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Not on the Radar: Lapland Longspur

Oct 132016

It was going to be a nice fall day weather-wise; calm winds, mostly sunny, with temperatures in the low 70’s. After looking at the wind patterns (from the south) and the radar (I’m still not sure how much to trust the radar images, but I look anyway) it was not likely that many birds would have come in overnight. But how can we not go birding on such a beautiful fall day? On Monday Jeanine and I enjoyed a great day of land birding at Palmyra Cove with a nice variety of lingering warblers including five Nashvilles, and first-of-season Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Purple Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, and many kinglets (in both flavors) heralding a change in the season. To balance our birding for the week, we decided to try yet one more visit canoeing in the Island Beach Sedge Islands, with a bit of walking the trails beforehand. We were not disappointed.

The trails were quiet. We spotted a kinglet here and a kinglet there. A few Red-breasted Nuthatches appeared, and a scattering of White-throated Sparrows were moving in the brush, but it was pretty quiet overall. The highlights were a Pied-billed Grebe and a FOS distant Common Loon on the dead-calm waters. Overall the birding was slow (to put it kindly). The tide was lowering so we headed out to the water hoping that the birding would be better out there.

This is the way to explore the Sedge Islands.

If nothing else, it was going to be a learning experience. Despite the many trips that I’ve taken to the Sedge Islands over the past three years, I’ve never been there in October. Two years ago Larry and I tried our luck on what must have been a warm November day, but otherwise the birding-by-canoe strategy has ended in late September. Even if the birds didn’t cooperate, it would be great paddling here on a gorgeous day.

After landing on the main sand flats, we were finding the expected birds, although in lower-than-summer numbers. As expected. We were seeing the usual gulls, plenty of cormorants, and a smattering of shorebirds that were mostly Black-bellied Plovers, American Oystercatchers, Sanderlings, and Semi-palmated Plovers. Attempts to tease a golden-plover out of the flock were fruitless. A single Brown Pelican rested in the shallows, always nice to see. The medium-sized terns were all gone, but a handful of Royal and Caspian Terns remained. Then we decided to see if we could find an interesting sparrow by walking through the sparse grasses, with me calling ‘here, birdy birdy’. Sure, I know it was a sign of desperation, but sometimes you have to try to talk to them. Almost immediately a single bird flushed and flew a short ways. Our first partial looks were intriguing and left us wanting more, but it was playing hide-and-seek and not giving us enough for a definitive ID; I saw a bit of yellow on the face and was thinking Saltmarsh Sparrow, or if we were lucky, maybe a Nelson’s. Jeanine saw some black lines on the face and was thinking Lark Sparrow. It finally moved into the open on my side of a grassy cluster and to me it looked like a Longspur. I’m not as familiar with the longspurs as I’d like, so I ran back to the canoe for my Sibleys and my camera as Jeanine tried to get photos with her camera. (aside: why is it that every time I leave my camera behind a good bird shows up, and when I carry it around, things are quiet? Does that happen to you too? Are the birding gods playing with us?) After returning and getting better views, it was clear that we were looking at a non-breeding plumaged adult male Lapland Longspur!

Lapland Longspur in the shade of a grassy cluster. From our initial quick looks, that black cheek border was our first clue that it wasn’t one of the expected sparrows.

Eventually it came out fully into the open, and we could see its chestnut wing bar and its strikingly patterned plumage.

Needless to say, this bird was not on our radar. It is such a kick to find a bird that makes you say “I wasn’t expecting to see THAT!”. For what must have been a half hour or so we patiently waited while the bird moved in and out of the grasses, alternating between my side and Jeanine’s side to keep us both happy. Nobody else was in sight except for a distant pair of clammers.

As we circled the island, the icing on the cake was another visit from a Marbled Godwit, mixed in with a pair of Oystercatchers. So for the third time this year, we spot a Marbled Godwit here and it is not even the top bird of the trip.

Here’s a size comparison (of birds and bills) of Marbled Godwit next to an American Oystercatcher.

For the rest of the day we made a brief attempt to find our old friend the Reddish Egret. We saw it here on our last four trips over the past two months, so it was beginning to feel like a regular sighting, rather than a rarity. But Red has apparently and appropriately moved on. It didn’t matter. We were still basking in the afterglow of the Longspur with big smiles on our faces.

I have come to love fall birding, when almost anything can appear.

Comparing Caspian and Royal Terns

Sep 282016

When I first started birding I had a tough time distinguishing the two largest terns in our area, Caspian Tern and Royal Tern. After all, they both have big red or red-orange bills and black caps, right? It has become much easier with time and experience, so if you have problems with these species, I’ll share a few photos and tips. But first, here’s a test: are these Royal Terns? Caspian Terns? Or a mix of both? If so, how may are Royals, and how many are Caspians? If you aren’t sure, then read on. The answer will be provided at the end of this post.

Royals, Caspians, or both?

It’s tougher when they are isolated. Royal or Caspian?

First of all, both of these terns are LARGE compared to the medium-sized Forster’s and Common Terns, and enormous compared to the tiny Black or Least Terns. The head-to-tail tern sizes according to Sibley are: Caspian 21″, Royal 20″, Sandwich 15″, Gull-billed 14″, Forster’s 13″ Common 12″, Black 9.75″, and Least 9″. So start with size to narrow down any terns that you see, especially if other terns are in the mix. Caspian averages just an inch larger than Royal, but it’s tough to distinguish them just by size unless they are side-by-side, and even then the difference between the two species is not always apparent.

The two largest tern species stick out in a group of other terns strictly by their size. Here’s two Royal Terns mixed in with and towering above Common, Forster’s and Black Terns.

A second clue can come from their abundance and breeding range. Caspian Terns breed in small numbers here in NJ; Royal Terns do not breed here, with the nearest breeding location being in the Chesapeake Bay region. In the east, Caspian Terns breed mostly in Canada and along the Great Lakes, and therefore can be seen inland in spring when they are migrating through, while Royal Terns are more southerly breeders that are nearly always near the coast. Both species start appearing here in larger numbers in late summer and early fall when they disperse from their breeding grounds or when the Caspians migrate back through. Royal Tern numbers increase first, and Caspians increase later. Although surprises can occur, it’s useful to have expectations, so look up the relative frequency and timing of these species appearing wherever you are birding.

Although expectations can help guide us, ultimately we need to get down to the key identification points. With these species, the most important characteristics are the bill and the cap. The field guides will tell us that the bill of a Royal is huge and orange-red while that of a Caspian Tern is huger and redder. And for younger birds the Royal has a yellow bill while a Caspian has a light orange bill. Really? Can we distinguish red vs orange-red and yellow vs light orange, especially when the lighting can change our perceptions? Surprisingly, the answer is yes, especially with experience or when there is a mixed flock. But another thing to look for, especially using a scope or if you get a close look, is the smudgy tip on the Caspian Tern bill. Look at the photos below for some examples.

Royal Tern in breeding plumage. Notice the orangey bill and the lack of a smudgy tip. The bill is also less bulky than that of Caspians.

Caspian Tern in near-breeding plumage. The color of the bill is on the red end of the red-orange spectrum, but by itself it’s still tough to judge confidently. The smudgy tip confirms the ID.

Perhaps the easiest distinguishing feature between these species is the cap. As you can see above, both species have all-black caps in breeding plumage, but the Caspian Tern retains that full cap much longer. Royals have the full cap from March to June, while Caspians have it from February to October. Any large terns with a ‘Friar Tuck haircut’ from June through mid-September will be Royals (although the smaller Sandwich Terns have the same look too…see below). The Caspians don’t lose as much of the black either, even late in the season, so they never reach full ‘Friar Tuck’ mode.

Four Royal Terns in late September, The complete black cap is now a ‘Friar Tuck haircut’. They have looked like this since June. Compare with the Caspian Tern photo below taken on the same day.

Three Caspian Terns in late September when they just start to lose their cap. Although there is variability in how much black remains in the cap, they never lose as much of the cap as Royal Terns. The smudgy tip is quite obvious in this close-up photo. Notice that the bill color is only slightly different from the Royal Terns in the previous photo. Look for the smudgy bill tip if you’re not sure.

An immature Royal Tern in July. Note the yellow bill, fleshy legs, black tips of the feathers on the back, and the lack of a full black cap. All are characteristics of young Royal Terns.

Look out for Sandwich Terns, which are also larger than our mid-sized terns, and also have a distinct ‘Friar Tuck haircut’. They are much more rare in NJ than Royals, and have a black bill with a yellow tip.

Here we have three Sandwich Terns next to a Royal Tern, to show the size comparison. Look for Sandwich Terns mixed in flocks of Royal Terns.

Good luck trying to find and distinguish these birds. As with all birding, it gets easier with practice. Regarding the quiz photo at the top of this page (taken in August), there are five mature Royal Terns (with the funky haircut and orange bill), two young Royal Terns (with funky haircut and yellow bill), and a single Caspian Tern (with full dark cap and deep red bill) sitting down near the center of the photo. The second photo shows a single adult Royal Tern.

Pop BirdQuiz 16: New Jersey, September

Sep 242016

How many species of birds are in this photo?

Click the image for a larger photo.

Click here for the answer.

Pop BirdQuiz 15: August, New Jersey

Sep 242016

Here’s the kind of shoreline that birders love to see in August.
How many bird species are in this photo, and what are they?

Click on the photo for a larger image.

Click here for the answer.

Testing the Pelagic Waters

Sep 192016

OK, let’s start off this way: pelagic trips and pelagic birding are not for everybody. But are they for me? Are they for you? I just returned back from a 20-hour pelagic birding trip yesterday, so I’ll share some thoughts and experiences from that trip here.

Birders unboarding after a successful pelagic.

First of all, why would anybody want to go on a pelagic trip? From a birding perspective, that’s not too hard to understand: there are plenty of species that are difficult or impossible to see from land, and thus to find those birds we need to go where they live…out to sea. Secondly, it’s a great change of pace to be in a completely different environment out on the ocean, away from those nasty biting insects, as you relax on a boat with cool ocean breezes wafting through your hair as you spot new birds, whales, dolphins, sharks, and other sea life.

After painting that idealized picture, why aren’t we all going on pelagics? Well, I like to think of myself as having a positive attitude, so I won’t dwell on the potential negatives, but they include unreliable sea or weather conditions for boating, the potential for seasickness, the cost, and distant birds. I’ll return back to these items after describing how this trip fared.

Pelagic birding: part of our group scanning the open seas from the bow of the boat.

This excursion out of Wildwood NJ was organized by See Life Paulagics, a company run by Paul Guris. It was scheduled as an 18 hour overnighter, leaving dock at 10:30 PM, sailing out 90 miles to the 6,000 ft deep waters of the offshore ocean canyon. Paul explained that the water here was ~76 degrees, around 6 degrees warmer than the near-shore ocean temperatures. That temperature differential and the currents that bring the warm water here is the magnet that attracts interesting birds. Considering that you lose sight of land at around 18 miles from shore, much of our sailing was well beyond sight of land. Target birds included four species of storm-petrels, four shearwaters, three jaegers, and a petrel or two if we are lucky, most of which would be lifers for me or birds that I have only seen once or twice.

Immediately after boarding our 110 ft vessel, the Atlantic Star, we selected sleeping arrangements on benches or on the decks and within an hour or so tried to catch some sleep. It was not easy for me. Despite being quite tired and having seas that weren’t really that rough, the constant up-and-down motion of the boat made it tough to get much rest. Somewhere around 4:30AM we arrived at our destination, and I was glad to hear the engines finally slowing down. Then we started rocking side-to-side, and that didn’t help me at all. Since I had only been on one previous pelagic (in Westport, WA), where I had no problems whatsoever, I didn’t take much precaution other than packing the suggested non-greasy foods. In retrospect, that wasn’t a great move, and taking some Bonine or Dramamine would have been a wise decision. It was still dark, but the mates started laying out a chum line, and within another half hour or so it was light enough to start seeing some birds. I was feeling a bit queasy and didn’t want to be hanging over the railing, but I was not the only one having problems, as another passenger was adding his previous meal to the chumline and others (but not all) clearly were affected. That didn’t help. For the first few hours the uneasiness continued, but by getting out in the open air, concentrating on viewing the birds and watching the horizon, and eating small amounts of dry food (breakfast bars, pretzels), eventually I was able to eliminate the queasiness and feel comfortable again.

Inside the main cabin, with part of the group either recovering or resting during a long day.

The problem was that when the birding was probably the best in the early morning, I was at my worst and not in much of a mood for sorting through tough-to-ID birds through unsteady bins. Still, good birds were there. Wilson’s Storm-petrel was a nemesis bird for me, one that I have attempted to see from land, but with no success. Out here they were the most numerous species, with frequent groups of these dainty birds touching upon the water with their long legs. Unfortunately they were often too distant for great photos, but they were fun to see. Two other storm-petrels that are much tougher to find in NJ waters (Leach’s and Band-rumped) occasionally were found in the mix during the first hour or two, but at that point it was tough for me to focus on the birds. Later in the trip a fourth storm-petrel, White-faced Storm-petrel, was seen momentarily by a few passengers before it disappeared into a wave trough.

A flock of Wilson’s Storm-petrels. This species has been a nemesis bird for me. It can be seen from land, but I hadn’t seen them before today.

Cropped shot of a Wilson’s Storm-petrel.

The second most abundant bird today was Cory’s Shearwater. This is the largest shearwater in the world, with a wingspan of 44 inches. By its size, on this trip it could only be confused with the slightly smaller Great Shearwater, which was also present in decent numbers today. Cory’s has a gray hood, all-white undersides, and yellow bill, while Great Shearwater has black cap, black bill, and black streaks near the axillaries. Eventually I was able to ID them fairly easily. It was fun to see why they are called shearwaters, with amazing ability to fly low to the water, tilting occasionally to gain a bit of lift. The third shearwater that we saw today was the smaller Audubon’s Shearwater, a species that I saw last year in Tobago.

Cory’s Shearwater. It’s the largest shearwater in the world, best identified by its gray cap-and-neck combo and its yellow bill.

A Cory’s Shearwater on the water. From this angle you can see why they are in the tubenose family.

Here’s a Great Shearwater showing how they earned their name, with its wingtip actually in the water. It is distinguished from the similar-sized Cory’s Shearwater by its black cap, thin black bill, and narrow white rump band.

Undersides of a Great Shearwater. The marked underwing contrasts with the clean white underwing of Cory’s. Look at the length of those wings relative to the body!

The birding highlight of the day was seeing two Black-capped Petrels. In both cases the petrel was originally found on the water, mixed in with shearwaters. When Paul excitedly screamed out “Black-capped Petrel…second bird from the left”, anybody would recognize that it was a ‘good bird’ just by the volume of his voice. This was a well-behaved bird, flying left, then right, then back again, ensuring that everyone aboard had plenty of satisfactory views. Like a classic diva bird that knows it’s the star of the show.

Black-capped Petrel. This bird of the day put on a great show. It’s a tough bird to see in NJ, as it’s a southern species that likes warm water. We saw two on this trip.

Soaring Black-capped Petrel. Note the large white rump patch that easily distinguishes it from the larger Great Shearwater.

As the trip progressed, the leaders occasionally would shout out ‘sky bird’. This was a sign that something different was being sighted, as the shearwaters, petrels, and storm-petrels tend to fly close to the water. Any bird flying high enough to be seen against the sky had a chance to be something else, with terns, gulls, and jaegers being on that list. In fact, the group did see eight distant Bridled Terns on this trip, a Parasitic Jaeger, and two Long-tailed Jaegers. One Long-tailed Jaeger must have taken cooperativity lessons from the Black-capped Petrel, as it sailed towards us and then continued directly over mid-ship. Nice.

An immature Long-tailed Jaeger.

In addition to the birds, we were fortunate to see other types of sea life, including a Hammerhead Shark, a few Portuguese Man-o-Wars (or is it ‘Men-o-War’?), a flock of acrobatic Spotted Dolphins, a few Pilot Whales, a pair of likely Gervais’ Whales breaching, a Mola, and a few turtles. All great to see.

As we were returning back to port, the inevitable question returned: would I do it over again? And if so, what would I change? Or would I recommend this kind of trip to others? I think that any serious birder needs to try a pelagic to see if it is their cup of tea. To put this trip into perspective, four NJ review species (Black-capped Petrel, Leach’s Storm-petrel, Band-rumped Storm-petrel, and White-faced Storm-petrel) were seen on this outing. On the other hand, I would probably not recommend starting with an overnighter. The spring and fall warm-water trips in NJ need to get out to the canyons to reach the warm currents that the target species love, but for winter pelagics it is not necessary to go as far out to reach the target alcids and winter gulls. I’d definitely recommend starting with a shorter trip. And by all means take simple precautions and Bonine or Dramamine to avoid seasickness. The See Life Paulagics web site has suggestions for preventing seasickness; I should have heeded all of their advice instead of just some. Paul’s outfit is essentially the only option for pelagic trips in the NY/NJ/PA area, and they run a great ship, complete with multiple highly experienced leaders who are spotting and calling out tough birds, communicating with each other using a wireless microphone system. They lay out a chum line to try to draw birds in towards the boat, but will chase good birds (and mammals) when necessary to get better views. So will I become a regular member of the pelagic group? I doubt it. Will I go again? Yes. Maybe I’ll see you there at the dock.

Barefoot Birding

Aug 222016

Today Jeanine and I felt like doing something different. Instead of spending a day birding from a canoe, or walking in the woods, the idea was to hit the beach and see if we can find one of the rarer terns that visit New Jersey. We weren’t going to be too picky; Roseate, Sandwich, or Bridled all would do. Of course, with all the bathers out there enjoying the surf, the options for a relatively peaceful birding beach location are somewhat limited. The tip of Sandy Hook is a great choice. Parts of Island Beach State Park can be good, but seeing all the cars on the beach there is simply depressing. The beach at Holgate is very nice, but Holgate is closed until Sept. 1. We decided instead to try the North Brig Natural Area, just north of Atlantic City.

This is not a walk for everyone; it is a ~2.75 mile walk one way from the parking area to the tip of the peninsula, and that’s walking on sand with the potential for greenhead flies joining us along the way. And indeed they were present; I took to wearing a beach towel like a Tongan war garment to keep them off of my bare legs. It looks goofy, but hey, sometimes you just have to try adapt for the sake of adventure. Thankfully the ~12 mph wind kept the numbers out of ‘lets get of here’ range, into the ‘annoying’ level of being bitten. The way that I figure it, sometimes a little blood needs to be sacrificed to the birding gods for the opportunity of seeing something really good.

I saw too many of these buggers today.

This is not my typical birding attire, but it worked for keeping the greenheads off of my legs.

The walk started out great, with lots of shorebirds in the surf nearly the entire distance. There were thousands of Sanderling running in and out of the surf line, joined by hundreds of Semipalmated Plovers, a few Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers to sort through, and a smattering of gulls. The diversity wasn’t staggering, but the sheer numbers of birds was impressive, and it was simply fun to be around so many birds and to sort through that huge background to find those that were a little more interesting. In other words, my kind of birding.

In this photo you get a sense of the number of birds that were here today, dotting the entire coastline as the tide receded.

And they did eventually start appearing. First a couple couple Ruddy Turnstones stuck out among the smaller common birds, then a singleton Short-billed Dowitcher, an American Oystercatcher here and there, and a single Whimbrel. Red Knots ranged from having a bright salmon-colored breast to those that were nearly all-gray. It was a great example of using the size and structure of the bird, not the plumage, to help to identify them. Eventually we found an area with a tight cluster of ~120 Red Knots. That’s the kind of stuff we were looking for.

One of the American Oystercatchers that we saw today.

Look at all those Oystercatchers. Isn’t that a great sight?

Part of a group of ~ 120 Red Knots in various plumage states.

Higher up on the sand and away from the surf, we were able to spot a Piping Plover that blended in so well with its background. Later on we found a cluster of these delightful and threatened birds. Any day where you can see a dozen Piping Plovers is a good one in my book. A short distance from the plover a few Ghost Crabs were popping in and out of their burrows in the sand. Cool!

It’s nice to see a single Piping Plover, but even better to see a group of them.

Here’s what a Ghost Crab looks like.

We eventually made it to the tip of the peninsula, where we were alone with a flock ~150 gulls and terns to sort through. I scanned through the flock twice, counting 29 Royal Terns and two Caspian Terns and was about to give up on seeing a rarity when Jeanine suggested that I take a look at one in the scope that had a yellow tip to its bill. YES! it was our main target for the day, a gorgeous Sandwich Tern, that was larger than the accompanying Common Terns, with a shaggy Friar Tuck haircut, long black bill, and overall brighter plumage. This was the first Sandwich Tern for both of us in New Jersey. The bird separated from the flock and I was able to get a fairly distant documentation shot before it flew off towards the ocean.

Jeanine’s Sandwich Tern, or as Pete Dunne calls it, the tern ‘with mustard on its bill”.

The Sandwich Tern in comparison to nearby Common Terns.

A few minutes later, I noticed a dark-winged gull that was a little smaller than a nearby Herring Gull. One look at its bright yellow legs confirmed it was a Lesser Black-backed Gull, another one of our targets. This species is a common breeder in Europe, but as far as I know is not known to breed in North America, yet we can see good numbers of them occasionally here in the US. Last year we saw twelve of them on a September walk at Holgate, and we saw yet another one of them later in the walk today. The interesting thing is that the Holgate birds from last year were all immatures, while both of our birds today were adults in clean breeding plumage.

Lesser Black-backed Gull on the left, slightly smaller than the nearby Herring Gull. Look at those bright yellow legs.

Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull in flight.

It was yet another super day of birding, finding most of our target birds; I highly recommend a day of barefoot birding for a change, seeing all of these great species, and enjoying nearly constant bird activity with the sounds and atmosphere of a different side of the Jersey shore. I love barefoot birding.

Take nothing but photos; leave nothing but bare footprints. My kind of birding.

Reddish Egret in NJ

Aug 172016

Today I went on a canoeing / birding trip with my friend Chris into the Island Beach State Park Sedge Islands, hoping to find some of the nice species that frequent the sand flats in summer. We were not disappointed, finding several dozen Royal Terns, an immature Least Tern, Brown Pelicans, and amongst all the shorebirds, we spotted a pair of Marbled Godwits. It’s tough to beat a Marbled Godwit, especially when it is so cooperative.

I love seeing Marbled Godwits, and this one was especially cooperative.

Or at least I thought that it would be hard to beat a godwit. As we passed one of the side channels, I noticed a smallish wading bird that struck me as being just too gray. It was far too small for a Great Blue Heron, and I have never seen any Little Blue Herons or Tri-colored Herons that were so gray. In addition, it didn’t have an extremely long bill or a white belly, eliminating Tri-colored. It didn’t look like a Little Blue either, since it had black legs and an all-black bill.

Immature Reddish Egret. Note the black legs, all-black bill, yellow eye, and overall dull gray appearance. It lacks the shaggy necked appearance, which is only seen in breeding adults.

A flight shot.

We stopped for photos, and while the bird was feeding in the shallows, it would occasionally raise its wings upward and chase after prey, as you can see in the photo below. Although that behavior was interesting, it wasn’t definitive, as I have seen both Tri-colored Herons and Reddish Egrets using that same approach. So putting it all together, we weren’t sure what species we were seeing, but the photos should help to figure it out after we got home. (I know, I know; I always tell people to bring field guides into the field, and I didn’t do it here for fear of it getting soaked in the canoe. Mea culpa.)

Here it is hunting in typical Reddish Egret style, with its wings held upwards, running after prey. This is very unlike the typical patient feeding style of Little Blue Herons.

A successful hunt.

After returning back home and examining the photos and comparing them with the field guides, it became apparent that this bird was an immature Reddish Egret. Cool.

So how rare is it for Reddish Egret to appear up here in the northeast? According to the NJ Birds Record Committee records, Reddish Egret had only been reported twice previously in NJ, with both birds being found originally at Brig/Forsythe. The first sighting was on Aug. 23, 1998, and the second one (which was also an immature bird…see here) was at Brig from Aug 24-31 of 2012, and presumably the same bird was seen in the IBSP Sedge Islands by Alex Tongas and his wife on Aug. 31, 2012. So although there aren’t many records, this sighting is consistent with them appearing up here this time of the year. Moreover, over the past 10 years, there are only three eBird reports for Reddish Egret on the east coast north of North Carolina (where they appear annually). In addition to the 2012 NJ bird, one was sighted in Maryland in 2015, and one in Virginia in 2008, with all of these northeastern Reddish Egrets being immature birds. Since 2000 there are only two reports in eBird of Reddish Egret appearing further up the eastern coast of the US, with probably the same bird being found two weeks apart in August 2003 in Rhode Island and MA.

A different way to determine how rare a bird is, is to ask what other rare species have been found at comparable frequency. I was stunned to learn that Reddish Egret had been sighted in NJ less frequently than all of the following species (according to the NJ Birds Records Committee list of accepted sightings, with the number of sightings in parenthesis):
White-tailed Tropicbird (3x)
Wood Stork (16x)
Magnificent Frigatebird (8x)
Anhingha (16x)
Roseate Spoonbill (3x)
Yellow Rail (40x)
Northern Lapwing (4x)
Long-billed Curlew (10x)
Bar-tailed Godwit (6x)
Red-necked Stint (3x)
Little Stint (3x)
Ivory Gull (4x)
Sabine’s Gull (18x)
Whiskered Tern (3x)
Black-chinned Hummingbird (4x)
Calliope Hummingbird (9x)
Black-backed Woodpecker (16x)
Crested Caracara (5x)
Gray Kingbird (15x)
Violet-green Swallow (5x)
Bewick’s Wren (5x)
Mountain Bluebird (3x)
Sage Thrasher (4x)
Green-tailed Towhee (7x)
Black-throated Sparrow (3x)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (6x)
Black-headed Grosbeak (24x)
Hoary Redpoll (4x)

That is a very impressive list, and I would never have expected it to be as uncommon as those species. Knowing that information now, it certainly qualifies as a ‘good bird’.

It turned out to be a pretty good day after all. You just never know what’s around the next bend.

Addendum (Sept. 30, 2016)

The interesting follow-up to this sighting is that this Reddish Egret is now by far the longest-staying Reddish Egret in NJ. The 1998 bird was a one-day wonder and the 2012 bird stayed for nine days. The last eBird report of the 2016 Reddish Egret at Island Beach was on Sept. 28, and then a Reddish Egret was spotted at Forsythe NWR on Sept 30. So if we assume that was the same bird, then it was here in NJ for 45 days! Actually, to be more correct it was not reported for a ~10 day period in early Sept. but was re-sighted repeatedly since then. Jeanine and I returned back to the Sedge Islands three more times since the original sighting and saw it every time. On our last trip there Sept. 26 it appeared that its neck plumage was just beginning to develop some reddish color and shows signs of becoming shaggy. What a great visitor, and by far my birding highlight of 2016.

Here it is on Sept. 26. From this view the neck appears a little more reddish than it was on Aug. 17, with some signs of developing the shaggy appearance of the breeding adults.

Numbers and proximity on Great Bay Boulevard

Jul 102016

Today was an interesting morning, with two hours or so spent birding in the Great Bay Boulevard WMA, via the ~3.5-mile two-lane road that heads straight into the marshes of Great Bay in Tuckerton, New Jersey, and ending near a sandy beach at the tip of the marsh.

An aerial view showing Great Bay Boulevard and its path through the Tuckerton marshes.

It’s an interesting place to bird, with extensive marsh extending on both sides of the road, and pockets of shallow pools and channels that can hold nice collections of shorebirds and waders. Typically the birding here is from a car with occasional stops to scan the marsh, thereby requiring relatively little walking. Naturally, we were hoping for some of the more difficult-to-see species, such as American Avocet or White Ibis, each of which has been spotted from this road this spring. Unfortunately, neither of these species was in the cards for us today. The day was not lost however, as I crossed one of the small bridges and came upon a pool right next to the road that was simply filled with wading birds. Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Glossy Ibis, Little Blue Herons, Great Blue Herons, and Tricolored Herons were all present. The proximity and numbers were stunning. I have never seen this concentration of waders in New Jersey or even in Florida. I just parked there and sat in gleeful silence, enjoying the scene as cars passed by without stopping because they weren’t rare birds. It was a great reminder to me of the pleasures of common birds and that if you can’t enjoy common birds then you might as well just hang up the binoculars.

Part of the extensive concentrated roadside group of waders. A delightful sea of white.

There were a few other ‘nice’ birds there too, including Black Skimmers, Least Terns, and Gull-billed Terns. For some reason I am drawn to ibis, and a cooperative Glossy Ibis helped to make my photographic day.

Glossy Ibis at close range.

After finishing with birding there and heading to a barbeque picnic, we learned that two other birders just reported seeing five American Avocets on Great Bay Boulevard. Somehow we missed them, but somehow it didn’t matter too much.

It’s not always about birds

Jun 102016

This might fall under the category of borderline heresy for a birder, but my goal for going ‘birding’ is not always to see birds. Most of the time I just want to be outside on a nice day with good people, and birds are a pseudo-justification to get outdoors. In fact, some days I prefer to see if I could find something of interest besides birds. We can call it broadening my horizons, or maintaining balance in my interests. The ‘distractions’ could include flowers, mushrooms, interesting ferns, deer, foxes, coyotes, turtles, snakes, butterflies, dragonflies, calling frogs, crabs, or it could be a peaceful day out on the water in a kayak or canoe. June is a particularly good time for distractions, after the madness of May migration, when the focus turns to the local breeders and the occasional unexpected late migrant or lost vagrant bird. This year the main ‘distraction’ for me has been finding some of our local snakes. Hey, reptiles are interesting too, even if they don’t have feathers.

Here is a Northern Pine Snake, a threatened species in NJ. This one was probably between 4 and 5 ft.long.

Here’s a pair of Timber Rattlesnakes. They are an endangered species in NJ. It’s an interesting day when you find a single snake, but when you see two of them together, it’s pretty special.

A Black Rat Snake. They are not very uncommon here, and are an adept climber.

A coiled Timber Rattlesnake. It’s times like this that I’m glad that I have a large lens. I wouldn’t want to take this photo using my iPhone.

Closeup of the the end that you want to see.

A Corn Snake partly in the shadows. Isn’t that pattern fantastic? This species is also endangered in NJ.

Here I am floating in a very large ripe banana. This was on the Wading River, one of the classic NJ Pinelands float trips.

Here’s an Eastern Hognose Snake that swam across the river in front of our kayaks, and then began flaring its throat as we approached it on the bank.

Visiting spring migration hotspots

May 172016

I spent the past three days with brother Rich on a bit of a mini-vacation to some migrant hotspots that are a bit beyond daytrip distance from home, and the entire trip was fantastic. Our major destination was the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area near Wurtsboro, NY. ‘The Bash’ has a great reputation, and our timing apparently couldn’t have been better. Despite temperatures that hovered just a tad over freezing overnight and with occasionally windy conditions, the birds were in, and after two days I was starting to develop a blister on the finger that was operating the focusing wheel of my binoculars. (that’s a good problem to have) In particular, I saw more Bay-breasted Warblers on this trip than on any other excursion I have ever taken. Add to that a couple Blackburnians, two Mourning Warblers (thanks to John Haas and to Carol Weiss for advising us of their approximate locations), a pair of Wilson’s Warblers, plenty of Canada Warblers and Swainson’s Thrushes, singing Ceruleans, and a nice variety of thrushes and vireos included among the usual cast of spring migrants, and we were kept busy for many hours each day. Although The Bash is a wonderful place to find rarities, on days like this it’s just the numbers of migrants that makes it a pleasure to visit, and you never know what will pop into view next. On our final morning I found what I thought was a Least Flycatcher, when another birder later mentioned that they saw a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher at the same location and another one further up the trail. We were able to get better looks at that second one, which was vocalizing differently from the Least Flycatchers, nailing the identification. As we were coming back to the car for a break, we met John Haas, author of the definitive book of birding locations in Sullivan County, who explained that they show up occasionally in fall, but are rare in spring. We therefore showed John where we saw the birds, and together were able to re-find both of them again. The extent of yellow on the belly and throat appeared variable to me depending on the lighting, but it was clear that these were indeed Yellow-bellied Flycatchers. Thanks to John and to the anonymous birder for their expertise and for a mini-lesson on a tough flycatcher identification.

A morning view of the Bashakill from the Haven Rd. bridge.

One of two Yellow-bellied Flycatchers at The Bash today.

Our second Mourning Warbler sighting of the trip, thanks to a tip from Carol Weiss and her Rockland Audubon group who spotted it a few minutes earlier.

One of the more abundant birds at the Bashakill was Veery. Many years ago I found my lifer Veery here.

A Yellow-throated Vireo being fluffed up by the breeze.

A Broad-winged Hawk being harassed by a Blue Jay as it tries to eat a recently caught meal.

A White-crowned Sparrow and Indigo Bunting side-by-side in D&H Linear Canal Park in Wurtsboro

A Common Raven in flight. They are becoming increasingly common even in NJ, but it’s still fun to see that wedge-shaped tail and hear its croaaakkkkk.

After two full days on the Bash, we headed southward, for a relatively quick stop in Sterling Forest, where the highlights were point-blank views of singing Golden-winged Warblers, good numbers of Cerulean Warblers, a few Hooded Warblers, and our second and third Blue-winged x Golden-winged hybrid Brewster’s Warblers of the trip.

To finish the trip, we stopped at Garret Mountain Reservation in Woodland Park NJ. Although we arrived at 11AM, fairly late in the day for optimum birding, Garret was Garret, and the trees were hopping with birds. We roamed around the grounds, but it was barely necessary to move, as the birds were active and mobile. As it should be. You know it’s going to be a good day when the first seven or eight birds that you look at are all different species. We ended up with seventeen species of warblers here, including 2 Bay-breasted, 3 Blackburnian, 3 Cape Mays, and double digit Canada Warblers. The highlight of the day for me, however, was finding my first-ever roosting nightjar, a Common Nighthawk, alongside the road near Barbour’s Pond. I love surprises when birding. Since I had never seen a nightjar roosting, I had to check my field guide for identification, but the barring on the belly and chest, along with the clear white feather on the forward edge of the folded wing, makes for a clear identification. I love having to break out the field guide on a trip; it means something new is being learned.

My first-ever roosting Common Nighthawk, alongside the road at Garret Mountain.

A gorgeous and highly cooperative eye-level male Cape May Warbler seen at Garret Mountain.

A Blackburnian Warbler takes flight. It doesn’t matter how many times you see them; they always elicit ooohhs and aaahs.

A Gray-cheeked Thrush, not too uncommon to see them mixed in with the Swainson’s Thrushes at Garret during this time of year.

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How many species of birds are in this photo?

Here’s the kind of shoreline that birders love to see in August. How many bird species are in this photo, and what are they?

Addendum (Sept. 30, 2016)

Here’s the kind of shoreline that birders love to see in August.
How many bird species are in this photo, and what are they?