 20
Green-winged Teal 200
Black Scoter 20
Hooded Merganser 25
Ruddy Duck 25
Northern Gannet 15
Double-crested Cormorant 25
Great Blue Heron 10
Great Egret 12
Northern Harrier 8
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Northern Goshawk 1
American Coot 2
Herring Gull 3
Great Black-backed Gull 30
Black Skimmer 20
Rock Pigeon 30
Mourning Dove 3
Northern Flicker 1
American Crow 5
Tree Swallow 5
Cave Swallow 6
Carolina Wren 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 125
European Starling 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler 50
Song Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 5
Snow Bunting 27
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Common Grackle 4
Location: Island Beach State Park
Observation date: 11/17/07
Number of species: 54
Brant 15
American Black Duck 50
Mallard 10
Green-winged Teal 10
White-winged Scoter 4
Black Scoter 20
Long-tailed Duck 30
Bufflehead 400
Hooded Merganser 4
Red-breasted Merganser 10
Red-throated Loon 5
Common Loon 2
Horned Grebe 12
Northern Gannet 100
Double-crested Cormorant 10
Great Blue Heron 3
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Black-bellied Plover 30
Ruddy Turnstone 5
Sanderling 20
Dunlin 50
Laughing Gull 25
Ring-billed Gull 50
Herring Gull 200
Great Black-backed Gull 100
Royal Tern 2
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 10
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 5
Carolina Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 1
House Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 5
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 10
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Song Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 10
Dark-eyed Junco 5
Snow Bunting 5
Northern Cardinal 2
Rusty Blackbird 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Purple Finch 2
House Finch 10
American Goldfinch 10
It turns out a number of rarities are around; first this from Laurie Larson, posted to NJBIRDS:
"An Ash-throated Flycatcher was present about 12:15 to 12:30 at Brigantine (Forsythe) NWR today. Found by Jack and Jessie Connor, it was seen by a NJAS field trip and heard calling as well. The bird was located on the entrance road between the bridge with ponds on both sides, and the main entrance sign/HQ parking lot.
Also, at the Cape May Point in the past hour Sandhill Cranes as well as a Barnacle Goose (in a flock of Canadas) have been seen circling over the hawk watch; neither crossed the bay, and may still be in the area."
Jessie Barry fills out Laurie's report with the following "Non-raptor Observations:BARNACLE GOOSE (1), Sandhill Crane (2), Red Crossbill (10), Cave Swallow(30+), Tundra Swan (9)." Among other things, Jessie clicked 190 Red-tailed Hawks today.
Paul Lehman, also on NJBIRDS, adds: "No surprise given the weather the past number of days (i.e., 2+ days of mild weather with S/SW winds, followed by a sharp cold front), but yesterday (Friday) before dark there were 24+ Cave Swallows along the Cape May city waterfront hotels, and this morning (Saturday), in a more thorough check, there were 44 Cave Swallows. These birds roost on these hotels in colder weather and then disperse locally and/or totally depart the area during the day. Smaller number of Caves have been seen recently at the Cape May hawkwatch and at the Avalon seawatch. Also yesterday and today, three separate small flocks of Red Crossbills were seen flying by, one at the Avalon seawatch and two around Cape May Point. There has been a recent surge of Red Crossbills (but no White-wingeds) in Massachusetts and elsewhere the past few days. Another one or two fly-by Evening Grosbeaks.
Otherwise, the number of western passerines and late-lingering landbirds (other than Baltimore Orioles) the past couple weeks has seemingly been mediocre to poor this year. Sparrow numbers also seem sub-par."
Karl and Judy Lukens send this report from the CMBO Beanery walk today: "A brisk and partly sunny morning walk at the "Beanery" produced some interesting birds. Raptors included Harrier (Gray Ghost), Kestrel, Red-shoulder, Red-tail, Sharpies and Bald Eagle. Robins were present in the hundreds, with 40 Pipits, 25 Bluebirds, 4 Downy and 4 Hairy Woodpeckers, a Brown Creeper, and a Cave Swallow. And we almost stepped on 2 Woodcock before they startled us as they flushed. A Baltimore Oriole was also a nice sighting. Alas no other rarities." A full list is below.
Chuck and Mary Jane Slugg sent a report from the afternoon Cape May Point State Park walk, which "yawn" detected 5 Cave Swallows and, very much not a yawn, ever, a Northern Goshawk which was also counted at the hawk watch.
Our second day in a row at Island Beach ("our" means me, Scott Barnes, Karla Risdon, Tom Gilmore, and a number of NJAS supporters on a special donor field trip) was thankfully much less windy, so we managed to scrape up some interesting landbirds. Scott Barnes detected a very elusive chat on the road to the Winter Anchorage, and a much more cooperative thrasher was also along that road. On Barnegat Bay, Bufflehead were abundant, and we observed 12 Horned Grebes there as well. My favorite, and perhaps everyone else's, was the Rusty Blackbird that flew into a holly at the parking lot for the Fisherman's Walkway, proceeding to feed on Virginia Creeper and other berries. Pretty much every woody plant at Island Beach produces some sort of bird-friendly berry - the thrasher was involved with Eastern Redcedar berries as we watched it. Interestingly, the blackbird seemed to have come in off the ocean, even though it was about 2:00 p.m., and was clearly very hungry. The day list for this trip is also below.
SPECIES SEEN ~ CMBO TRIP
11/17/2007 ~ in Beanery ~ New Jersey Checklist ~ 57 seen
Common Loon 2
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Canada Goose 20
Gadwall 4
Mallard 6
Black Vulture 3
Turkey Vulture 5
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 4
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 1
American Woodcock 2
Ring-billed Gull 5
American Herring Gull 3
Rock Pigeon 15
Mourning Dove 40
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 4
Hairy Woodpecker 4
Northern Flicker 5
Tree Swallow 5
Cave Swallow 1
American Pipit 40
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Cedar Waxwing 10
Carolina Wren 2
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
Eastern Bluebird 25
American Robin 500
Carolina Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 1
Brown Creeper 1
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 15
European Starling 25
House Sparrow 5
Purple Finch 5
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 20
Yellow-rumped Warbler 8
Chipping Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 5
Fox Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Eastern Meadowlark 3
Rusty Blackbird 2
Common Grackle 10
Brown-headed Cowbird 10
Baltimore Oriole 1
Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 11/17/07
Number of species: 41
Canada Goose 30
Mute Swan 8
Tundra Swan 3
Wood Duck 6
Gadwall 20
American Wigeon 50
American Black Duck 6
Mallard 30
Northern Pintail 20
Green-winged Teal 200
Black Scoter 20
Hooded Merganser 25
Ruddy Duck 25
Northern Gannet 15
Double-crested Cormorant 25
Great Blue Heron 10
Great Egret 12
Northern Harrier 8
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Northern Goshawk 1
American Coot 2
Herring Gull 3
Great Black-backed Gull 30
Black Skimmer 20
Rock Pigeon 30
Mourning Dove 3
Northern Flicker 1
American Crow 5
Tree Swallow 5
Cave Swallow 6
Carolina Wren 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 125
European Starling 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler 50
Song Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 5
Snow Bunting 27
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Common Grackle 4
Location: Island Beach State Park
Observation date: 11/17/07
Number of species: 54
Brant 15
American Black Duck 50
Mallard 10
Green-winged Teal 10
White-winged Scoter 4
Black Scoter 20
Long-tailed Duck 30
Bufflehead 400
Hooded Merganser 4
Red-breasted Merganser 10
Red-throated Loon 5
Common Loon 2
Horned Grebe 12
Northern Gannet 100
Double-crested Cormorant 10
Great Blue Heron 3
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Black-bellied Plover 30
Ruddy Turnstone 5
Sanderling 20
Dunlin 50
Laughing Gull 25
Ring-billed Gull 50
Herring Gull 200
Great Black-backed Gull 100
Royal Tern 2
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 10
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 5
Carolina Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 1
House Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 5
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 10
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Song Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 10
Dark-eyed Junco 5
Snow Bunting 5
Northern Cardinal 2
Rusty Blackbird 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Purple Finch 2
House Finch 10
American Goldfinch 10
Friday, November 16, 2007
This just in from the hawk watch
Well, the guesstimation from below is born out, Jessie counted 330 raptors today, and notes: "Windy, cold, Red-tails and Cave Swallows sum up the day at the hawkwatch. An adult goshawk was also a highlight, and the first, long-awaited Tundra Swans. Cave Swallows around throughout the day, usually at least 3 could be seen at any given time. How many, who knows, but the two flying under the platform were my favorites." Her totals will be up on "View from the Field" soon.