Hawks, Trails, and Beach - Saturday, September 27th, 2014

It was great weather for afternoon birding! There were not a lot of birds in the State Park today but we had some unique experiences. We watched a Red-tailed Hawk consuming a rabbit ten feet off the Red Trail. His crop looked like it was ready to burst! Right past the hawk we had a tom Wild Turkey right off the Red Trail. He looked at us while we looked at him! There was a good raptor movement including all three falcons (Kestrel, Merlin, and Peregrine); Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks; and Northern Harrier. We had a mystery warbler that further research suggests as a female Hooded Warbler (splotchy, black head and a black chin). Leaders: Chuck Slugg, Cindy Bamford, and Deb Payson.
45 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose  55
Mute Swan  34
American Wigeon  2
Mallard  15
American Black Duck x Mallard (hybrid)  3
Blue-winged Teal  15
Northern Shoveler  3
Green-winged Teal  4
Wild Turkey  1
Great Blue Heron  1
Great Egret  2
Snowy Egret  1
Black Vulture  2
Turkey Vulture  3
Osprey  2
Northern Harrier  2
Sharp-shinned Hawk  4
Cooper's Hawk  4
Red-tailed Hawk  2
Laughing Gull  15
Herring Gull  4
Great Black-backed Gull  30
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  3
Mourning Dove  4
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1
Northern Flicker  3
American Kestrel  3
Merlin  7
Peregrine Falcon  3
White-eyed Vireo  1
Blue Jay  2
American Crow  3
Tree Swallow  4
Carolina Chickadee  3     heard only
Carolina Wren  2     heard only
Gray Catbird  5
Brown Thrasher  1     heard only
Northern Mockingbird  3
European Starling  5
Common Yellowthroat  3
Hooded Warbler  1
Savannah Sparrow  5
Northern Cardinal  1     heard only
Red-winged Blackbird  5
American Goldfinch  4     heard only
House Sparrow  6

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (/content/nj)