New Jersey 2013

Mon, March 18, 2013, 5:00 am
Indiana, PA to Sea Girt

Trip Report

Monday, March 18, 2013 ï¿½ We left home at 5:08 with Emily Hughes, Derek Clawson, and Tom Glover riding with us. It didnï¿½t get light until we reached Clinton County along I- 80. Birds seen in Clinton included:

Common Grackles
American Crows
Common Raven

Union County yielded:

American Crows
Red-tailed Hawk (2)
Common Grackles
Starlings
Canada Geese

In Montour we listed:

Red-winged Blackbirds
Northern Cardinal Red-tailed Hawk
American Robin

We stopped at McDonaldï¿½s in Danville for a pit stop and breakfast for Roger and me. Our friends had eaten before 5:00 a.m.! Here Fish Crows were calling from atop the golden arches.

Columbia County yielded:

Red-winged Blackbirds
Common Grackles
American Crows
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
American Kestrel
Canada Geese
Rock Pigeons

The only species seen in Luzerne were:

American Crows
Red-tailed Hawk
Common Grackles

We drove through Carbon without seeing one bird while Monroe produced only American Crows and one Red-tailed Hawk.

We reached New Jersey where we spotted a raft of 6 Common Mergansers on the Delaware River. A little farther along we noted another two. Other species seen en route to the lake on American Road, Morris Plains, were:

American Crows
Mute Swans
Turkey Vultures
Mourning Dove
Great Blue Heron
Rock Pigeons
Red-tailed Hawk

The lake on American Road did not yield our target species, Pacific Loon, but we did see:

Great Blue Heron
Canada Geese (9)
Mallard (4)
Hooded Merganser (5)
Ring-billed Gull (1)
Black Vulture (6)
Downy Woodpecker (1) Belted Kingfisher (1)

We finally gave up and decided to head to Lake Parsippany. We stopped at several accesses before we successfully spotted the adult *Pacific Loon. Here, too, were:

Bald Eagle
Great Black-backed Gulls Ring-billed Gulls
Ring-necked Ducks
Song Sparrow
House Sparrows
Common Mergansers
Hooded Mergansers Red-breasted Merganser

En route to Lincoln Park Tom spotted a Northern Mockingbird atop a pole. I got to see it, too. We could not find Lincoln Park West in Lincoln Park, so Roger stopped at the police station for directions. He learned that the park was in Jersey City. I had goofed. We stopped at McDonaldï¿½s in Lincoln Park, NJ, for lunch, then headed to Jersey City. At Lincoln Park West we listed:

Canada Geese (~300)
Killdeer (4)
Dark-eyed Junco (2)
Fish Crows (10)
Ring-billed Gulls
Gadwalls (4)
Black-crowned Night-Heron (2)
Great Egret
Hooded Mergansers (6)
Double-crested Cormorant (3)
Mallard (2)
Great Black-backed Gulls
European Starlings (20)
Herring Gulls

We fizzled on the Barnacle Goose.

Our next destination was High Street in Carteret for the Monk Parakeets. We were immediately successful and spotted at least 3 individuals. We left Carteret and drove to Monmouth Beach. En route we listed Turkey Vultures and a Red-tailed Hawk. By the time we reached Monmouth Beach, the winds were extremely brisk. Here we spotted a flock of about 120 Brant in flight. The only birds on the ocean were Red-breasted Mergansers while both Ring-billed and Bonaparteï¿½s Gulls were flying about.

At Seven Presidents, we found heated bathrooms. What a bonus. As Em commented, ï¿½Itï¿½s like a sauna in there!ï¿½ It was a welcome warmth!!! On the water here were Common Loons and a large flock of scoters, too distant to ID. A *Northern Gannet flew by, and we watched three gull species ï¿½ Bonaparteï¿½s, Ring-billed, and Herring.

Lake Takanassie yielded:

American Wigeons (5) Mallards
American Coots (6)
Lesser Scaup (1)

Deal Lake produced:

Long-tailed Duck (1)
Common Loon (1)
Red-breasted Merganser (8)
Lesser Scaup (3) Great Black-backed Gull (10)

We had reservations at the Sea Girt Lodge in Sea Girt. After we checked in, we headed north to the Suma Hibachi for dinner.

We ended the day with 46 species.