Birding Raritan Bay with the Middlesex Merlins

Last Saturday I went birding with the other members of my World Series of Birding team — Patrick, Anthony, and Tom. We started out at Morgan Mudflats, which in recent weeks has been a hotspot for rare terns and other unusual birds. I saw my life Sandwich Tern there a few weeks ago, on a day when over 140 Common Terns were present at the mudflats, with another 350 at Pirate's Cove. Other recent reports included an American Avocet, Gull-billed Terns, and Short-billed Dowitchers.

Tern numbers were down significantly on Saturday but still substantial. Shortly after we started scanning the mudflats, Anthony picked out a Roseate Tern. It hung around the mudflats for the rest of the morning, mostly loafing but sometimes venturing out on short trips over the water. This bird appeared to be banded on both legs, but the distance was too far to make the bands out with confidence. I shot the photo above through Patrick's spotting scope; the bird on the left is a Common Tern.

Patrick picked out another interesting bird, a Surf Scoter swimming just offshore. Scoters are highly unusual anywhere in New Jersey during the summer months, and even more so in Middlesex County where they rarely venture even in winter. This bird was a county first for me; the Roseate Tern was a state first.

We moved on to Pirate's Cove, a spit of beach at the Middlesex-Monmouth border. As at Morgan, the mudflats at Pirate's Cove held a lot fewer terns than in previous weeks. No rare terns were present despite our best efforts to pick one out from the reduced crowd. We did hear a Fish Crow, our bête noire from the World Series. From there we stopped at a couple marinas on the north side of Cheesequake Creek. At the first, we saw a Clapper Rail chick (shown above) foraging in the mud along the edge of the creek. I had never seen a rail chick before, so this was a great way to end the morning.

Starting the Lower Raritan Bird Survey

New Jersey Audubon has been running citizen science surveys in various parts of the state. Some have focused on particular habitats, like surveys of grassland birds and shorebirds, and others have focused on regions of the state. This spring, the organization initiated a breeding bird survey along the Lower Raritan River and its watershed, along with a pilot project to track bird migration in the same area. The goals of the project are to create a baseline of bird population data for the watershed and to identify important bird habitat for future protection. I signed up as a volunteer and picked a set of ten points in Raritan Center, an industrial complex in southern Edison that includes a sizable amount of wild or semi-wild wetland and old field habitat. I had been curious about this site for some time, as it is difficult to find such large tracts of minimally-developed land in this part of the state.

Yesterday I completed the first of the 2-3 migration surveys I will be doing at the site. All of the assigned points are accessible, though noise and obstructed sightlines make two of the points particularly challenging. All ten points are in the area covered by the image above, at more or less even spacing from each other.

There were a lot of birds around, and I recorded about ten species during each of the five-minute point counts. The dominant songbird species was Red-winged Blackbird, which I recorded at eight of the ten points. Other frequently-recorded songbird species included Song Sparrow, American Robin, and American Goldfinch. I also saw quite a lot of gulls – mostly Herring Gulls – in flight overhead. I heard Field Sparrows at three points (at one, unfortunately, after the five minutes was up). That was probably my most interesting finding of the day. Three points along the riverfront produced a Northern Harrier (seen only before my five-minute point count started), a nesting pair of Ospreys (again, seen after the five minutes was over), a Green-winged Teal, and four Boat-tailed Grackles, which I was surprised to see so far upstream. I am looking forward to seeing what other species pass through over the next few weeks.

Nuthatches at Cheesequake

Yesterday morning I took my first bird walk at Cheesequake State Park in a few months. According to the park's website, the park reached its goal for this winter's hunting season of 100 white-tailed deer killed, so there will not be any more hunting at the park this winter. The park chose to introduce a hunting season to control the deer population, which had substantially reduced the amount and biodiversity of the understory in the park's wooded areas. How effective it will be remains to be seen, but I hope it will have some positive effects and begin the process of restoring some breeding bird diversity to the park.

Speaking of the park's breeding birds, one of the most prominent species during yesterday's walk was the White-breasted Nuthatch. There were numerous nuthatches along the trails, and many of them were very vocal, almost as if they felt spring's onset and were claiming their territories. Quite a few nuthatches were concentrated around the feeders at the nature center. It was there that I had a chance to photograph some of them at close range.

County Birding with Patrick

Yesterday I joined Patrick Belardo to check out some of the waterbird hotspots around Middlesex County. We started out at the Edison Boat Basin, where a Glaucous Gull has appeared regularly for the past week or so. At that point, the river was partly frozen, and there were relatively few gulls present. Those that were huddled together at a distance, too far and too tightly-packed to pick out the gull in question.

Our second stop was at Old Bridge Waterfront Park in Laurence Harbor, which sits on top of a Superfund site. (A plan to clean up the site is still pending.) This park offers a broad view of Raritan Bay from a different angle than is available from South Amboy or Pirates Cove. There were many rafts of waterfowl visible, but most of them were pretty far out. The most numerous seemed to be Greater Scaup, followed by American Black Ducks. We tried to pick out some Lesser Scaup or other unusual ducks without success. The flocks included three Common Goldeneyes and a few Hooded Mergansers. One Horned Grebe was visible very far out.

At Morgan Avenue in South Amboy, we saw mostly the same species as at the previous stop, with the exception of a lone Sanderling and a huge flock of Brant. A stop at Raritan Bay Waterfront Park was a bit more productive. In addition to the same flock of Brant, we were able to spot Red-breasted Mergansers, a Red-throated Loon, and a Horned Grebe. Just before we left the park, Patrick noticed an immature Bald Eagle flying over the mouth of the Raritan River near Perth Amboy.

Most of the ponds on our route were frozen over, so few birds were present on them. Waterworks Park in South Amboy had the same flock of American Coots that I saw there several weeks ago. (The Redhead was gone, though.) A large flock of gulls at Townelake in Sayreville included one adult Lesser Black-backed Gull that Patrick picked out while the bird was still asleep.

A stop at Sayreville Marsh was our most productive of the morning. The waterfowl on the river included two Ruddy Ducks, an American Wigeon, and a Canvasback. (I initially thought it was a new county bird for me, but it turned out not to be.) A Great Cormorant flew past us, and another was sitting on one of the pilings. Patrick spotted a raptor hovering over a distant landfill (the one across the river from the industrial site). When it was hovering faced towards us, few markings were visible, but when it turned in circles, a light head and white tail band became visible. Through his scope, it was possible to see the dark underwing markings characteristic of a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk. Unlike the Canvasback, this was a new county bird for both Patrick and me; it leaves me at 200 birds in Middlesex County.

After Sayreville Marsh, we stopped once more at Edison Boat Basin to check for the Glaucous Gull and found... Fish Crows. So that wrapped up a good morning of birding.

A Christmas Bird Count Without Birds?

White-throated Sparrow in Donaldson Park

Yesterday was the Raritan Estuary Christmas Bird Count, my local CBC. As in past years, I participated along with my mother and sister, and we worked a section of the count circle that includes my patch, as well as a few other locations. Unfortunately, the birding yesterday was as slow as I have ever seen it in my area. Even Canada Geese and gulls, two mainstays for my area, were relatively few compared to past years. Common land birds were sparse as well; we only recorded four American Robins in the course of the day.

At least the starlings showed up

The highlights for the day were all in Johnson Park. They included a Wood Duck and two Common Goldeneye on the river, a Bald Eagle that flew overhead, and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker across River Road from the tennis courts. Also in Johnson Park, a Cooper's Hawk was harassing a Red-tailed Hawk. In Donaldson Park, I noticed that some of the Canada Geese were harassing a European Starling. I would have thought that a starling would be too small for the geese to care about it, but these geese were very aggressive. The count ended with 41 species and about 2,900 individual birds for our section.

Birds at South Amboy

Yesterday morning I birded two sites in South Amboy, the mudflats at Morgan Avenue and Waterworks Park. At the first site, there were a large number of the expected gull species loafing on the sandy spit or resting in the bay. As I was looking through those, a flock of Brant flew in and landed nearby. They proceeded to act as Brant normally do until the flock got spooked and took off. Some American Black Ducks and Red-breasted Mergansers were present further out in the bay. Very few land birds were evident at either site.

The pond at Waterworks Park had more waterfowl, chiefly a flock of Canada Geese and about 35 American Coots. I had not seen that many coots in a while, so it was fun to watch them. They were particularly active and vocal yesterday. Out in the middle of the pond, there was one duck that took me a while to identify. Eventually I settled on female Redhead, but I was left with a little uncertainty. I find it much easier to identify Aythya ducks when there are in a group and individuals can be compared with each other.

Both photos show the same individual, but the color looks different in the second because the direction of light changed.

Finally, here is a view out into Raritan Bay at the end of Cliff Avenue.

Looking for Warblers and Finding a Wren

Now that the Ospreys are gone, other birds can make use of their platforms.

I was at Cheesequake State Park yesterday morning to look for newly-arrived southbound songbirds. The birding was slower than I expected, with only five warbler species seen: Black-and-White Warbler, Northern Parula, Pine Warbler, American Redstart, and Common Yellowthroat. The Pine Warbler was notable since it was singing when I found it, which is a behavior I cannot recall seeing with Pine Warblers in past falls. It was in its characteristic habitat, the pitch pine forest near the edge of the salt marsh.

A hint of autumn

The clear highlight of the morning was a Marsh Wren that I pished up on the Yellow Trail between the lake and the interpretative center. It was very vocal, chattering in response to stuk sounds I was making with my tongue. Other possible migrants included a Red-eyed Vireo and an Eastern Phoebe.

Perennial salt-marsh aster

Birders thinking of visiting Cheesequake should be aware that there is bow-hunting in the park this fall to reduce the number of White-tailed Deer. I spoke to one of the park staff about this, and from what he told me, it safe to walk the blazed trails between now and November 1 (but not to venture off of them); after November 1, hunting will include all of the park except the areas immediately around the buildings and family campground.

Birding the Middlesex Coast

Elsewhere in the Garden State, birders were delighting in a rare sighting of a Brown Booby in Jarvis Sound near Cape May. The booby was seen by the naturalists aboard The Osprey, a pontoon boat that runs daily birding excursions during the warmer months. I have taken several trips on that boat, and none of them turned up any birds that exciting!

Great Egret in a tree

I only found out about that rarity after returning home from an excursion to the Middlesex County portion of Raritan Bay. The first stop was at South Amboy's Morgan Avenue mudflats. As usual, there was a squad of Great Egrets perched in a small grove of trees close to the beach. The egrets were joined by one immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron. When I turned to keep walking along the beach, I saw two dark, spindly birds in flight over the marsh. I found them with my binoculars, and they turned out to be two Glossy Ibises. They circled a few times before finally settling somewhere in the marsh.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

As I continued out towards the spit, I could see a man with a metal detector walking around out on the beach. He walked out along the spit to cross the creek, close enough to the hundred or so birds gathered there to flush all of them. By the time I got out to the spit, there were few birds around, and most of those were in flight. I started looking at the many Osprey, and I was looking at one, two light-colored birds passed through my field of view. When I got on them, I saw that they were two Caspian Terns – heavy-billed for terns, with a dark cap extending from their bills to the backs of their heads (unlike Royal Tern at this time of year).

Semipalmated Sandpiper

The second stop was at Pirate's Cove. Here again, the birds on the sandbar got flushed. Despite that, there were some Semipalmated Sandpipers and Semipalmated Plovers along the shoreline, and it was possible to get fairly close without flushed them. One Ruddy Turnstone flew back and forth a few times, and Common and Least Terns were both present.

Semipalmated Sandpipers

A third stop at Cliffwood Beach Park, just over the creek from Pirate's Cove, turned up the same set of birds as at Pirate's Cove. There is a short section of boardwalk that might provide a good viewing point for someone with a spotting scope. The beach running west from Whale Creek was mostly unproductive, though there was a nice collection of terns near the Laurence Harbor end.

Raritan Bay Birds

On Thursday morning I visited a couple spots along Raritan Bay to look for migrating waterbirds. The Raritan River flows through my county and opens out into Raritan Bay, which stretches from the mouth of the river at the Amboys out to Sandy Hook. While they do not have the volume of major coastal hotspots like Sandy Hook, the shoreline from South Amboy to Cliffwood Beach offers the best opportunity for coastal birding in Middlesex County.

At South Amboy's Morgan Avenue mudflats, there were sill some lingering winter birds, like the Brant at top and the Bonaparte's Gull above. I expect them to clear out soon. Other than that, the beach was pretty quiet. A couple of Willets waded in the water, and a couple of Semipalmated Plovers picked along the mudflats. A lot of Marsh Wrens were singing in the marsh; they were very active and easily seen. One Least Tern and several Forster's and Common Terns were loafing on the mudflats. Forster's Tern was actually a new county bird for me, which seems odd since they are so common elsewhere, including at inland locations.

Pirate's Cove in Cliffwood Beach had a bit more shorebird diversity. When I came out onto the beach, I saw a Piping Plover fly past. A little further towards the creek, on the near side of a small jetty, there was a small group of shorebirds that included Semipalmated Sandpipers, Spotted Sandpipers, and a Ruddy Turnstone – the latter another county bird. On the other side of the jetty, there were a lot more Semipalmated Sandpipers. Mudflats at the end of the creek held quiet a lot of loafing birds. Most of these were gulls, but there were also some terns, including four Black Skimmers, another new county bird. There were also three American Oystercatchers on the flats and a couple Snowy Egrets wading in the creek.

Pink Lady's Slipper

This was one of two pink lady's slipper plants that I saw at Cheesequake State Park yesterday morning. The other had no flower on it, but this one was in full bloom. The lady's slippers were protected by a temporary fence. I am not sure if the fence was meant to exclude deer or people, but either way, it ensured that the flowers would be there for anyone passing by to enjoy. Apparently Cheesequake hosts an especially good population of lady's slippers for New Jersey.

There were some birds around, but not as many migrants as I expected. There were a lot of Blackpoll Warblers, as is typical of late May; other than that the only migrant warbler species I detected was a Magnolia Warbler. A lot of Common Yellowthroats and Ovenbirds are setting up breeding territories, though. Numerous Marsh Wrens – actually a county bird for me – were singing in the park's extensive salt marsh. The best place to see and hear them is from the boardwalk trail near the lake parking lot. From the same trail, I could see an immature Northern Harrier cruising over the distant marsh. As it crossed the creek, it would flush Willets and other shorebirds, some of which seemed to attack the harrier – something I had not seen a sandpiper do before.

Empty Gulling

Yesterday morning I went back to South Amboy to check for the gulls I missed last week and to see what other birds might be around. Sad to say, none of the gulls I was hoping for (Glaucous Gull, Black-headed Gull, and Little Gull) were on the beach. In fact, there were hardly any gulls at all. I did not even see any Bonaparte's Gulls. Little Gull would be a life bird and the others are locally uncommon.

Pardon me, did you lose a fish?

Is Little Gull becoming a nemesis? It has strong competition in the form of Ruffed Grouse, but consider this. In the past month, I have been to locations where it was reported on three occasions and missed it all three times. On two of those occasions, the Little Gull was reported at or near the location on the same day, either shortly before or shortly after I was there. That seems like the makings of a nemesis, even if it is not quite there yet.

The woods across the railroad track were a bit more birdy than the mudflats. There were a lot of early-season warblers, mainly Yellow-rumped, but also Pine and Palm. Most of them were in bright alternate plumage, but one of the Yellow-rumped Warblers looked really ratty. I barely recognized it since its feathers were so worn and disheveled. A few Hermit Thrushes were around, and there were four Brown Creepers. One surprise was a Northern Bobwhite, a bird I was totally not expecting in that location. It called repeatedly for as long as I was within earshot. The bobwhite became my 180th bird for Middlesex County.

When birding in New Jersey, watch where you step!

New Spring Birds

Yesterday I was at Cheesequake State Park for the first time in a few months. As I mentioned once before, the park sits in an interesting position. It encompasses both the salt marshes around Cheesequake Creek and Pitch Pine and deciduous forests along the salt marsh's southern border. The habitat mix should make for varied bird diversity, though I have not quite figured out how to take full advantage of it.

When I arrived I saw the scene above out in the salt marsh. A pair of Ospreys had set up a nest on one of the platforms – I am not sure if they were incubating yet or not, but it seemed like at least one was on the nest every time I saw it. In the background, heavy construction equipment was clearing the way for another housing development (to add to the ones that already border the marsh).* It struck me that this was a typical Jersey birding scene: you can see the natural world here, but you rarely lose reminders of the state's urban character.

Other birds in the salt marsh included about a dozen Great Egrets (the most I have seen together for a while) and about the same number of Double-crested Cormorants. The latter were actively flying around as if they could not settle on a spot to fish.

At the edge of the pine woods, a pair of Carolina Chickadees were setting up a nest inside a dead tree. It looked like they were still excavating the hole to meet their needs. Further in, I heard and then saw my first Pine Warblers of the year. There were at least five singing males along the trail. A few Tree Swallows appeared to be laying claim to nesting boxes; these boxes resemble Purple Martin houses, but so far I have not seen any Purple Martins at them.

A second stop at Morgan Avenue flats in South Amboy did not turn up most of the unusual birds reported the day before. However, there were some Northern Gannets – a new county bird for me – visible out over Raritan Bay. A crowd of gulls on the sand spit were mostly Bonaparte's Gulls, with a few dozen each of Laughing Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, and Herring Gulls. Farther out on the bay there was a raft of Greater Scaup, with handfuls of Red-breasted Mergansers and Black Ducks. Just as I was leaving, a Snowy Egret (my first for the year) flew out of the marsh and down along the beach.

* Update: The construction equipment is actually in the process of remediating the former Global Sanitary Landfill, a very toxic site.

Local Birding

Yesterday I did a little birding around Middlesex County in the hope of finding some new birds locally. I started out with my mother and sister at the South Amboy waterfront in the morning. We crossed the snowy waterfront park to walk along a narrow strip of beach. There are often good birds seen in this area. Yesterday our best bird was a Bonaparte's Gull that flew in to join a large group of gulls loafing on a spit of sand. Other birds included a Red-tailed Hawk, singing Red-winged Blackbirds, Bufflehead, Brant, and a Horned Grebe. There was also a mass of starlings and House Sparrows roosting inside the park's pavilions. The metal roof amplified the sound of their chattering. A few of the starlings are shown above.

Our second stop was at the Waterworks Park just across the railroad. The pond was too frozen for there to be much out there, but we did see a couple Great Blue Herons, a Belted Kingfisher, two Bufflehead, and a Green-winged Teal in the little bit that was open. A subsequent stop turned up Great Cormorants, another Red-tailed Hawk, and a Northern Harrier. I scanned the distant landfills for Rough-legged Hawks, but I could not spot any. Instead I saw a few deer grazing on the top and side of one landfill.

In the afternoon, we stopped first at the Edison Boat Basin. Once again I scanned the visible landfills for raptors, but only found Red-tailed Hawks and a Northern Harrier. Some gulls and waterfowl were in the river. I had hoped to walk the new trail to look for winter finches among the fruiting birch trees, but the gate to the trail was locked. Just before we left, an American Kestrel flashed over the parking lot – a new county bird for me.

The last stop was at Olympic Drive in Raritan Center. There were some waterbirds out on the river, mostly gulls and geese, but also a few diving ducks. Two Northern Harriers and a Red-tailed Hawk perched along with the geese on an island in the middle of the river. It looked like it had been used as a pier at one time. The crows above are Fish Crows; a small flock of them was perched along the rotting pier. There are some marshes around the road that look like they might be promising in warmer weather, but yesterday they were frozen and snow-covered. It will be worth a visit in warmer weather.

Birding in the Fog

Each year we seem to get dismal weather for the Raritan Estuary Christmas Bird Count. Some years we get rain; other years we get sleet; one year parts of our section were flooded. This year, the count was postponed a week on account of a major blizzard, and then fog blanketed the count circle on the morning of the count's new date. Fog is generally insufficient to postpone a CBC, so my mother and I headed out to our section yesterday morning and met a third birder, Bill, who was participating in the count for the first time. (My sister was unable to join us because of the postponement.) The fog was dense enough to make birding rather difficult. Besides making it harder to see birds that are present and active, the fog seems to suppress or delay bird activity. In many spots that are usually quite birdy, I could not hear songs or even call notes.

As we covered our normal route, we counted fewer birds than in past years. In fact, there was so little bird activity that we completed our first stop by 9 am, when we usually need until 11 am to cover all of Johnson Park. Even so, we saw some good birds. One of the many Canada Goose flocks included an immature Snow Goose. I think this was probably a different bird than the one that stopped at Donaldson Park last month. While that bird's wings were entirely covered in immature plumage, the goose yesterday had partially molted into its adult plumage. We also saw an adult Peregrine Falcon perched at the large pond near the zoo. Two Belted Kingfishers had found enough open water to survive last week's freeze.

By our second stop, Donaldson Park, the fog remained dense at ground level but cleared above the tree tops. This presented the same challenges as before, except that we had a better chance to see and identify birds flying overhead. Bird activity was still lower than usual, but it started to pick up a little as the fog lifted. The usual Mallard X Black Duck hybrid was on the river, though most other waterbirds were difficult to spot in the lingering fog. The maintenance building and dumping area were pretty lively. Lots of Blue Jays, sparrows, and woodpeckers were calling and flying around enough to be identified and counted. Oddly, some of our best birding of the day (in terms of bird activity) was in the parking lot as we finished up our route. One tree featured three woodpecker species (Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, and Northern Flicker), plus House Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, Tufted Titmice, and a White-breasted Nuthatch.

In the afternoon, my mother and I did some feeder watching. It added a few new species for our count area, such as two mixed flocks of blackbirds that passed overhead, but none of the new species were unusual. After dark I walked around outside for a while in the hope of hearing an owl, but none called. In end, we finished with 36 species and over 3800 individuals for our section of the count.

Water Birds at Perth Amboy

This morning I was planning to participate in the Raritan Estuary Christmas Bird Count, but the count was postponed a week due to the forecasted snowstorm. Next weekend's weather is not looking great, either, but at least a chance of rain is easier to deal with than a blizzard. Unfortunately the postponement means that my sister will not be able to participate, but I think my team will still be able to cover its section adequately. It may take a little longer than usual, though.

If the count were happening today, one place that would be covered is the Perth Amboy waterfront. That is where I walked on Christmas Eve. The main appeal of the waterfront, from a birding perspective, is that it attracts diverse flocks of waterfowl and gulls. Usually there are dabbling ducks and Brant close to shore and diving ducks further out in the bay. On one visit I even saw a Long-tailed Duck. The usual numbers and diversity were not in evidence on Friday, however, and the few diving ducks were pretty far out. I was thinking that whoever had the section for the CBC would not have much to count. Maybe there will be more birds there next week.

On Friday, the common water birds provided a nice diversion. Ring-billed Gulls were especially plentiful, easily outnumbering the other two species combined. The first-winter gull on the lamppost gave a clear view of its undertail coverts.

Two Gulls and a Gull

Two Herring Gulls and a Great Black-backed Gull on the shore of the Raritan River yesterday afternoon.

When I posted a link to the photo on Twitter  last night, a follower commented that the water looks terrible. The river does have some pollution problems, and the visual perception probably is not helped by the plastic hose partially submerged in the water. There are a couple of other factors at play, though. One is that the river is at or near low tide, and it often looks and smells worse at that point in the day. We also have just had two days of rain, so the river includes a lot of runoff – both road runoff and eroded sediments. I am not sure that the river in this stretch is ever really clear, but sometimes it looks dirtier than others.

Terns and Shorebirds along Raritan Bay

I met with Patrick yesterday to do some birding around the lower Raritan watershed. Middlesex County is well positioned to attract a diverse bird life as it straddles the boundary between Piedmont and coastal plain. It is also densely developed. This means that patches of habitat are likely to be relatively small, especially compared to more rural portions of the state. Unusual birds are likely to be fleeting visitors during migration or tucked away in some swamp or pond.

Our first stop was a large pond near Raritan Center, which had a lot of waterlilies but few birds. A lone Green Heron was the only highlight. From there we went to Woodbridge River Watch, a small marsh. By this point it was starting to drizzle, and the rain would continue for most of the morning. We had hoped to see a Red-headed Woodpecker, which had been reported from the site on previous occasions. That bird failed to materialize, but we did see a handful of Least Sandpipers, a Lesser Yellowlegs, and a Northern Waterthrush. There must have been a few dozen robins just in the entrance to the park. That seems like a high concentration for this time of year.

We left Woodbridge and headed for South Amboy. The short strip of shoreline that runs from South Amboy to Laurence Harbor faces Raritan Bay and is the best area of the county to find coastal birds. At the Morgan Ave beach in South Amboy, we found a large group of gulls loafing on the shore, along with a few Semipalmated Plovers and a Least Sandpiper. We stood and scanned a bit to see if anything else would fly past. As we waited, I noticed one Herring Gull bearing 3rd winter plumage. Eventually, our patience was rewarded with a Spotted Sandpiper, a Willet, a couple Common Terns, and a Royal Tern – the last an excellent bird for the county.

Our next stop was Waterworks Park, a large pond behind the South Amboy waterfront. Pied-billed Grebes have been reported breeding here in the past; we did not see any grebes, but we did see six Wood Ducks on the pond. We also heard a strange vocalization that sounded somewhat like the croak of a night heron and somewhat like the grunts of a rail. Unfortunately we never saw the bird, so we could not identify it for certain. Other bird life included a Ruby-throated Hummingbird and an American Goldfinch that sang continuously as we scanned the pond. By the time we got to this park, the intermittent drizzle had stopped and the clouds had broken, so that a lot of insects were active. These included some odes; I noticed Common Green Darner, Blue Dasher, and this Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita).

Nearby was this Pondside Pyralid Moth (Munroessa icciusalis).

A patch of blooming pokeweed and porcelainberry attracted many bees and wasps along with other pollinators. A highlight was this Katydid Wasp (Sphex nudus), a southeastern species that is near the northern end of its range.

There was also a Northern Paper Wasp (Polistes fuscatus).

Our last stop was at the eastern edge of Middlesex County, a beach in Laurence Harbor called Pirates Cove. This spot has a good view of the bay and the mudflats at the mouth of Whale Creek. There were a lot of Least Terns gathered along the beach. Many of them were immatures, including several that still had much of the juvenile plumage. They had grown enough of their immature plumage to fly, but their backs were still covered with downy brown feathers. I counted 28 on either side of the jetty. In addition to them, there were a few Common Terns, some of which were also very young, and a large flock of Laughing Gulls. Shorebirds included Semipalmated Plovers, several Sanderling, a Willet, and an American Oystercatcher.

After scanning a bit more, we packed it in for the day. I added six new county birds yesterday: Northern Waterthrush, Royal Tern, Common Tern, Willet, American Oystercatcher, and Least Tern. I think Patrick added a few for his county list, too. Despite occasional drizzle and some avian no-shows, it was a fun and successful morning of birding.

A Waterlogged Christmas Bird Count

After not being able to participate in the Lower Hudson Christmas Bird Count due to snow, I was really hoping for good weather for our local count, the Raritan Estuary CBC. We could not have asked for better weather on the day of the count – it was sunny and mild with only a light breeze. However, the day before the count, it rained all day. That rain, combined with the melting of eleven inches of snow, created two problems for us. One was a rapidly moving river that swept waterbirds out of our count area. The second was that much of Johnson Park was flooded, with some areas inaccessible even on foot. You can get a sense of the flooding in the image above.

As a result we had to adjust our plans. Flooding, for example, made it impossible to count waterfowl along the river bank, something my sister has done for the past few counts. It also meant that I could not venture into some areas that are typically good for songbirds. Flooding also dispersed the Canada Geese so that they were not concentrated around a few large ponds.

Despite the mess, we still managed to get good results. We recorded 46 species, which is higher than last year but below our high of 51 in 2007. The local Canada Goose population has been much greater than in past winters, and that is reflected in our count of 3420. The difference this year seems to be a lack of persecution from the county. Over the past weeks, there have been consistently 600-800 geese present at Donaldson Park, with many more supported in the much larger Johnson Park. Mallards also were present in good numbers, and there were much smaller numbers of a few other waterfowl species.

We did not see any true rarities in our area, but we had a few nice birds. My sister located a Gray Catbird near the railroad bridge in Johnson Park. This bird has been present at the location since about Thanksgiving. It was good to see that it survived last week's snow and cold snap. My gull counting at Donaldson Park was interrupted when a Bald Eagle put all the gulls to flight. Other raptors were also present in good numbers, even though our Red-tailed Hawk count was down from last year. In addition, we saw a variety of winter migrants that are common but not guaranteed, such as Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Brown Creeper.

We finished the day by striking out on the Peregrine Falcon that sometimes roosts at the Route 1 bridge.

Oddly enough, Bald Eagles are considered rare enough birds for this count to require a rare bird form. (Speaking of which, why does Audubon's rare bird form (pdf) use MS Comic Sans, of all fonts?) Writing rare bird documentation for a Bald Eagle feels a bit like writing documentation for a Blue Jay or Northern Cardinal. It is a bird that is easily identifiable with unmistakable field marks, yet I tend not to note an individual bird's characteristics because they are so familiar. Luckily, my sister took a photo so we have visual documentation if that is deemed necessary.

In addition to the eagle form, I submitted rare bird forms for two exotic waterfowl. As discussed on BIRDCHAT over the past few weeks, exotic birds are countable on Christmas Bird Counts, something that many birders do not know (partly because Audubon does not make this clear). This year, I am submitting observations of two Egyptian Geese (a species I have written about before) and the bird below.

My first thought on seeing the bird in the photo above was Snow Goose, perhaps a mix of white and blue morphs. However, on closer inspection of the photograph, this is clearly not the case. First, size makes this doubtful, as the average Snow Goose is smaller than the average Canada Goose. (Size also makes several other native goose species unlikely.) Second, this goose's bill lacks the sneer patch typical of a Snow Goose's bill. Third, “Blue” Snow Goose flight feathers usually have a dark center surrounded by a white edge; this goose has all gray flight feathers with no white edge; in addition, the wing tips appear to be dark gray rather than black.

So what is it? The closest match for the features listed above appears to be a feral domesticated Greylag Goose (a.k.a. barnyard goose). I have no illusions about this being a wild bird even though it is free-ranging. Most likely it escaped from Johnson Park's small zoo, which holds a variety of exotic waterfowl; since the enclosures are fenced but not capped, local and exotic waterfowl can intermingle, and some of the latter escape. Occasionally other free-ranging Greylags have produced hybrids with Canada Geese. I am submitting both this and the Egyptian Geese because I think it is important to document the phenomenon of exotics mixing with our local waterfowl and the possible establishment of new populations.

A Raptor's Failed Nest?

I took this photo last weekend during a walk along the Delaware and Raritan Canal between Landing Lane and Demott Lane. Seeing that pile of branches near the top made me wonder how they got up there. I could think of three possibilities:

1. The river deposited them during a flood. This sometimes accounts for strange accumulations of branches along shorelines. However, it seems the least likely explanation in this case because the towpath here is about 20-30 feet about the river and the branches are another 20-30 feet above the towpath.
2. The branches fell into the crotch from higher in the tree or from other trees. This is plausible since branches often get caught in trees when they drop off. Even large branches can get caught and hang for quite some time. In this case, it is not clear where the branches would have fallen from, since they are lodged pretty close to the top of the canopy, and most of the higher branches seem smaller in diameter than the larger ones in the crotch.
3. A raptor started to build a nest and then abandoned it. There are three possibilities here: Bald Eagles, Osprey, and Red-tailed Hawk, all of which breed in the area and all of which build large stick nests near the tops of tall trees. The trouble with this explanation is that some of the branches seem very large even for an eagle to carry.

So I am not entirely sure how that pile of branches ended up at the top of a tree.  I lean towards that, mainly because of the lack of a clear source for the branches to have fallen there. This pile also seems a bit too neat. Usually when I see suspended branches, they lie at various angles, whereas this batch seems to be stacked in a pile.

I could see a story of this pile unfolding as follows. A large raptor sees the tree as a suitable nesting spot, with the necessary height and access to hunting grounds and starts building. While still working on the nest, the raptor is disturbed by too many passersby on the canal towpath, which is heavily used by walkers, joggers, and cyclists, even in colder months. So the pair abandons the site and either does not breed or builds a new nest somewhere else. Of course, that is a hypothetical scenario, and I am not sure if I could prove it.

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Speaking of local birds, as of yesterday there was a Gray Catbird lingering in Johnson Park near where the bicycle path crosses under the railroad bridge. It is surprising to see a catbird this late in the season; usually when they do linger in this state they stick to coastal areas where the temperature is more moderate and insects are more plentiful. However, we have had a rather mild autumn so far. Our first winter storm of the season occurred just yesterday. I hope it sticks around for a few more weeks, so we can record it for the CBC.

Other birds in Johnson Park included an adult male Merlin, perched near the zoo. I have seen Merlins pretty consistently in this area of the park over the past few years. It must offer them a good hunting ground. Waterbirds included a small flock of Buffleheads, three Common Goldeneye, and a Hooded Merganser.

Raritan River Flickr Group

Yesterday when I searched for a Raritan River group on Flickr, I found that there was no such group, even though there were a few vaguely related groups. So, I created one. This is a public group, so any Flickr users are welcome to join and post photos. Subjects may include the river itself, associated structures and parks, or life along the river. Photos from the North Branch or South Branch are also welcome.

My interest in finding such a group was sparked by a walk I took on Sunday afternoon along the Highland Park side of the river. I took a lot of pictures, some of which I added to the group. I also saw a lot of birds. Most of them were the expected local breeders – Gray Catbirds, American Robins, Northern Cardinals, and the like. Then there were swarms of swallows all along the river. Most were Northern Rough-winged Swallows, as far as I could tell, with a few Tree Swallows mixed in. Best of all, there was at least one pair of Cliff Swallows, a rare breeder in New Jersey and even rarer this far east of the Delaware. My county can still turn up a good bird from time to time.