I saw ten life birds in 2011. Three of them were
during the Superbowl of Birding in Essex County, Massachusetts. As it turns out, I will not be going there in 2012, but hopefully some other fun events will take its place this year. My best bird was probably
the Gray-hooded Gull at Coney Island. The
Varied Thrush I saw in Central Park was a species I had long anticipated seeing. The
Greater White-fronted Goose at Duke Island Park made up for some frustrating misses on past attempts to see the species. Here are all ten of my life birds from the past year.
| Species |
Location |
Date |
| Varied Thrush |
Central Park |
11 Jan 2011 |
| Dovekie |
Gloucester Harbor--Jodrey State
Fish Pier |
29 Jan 2011 |
| Barrow's
Goldeneye |
Cape Ann--Penzance Beach |
29 Jan 2011 |
| Lapland Longspur |
Sunshine Dairy Farm |
29 Jan 2011 |
| Red Crossbill |
Seven Presidents Park |
31 Jan 2011 |
| Sora |
Charles Rogers Wildlife Refuge |
01 May 2011 |
| Curlew Sandpiper |
Heislerville WMA |
14 May 2011 |
| Gray-hooded Gull |
Coney Island Beach |
02 Aug 2011 |
| Eurasian
Collared-Dove |
Cape May Point -- Lincoln &
Whilldin |
10 Aug 2011 |
| Greater
White-fronted Goose |
Duke Island Park |
01 Dec 2011 |
2011 turned out to be an excellent year for county birding. I had tremendous luck finding unusual species on my patch, particularly
a Grasshopper Sparrow that surprised me one morning. I also had the opportunity to explore some parts of the county that I had not seen before or had not visited in a long time. Each of those visits added new species to my growing county list, which is twenty-eight species higher than it was this time last year. Here are the rest of my new birds for Middlesex County.
| Species |
Location |
Date |
| American Kestrel |
Edison Boat Basin |
06 Feb 2011 |
| Common Redpoll |
Donaldson Park |
15 Feb 2011 |
| Eastern
Screech-Owl |
Highland Park |
20 Feb 2011 |
| Redhead |
Duhernal Lake |
24 Feb 2011 |
| Rusty Blackbird |
Johnson Park |
05 Mar 2011 |
| Wilson's Snipe |
Johnson Park |
26 Mar 2011 |
| Northern
Gannet |
Morgan Avenue Mudflats |
09 Apr 2011 |
| Glossy Ibis |
Donaldson Park |
12 Apr 2011 |
| Broad-winged Hawk |
Donaldson Park |
14 Apr 2011 |
| Northern Bobwhite |
Morgan Avenue Mudflats |
15 Apr 2011 |
| Common Raven |
Johnson Park |
17 Apr 2011 |
| Grasshopper
Sparrow |
Donaldson Park |
27 Apr 2011 |
| Purple Martin |
Donaldson Park |
06 May 2011 |
| Chestnut-sided
Warbler |
Donaldson Park |
09 May 2011 |
| Prothonotary
Warbler |
Donaldson Park |
10 May 2011 |
| Worm-eating
Warbler |
Rutgers Preserve |
11 May 2011 |
| Marsh Wren |
Cheesequake State Park |
21 May 2011 |
| Forster's Tern |
Morgan Avenue Mudflats |
26 May 2011 |
| Black-bellied
Plover |
Pirates Cove |
26 May 2011 |
| Piping Plover |
Pirates Cove |
26 May 2011 |
| Ruddy Turnstone |
Pirates Cove |
26 May 2011 |
| Black Skimmer |
Pirates Cove |
26 May 2011 |
| Acadian
Flycatcher |
Pirates Cove |
26 May 2011 |
| Little Blue Heron |
Morgan Avenue Mudflats |
05 Aug 2011 |
| Yellow-crowned
Night-Heron |
Pirates Cove |
05 Aug 2011 |
| Caspian Tern |
Morgan Avenue Mudflats |
20 Aug 2011 |
| Tennessee Warbler |
Rutgers Preserve |
16 Sep 2011 |
| Least Flycatcher |
Red's Marina |
02 Oct 2011 |
By the numbers:
- Total life birds overall: 351
- Total state birds: 292 (12 of them new in 2011)
- 2011 New Jersey year list: 235
- Total county birds: 198
- 2011 Middlesex County year list: 178
- Total yard birds: 71 (3 of them new in 2011: Snow Goose, Wild Turkey, and Black-throated Green Warbler)
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