South Jersey thread (2 Viewers)

[AlphaFan]

Posted this in another forum, but since it is New Jersey thought I'd also post it here.

Had the good fortune to make it out to Barnegat Lighthouse State Park in Coastal New Jersey yesterday. I make the trip once or twice per winter and always find it rewarding. In addition to the common NJ coastal species it once again it reliably produced Great Cormorants, Purple Sandpipers, Harlequin Ducks, Common Eiders, Snow Buntings, and Savannah Sparrows (lpswich). The lighting was terrible, and some species were too far out for pics, but I took a few.

 

[dak]

Hey Alpha, those images are great, in spite of the light. The duck is gorgeous, makes even wood ducks look drab. The cormorant sighting is surprising for me. I have never seen them around here after early December, and the s jersey bays have tons of them. This winter though has been ridiculously warm, and over the past 5 years or so I have been noticing a lot of species that are normally scarce in the winter.

I got to head up to Barnegat soon. Thanks for the report!

 

[dak]

Interesting development today. I have been stopping by the Forsythe NWR resident eagle nest all winter to see when they would return to mate and lay eggs, but only saw the 2 two juvies hanging around once. Today one of the refuge staff told me there is a second nest. I went there and both adults were present. So, apparently the family relocated. Could possibly be because there was some construction on the road that goes by the old nest.

Also, saw the grey ghost again. He rose up right in front of me and then hovered for a bit by my driver side window about 20 feet away while I fumbled like a maniac with my camera. What a shot I could have got if I were prepared. Still, I got a couple decent but blurred shots. One of these days I will get a crystal clear closeup! A visually stunning bird.

 

[dak]

I saw a Great Egret today. This winter has been crazy warm, even for the recent warming trend in this area.

 

[dak]

A week ago I checked the new eagle nest and no one was home. But the last 2 times I visited there was 1 adult sitting low in the nest, so they must have just laid eggs. It will be fun to watch the new family.

 

[dak]

Weird, I saw a Tree Swallow today, way earlier than usual. The ducks are starting to dwindle, mainly Green Winged Teal and Pintails left. Spring migration is underway!

 

[dak]

Today winds were gusting to 40 mph. Not 1 duck in sight anywhere. Where do they go during these kinds of conditions?

Two days ago I saw a Horned Grebe, Cormorants, Oyster Catchers, and a male and female pair of Common Mergansers.

 

[dak]

First Osprey sighting of the year today..

 

[dak]

The spring peepers are peeping, ospreys and cormorants are here, which means the striped bass are here. Time to start looking for warblers; I'm not very good at spotting little songbirds, but that leaves lots of potential for learning!

 

[dak]

The Eagles are now standing in the nest which means the eggs have hatched. Lots of Eagle action today. I saw an adult harassing an Osprey with a fish, very cool.

 

[dak]

Just a broad Foraythe update for the last few weeks...
Pine and yellow warblers much diminished, yellowthroats abundant, marsh wrens everywhere, ducks all gone except for mallards, eagle chicks fledged (they are making their 1st attempts to neighboring branches and trees), osprey chicks growing quickly, lots of peeps and pipers, but nothing unusual, except for a common loon which in my experience are not that common in S Jersey back bays.

Alphafan, I went to Barnegat inlet recently to do some fishing. I went to the jetty and spotted a purple sandpiper hunting around the base of the jetty. No harlequin ducks though I guess they go north to breed.

 

[dak]

 

[dak]

These Willets were really going at it. Presumably that's the source of their violence looking on..

 

[lmans66]

I like the capture of the Willets as they are 'doing something' other than just poking around the mud flats...plus you have that wing pattern captured, Jim

 

[dak]

A couple weeks ago I spotted a Black Necked Stilt, and last week got an Avocet along with a Stilt again. Both are outliers in this area. I whish I had been a serious birder 30 years ago so I could see if outliers I have been seeing lately are part of a long range trend.

 

[dak]

 

[dak]

The bird song at Forsythe suddenly almost ceased, except for the continually noisy species. Song seems to have replaced by calls and notes. I'm guessing that there's no longer nesting territories to defend?

 

[dak]

Martins suddenly left overnight. I'm not sure if they just disperse locally or start the migration south. Also some flocking behavior starting in other species like cormorants, egrets, and tree swallows. The fall behaviors are starting. Good birding ahead!

 

[dak]

Forsythe is awash with Goldfinches, but not much else as far as songbirds. Marsh Wrens are gone. I haven't seen or heard a Robin in weeks, but they were present all through last winter(?). I spotted Peregrins starting a couple weeks ago, with one dive bombing the Ocean City rookery, very spectacular. Other species are showing flocking behavior, saw some v formations of cormorants.
BTW, I was mistaken when I said that the Purple Martin's had vacated. I think they must disperse into the neighboring woods during the really hot days, as those gourds have to be like a car interior. They are back at their gourds now that the temps have cooled.
Time to start planning for trips to Cape May!

 

[dak]

Forsythe was really hopping today with a brisk N wind. Ospreys were all in the air and calling. Egrets and terns feeding like crazy. I saw two Peregrines, one chasing the other. Fall is in the air.