Birding Cape May Point - Saturday, December 14th, 2013

A good variety of ducks including a drake Eurasian Wigeon, a pair of Redheads, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked, and Hooded Mergansers. Raptors included an adult Red-shouldered Hawk, and a Northern Goshawk seen by a few. Other birds of interest were numerous Cedar Waxwings, two Eurasian Collared Doves, and a continuing Rufous Hummingbird at a feeder. Leaders: Karl Lukens, Kathy & Roger Horn, Warren Cairo, Steve Weis, and Catherine Busch.
52 species

Canada Goose  15
Mute Swan  8
Gadwall  75
Eurasian Wigeon  1     drake
American Wigeon  75
Mallard  35
Northern Shoveler  2
Redhead  2
Ring-necked Duck  1
Lesser Scaup  4
Black Scoter  10
Bufflehead  1
Hooded Merganser  10
Ruddy Duck  20
Red-throated Loon  5
Double-crested Cormorant  5
Great Blue Heron  6
Turkey Vulture  1
Cooper's Hawk  1
Northern Goshawk  1     seen by some
Red-shouldered Hawk  1
American Coot  25
Ruddy Turnstone  1
Bonaparte's Gull  1
Ring-billed Gull  1
Herring Gull  5
Great Black-backed Gull  3
Eurasian Collared-Dove  2
Mourning Dove  6
Rufous Hummingbird  1     feeder Cambridge & Coral Aves.
Belted Kingfisher  1
Blue Jay  1
American Crow  5
Carolina Chickadee  1
Red-breasted Nuthatch  2
Carolina Wren  2
Golden-crowned Kinglet  1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1
American Robin  100
Northern Mockingbird  2
European Starling  50
Cedar Waxwing  15
Yellow-rumped Warbler  30
Chipping Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  1
White-throated Sparrow  8
Dark-eyed Junco  6
Northern Cardinal  4
House Finch  8
Purple Finch  1
American Goldfinch  10
House Sparrow  20

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Rufous Hummingbird [Photo by Karl Lukens] 

Harlequin Romance - Saturday, December 7th, 2013

Good weather, good company, and good birds made for a memorable annual trip to Barnegat Lighthouse. Harlequin and Long-tailed Duck were present in decent numbers along with Common Eider, six King Eider, and all three scoters. Shorebirds included Purple Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Dunlin, and Sanderling. In the back bay at Harvey Cedars, we had Bufflehead and Red-breasted Merganser, but we didn't linger long before proceeding to Holgate at the southern end of the island in hopes of finding a Snowy Owl. Fortunately, our hopes were rewarded, and the entire group got good scope views of a Snowy Owl sitting in the remnants of the dunes. We ended the day at the "Bridge to Nowhere" where we had distant views of Northern Harrier and Great Blue Heron, but no Short-eared Owls were to be seen. Leaders: Janet Crawford, Bill & Lee Smythe, Shaun Bamford, Catherine Busch, Chris Marks, and Dave Lord.
32 species

Brant  100
Canada Goose  15
Mallard  8
King Eider  6
Common Eider  40
Harlequin Duck  12
Surf Scoter  70
White-winged Scoter  1
Black Scoter  106
Long-tailed Duck  37
Bufflehead  30
Red-breasted Merganser  16
Red-throated Loon  6
Common Loon  12
Northern Gannet  50
Double-crested Cormorant  3
Great Blue Heron  3
Northern Harrier  2
Ruddy Turnstone  15
Sanderling  15
Dunlin  45
Purple Sandpiper  26
Ring-billed Gull  1
Herring Gull  112
Great Black-backed Gull  10
Snowy Owl  1
Peregrine Falcon  2
American Crow  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler  2
White-throated Sparrow  1
Boat-tailed Grackle  24
House Sparrow  6

Birding Cape May Point - Saturday, December 7th, 2013

A cold and breezy morning, but with good birds. Ducks included Hooded Merganser, drake Eurasian Wigeon, and a pair of Redheads. In the ocean/bay there were Black and Surf Scoter floating by and fly-by Red-throated Loons with a couple of Northern Gannets. On the beach we had a Peregrine Falcon eating some kind of prey. Overhead we had an adult Bald Eagle, a Baltimore Oriole in a cedar, and at Lily Lake a well-concealed immature Black-Crowned Night-Heron. Highlight was a Rufous Hummingbird at a feeder at Cambridge and Coral Aves. Leaders: Karl Lukens, Kathy & Roger Horn, Mike Hannisian, and Nancy Watson.
54 species

Canada Goose  15
Mute Swan  6
Gadwall  2
Eurasian Wigeon  1
American Wigeon  15
Mallard  15
Northern Shoveler  4
Redhead  2
Ring-necked Duck  10
Lesser Scaup  8
Surf Scoter  15
Black Scoter  10
Long-tailed Duck  3
Hooded Merganser  6
Ruddy Duck  20
Red-throated Loon  8
Northern Gannet  2
Double-crested Cormorant  2
Great Blue Heron  5
Black-crowned Night-Heron  1
Turkey Vulture  3
Cooper's Hawk  1
Bald Eagle  1
American Coot  30
Sanderling  5
Purple Sandpiper  6
Ring-billed Gull  1
Herring Gull  4
Great Black-backed Gull  6
Rock Pigeon  2
Mourning Dove  6
Rufous Hummingbird  1     feeder Cambridge & Coral Aves.
Northern Flicker  1
Peregrine Falcon  2
American Crow  2
Carolina Chickadee  1
Carolina Wren  1
Eastern Bluebird  10
American Robin  20
Northern Mockingbird  1
European Starling  100
Cedar Waxwing  15
Palm Warbler  2
Yellow-rumped Warbler  15
Song Sparrow  2
White-throated Sparrow  4
Dark-eyed Junco  1
Northern Cardinal  3
Red-winged Blackbird  2
Baltimore Oriole  1
House Finch  10
Purple Finch  3
American Goldfinch  10
House Sparrow  10

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Palm Warbler [Photo by Karl Lukens]

Rufous Hummingbird [Photo by Karl Lukens]

Birding Brigantine - Friday, November 29th, 2013

CMBO's Black Friday trip to Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (aka Brigantine) was a great outing the day after Thanksgiving (when the most commonly "sighted" bird had been our domestic turkey). The weather was beautiful: crisp, clear, sunny, with only a light breeze. The highlights of the trip were one Snowy Owl (one of two apparently present at Forsythe on Friday), two Rough-legged Hawks, and a single Short-eared Owl being harassed by two Northern Harrier at Mott's Creek. We also had good looks at perched Peregrin Falcons, and watched them hunt within a huge, swirling flock of Dunlin. Also of note were a pair of Wood Duck, two juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron, and an adult female Redhead. Leaders: Karen & Brian Johnson, Chris Marks, Dave Lord, & Catherine Busch.

Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Wildlife Drive
40 species

Snow Goose  X
Brant  X
Canada Goose  X
Mute Swan  X
Tundra Swan  X
Wood Duck  2  - drake and hen pair
Gadwall  X
American Wigeon  X
American Black Duck  X
Mallard  X
Northern Shoveler  X
Northern Pintail  X
Green-winged Teal  X
Redhead  1 - adult female
Bufflehead  X
Hooded Merganser  X
Ruddy Duck  X
Great Blue Heron  X
Black-crowned Night-Heron  2 - juvenile
Turkey Vulture  X
Northern Harrier  X
Cooper's Hawk  X
Bald Eagle  1
Red-tailed Hawk  X
Rough-legged Hawk  1 - dark morph
American Coot  X
Black-bellied Plover  X
Dunlin  X
Ring-billed Gull  X
Herring Gull  X
Great Black-backed Gull  X
Snowy Owl  1
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Peregrine Falcon  3
Golden-crowned Kinglet  X     heard
Hermit Thrush  1
American Robin  X
Savannah Sparrow  X
Song Sparrow  X
Northern Cardinal  X

Edwin B. Forsythe NWR--Motts Creek
8 species

Great Blue Heron  X
Great Egret  X
Northern Harrier  X
Bald Eagle  X
Red-tailed Hawk  X
Rough-legged Hawk  1  - dark morph
Short-eared Owl  1
Boat-tailed Grackle  X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)