gregp

Jan 032019
 

OK, so today I want to comment on the identification of scoters. I know what some of you are thinking: “Really? Scoters? Aren’t they easy-peasy?” After all, they are relatively common ducks of our eastern seaboard, there are only three scoter species, and the males have obvious markings. I agree; the males are distinguishable and easily identified.

Male Black Scoters are all-black except for the large bright yellow-orange knob on their bill. They are perhaps the most common of our three scoters.

Male Surf Scoters are unmistakable whether they are facing you or facing away, with their multicolored bill and large white rectangular patch on the back of the neck.

Here’s a male White-winged Scoter, with the distinctive white ‘comma’ near its eye.  They are the least common of our scoters, and are slightly larger than the other two species.

So as we see, the adult males are indeed simple to distinguish from each other. But for me the identification becomes more challenging when we consider female and immature scoters. Since they constitute more than half of the population, we shouldn’t simply ignore them. For example, can you identify these two birds with certainty? Can we determine their gender or age?  If not, then read on.

This is a scoter, but which one?

Here is another mostly brown scoter with some white patches on its face. Do you know what it is?

With regard to the female/immature scoters, Black Scoter is easiest. To me its facial pattern is very reminiscent of a non-breeding or female Ruddy Duck (a bird that might be more familiar to most of us), with the dark cap and contrasting light cheek, which as we soon will see, is very different from the other two scoters. Here is a nice example, followed by a female Ruddy Duck for comparison.

This is a female Black Scoter, with a dark cap and contrasting lower cheek. Compare it with the Ruddy Duck shown below.

This is a Ruddy Duck. It has a similar facial pattern as the female Black Scoter, but is much smaller, with a different bill shape, and usually has its tail held in an upright position as we see here.

For me the major scoter problem was distinguishing female and immature Surf Scoters from White-winged Scoters. I used to focus on the pattern of the white spots on the face. After all, Sibley has arrows pointing out that the front spot on White-winged Scoter face is more oval, while for Surf Scoter is is vertical. In reality, I would cheat and hope that some white wing feathers were peeking out to make the decision easy. But the problem with looking strictly at the facial pattern is that the spot was often roundish or dispersed, so I couldn’t figure out if it was more oval or vertical, and sometimes there was no obvious spot near the bill. Here’s one example.

Here’s a female-type scoter with a single white spot on its face, despite the fact that the field guides depict two white patches on the face of both Surf and White-winged Scoters. So how can we evaluate it?

After struggling with this problem I went back once again to my big Sibley, and then something happened that happens often with that book…I found more information in there that I had not really paid attention to. It was this panel.

The bill shape of Surf and Black Scoters appears quite similar to me, with the exception of the ‘overhang’ of feathers on the upper base of the Surf Scoter bill. This similar shape is not a problem, because those two species are easily distinguished by plumage features, even from a distance. The point that I hadn’t noted previously is that the bill shape of Surf and White-winged Scoters are very different, so we don’t have to examine the facial spots or hope for the white wing patch to be exposed. White-winged Scoter’s bill has a smile-like appearance to it, being highly curved where it meets the feathers, with the lower ‘lip’ extending far back into the face. Surf Scoter is more triangular overall, with a somewhat vertical angle near the cheek. So if we get a good look at the bill shape (which admittedly is not always possible if they are distant), the identification becomes simple and definitive.  Look for this feature when you have a mixed flock of scoters and test yourself with the birds shown below.

This is a ‘classic’ female Surf Scoter, with the two strong white facial spots, including the forward spot being located directly behind a vertical bill surface.

This is the full-body photo of one of our two original quiz birds from above, with a single facial spot. The strongly curved or ‘smiling’ surface of the bill where it meets the feathers indicates that this is a White-winged Scoter.

Here’s that same bird with its wings open, confirming that it is indeed a White-winged Scoter. Photo contributed by Billy Leiter.

This is a full-body shot of our second quiz bird from above. The white wing patch clearly identifies this brown bird as a White-winged Scoter, even from a distance. If that white wing patch wasn’t visible (as often happens), and we relied on evaluating the facial spots, we might be stumped because the forward spot is weak and somewhat vertical. But the ‘smiling’ curved bill shape would be sufficient to identify this bird. (click to enlarge the photo).

The lesson once again is that as often happens when struggling with bird identification, structure (which is consistent) trumps plumage (which is variable).

 Posted by at 10:27 AM
Jan 012019
 

Like many birders I used to have a New Years Day tradition of going out early on Jan. 1, trying to start the year off with a nice list of birds. Back when I was living in New York, that meant traveling the relatively short distance to Jones Beach, Point Lookout (where we would typically arrive around noon to witness the town’s annual polar bear plunge..brrrrr!), and finishing at Jamaica Bay. That tradition changed after I moved to New Jersey, and instead of finding a new New Years route, I essentially gave up on starting a big year list. I still like birding on New Year’s morning, but with more modest goals.

This year the weather was less than ideal, with 25 mph NW winds gusting into the mid-30s throughout the day. So instead of battling the winds all day, Jeanine and I decided to try a shorter Manasquan Inlet sit, where the wind should be mostly at our backs. We made the requisite stop at Lake of the Lilies, where it was nice to see a few Redheads and a surprise Wood Duck pair.

The drake Wood Duck from Lake of the Lilies.

A hen Wood Duck. This would normally be considered quite a handsome bird If it wasn’t for the partner males being so gaudy.

Before heading out to the inlet, we decided to check the gull roost at the Baltimore Ave. sandbar. Fortunately it was low tide and filled with gulls, packed almost too tightly to scan well. Something flushed the flock, and after they landed again, I spotted a big white gull sitting alone. Glaucous Gull! I include the exclamation point because Glaucous Gull was a nemesis bird for me. I saw a distant one two or three years ago floating amidst the icepacks on the Delaware River for a lifer, but never got photos or great close looks. I have been trying to find one since then to add to my photo collection, but with no luck. So it was already a great start to the year.

A nice example of an immature Glaucous Gull.

We then went to the jetty hoping for some alcids just as two birders who had nothing notable to report were leaving. It’s never a very good sign to see disappointed birders leaving the location that you are heading to, but heck, it’s a new year so we were optimistic.  Shortly after sitting down we started chatting, and a Razorbill popped up in the middle of the relatively narrow inlet! Razorbills are great to see, but are kind of scary because they have a nasty habit of diving and just disappearing, even though there is no place to hide. They have to surface again SOMEWHERE nearby, don’t they? Yet somehow they manage to disappear. This one was different. It dove for a minute or less, surfaced, and repeated doing that for maybe ten minutes or so. And then it was gone. Shortly before its last dive two more birders arrived, so they were able to see it, but it never appeared again despite four sets of eyes peeled out for this bird. That’s the way Razorbills go.

Our cooperative New Year’s Razorbill.

Later on as we were sitting there, Jeanine spotted another Glaucous Gull (perhaps the same one as we saw an hour previously) flying out southward at the end of the jetty, completing a wonderful day under challenging windy conditions. It was a great start for the year.

 Posted by at 7:52 PM
Dec 312018
 

OK folks, it’s time for my top 10 list for 2018. This is not necessarily the list of the rarest birds that I’ve seen this year, but what I’d call the most rewarding birding experiences from this past year.

#10: Upland Sandpipers. This was a good year for me to see Upland Sandpipers. I volunteered in the summer bird census at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, which is the only place that I know of where Upland Sandpipers now breed in NJ. That provided ample opportunity to visit and see and hear the Uppies, but although their flying displays were impressive and delightful, views of them on the ground were rare and distant and fleeting. Then one day in August when Jeanine and I were driving around Brig, what do we see along the side of the road but an Upland Sandpiper, closer than I’ve ever seen one before. I love surprises like that.

Upland Sandpiper on the road at Brig

#9: Kentucky Warbler. I have seen only one or two Kentucky Warblers in my life. I have heard a few more, but in dense brush and with little hope of getting good looks. We were given a hint as to a location where historically they have been seen, so we gave it a try this May. It was a fairly big reserve/park, so I was not overly optimistic, knowing the secretive habits of this species. Yet when we arrived near a creek, there was one feeding and calling, giving superb views. After birding the rest of the reserve, when we approached the area again, the bird was not visible, but we we able to hear and see it (or another one) a short distance away. So getting to find Kentucky Warblers twice in one day (whether the same bird or different ones) was a real treat.

This is the first Kentucky Warbler that I’ve seen a in few years. Photo by Jeanine Apgar.

#8: Ravens at Sandy Hook. Common Ravens are becoming much more common in New Jersey, but it is still a fortunate day when we can see one or two of them. Yet on a trip to Sandy Hook in November, Jeanine and I were treated to seeing seven Ravens flying and circling over us together and calling and interacting with each other and with a Merlin. Wow.  Graaawwwwkkkkk.

Six of the seven Sandy Hook Common Ravens.

#7: Razorbills. It is turning out to be a super Razorbill winter here in NJ in 2018-2019. To give you an idea of the extent of the event, there were only three Razorbills spotted during the entire SEASON at the Avalon Seawatch in 2017, and in 2016 the season total was 11 Razorbills. This year a few consecutive days at Avalon each yielded more than 1000 Razorbills!! Unfortunately, on the afternoon that we showed up, all of the activity that day was in the early morning. (groan!) So in the last week of this year, my friend Chris and I headed up to Sandy Hook to see if we could spot some on the water. Indeed, we got a quick look at one, which was a state bird for Chris, and later in the day I spotted a group of four more together, one of which gave extended great scope views. I have never seen that many Razorbills together previously. If the Razorbill sightings continue through this winter, I suspect that they will be a highlight for the 2019 season. And maybe other alcids will join them.

#6: Lakehurst Nighthawks. One morning while volunteering at the Lakehurst bird census, the fog was making things difficult. But as soon as the fog lifted, there were a dozen or so Common Nighthawks feeding all around me. Circling again and again, calling constantly. It was quite a show. If it were the old days of film cameras, I would have shot several rolls of film. At times like this, I am glad that we have digital photos. What a treat to see them!

Common Nighthawk on the wing at Lakehurst NAS.

#5: Fall migrants at Sandy Hook. Yet another Sandy Hook highlight was a fall migration day in late September that started with a Connecticut Warbler perched on a low branch for nice views. Since it is so tough to see Connecticut Warbler anywhere, that sighting alone would have made it a notable day. Then after it disappeared into the mugwort and we were trying to re-find it, another bird flew out to a distant tree. I gave up on the warbler and was able to re-find the second bird, which turned out to be a Dickcissel. What a nice duo. Then an hour or so later while strolling around and sorting through a nice sparrow flock, one of the birds had distinct facial markings. A Lark Sparrow. What a great trio for a fall migration day. We met a group later that asked “Did you see anything interesting?”  Our smiles probably said it all.

Our Sandy Hook Lark Sparrow.

#4: A 21-warbler day. If you want to see lots of warblers in NJ, the place to go is Garret Mountain. So Jeanine and I took our annual expedition there in May, and we weren’t disappointed. I spotted 21 warbler species that day, and Jeanine ended up with 22! Somehow I missed Blackpoll Warbler that day, which is normally easy up there. It was a wonderful excursion with lots of birds including multiple Nashvilles, Bay-breasteds, and Canadas, and singing Tennessees, which I don’t see or hear very often. There’s something wonderful about breaking the 20-warbler barrier in a single day.

One of the Tennessee Warblers that we saw this year.

#3. Yellow-green Vireo. It started out as yet another nice September fall day in Cape May. Until a text appeared saying that a Yellow-green Vireo was just captured in a banding operation, and they would be releasing the bird in about 5 minutes. Luckily we were only a few blocks away, so we stopped by. I wouldn’t call it outstanding birding, but it was definitely an interesting experience to see this bird (which is rare to see anywhere in the US, and a first for NJ) up close, with a tracking device attached, being displayed for the birding paparazzi surrounding it. And then upon being released, disappearing like a bullet across the street, never to be seen again.

NJ’s first Yellow-green Vireo with a tracking device attached.

#2: Ecuador. My only foreign birding trip this year was a January excursion to the east slope of Ecuador with Pete and Jeanine, ranging from the Amazonian lowlands up to the Andean paramo. It was an outstanding trip with many highlights: quetzals, aracaris, numerous tanagers, a variety of hummingbirds, Hoatzins, and much much more. This was my favorite kind of birding trip, in which we had to find and identify the birds almost entirely by ourselves, with just 2 1/2 days using local guides. I love waking up in a new location, walking out the door, and nearly every bird and plant is different from those that I see at home. Despite having been to Ecuador twice previously and not having much guiding on this trip, I still manged to find 59 new lifer species, a good indication of the number of species that can be found in Ecuador.

A pair of Hoatzins, perhaps my top target species from the Ecuador trip.

#1: Roseate Terns. I had never seen Roseate Terns clearly. Oh sure, there was that trip to Tobago where some terns were flying by that a guide identified as Roseates, but I couldn’t really identify them. They appear in NJ annually in small numbers, but not to me. Until this year. Then on June 25, on one of our many trips to the Sedge Island this year, Jeanine and I spotted a tern that looked different…longer winged, and lighter color overall, and with maybe a longer bill. It had to be a Roseate, right? But then before getting confirmation and a photo, it flew off and landed on a distant sandbar. We hiked over with scope, and now were able to see details, including bands. ROSEATE TERN! And then we saw another. And another. Wow. Three Roseates. We thought that was the end of the story, but then on our next trip we saw another one, and then on another trip a week later three more, so they were there for at least two weeks. The interesting thing is that there were were actually multiple Roseates cycling in and out of the Sedges this summer, based on the number of birds that we and others saw and their bands. Have they been there in previous years and we just not noticed them? Will they be back again next year? You know that we’ll be looking for them. Stay tuned.

A pair of Roseate Terns in the Sedge Islands.

 Posted by at 3:12 PM
Nov 202018
 

This was predicted to be a banner year for winter finches here in New Jersey, and so far that is the case. For those who are adept at identifying them by their flight calls, reports are emerging throughout the state of Purple Finches, Pine Siskins, Red Crossbills, a few Common Redpolls, and even Evening Grosbeaks. Hearing them fly by is one thing, but it’s quite another to get good looks at them. I have seen a good number of Purple Finches this fall, which are probably the easiest and most regular of the winter finch group.

A nice male Purple Finch that visited my home feeders.

My first exposure to Pine Siskins this season was spotting two of them about two weeks ago at Cedar Bonnet Island. Last week I was able to see a nice group of around eight Pine Siskins at feeders in Cape May, and this past weekend we saw at least two of them at our monthly Cloverdale Park walk. Today I was treated to nine of them at my yard feeder. So it looks like it will be another banner siskin year. Two years ago we had Pine Siskins at Cloverdale into May, while last year we had none, nicely showing the irruptive nature of this species and its relatives.

Pine Siskins drinking water at my yard feeders.

Yesterday Jeanine and I were fortunate to be in Cape May when a report came in of a group of four Red Crossbills that were spotted feeding in the pine trees in Cape May Point. We made our way over, and using the ‘find the birders’ strategy, we were able to get great looks at four Red Crossbills methodically feeding on the pine cones. I am assuming that this is merely the tip of the iceberg, and we will be finding more and more of them this season. Heck, it’s only November and the finches are appearing in many places. Five years ago, before I moved back to NJ, we had an irruption year in NY, when both Red Crossbills and White-winged Crossbills were seen well into early spring. That year was the last time that I saw them until yesterday. Look at the photos to see how crossed their bills are, and the video gives an idea of their methodical feeding activity.

Male Red Crossbill on the right, and the yellowish female is on the left. Note the incredible crossing of their bill tips.

Here’s the male Red Crossbill, acrobatically pulling out pine cone seeds.

 

We have yet to spot any Evening Grosbeaks, which are the real prize this year, but it is only a matter of time. And will they be joined by White-winged Crossbills, Common Redpolls, and do we dare dream of Pine Grosbeaks? Stay tuned and keep your eyes and ears open.

 Posted by at 1:42 PM
Sep 282018
 

I am proud to be a member of the Southern Ocean Birding Group. There are many advantages to the group: friendly birders, a super collection of presentations throughout the year, hosting the Tuckerton Christmas Bird Count, sponsoring yearly cleanups of Great Bay Blvd WMA, and providing scholarships to local college-bound environmental students. Another big advantage to being an SOBG member is that the group rents a house in Cape May for four nights each fall. And fall in Cape May is the nearest thing to birding heaven here in NJ. Even though we live an average of two hours north of Cape May, it is entirely different when you wake up right in the middle of the excitement.

This year we decided to arrive a few weeks earlier than our typical October stay, and it was interesting to note the differences in the birds this year compared with what we have seen for the past few years. There are so many good places to bird in Cape May that even during a five-day stay we didn’t have time to cover them all. One of the highlights each year is spending a few hours at the Cape May Hawk Watch, one of the premier hawk watch sites in the world. Mid-October here presents a nice mix of raptors dominated by Sharp-shinned and Coopers Hawks, while on this trip the story was falcons. Merlins and American Kestrels were more common than accipitors on this trip.

Entrance to the Hawk Watch platform.

There’s plenty of room on the Hawk Watch, with sufficient benches to relax, a professional hawk counter highlighting interesting birds, naturalists to answer questions, and Swarovski scopes to view birds.

Another highlight each year is visiting Higbee Beach WMA to observe the morning flight phenomenon, where warblers and other migrants that arrived overnight traverse just above the treetops, heading northward to avoid a long flight over Delaware Bay. Our morning at Higbee was one of the most productive of the trip, highlighted by a surprising Clay-colored Sparrow and an immature Red-headed Woodpecker that were found within 15 minutes of each other. The Clay-colored Sparrow was only the third reported in NJ so far this year, and Red-headed Woodpecker is not very common in Cape May. It was interesting to watch the Red-headed Woodpecker noisily protect ‘its trees’ from the numerous Northern Flickers that were migrating through.  Add in birds like Philadelphia Vireo, Northern Waterthrush, Swainson’s Thrush, and Canada Warbler and you have the recipe for a terrific morning.

The fields and mowed paths of Higbees, combined with birds moving through the treetops and raptors patrolling the skies, provided hours of productive birding.

A Clay-colored Sparrow surprised me by popping out of the brush with the numerous Palm Warblers.

An immature Red-headed Woodpecker from Higbee Beach WMA.

The day that we arrived at the house, a text alert reported that activity was strong around Lake Lily, especially on the north and western sides.  This was great news, since our house is on the western shore of Lake Lily. And indeed, it was quite productive this year. In past years, because we usually arrive in mid-October, most warblers have already passed through, with the vast majority that remained being Yellow-rumped Warbler. This year we had a greater diversity of warblers, with Blackpolls being the most common, followed by Northern Parulas, American Redstarts, and Black-and-white Warblers. In previous years, sightings of Cape May Warblers were rare for us, while this year they were not uncommon. (yay!) Overall, the group spotted 18 species of warblers on this trip, and somewhat refreshingly, we didn’t see  a single Yellow-rumped Warbler, highlighting the advantage of visiting here at a different time of year.

Northern Parulas were the second most common warbler on this trip.

A few Black-and-white Warblers were seen every day.

A female Cape May Warbler seen on Day 1 alongside our house.

A male Cape May Warbler is always a treat. We saw a few birds in this bright plumage this year.

One problem with renting this house in Cape May is that it is tough to stop birding. On most days we would start birding when birds stopped becoming featureless sillhouettes around 7AM, return back to the house around noon for lunch and rest, and while trying to eat lunch on the porch (always with binoculars within an arm’s reach away!) finding that we were being distracted by nearby activity. Red-breasted Nuthatches squeaked from the nearby trees.  A cooperative Wilson’s Warbler stayed in a holly tree just alongside our porch for an entire day. And one day Jeanine accidentally flushed a Mourning Dove from the front pine. A Mourning Dove sighting is not unusual, but this bird returned back to nearly the same location shortly afterward. Closer inspection revealed a nest with two chicks on it that provided my first sighting of a Mourning Dove nest. It’s amazing that such a common bird avoided detection of its nest for so long. In fact, we were there for three days before we noticed the nest just a few feet from our front porch.

Red-breasted Nuthatches are back in good numbers this year after a poor showing last year.

Wilson’s Warblers were seen at the CMBO Northwood Center and in a holly tree next to our front porch.

Mourning Dove adult with one of its chicks on the well-hidden nest just a few feet from our front porch.

This year’s trip included two remarkable episodes that were detailed in other blog entries. One was the capture of a Yellow-green Vireo in the banding nets at the Meadows, allowing us to view this first-for-NJ species up close. You can read more about it here. The second episode was a sighting of a Parasitic Jaeger on land off of the Coral Ave. viewing platform. You can read about that experience here.

New Jersey’s first record of Yellow-green Vireo, captured in a banding net and released at the Cape May Meadows.

An unhealthy digiscoped Parasitic Jaeger resting on the beach.

Cape May in fall is much more than birds. Wildflowers are still in bloom, butterflies are migrating, and dragonflies are in the air. Here’s a sample of some of our non-bird distractions.

Cosmos filled some of the fields at Higbee Beach WMA.

Giant Sunflowers provided much-needed food for butterflies at The Meadows.

Nodding Ladies Tresses orchids were beginning to bloom at Higbee Beach.

Autumn Meadowhawks have arrived.  Photo by Jeanine Apgar.

Another highlight of any SOBG outing is food, and we had our share of day visitors and great home-cooked meals. One reason for renting this house is the spacious dinner table, which held fifteen participants one night, including dinner guests Kevin Karlson and Dale Rosselet. Good times.

Part of the Wednesday night banquet. Photo by Linda Gangi.

There is no shortage of food in the SOBG Cape May house. Photo by Jeanine Apgar.

I already am looking forward to returning back next year.

Most of the group assembled just before departure. Photo by Sue Puder.

 Posted by at 6:50 PM
Sep 272018
 

Most bird sightings are good, but others aren’t. Today Jeanine and I took our nearly daily stop (for this Cape May trip) at Coral Ave. to see if anything interesting was happening. With the winds coming from the southwest, we thought that maybe the gulls and terns and jaegers might be blown landward, making for better viewing. When we arrived at the viewing platform, a large tour group was on the beach, and they informed us that a Parasitic Jaeger was resting in the wrack line on the beach.

Our first view of the Parasitic Jaeger on the beach.

It wasn’t clear what was happening, but the group was avoiding moving closer to give the bird room, and we did the same, passing up the opportunity for great photos, and instead relying on observation and digiscoping from a distance.

The bird initially was flat on the ground, and when it moved at all, it was very gingerly and in brief pulses. It seemed pretty clear that this bird was either injured or exhausted and it should be left to recover.

The bird was not doing well, flopping about any time that it tried to move.

 

I felt better each time it was able to stand upright.

Eventually it flew a few yards before flopping down again. This happened a couple times and it became difficult to watch, especially for a bird that normally is so incredibly mobile and graceful and powerful in flight.

It’s movements eventually grew a bit stronger, taking short flights of a few yards at a time with extensive rest in between.

Finally, the bird garnered enough strength to fly 20 or so yards from shore into the mild waters. This was a step in the right direction.

It looks a bit more comfortable on the water. Here’s hoping that it was able to survive.

We left, unable or unwilling to watch it any longer, and hope that it survived. I enjoy watching jaegers, but not like this.

 Posted by at 4:54 PM
Sep 262018
 

Our birding group is in Cape May for five days. This morning after we just finished scanning for birds at the Concrete Ship a text alert arrived as we were ready to head back to our rental home for lunch. I normally keep the text alerts off when I am birding since I don’t want to be distracted, but when in Cape May it is a good idea to know what is being seen in real time. This time it paid off. The text reported that a banding project had just captured a Yellow-green Vireo in its nets. The bird was healthy and would be released in 15 minutes, presumably after measurements and documentation were completed. We were only 3-5 minutes away. So should we go look at the bird being released or head home for lunch? Jeanine and I were both ready for lunch, but while driving home we changed our minds and both agreed that it might be fun to see this bird.

Why would be care about a Yellow-green Vireo? This is a species that had never been seen previously in New Jersey. It is a bird of the tropics; one that barely makes it into southern-most Texas, and the furthest north that it had been documented on the east coast was in North Carolina. So it was indeed a rarity. A mega-rarity.

We arrived at the Meadows with about five minutes to spare, and a group of 25-30 people were assembled, including many of Cape May’s elite birders. After a few minutes, CMBO director David La Puma announced that they were requesting permission to tag the bird with a device to monitor its movements, so the release would be delayed slightly. In the meantime they brought the bird out for a few photos. It was a lovely bird indeed, looking like a very bright Red-eyed Vireo and with a much larger bill.

The Yellow-green Vireo being shown to the assembled birders before being released.

 

The star of the show: New Jersey’s first Yellow-Greeen Vireo.

 

Permission was obtained to tag the bird with a monitoring device, so it was brought back into the banding shed, and five minutes or so later it was brought back out for release. The banders showed off the attached monitoring device, which weighs less than a postage stamp. A visiting bird guide from Uganda was given the opportunity to release the bird, which immediately flew off across Sunset Blvd., not to be seen in the area again.

Feathers of the bird were moved aside before release to reveal the tracking device.

 

A close-up view of the CTT tracking device.

 

The Yellow-green Vireo with its barely-noticeable tracking device antenna visible.

I have seen Yellow-green Vireos while in the tropics, so it wasn’t a new life bird for me, but it is always great to see birds close-up, and moreso to be present for a small part of NJ birding history. You never know what will happen in Cape May.

 Posted by at 5:39 PM
Sep 192018
 

This past spring I kept a list of when I first saw new spring migrants passing through our area. I thought it might be interesting to keep a tally of fall migrants as they come through here too. I should have started this list earlier in the season when the shorebirds were migrating through, but I do have a tendency to put things off as long as possible.
Aug. 15 Upland Sandpiper
Aug. 29 Marbled Godwit
Sept. 2 Wilson’s Snipe
Sept. 2 Pectoral Sandpiper
Sept. 15 Prairie Warbler
Sept. 15 American Redstart
Sept. 16 Eastern Screech-Owl
Sept. 17 Red-breasted Nuthatch

 

 

 

 

 

 
Sept. 19 Nashville Warbler
Sept. 19 Northern Parula
Sept. 20 Connecticut Warbler
Sept. 20 Dickcissel
Sept. 20 Lark Sparrow

 

 

 

 

 

Sept. 24 Blackpoll Warbler
Sept. 24 Cape May Warbler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sept. 25 Wilson’s Warbler

 

 

 
Sept. 25 Magnolia Warbler
Sept. 25 Black-throated Blue Warbler
Sept. 25 Prairie Warbler
Sept. 25 Ovenbird
Sept. 25 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Sept. 25 Chestnut-sided Warbler
Sept. 25 Merlin
Sept. 25 Broad-winged Hawk
Sept. 25 Parasitic Jaeger
Sept. 26 Northern Shoveler
Sept. 26 Northern Pintail
Sept. 26 American Wigeon
Sept. 26 Veery
Sept. 26 Black Scoter
Sept. 26 Lesser Black-backed Gull
Sept. 26 Common Gallinule
Sept. 26 Yellow-green Vireo
Sept. 27 Philadelphia Vireo
Sept. 27 Canada Warbler
Sept. 27 Northern Waterthrush
Sept. 27 Clay-colored Sparrow
Sept. 27 Red-headed Woodpecker
Sept. 27 Yellow-billed Cuckoo

 

 

 

 
Sept. 27 Swainson’s Thrush
Sept. 27 Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Sept. 28 Chimney Swift
Oct. 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Oct. 1 Dunlin
Oct. 1 Western Willet
Oct. 9 Yellow-rumped Warbler
Oct. 9 Golden-crowned Kinglet
Oct. 9 Brant
Oct. 9 Dark-eyed Junco
Oct. 13 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

 

 

 

 

Oct. 13 Blue-headed Vireo
Oct. 13 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Oct. 13 Brown Creeper

 

 

 

 

Oct. 13 Hermit Thrush
Oct. 13 Purple Finch
Oct. 13 White-crowned Sparrow

 

 

 

 
Oct. 15 Wilson’s Snipe
Oct. 15 Solitary Sandpiper (finally!)

 

 

 

 
Oct. 17 Bobolink

 

 

 

 
Oct. 18 Ring-necked Duck
Oct. 24 Bufflehead
Oct. 24 Fox Sparrow
Oct. 25 Lincoln’s Sparrow
Oct. 25 Tennessee Warbler

 

 

 

 

Oct. 25 Rusty Blackbird
Oct. 25 Eurasian Wigeon
Oct. 25 Ruddy Duck
Oct. 25 American Coot
Oct. 30 White-winged Scoter
Oct. 30 King Eider
Oct. 31 Horned Grebe
Nov. 1 Pine Siskin
Nov. 1 Long-billed Dowitcher
Nov. 3 Tundra Swan
Nov. 3 Vesper Sparrow
Nov. 12 Long-tailed Duck
Nov. 12 Orange-crowned Warbler
Nov. 12 Common Raven
Nov. 12 Red-breasted Merganser
Nov. 14 Hooded Merganser
Nov. 14 Common Goldeneye
Nov. 24 American Tree Sparrow
Nov. 24 Snow Bunting
Nov. 30 Common Eider
Nov. 30 Horned Lark

 Posted by at 3:22 PM
Sep 082018
 

The parade of banded terns continues here in the Sedge Islands.  The first banded Royal Terns that I have ever seen started arriving August 6, and they have continued appearing as the season progressed.  So far 23 different Royal Terns have been observed here.  Some appear just once, while others have remained for the past month.  Nearly all of these terns were banded at Hampton VA on July 7 of this year (a day when 2,500 Royal Terns were banded there!), with one tern having been banded in 2016 at the same site, and another one (EYY) was banded in Ocean City MD in 1998!  Wow. I didn’t know that Royal Terns survived for that long.  According to Birds of North America, the oldest know Royal Tern survived for 30 years.  Hey, maybe EYY will some day become the new record-holder. 

Royal Tern EYY, which was banded 20 years ago in Ocean City MD. It looks pretty darn good for its age. The bird in front of it (29C) was probably an offspring, as they interacted often.

After the Royal Terns arrived, they were followed by an increase in Caspian Terns.  We don’t get nearly as many Caspians as Royals here (our highest count this year for Royals was 94, and for Caspians our high was 15), but I was thrilled to find our first-ever banded Caspian Tern last week. This bird (Z4) was banded in 2010, 306 miles away from where we spotted it, at Little Galloo Island, which is on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, within NY waters.  This info was in agreement with my understanding that the Caspians that pass through our area are on their way to breed in the Great Lakes region.  This is why we occasionally see Caspian Terns in the larger inland lakes during migration periods, while Royal Terns are nearly always coastal.  It’s reassuring when the information that we gather ourselves coincides with what is in the field guides.

I know it is not a great photo, but here is our Caspian Tern Z4, banded 10 years ago in Lake Ontario.

The addition of spotting a banded Caspian Tern completes a trio of tern species that we have found banded this year, starting with Roseate Terns, followed by Royals, and now Caspians.  Now if we could only find our target Sandwich Tern for the season.

 Posted by at 10:26 AM
Aug 252018
 

It’s chigger season here in NJ. For the most part I tend to ignore insects and other potentially annoying critters (mites, ticks, flies and the like) when I’m out in the field, which is not a particularly wise thing to do. I do take some precautions, such as wearing high-topped hiking boots, having  long pants and socks that have been sprayed with permethrin, having some Cutters handy, and showering immediately after returning home. But still occasionally I come home with embedded ticks or with chigger bites, with the attitude that it comes with the territory…it’s part of the risk of being outside.

But there is no need to stay indoors just because these pests are around.  I’ve started taking Jeanine’s advice, and now put a strip of scotch tape on my bins in case ticks or chiggers are found crawling on my pants. Today that strategy came in very handy, as Jeanine and then I found chiggers crawling around calf-high on our pants. Ticks are small, but they are often large enough to remove with our fingers, while chiggers are far too tiny and numerous to remove individually if they are spotted on our clothing.  Here’s where the Scotch tape comes in. After simply brushing my pants repeatedly with the sticky side of the scotch tape or touching it to the barely-visible chiggers, there was nearly no empty space as the tape became covered with a couple hundred chiggers.

What did it look like? Here’s just a portion of that tape. Judge for yourself, but I suggest putting some Scotch tape on your bins in case you find yourself in a similar situation. It works well for ticks too.

Here’s just a portion of the scotch tape that was used to clear my pants of chiggers today. I count 171 chiggers sticking to this part of the tape.  I can only imagine how much scratching and agony was saved by this little piece of tape.

Just place a small strip of tape in an inconspicuous location on the underside of your bins. You won’t even notice that it is there, and nobody will see it, but you’ll be prepared when you see some chiggers or ticks crawling on your pants.

 Posted by at 9:51 PM