Double Trouble SP | Backyard 4/22--Prairie Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

I suppose it's because impatience is one of my defining characteristics that it seemed urgent this morning at Double Trouble that I at least find a Prairie Warbler there, despite knowing that I'm going to see a Prairie Warbler without a doubt this year, barring getting run over by a backhoe.  So instead of taking my usual route up to Ore Pond and back to the village walking along the canal (where the Louisiana Waterthrush often lurks--and did today but eluded me), I headed straight to the Hurricane Sandy Cedar Restoration area and almost immediately heard a Prairie. Talk about a misnamed bird! Prairie Warblers have absolutely no interest in prairies--they should be called Pine Barrens Warblers, so much do they love the jack oaks and pitch pines around here.  Only the Pine Warbler (which lingers all year) seems more of a Piney than the Prairie. 

Everything else there was what I'd expect and had already seen. Not only did I not find the Looie, but there was also no sign of the Pileated Woodpecker reported there yesterday by very reliable birders, which I believe will be a new species for the park, nor did I see the American Bittern someone else found in the reeds, nor did I see the Spotted Sandpiper on one of the ponds. Of those four, the sandpiper is the only one I'm certain I'll see this year. 

I left mid-morning because I had an appointment and came home after that. Putzing around the house, I glanced out the back window and said to myself, "That's no House Finch!" Picking up the bins I was thrilled to see our first Rose-breasted Grosbeak gorging on sunflower seeds. We usually get a Rose-breasted once a year and it may hang for a day or two, but they're certainly not regular. This one seems to be a little early for these parts as it was flagged "rare." But I have the photographic evidence. 

About an hour later our roofmate called me and said, "Larry go look at what's on my feeder." I already knew what it was before I looked back there, but he was just flabbergasted at how stunning this male looked. He says he saw the bird last week so maybe another one spent a day or so here. I don't think we've ever had one stay more than 2 days. 

A Rose-breasted Grosbeak is not a gimme and getting one in the backyard after a disappointing walk at Double Trouble was (ahem) doubly satisfying. 

Double Trouble SP | Ocean City Welcome Center 4/16--Lesser Yellowlegs, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Ovenbird, Worm-eating Warbler

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Ocean City Welcome Center

A bifurcated day. I started the morning early, since the whip-poor-will woke me up at 5:20. A walk around Double Trouble seemed like it might turn up some new birds which it did, including one that was totally unexpected. First thing in the morning, the area behind the sawmill is often very active, as it was today, with Common Yellowthroats singing and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers buzzing around, but one bird caught my attention in a bush.  I couldn't see it very well but size and "giss" told me it was a warbler. Luckily, it flew up out of the bush and into a tree that was just starting to bud. Definitely a warbler but one with a black strip behind its eye and a buffy face. Then it "sang" a song that was cross between a Pine Warbler and Chipping Sparrow--huh! a Worm-eating Warbler. A couple of gnatcatchers came into the tree and chased it away. I don't see a lot of worm-eaters--I'm lucky to hear a couple a year--and I have definitely never had one at Double Trouble, so this was a treat. 

No Louisiana Waterthrush again today, but at the reservoir along Mud Dam Road there are now mud flats where two weeks ago there was water and on those flats I found the usual Killdeer and the not so usual Lesser Yellowlegs. I'm often leery of separating the yellowlegs if they don't call, but this one was, as I once hear Greg describe it, a "delicate" sandpiper, feeding daintily in the muck. 

I was also looking for one more warbler today and figured the best place to look for it was along the purple trail but walked toward there along Mud Dam I got lucky and heard the unmistakable song of the Ovenbird and got even luckier when some forceful pishing brought it out of the brush and onto a branch over my head. Three year birds in a couple of hours, I was happy.Late morning, Shari & I headed down the Parkway for our annual trip to the Ocean City Welcome Center on the causeway to (where else) Ocean City. The rookery there is quite an attraction, even if you're not an ardent photographer. I've often said that it's like going to the zoo, because it is so-ooo easy to find the birds. That was and was not the case today. 

Part of the rookery

I remember 9 years ago when one White Ibis showed up in the rookery. It was an event and birders from all over New Jersey, including us, made the trip down to see the bird. Today, the bird is no longer flagged as rare in Cape May County. In fact, the rookery is now overwhelmingly a White Ibis breeding colony. There were at least 125 White Ibises there, and probably many more. I see that last year I listed 200 and that's probably closer to the actual number. But, as the White Ibises move in, something has to move out, as there are only so many trees in that little patch of marsh. And what have move out, it seems, are the Yellow-crowned Night-Herons.  When I looked over the railing, all I saw were white waders nesting and roosting--mostly ibises, with some Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets sprinkled in. It was distressing not to find any yellow-crowns when last year I broke the eBird filter by listing 40 (which was probably an undercount). Finally, I saw one flying in the back of the marsh. About a half hour later, Shari found another walking on the edge of the rookery, gathering sticks, which was a good sign, meaning that some nesting is still going on there. In all, we found perhaps 5 yellow-crowns, including an immature bird, but it is nothing like in years past. Perhaps it's early and the yellow-crowns will find a way to fight their way back in, but right now the White Ibises have the hammer. 

Little Blue Heron
Photo: Shari Zirlin

Aside from Green Herons and, surprisingly, Great Blue Herons, we found every wader you'd expect in NJ, including nesting Little Blue Herons and one Tricolored Heron. And two American Oystercatchers out on point of land made the day for Shari. If I was going to introduce somebody to birding, the place I would take them is the rookery. 

Double Trouble:

40 species (+1 other taxa)
Canada Goose  5
Mallard  3
Mallard (Domestic type)  1
Mourning Dove  1
Killdeer  1     
Lesser Yellowlegs  1     
Herring Gull  1
Great Blue Heron  1
Turkey Vulture  5
Osprey  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Downy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  2
Eastern Phoebe  2
White-eyed Vireo  2
Blue Jay  2
American Crow  3
Common Raven  1     Croaking
Carolina Chickadee  1
Tufted Titmouse  3
Tree Swallow  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  6
Carolina Wren  2
American Robin  5
House Finch  2
Chipping Sparrow  10
Field Sparrow  2
Dark-eyed Junco  1
White-throated Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  4
Eastern Towhee  7
Red-winged Blackbird  6
Brown-headed Cowbird  2
Ovenbird  1
Worm-eating Warbler  1     
Common Yellowthroat  3
Palm Warbler  2
Pine Warbler  4
Yellow-rumped Warbler  2
Northern Cardinal  2

Ocean City Welcome Center

23 species
Brant  55
Canada Goose  5
American Black Duck  1
Clapper Rail  1
American Oystercatcher  2
Laughing Gull  1
Herring Gull  2
Great Black-backed Gull  1
Forster's Tern  2
Yellow-crowned Night Heron  5    
Black-crowned Night Heron  3
Little Blue Heron  3     
Tricolored Heron  1
Snowy Egret  20
Great Egret  25
White Ibis  125
Glossy Ibis  12
Osprey  1
Fish Crow  1
House Finch  1
Song Sparrow  2
Red-winged Blackbird  1
Boat-tailed Grackle  20

Black-crowned Night-Heron

IBSP Spizzle Creek 4/14--White Ibis

Naturally, the day after I was at Spizzle Creek last week, White Ibises showed up.  While not as rare and exciting as they used to be (they're breeding at the rookery in Ocean City), it is still a cool bird for the county. This morning was the first chance I had to get back there and I drove directly to Spizzle Creek instead of working my way south, sacrificing quality for quantity. 

I took the left fork first and did not see any ibises, white or glossy. On the right fork, which overlooks a much larger marsh, I saw lots of white forms--one had a red beak, but before I could get my scope on it, it disappeared into a channel. Ibises aren't all that large, compared to Great Egrets or Great Blue Herons, and if they stand in a foot of water, their bodies can easily be hidden by reeds and spartina grass. I walked up to the blind and stood on the "porch." Scanning around, I found Tricolored Herons, Little Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, the aforementioned "Greats," and suddenly, a very nice White Ibis standing up in the marsh. I was able to get some so-so photos. 

The reports I had seen indicated there were multiple ibises (one report even speculated about breeding) so I thought that perhaps I had seen two--the cooperative one and the one that ducked down. Then, while still standing by the blind, I saw three more (?) ibises feeding in a pool. Three? Four? Five? I put down three. I only need one. 

From there I when up to the Johnnie Allen Cove Trail which looks south into the same marsh. Again, the ibises played peekaboo with me and the one (or possibly two) that I saw did not afford photo opportunities. 

The rest of the bayside trails (and one peek at the ocean) turned up only what I'd expect and, aside from Yellow-rumps, no warblers. 

Now the moan and groan department. Steve & I crossed on the roadway, he going south, me going north and he texted me that he had found Rusty Blackbirds at Reed's Road. I read his message as I was starting out there, but not only did I have no luck finding them, I was embarrassed to find out that there is a stream off the trail that I never noticed, despite being there dozens of times. Then, when I got home, I saw that someone had gone to Spizzle Creek right after I left and turned up a Sora walking in the marsh. Nice photo. I had walked up those trails twice with nary a Sora. According to Steve, it's the first sighting of one there in almost 60 years! Much gnashing of teeth. 

35 species
Brant  100
Mute Swan  1
American Black Duck  15     Flyover flock
Northern Pintail  4     Continuing brown headed ducks with white stripe up long thin necks
Lesser Scaup  1     Hen
Bufflehead  40
Red-breasted Merganser  8
Mourning Dove  4
American Oystercatcher  2
Greater Yellowlegs  1
Herring Gull  100
Great Black-backed Gull  2
Forster's Tern  2
Common Loon  1
Double-crested Cormorant  8
Little Blue Heron  2
Tricolored Heron  3
Snowy Egret  3
Great Egret  10
Great Blue Heron  1
White Ibis  3     
Osprey  8
Northern Flicker  1
American Crow  2
Tree Swallow  1
Golden-crowned Kinglet  1     Entrance trail
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1
Northern Mockingbird  1
American Robin  1
House Finch  1
Song Sparrow  3
Eastern Towhee  1
Red-winged Blackbird  10
Boat-tailed Grackle  2
Northern Cardinal  1

Backyard 4/12--Eastern Whip-poor-will

 At 8:03 tonight the first Eastern Whip-poor-will of the year started singing in the woods behind the house. When I stepped out the door, I thought I heard one warming up but it was so faint I couldn't be certain, and then, just as I was saying to myself, "not tonight," it began to sing. Shari, sitting in the bedroom with the window open, heard it at the same time. 

Double Trouble SP 4/10--Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Some birds you go looking for, some birds you just run into. The latter, I think, are more fun. 

A number of years ago, Greg Prelich discovered a Louisiana Waterthrush at Double Trouble SP, along a slow-moving canal. At the time, LOWA was, if not a rarity, an extremely infrequent visitor to the county. I got that bird, and annually, it seems, Louie shows up at Double Trouble, an odd place for one, since they seem to prefer fast-moving streams. Today, I went there to see if I could turn one up--I haven't for the last couple of years--and I concentrated on both that canal and the parallel Cedar Creek, which does move with speed, especially now with the water coming out over the spillway from Ore Pond. I looked assiduously. I was very patient. And I didn't find one. 

Now, I was also thinking that those pine and cedar lined trails would be a good place to pick up a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, but mostly what I saw and heard were Pine Warblers. I varied my route today and walked in the woods on a trail that runs besides the Parkway (Parkway Access Road, it's called, though there is no Parkway access) and aside from a few chickadees and a dove, it was dead in there. After that, I shrugged my shoulders and just birded. 

I was doing a big "S" around the 3 bogs in back (Platt, Sweetwater, and one I don't know the name of) when I heard a familiar buzz. I saw a bird in a small cedar on the Sweetwater trail, but out hopped a Swamp Sparrow.  But I still I heard that little buzz and looking into the no-name bog, in the reeds and bare twigs, where I wouldn't expect to find one (although I suppose gnats are just as likely to be there as in the woods) I found the gnatcatcher actively jumping around, making warblers look sluggish. 

Aside from that bird, everything else today was expected:

34 species
Canada Goose  5
Mallard  2
Mourning Dove  1
Killdeer  1     Mud Dam Reservoir
Laughing Gull  2
Turkey Vulture  1
Bald Eagle  1     Ore Pond on power line tower
Downy Woodpecker  1
Hairy Woodpecker  1     Heard Mud Dam
Northern Flicker  5
Eastern Phoebe  4
American Crow  1
Fish Crow  2
Carolina Chickadee  4
Tufted Titmouse  2
Tree Swallow  7
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1
Carolina Wren  1
Eastern Bluebird  2
American Robin  3
House Finch  1
American Goldfinch  2
Chipping Sparrow  3
Field Sparrow  1
Dark-eyed Junco  5
Song Sparrow  1
Swamp Sparrow  1     Sweetwater Lane
Eastern Towhee  1
Red-winged Blackbird  1
Brown-headed Cowbird  5
Pine Warbler  13
Yellow-rumped Warbler  1
Northern Cardinal  4

Island Beach SP 4/9--Glossy Ibis, White-eyed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo

I made my first trip of the year to Island Beach SP today. Through the spring, I'm going to try to get there at least once a week. Try. I stuck strictly to the bayside today, starting on Reed's Road, which is a muddy mess. I didn't really expect to find much there since it is too early for a migration push but there is an unwritten law that you must walk it. I was right in my expectations, but there was an impressive fight of Northern Flickers, especially going over the bowl, so that species seems to be on the move.  

Brown Thrasher, Spizzle Creek

Instead of methodically working my way south, I drove down directly to Spizzle Creek which has the most varied habitat of all the trails--marsh, the bay, a tree-lined entrance path. It was on that path that I heard a Brown Thrasher (county bird) and while I was looking for it, I felt a shadow pass above me. Looking up, I saw a flock of 18 Glossy Ibis flying northeast. Year bird, and the species I figured I'd find at Spizzle, it being the best spot for waders. Too bad I couldn't get a picture of them. I eventually found the thrasher atop a tree--a good rule of thumb when looking for thrashers or mockingbirds it always to look at the highest point around. In Brooklyn, the tops of TV antennas (remember those?) were always a good spot to find the singing bird. 

Spizzle Creek has what I think is the largest concentration of Ospreys in the state and it seem every nest platform was already occupied. Herons and egrets were out in the flooded marsh, which was coming up to and in places overrunning the fairly new boardwalk to the blind, which was completely surrounded by water. 

Then I started to work my way back north. A walk along Johnnie Allen's Cove trail added Dunlins and Black-bellied Plovers to the day list. They kayak access trail was dead. The next trail, about 3 miles north, was the Tidal Pool trail. As soon as I stepped onto it I could see there was a lot of activity, most of which turned out to be Yellow-rumped Warblers. However, I did hear and record my first White-eyed Vireo of the year, and then a little later on saw a Red-eyed Vireo. Both of these birds were flagged "rare" but another a week or so will eliminate that appellation.  

While I there I met Steve coming up the path. Hadn't seen him in a while. Cedar Waxwings flew above us. I asked him if there was anything at the marina which is just north and west of the park's entrance, and he said "only" Forster's Terns. But I needed Forster's Terns for the state and county (saw them in Delaware in last month). So, my last stop was the marina where there were 14 of the terns roosted at the far end of a pier. I examined each to see if one was a Roseate Tern  (it was around this time last year that one was at the spot) but they were all the same species. 

Forster's Terns, IBSP Marina

Five trails and one marina yielded 55 species 3 year birds, 1 state bird, 2 county birds. I'm sure a look at the ocean side would have added more ducks and perhaps gannets, but there didn't seem a compelling reason to over to that side today. 

Brant
Mute Swan
Mallard
American Black Duck
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Horned Grebe
Mourning Dove
Black-bellied Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Dunlin
Laughing Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Forster's Tern
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Snowy Egret
Great Egret
Glossy Ibis
Osprey
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Peregrine Falcon
Eastern Phoebe
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Carolina Wren
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Boat-tailed Grackle
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal

Mathis Veteran's Memorial Park 4/4--Laughing Gull

There use to be an informal contest among Jersey birders to see who could find the first Laughing Gull of the year. I think Pete Bacinski started it; at least he was the one who seemed to keep track of it. If that contest was still going on today, I would finish a miserable last. Laughing Gull shouldn't be an elusive bird, yet, despite a number of trips to the shore, not to mention Wawa parking lots, I actually had to seek them out today as if they were a rarity. 

After a walk at Double Trouble SP this morning, I drove to the nearest spot where I thought they would be likely and that wouldn't be under water after 3 days of rain--Mathis Veteran's Memorial Park in what I think is Beachwood. This little park fronts onto the Toms River where it gets very wide before entering Barnegat Bay. Sure enough, lining the concrete edge of the parking lot were 35 or 40 Laughing Gulls. Put 'em on the list. 

Embarrassing. 

Not to anthropomorphise, but I think this bird is sneering at me.