2/3 Sandy Hook Walk Results
I led the "Beginner's Birding Walk" Sunday morning at Sandy Hook. Like last week, we had phenomenal weather. It was windless and mild. What month is it??? Our first stop was Spermaceti Cove where there were hundreds of Greater Scaup. Last week, our group had found a Redhead and two Canvasback in with the Scaup. They weren't there this week, but I did manage to find a male White-winged Scoter hidden among all of the Scaup. Talk about a needle in a haystack! Scoters are pretty unusual on Sandy Hook Bay and White-winged is the most unusual. We also saw a distant Peregrine Falcon perched on a sand bar. Later, I was able to show the new birders the Townsend's Solitaire that's been there for 2 months now. Beth took some terrific photos. Enjoy!
Clouds of Greater Scaup flew into the bay from the ocean. You can see the long white wing-stripe which is one way to separate Greater Scaup from Lesser.
A very cropped picture of the White-winged Scoter.
We saw quite a few Harbor Seals today. This one was real close to shore.
A nice shot of a Cedar Waxwing!
A much better photo of the Townsend's Solitaire than the one I took last week.Here's a complete species list for those participants who are accessing my blog (thanks for coming!):
LOONS
Red-throated Loon
GREBES
Horned Grebe
CORMORANTS
Great Cormorant
DUCKS, GEESE AND SWANS
Canada Goose
Brant
Mallard
American Black Duck
Greater Scaup
Long-tailed Duck
White-winged Scoter
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
FALCONS AND CARACARAS
Peregrine Falcon
GULLS
Ring-billed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
American Herring Gull
PIGEONS AND DOVES
Rock Pigeon
WOODPECKERS
Downy Woodpecker
WAXWINGS
Cedar Waxwing
WRENS
Carolina Wren
MOCKINGBIRDS AND THRASHERS
Northern Mockingbird
THRUSHES
Townsend's Solitaire
American Robin
CHICKADEES AND TITS
Black-capped Chickadee
CROWS AND JAYS
American Crow
STARLINGS
European Starling
WOOD WARBLERS
Yellow-rumped Warbler
SPARROWS, TOWHEES, JUNCOS
Song Sparrow
SALTATORS, CARDINALS AND ALLIES
Northern Cardinal
BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, GRACKLES, ETC.
Red-winged Blackbird
FINCHES, SISKINS, CROSSBILLS
House Finch
OLD WORLD SPARROWS
House Sparrow
-------- STATISTICS --------
Species seen - 32
6 comments:
Hey Patrick, when is your next walk scheduled? I live in NYC and I'm not too far from Sandy Hook; I'd love to attend some time!
Beth in NYC
Hi Beth,
My next walk is 4/20. It's also a "Beginner's Walk." You can keep track of the schedule at www.njaudubon.org. My trips are listed in the "Sandy Hook" section. They may not have the spring schedule up yet.
Wow, that was a good Townsend's Solitaire pic...who's the birder of the couple again?
Funny that I would be ecstatic with the seal! Great birds and the Townsend would be a lifer for me! Great day for sure!
Corey, am I losing my street cred?
Monarch, it was very exciting! There were quite a few around on Sunday, but that one was amazingly close.
It was a great day and I had fun working the new camera. Good job, as always, Honey!
PS - Thanks, Corey. :)
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