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Today was predicted to be a nice day weather-wise, or at least a big improvement over the chilly weather that we’ve been having, so I decided to head out with brother Rich to Franklin Parker Preserve in Burlington County. FPP is a large (9,400 acre) preserve consisting of former cranberry and blueberry bogs that I like to visit a few times each year. A major attraction for coming here is that it is under-birded and you are unlikely to bump into too many people out on its trails, so its a great combination of nice habitat and few people. During this time of year, it seems like an excellent area to scan the small scattered trees that are taking over the abandoned bogs, searching for shrikes or out-of-place flycatchers. Today we wanted to walk to a grove of birches that is ~ 2.5 miles from the trailhead, hoping that some Common Redpolls might be enjoying them as a food source.

We were having a pleasant walk, enjoying numerous views of Eastern Bluebirds, sorting through the sparrows, and searching for raptors. Nice finds were a colorful juvenile Northern Harrier floating over the field that perched for great scope views, and nice looks at late Pine Warblers and yellow (eastern) Palm Warblers. The birds were active, presumably encouraged by the warming weather. About 400 yards after we rounded a bend on the western end of the main reservoir, we stopped to find the source of some chip notes that were coming from the leatherleaf. We were then surprised when a buffy-colored bird appeared at the top of the bush less than 10 ft. away. SEDGE WREN! We saw a Sedge Wren earlier this year at Bombay Hook in Delaware, but this was our first sighting of this species in NJ. Of course, the day that I see a great bird is usually the same day that I leave my camera in my car. Ugh. Luckily, we spotted two other birders (Lisa Ryan and Dave Larson) approaching, so we alerted them to the wren, and fortunately Lisa had a camera and was able to document this bird for us.

Sedge Wren at Franklin Parker Preserve 11/23/2014.
Photo by Lisa Ryan.

Our route through Franklin Parker Preserve. The red pin marks the starting point, the wren was seen on the left (western) end of the reservoir, and the birches are at the northern tip of this hike.

Nov. 10 was a beautiful day. On my way back from visiting with mom I decided to drive through Whitesbog to see if the Tundra Swans have returned yet. Happily, as I reached the Upper Reservoir, three swans were easily seen on the opposite shore. That was nice. Then as I was driving down by the doglegs, I noticed a fairly large, robin-sized bird perched atop a tree. The problem is that it wasn’t chunky like a robin, and when it flew, it had a somewhat undulating flight. My mind raced as I was setting up the scope, and indeed, as suspected it turned out to be a Northern Shrike…a gray and white bird with dark primaries, large bill, and an obvious black facial mask. I reached into the car for the camera and when I looked up, the tree was empty and nowhere to be seen. Darn. Drat. Damn. Northern Shrikes appear yearly in NJ, but it still falls into the ‘good bird’ category. I only see one other record from NJ in eBird for 2014..a February bird in Salem County.  I reported the sighting on JerseyBirds, and then set about to re-find it. Two hours later I spotted it nearly a mile away on the Burlington County side of Whitesbog, where it flew to the top of the bordering pines, perched for a few minutes, then disappeared behind the treeline. Was it gone forever, as a two-hour wonder, or would it stick around?

We found out the next day when I got an e-mail from my birding buddy Larry, who reported re-finding it while I was ‘busy’ playing ping-pong. About an hour later I was able to join him, and after more than an hour of searching, was walking along one of the cross-dikes when I heard a different call. I turned around, searching for the source, and indeed, it turned out to be the shrike, close to the road, in perfect light, filling my scope view. Wow. We’re talking stunning view now, folks. Perfect for a digiscoped photo. Ooops…the adaptor is back in the car. Darn. Drat. Damn. I gave hand-held digiscoping a shot, but as I was fiddling and fumbling around, it disappeared again. Yet another missed opportunity.

I returned the next day, with similar stories…the bird was seen by me and others, but no documentation photos were taken as far as I know, and the bird remained remarkably adept at disappearing at will.

After taking a day off to try my hand at seawatching (that’s another story for another day), I returned back today with brother Rich. As we approached the Upper Reservoir, there it was, close to the road. We got out of the car quietly, and a few seconds later it flushed across the bog to a more distant tree. After Rich was able to get decent scope looks, I tried to get photos. They are far from the best photos that I have ever taken, but the first photos of this bird that I am aware of. When we took our eyes off of it momentarily, once again it sneaked of to who-knows-where.

digiscoped distant Northern Shrike (=better view desired) Whitesbog, NJ Nov. 15, 2014

Its been fun pursuing this bird, following it from day to day. It has managed to avoid my attempts to watch it feeding, but I’ve grown to appreciate that it has remained for at least 5 days. Sure, it’s shy and aloof, and sure, there have been plenty of birders driving around the Whitesbog roads shaking their heads, but that’s part of the allure. I’m hoping that it remains longer, and part of me hopes that it remains aloof.  Stay tuned.  Here’s a map of the locations where I or others have seen this bird (marked with an ‘S’). Notice how it is ranging fairly widely, but favors the Ocean County end.

Location of shrike sightings (marked with an ‘S’)

Today marked the end of our 2014 season for the Barnegat Bay Birding-by-Boat tours that I have been leading for Cattus Island County Park since July, so it seems like a good time for a seasonal re-cap. We were running these trips on average every week or two, leaving from the Ocean County Parks Administration boat launch area in Toms River. Our pontoon boat (the Betty C.) holds six passengers, and we would run two trips on the days that they were offered; one at 7AM and one at 9:30AM.  The trips often were filled, despite the need to pre-register through old-school methods; let’s hope that the park system gets its stuff together and will move to an improved electronic registration system by next year.

Betty C.; the 6-passenger open-air boat used on our tours, with Capt. Diane at the helm.

Our route typically followed the coast along the shoreline of Cattus Island Park, greeted by the resident Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Belted Kingfishers, Ospreys, and both Barn Swallows and Northern Rough-winged Swallows (which nest in the shoreside ‘cliffs’ at Yellowbank). Earlier in the season Marsh Wrens would call incessantly from the reeds, and occasionally we’d view some of the resident Little Blue Herons or Tricolored Herons of Cattus Island Park, or Spotted Sandpipers bobbing and feeding on the shoreline, and it was fun to watch the nesting and feeding of the Ospreys centered around their nest platforms.

Our typical route, starting and ending on the west side of Barnegat Bay at the Cattus Island County Park boat launch, crossing the bay and exploring the Sedge Islands near Lavalette.

Our route then crossed to the eastern side of Barnegat Bay, heading for the Sedge Islands offshore from Lavalette.  On the journey over we’d be entertained by the diving feeding behavior of terns, which could include Common Tern, Forster’s Tern, Least Tern, and Royal Tern, all of which were seen this year. The Sedge Islands usually provided the highlight of the trips, because it is here that we find colonies of nesting wading birds, including Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, Black-crowned Night-Herons, Green Herons, Glossy Ibis, and American Oystercatcher. The islands are breeding or feeding grounds or roosting sites for Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows, Purple Martins, Double-crested Cormorants, and the four common eastern Gulls (Great Black-backed, Herring, Laughing, and Ring-billed). In particular, it was fun to watch the progression of the young gulls from small downy balls hiding in the grass, to young birds begging for food from their parents, to full-sized immature birds that eventually venture out to the water by themselves.

All of these species came to be expected on our tours (although we usually saw more species and more individuals on the 7AM tours).  The fun of birding often lies in the surprises, and we had a few during the season, ranging from a surprising Red-necked Grebe that stayed until June 25, a flyover mature Bald Eagle, a Yellow-crowned Night-heron on a day where we explored a different section of the bay, and a pair of Whimbrels flying by during shorebird migration. Today we ended the season with a bang, spotting a pair of small grebes feeding in the bay.  The first one was seen offshore near Cattus Island, but resulted in only an unsatisfactory view before it flew off further west.  Then approximately 30 minutes later I spotted a grebe again, this time on the eastern side of the bay near the Lavallette Sedge Islands. It remains possible that this was the same bird that we saw 3 miles away near Cattus, but this time I was able to get documentation photos in the overcast early  morning light.  Amazingly, the photos helped to identify this bird as a tough-to-find Eared Grebe. Eared Grebes are on the NJ birds review list, with only 1-2 spotted in NJ annually. My thanks to Captain Diane for her cheerful early morning smile, and I look forward to starting these trips again next season.  I have made some suggestions to see if we can insert a few surprise trips into the schedule next year to further expand on the Barnegat Bay birding options and to find more species.

Red-necked Grebe

Eared Grebe, Barnegat Bay, Sept 30, 2014

By the end of May after the hectic days of spring migration were completed I had seen a total of 230 species this year.  Not bad for my first year back in NJ.  Summer became a time to restore some balance in the way that I spent my time (yes, there are other things to do besides birding!). But birding did not come to a halt…there were occasional excursions to our local hotspots, the beginning of southward shorebird migration, a trip to Delaware, and both the Cattus Island Boat Tours and canoeing trips that resulted in access to habitats on Barnegat Bay, all of which were rewarding in finding new species but more importantly, expanding my birding from simply land-based excursions to being out on the water and the shore. Its been great fun exploring those habitats, and I look forward to taking advantage of the coastal location as the fall approaches and beyond. Here’s a couple photos and a list of the new birds seen this summer.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Forsythe NWR

A distant digiscoped American Golden-plover, Reed Sod Farm

Black Tern annoying a Forster’s Tern, Forsythe NWR

Here’s my list of new year birds seen this summer (June, July, August):
Buff-breasted Sandpiper – Aug. 30 – Forsythe NWR
American Golden-Plover – Aug. 23 – Reed’s Sod Farm
Marbled Godwit – Aug. 21 – Great Sedge Island Island Beach State Park
Yellow-crowned Night-heron – Aug. 21 – Great Sedge Island Island Beach State Park
Black-necked Stilt – Aug. 9 – Prime Hook NWR
Sedge Wren – Aug. 9 – Bombay Hook NWR
American Avocet – Aug. 9 – Bombay Hook NWR
Brown-headed Nuthatch – Aug. 8 – Cape Henlopen State Park
Common Nighthawk – Aug. 3 – Whitesbog
Pectoral Sandpiper – Aug. 1 – Whitesbog
Stilt Sandpiper – Aug. 1 – Whitesbog
Black Tern – July 27 – Forsythe NWR
Long-billed Dowitcher – July 27 – Forsythe NWR
Least Bittern – July 27 – Forsythe NWR
Brown Pelican – July 23 – Great Sedge Island Island Beach State Park
Royal Tern – June 25 – Cattus Island County Park
Saltmarsh Sparrow – June 4 – Forsythe NWR

If you’re looking for a nice relaxing two hours of birding, consider giving the Barnegat Bay Early Bird Ornithology Boat Tours a try.  These tours are offered every two weeks or so by the Ocean County Parks Department, originating from the boat dock on the Ocean County Park Services Administration property on Bandon Rd. in Toms River. The tours last two hours, leaving at 7AM and 9:30 AM; check the parks department summer brochure at http://epapers.webcographics.com/oceancountyparks/spring14/index.html for specific dates. The pontoon boat used in this program holds only six passengers, keeping it cozy and allowing us to get into shallow waters. We traverse the shoreline of Cattus Island County Park, scanning the mash and coast for wading birds, gulls, terns, Marsh Wrens, Belted Kingfishers, swallows, and passerines visible from the water.  Several Osprey nests are found in this area, and the Ospreys can be seen hunting and carrying their fish prey to the nests. Afterward we cross Barnegat Bay and search for birds on the sedge islands just offshore from Lavalette.  This area is typically the highlight of the day, as some of these islands contain bushes and low trees that provide cover and roosting sites that allow us to commonly view up to eight species of wading birds, including Tri-colored Herons, Little Blue Herons, Glossy Ibis, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, and Black-crowned Night-herons.  The islands are nesting sites for Great Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Foster’s Terns, and American Oystercatchers, and its fun to observe nesting activity and the progression of the young birds through the year as they rapidly grow to the size of their parents.  Surprises are always fun, and we’ve seen nice birds such as an unexpected late June Red-necked Grebe, Bald Eagle, and migrating shorebirds heading southward along the bay.

Beginners and novice birders are welcomed on these tours.  Bring your own binoculars if you have them because we can’t get off the boat and the birds are not always right on the shoreline; if you don’t have your own binocs, some loaners are available on the boat to borrow.  Pre-registration is highly recommended, as the boats are often full.  More birds are usually seen on the 7AM trip, but the 9:30 trips have still been productive.  Identification hints and commentary are provided by yours truly.  Come and join us; even if we don’t see a single bird, a relaxing 2 hour early morning boat tour of the bay for only $7 is tough to beat.

Banded Ospreys 2014. Note the red band on the right leg. 62 Ospreys were banded in the bay this year, and are expected to return in 2016.

Immature Black-crowned Night-herons. We saw 19 of them on the 7AM tour of 8/19/2014.