February 1st Barnegat Island/Jersey Coast

Leader Tom Preston

Participants: Louis De Marco, Ryan Green, Rusty Harold, Jason Hill, Sandra Paci, Alexandra Ratay, Kevin Rolwing, Janet Schumacher,. Registrar: Jo Ann Preston Leader: Tom Preston

Some trip photos are at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/102865732@N04/sets/72157640439945893/

We had a very good February 1st day birding in the end. The original plan was to go Brigantine, further South, and spend most or all of the day there. However, the wildlife drive at Brig was closed due to snow, ice and mud! I had to improvise a bit but it seemed to work out rather well, and we had a great group.

We traded Brig's Tundra Swans for a Western Grebe, and Barnegat worked out very well, with spectacular close up views of Harlequins Ducks and all 3 scoters, among others. There was no wind, unusually for Barnegat, and it was much sunnier than predicted. Another nice sighting was a flock of at least 70 Purple Sandpipers. I don't recall seeing that many before.

After that we went to NE Monmouth county, and checked out several spots, including Monmouth Beach, where we saw a Western Grebe. We ended up the day at dusk at Sandy Hook, on the Hawk Watch platform. The sunset was spectacular. A Sharp-shinned Hawk and a Merlin zipped by, we heard reveille from the military facilities to the NW, and we say the illuminated parachute jump in Coney Island lit up, from many miles away,

eBird lists:

Barnegat: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16757216
 Deal - Roosevelt Avenue http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16759182 Seven Presidents Park http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16759210
Monmouth Beach Cultural Center: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16766867
Sandy Hook: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16766960

Species List:

Brant
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Greater Scaup
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter

Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Western Grebe - Monmouth Beach
Northern Gannet
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Cormorant
Great Blue Heron - flying over the ocean at Seven Presidents Park
Sharp-shinned Hawk - Sandy Hook
Red-tailed Hawk - seen from the Garden State Parkway
Turkey Vulture - flew over the Garden State Parkway, and also seen on the return from 

Barnegat
Black-bellied Plover
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Dunlin
Purple Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull - Seven Presidents Park
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Merlin - Sandy Hook
Peregrine - seen at the Verrazano Bridge
American Crow
Carolina Wren
Eastern Bluebird - flew over the Garden State Parkway
American Robin
Hermit Thrush - at Barnegat Light - seen by Janet
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Boat-tailed Grackle - Barnegat light
House Finch
House Sparrow
Northern Harrier
Darkeyed Junco

- 58 species

Sandy Paci's photo gallery

https://m.facebook.com/sandra.paci.5?v=photos&album=a.813965665286567.1073741860.100000194238064&_rdr