Friday, Feb. 29th, 2008 Great Bay Blvd. Sunny, 30's, winds 5-10mph E-SE. 10:45am to 1:00pm.
Tuckerton Bay had Scaup group (too far to positively ID if Greater or Lesser), Buffleheads, RB Merg's. Throughout GBB groups of RB Merg's (a pair @ Rand's & group of 26 @ Little Sheepshead Creek). A group of 8 Hooded Merg's (4 M & 4 F) on Big Thorofare. A group of 17 (2 M & 15 F) Hooded Merg's on Big Sheepshead Creek (past Capt'n Mike's). Other species seen: ~ 7 N. Harriers over the marshes by Big Thorofare & 1 Harrier along the marshes by the beach @ Shooting Thorofare. 100's of Rusty Blackbirds. Others: Blk Duck, RB Gulls, GBB Gulls, BCC, YRWarb, TV, CAN Geese, E. Starlings, RWB's, GBH (6) & 2 Rock Doves.

Friday, Feb. 29th, 2008 FNWR Brig's. Sunny, windy, 40's->30's. 2:00pm to 4:45pm.
After extrapolating up to 5000+ Dunlin & groups taking flight constantly I'll be honest I stopped trying to count. I Monday @ Brig's I didn't see 1 shorebird but Fri had the mudflats exposed & you couldn't miss the Dunlin. Speaking of missing... I saw no Osprey, no Tundra Swans & no SEO's. I did see 4 or 6 Mute Swans (@ the same time saw 2 N side of SW Pool & 2 on Reed's Bay. Later on saw 2 N side of NW pool). Also I saw 4 Tree Swallows out over an open (non-frozen) section of the SW Pool... only found them while scanning for owls. Also saw the American Wigeon out on Perch cove, needed the scope to see them. 1 group of ~ 25 & another group further west on the cove ~ 60. I couldn't make out any Eur. Wigeons due to budget scope, heat distortion & wind. They could have been mixed in. Also on Perch Cove Brants & Buffleheads.

Other species seen: Gadwall (1M & 1F), Mallards, Blk Ducks, Pintails, N. Shov's, Hooded Merg's, CAN. Geese, Snow Geese (3 together & 1 solo), GBH (5), N. Harriers, RB Gulls, Herr Gulls, GBB Gulls, N. Card, TT, A. Rob's, RWB's & E. Starlings.

Lots of cars cruising through Forsythe/Brig's today, guess the sunny weather brought people out.

It was sunny, 40's, breezy. I was out @ Forsythe from 1:15pm til 6:15pm.

My 1st bird of the outing was before I even entered Forsythe. I always stop @ the little 'bridge' on Great Creek Rd. right before Forsythe entrance. Perched in a dead tree was this osprey. See the link below for a slideshow of Osprey photos.

I did see a SEO way out in the East Pool, found it while scanning w/ binoc's & this was around 3:30pm. I saw several N. Harriers over the East Pool, NW Pool, NE marshes & the open field across from Jen's Trail. Also saw a group of 8-10 E. Bluebirds along Gull Pond Rd. A list of the species seen is @ the end of this post.

http://susan.thespikeranch.com/page33/page48/page48.html




Species seen today:
Osprey (1, maybe 2 or same 1 twice)
YR Warb's
E. Bluebirds (8-10)
Car. Wren (1)
Amr Goldf's
Pintails
Shovelers
Mallards
GBH (8)
Hooded Mergs
Herr. Gulls
GBB Gulls
N. Harriers
Blk Ducks
CAN Geese
Snow Geese
SEO (1, maybe 2)
Buffleheads
Dunlin (group of 5 & 1 solo)
RW Blkbirds
Song Sparr's (3-4 AT Jen's Trail)
N. Card (1 AT Jen's Trail)
A. Woodcock (1 heard on way out, the field past Exp. Pool Overlook rd.)

The following are links to articles about the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council rejecting the moratorium on horseshoe crab harvesting, a link to Red Knot information as well as a link to horseshoe crab information.

http://www.nj.com/southjersey/index.ssf/2008/02/council_rejects_moratorium_on.html

http://www.capemaycountyherald.com/article/

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/104-02122008-1486221.html

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/redknot.htm

http://www.horseshoecrab.org/

Following info from Conserve Wildlife:

On Sunday February 10th on PBS (see local listings for time), a documentary film called Crash: A Tale of Two Species, will be aired for the first time.  This film, from the award winning documentary series Nature  and award winning film maker Allison Argo, details the intricate relationship between the red knot, a bird with one of the longest migrations on the planet, and the horsehoe crab, a living fossil whose eggs sustain the red knot’s migration.

 
On Monday February 11th at 3.30 pm in Batsto Village, the state’s Marine Fisheries Council will meet to vote on whether to approve extending a moratorium on harvesting horseshoe crabs for bait beyond its initial two years. This moratorium is designed to allow the horsehoe crab population to recover to levels that will sustain the population of red knots that depend on it.
 
You can help.
You can:
o      Watch the movie on PBS on Sunday night.
o      Attend the meeting on Monday February 11th and let the Marine Fisheries Council know that you support the moratorium.
o      Forward this email to a friend.
o      Visit NJDEP’s website for information on the proposal. The link is http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/notices/120307b.html
Other link of interest:
Asbury Park Press article about the film 
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200802040410/NEWS01/802040353
Directions to Batsto Visitors Center:
http://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/parks/wharton.html.
More on the movie:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/crash/index.html

I went out to GBB on Thursday to perform a once a month winter shorebird survey... only 1 solo Lesser Yellow legs was to be seen. Despite being a quiet afternoon out at GBB there were plenty of ducks & a few other species to be seen. See list below. Slide show will be up soon.

Thur. Jan. 31, 2008; 1:30-5:30pm at Great Bay Blvd. Sunny, up'r then dropping to low 30's, light N-NE winds. Little Sheepshead Creek: LT 9:20am, HT 2:49pm. Shooting Thorofare (Lit'l Egg Inlet) LT 8:58am, HT 2:35pm.

Species seen:
-RB Mergansers, Buffleheads, Lesser (?) Scaup all out (way out there, in need of a powerful scope, not a budget 1 like mine!) in Tuckerton Bay/Little Egg Harbor.
-Yellow-rumped Warbs, Song Sparrows, C. Chickadees
-RB Gulls, Herring Gulls, GBB Gulls
-Black Ducks, Common Loon (at Rand's marina), Hooded Mergs, more RB Mergs, Horned Grebe (on various creeks along GBB)
-Fish Crows, Turkey Vultures, N. Harriers (3) (1 was feeding on a gull down at the beach)
-American Robins, E. Starlings, C. Grackles
-Great Blue Herons (3)
-Brant
-Lesser Yellow legs... 1 lone shorebird in the marsh pools before Rutgers M.R.C.

- also: 1 Peregrine out on a osprey platform, along Big Thorofare, able to ID after photographic enlargement.