Today we explored Palmyra Cove Nature Park for a little snow birding. Last night we ended up getting a few inches of snow and by mid-morning it already started melting! It seems like Palmyra got a little less snow than where I live, but it was nice to be out in the quiet of winter.
We were greeted by a number of songbirds right in the parking lot: a first-of-year Brown Creeper, White-throated Sparrows, a Northern Cardinal pair, a Tufted Titmouse, Dark-eyed Juncos, and a Downy Woodpecker. A female Bufflehead at the beaver pond was a pleasant surprise as hundreds of gulls flew overhead. We even saw a mink! We ended our walk with 4 Cedar Waxwings near the visitor center. Overall we observed 17 species.
Palmyra Cove Nature Park (17 species, 314 individuals)
9 Canada Geese
2 Mallards
1 Bufflehead
1 Mourning Dove
60 Ring-billed Gulls
150 Herring Gulls
1 Turkey Vulture
3 Downy Woodpeckers
1 Hairy Woodpecker
5 Tufted Titmice
2 White-breasted Nuthatches
1 Brown Creeper
3 Carolina Wrens
4 Cedar Waxwings
16 Dark-eyed Juncos
50 White-throated Sparrows
5 Northern Cardinals
Bufflehead female (Image by Michelle Horowitz)Angry Canada Geese (Image by Michelle Horowitz)
We are halfway through the count weekend and Team BirdNation has observed 36 different bird species and 2,412 individuals. Other fun finds the last two days were a mink, deer, and a backhoe. Let’s see what the second half of the weekend will bring.
Have you participated in the first two days of the bird count? Share some species you saw in the comments below.
Hi everyone! It’s time for the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)! This annual event takes place this weekend from February 16-19. It’s easy to participate, so check out https://www.birdcount.org/ to join the fun!
Today Dave, Baby Birder, and I made our way out to Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge for the first day of the count. It was a fairly chilly and windy morning. As expected there was waterfowl galore and lots of gulls. We observed 27 species. Highlights included a Northern Harrier, two Bald Eagles, and a large amount of Gadwalls.
Gull Pond
Edwin B. Forsythe NWR (27 species, 2098 individuals)
450 Snow Geese
70 Brant
255 Canada Geese
9 Tundra Swans
200 Northern Shovelers
160 Gadwall
24 Mallards
150 American Black Ducks
60 Northern Pintails
7 Green-winged Teals
35 Bufflehead
14 Hooded Mergansers
55 Ruddy Duck
470 Dunlin
8 Ring-billed Gulls
87 Herring Gulls
2 Double-crested Cormorants
2 Great Egrets
7 Great Blue Herons
9 Turkey Vultures
1 Northern Harrier
2 Bald Eagles
11 American Crows
1 Carolina Wren
3 Dark-eyed Juncos
1 Common Grackle
5 Yellow-rumped Warblers
Dunlin flock (Image by David Horowitz)Hooded Merganser male (Image by David Horowitz)
We had an unexpected surprise on the wildlife drive today. Baby Birder, being well into toddlerhood now, isn’t super into birding. He likes birds just fine and is fairly familiar with ducks, geese, and eagles (my favorite was when he saw a Wild Turkey and called it a “duck-eagle” 😂). However, his true passion (obsession lol) is vehicles, so while he likes to see the birds his favorite part of visiting Forsythe is the other vehicles on the wildlife drive. And special for bird count weekend we had…a backhoe!
A GBBC first…a backhoe!
He was quite thrilled to see a backhoe laying gravel out on the road today, so we all had a lovely morning for GBBC Day 1. It’s supposed to snow 2-5 inches tonight into tomorrow so we’ll see what happens for Day 2.
Happy Waterfowl Wednesday! I’ve been on a goose streak the lately. Let’s talk about Brant!
Brant (branta bernicla)
Atlantic Brant (Image by David Horowitz)
Subspecies and populations
Atlantic or Pale-bellied (Branta bernicla hrota)
Pacific or Black (Branta bernicla nigricans)
Dark-bellied or Eurasian (Branta bernicla benicla). Known as “Brent Geese” in Western Europe.
Gray-bellied or Western High Arctic: found on Washington coast, breeds only in northwestern Canada on Parry Islands
Description:
23-24 inches long, 2.5-3.8 pounds
Short neck; small bill and head
Black head, neck, bill, feet, and breast
White “necklace” markings are variable, mostly lacking in juveniles
Brown wings, pale flanks, white undertail
Belly ranges from pale brown (Atlantic subspecies) to black (Pacific subspecies)
Brant profile (Image by Michelle Horowitz)
Range and habitat:
Breeding: Arctic North America and Russia. Tundra, islands, deltas, salt bays, estuaries.
Migration: Pacific Coast from Alaska to Baja Mexico; Hudson Bay to Mid-Atlantic coast. Coastal waters, freshwater lakes, mudflats, lagoon systems behind barrier islands.
Winter: Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to North Carolina, Aleutian Islands of Alaska, Washington coast. Sheltered bays, estuaries.
Feeding behavior and diet
Brant are mainly vegetarian and eat a variety of grasses including eelgrass, sedge, arrowgrass, pondweed, saltmarsh cordgrass, and green algae. May also eat mollusks, aquatic insects, and worms. On land they graze on grasses and in water tip up like dabbling ducks. Mostly forages in flocks.
breeding/Nesting
Courtship: Socially monogamous and pair for life; however some females have been found to mate with other males during the egg-laying period. Forms pair bonds on wintering grounds.
Nesting: Female forms depression in the ground near water and grassy areas. She adds grasses and feathers to line the nest when ready to lay eggs. Often nests in colonies and pairs are territorial.
Young: Incubates 3-5 white/buffy eggs for 23-24 days. Chicks are precocial, meaning they are ready to feed, walk, and swim within a day or two of hatching and are covered in down. Both sexes tend to the goslings, who feed continuously and fledge in 40-50 days. Family groups tend to stay together even within large colonies/flocks.
Vocalizations
Guttural low ruk-ruk! A sharp cruk! alarm call. Goslings peep.
Conservation status
Population trends are unknown, though Brant are thought to be declining. Due to their restricted Arctic breeding ranges, Brant are very vulnerable to climate change. Threats facing Brant include habitat loss, global warming, sea level rise, petroleum development in breeding grounds, and water quality issues. As global temperatures rise, it’s predicted that Brant ranges will shift considerably northward and will lose about 52% of their current range if global temperatures warm over 3.0 degrees Celsius. Eelgrass restoration along their habitats have helped stabilize winter Brant populations.
Brant flying over the Cape Cod Bay (Image by Michelle Horowitz)
Fun facts
Brant are long-distance migrants and some travel over 3,000 miles from winter to breeding grounds.
Flocks have a distinct hierarchy: paired birds with young rank higher than paired birds with no young. Pairs without young dominate unpaired birds.
Individuals tend to pair with a mate who have a similar amount of white “necklace”. The Pacific subspecies tends to have the most pronounced “necklace” while Atlantic tends to have less white.
Happy Waterfowl Wednesday! Last week we talked about the Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) and its 7 subspecies. For awhile it was commonly accepted that there were 11 Canada subspecies, but in 2004 the American Ornithologists Union took the four smallest and declared them a separate species: the Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii). Why did this happen? How can you tell if the white-cheeked goose you’re seeing is a Canada or a Cackling?
Cackling Goose (ALAN SCHMIERER, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Cackling vs. Canada Identification
Cackling
Canada
Height
24-25 inches (63-65 cm)
29-43 inches (76-110 cm)
Weight
3-5 lbs
6-20 lbs
Color Pattern
Brown overall, varying from pale to dark depending on subspecies. White under black tail. Short black neck.
Brown back, black head/neck, tan breast
Facial features
Black head with white/throat patch (“chinstrap”). Some have white ring at base of neck. Rounded crown but steep forehead.
Black head with white/throat patch (“chinstrap”). Rounded head with sloping forehead.
Bill color/shape
Black. Short. Meets forehead at a steep angle.
Black. Wide and flat.
Other features
Small black feet and short black legs. Long wings.
Large black feet and black legs.
Cackling vs. Canada Geese identification features
Size is a good first indicator to identifying a Cackling Goose. They tend to be very small. They are about the same size as a Mallard,Brant, or Barnacle Goose and are smaller than Snow Geese. However, it’s important to be aware that they may be similar in size to smaller Canada Goose subspecies, so it’s important to not rely only on size and use other features for identification too. There is also much variation between the four Cackling subspecies. American ornithologist David Allen Sibley suggests getting to know your local flocks and being aware of geographic differences. They are very often found in mixed flocks with Canada Geese.
Branta hutchinsii minima (“Ridgeway”): Breeds in western Alaska and winters in California and Oregon. Smallest of the 4 subspecies (2.5-4 lbs) and has the shortest bill.
Branta hutchinsii leucopareia (“Aleutian”): Breeds in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. Winters in California. White “collar” where black neck meets brown body.
Branta hutchinsii taverneri (“Taverner’s” or “Alaska”): Breeds in Alaska and Northwest Canada, rare east of the Rocky Mountains. Winters in Washington, Oregon, and southwestern United States. Closest in size/appearance to Canada Goose parvipes subspecies, so use caution with identification.
Branta hutchinsii hutchinsii (“Richardson’s” or “Hutchin’s”): Breeds Central and East Arctic Canada. Migrates to Great Plains. Paler in color and lacks white neck ring.
Some subspecies will rarely winter in the northeastern United States down the Atlantic Coast into the Gulf Coast.
Why the split?
There’s a bit of a debate with scientists about whether the split of Cackling Geese from Canada Geese is appropriate. The two species do tend to hybridize in some locations, which complicates the situation. The 2004 split is based on evidence of differences in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the two species. Studies by Shields and Wilson (1987a and 1987b) found a 2% difference in the mtDNA and suggests that the two species diverged about one million years ago. Even within Cackling subspecies there are have been differences in evolutionary selection pressures due to geographical isolation. The breeding habitats are of minima and leucopareia are distinctly different from taverneri and hutchinsii.
So the next time you are looking at a flock of Canada Geese you may not be looking at only Canada Geese. A Cackling Goose may be among the ranks. It’s always worth a closer look. Happy goose watching!
Mlodinow, S., Springer, P., Deuel, P., Semo, L. S., Leukering, T., Schonewald, T.D., Tweit, W., & Barry, J. H. (2008). Distribution and Identification of Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) Subspecies. North American Birds, 62(3), 344-360). http://www.utahbirds.org/RecCom/IDhelp/Cackling_Goose-NAB.pdf
Schmierer, A. (2007, March 16). CACKLING GOOSE(3-16-07)leucopareia, sloco, ca(1) (8708303070) [Photograph]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:016_-CACKLING_GOOSE(3-16-07)leucopareia,_sloco,_ca(1)_(8708303070).jpg
Szantyr, M. (2004). Questions and Ansers: Identifying Cackling Goose, Branta hutchinsii, the Newest Addition to the Connecticut Checklist. The Connecticut Warbler, 24(4), 111-116.
Happy Waterfowl Wednesday friends! It’s been quite awhile since the last one, but this winter I’d like to bring it back. It is waterfowl season after all.
One of our most widespread North American species is the Canada Goose, Branta canadensis. It seems like Canada Geese get mixed reactions from birders, being so common in some suburban areas that many people consider them pests. However, Joe Van Wormer, an Oregonian author and wildlife photographer sings their praises in his 1968 book The World of the Canada Goose. Van Wormer’s enthusiasm for the species is infectious and shows a side of a species that many people don’t seem to understand or appreciate. One of my favorite quotes from Van Wormer’s book: “Once a Canada goose has its complete set of feathers it should be forgiven for seeming to strut a bit, for its plumage is now one of the finest in the bird world. It may not be as flashy as a wood duck’s but it is neat and handsome.”
Canada Goose (Image by Michelle Horowitz)
One of the most interesting things I learned among the plethora of interesting facts is how many subspecies there are. At the time of Van Wormer’s writing there were at least 11 recognized subspecies, but in 2004 the four smallest subspecies were combined into a different species: the Cackling Goose. The plumage of the Canada subspecies tend to get darker as you move westward and their size gets smaller as you move northward. Let’s explore the 7 different Canada Goose subspecies from largest to smallest:
elongated neck, almost swanlike compared to other subspecies
lighter in color than interior subspecies
extensive cheek patches that often forms a small backward-projecting hook
some have a white forehead patch, many a white ring at base of neck
Thought to be extinct until rediscovered in 1960 by Harold C. Hanson
Range: central and northern United States, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario
Branta canadensis moffitti: “Western”
2nd in size to Giant Canada goose. Average around 8 pounds, but some 12-15 pounds
Breast move “silvery” than other subspecies
Range: United States western interior around Rocky Mountains, western Canada
Branta canadensis interior: “Todd’s”
6-11 pounds
medium in color
most numerous of all the subspecies; as many as all the other subspecies combined
Range: Central Canada and Central/Southern United States
Branta canadensis canadensis: “Atlantic”
6-11 pounds
lighter than Todd’s with more white underparts and whitish area between base of neck and back
Introduced in England, Scotland, Iceland, and New Zealand
Range: Atlantic seaboard from Nova Scotia to North Carolina
Branta canadensis fulva: “Vancouver
6-13 pounds
1 of 2 “dark” races (including “Dusky”)
Range: Glacier Bay Alaska, south coast and islands of British Columbia to north Vancouver Island
Possibly the least migratory of all Canada Geese: approximately 90% winter on breeding grounds. Others migrate to Willamette Valley of Oregon or northern California
Branta canadensis occidentalis: “Dusky”
slightly smaller than Vancouver
chocolate colored
Range: southern coast of Alaska, migrates offshore and winters in Willamette Valley
Branta candensis parvipes: “Lesser”
about 6 pounds
lighter brown plumage
Range: Northwest Territories of Canada, southern Victoria Island, central/east Alaska. Winters in Oklahoma, Texas, Mexico, and California.
Next Waterfowl Wednesday we’ll explore the Cackling Goose and its split from the Canada Goose. What do you think about Canada Geese? Tell me about it in the comments.
O’Keeffe, M. (2009). Artist’s Impression of the Canada/Cackling Goose complex following Banks et al. 2004 [Photograph]. Irish Rare Birds Committee. http://www.irbc.ie/announcements/announce68.php
I hope everyone had a great first day of the 2022 Great Backyard Bird Count!
We are off to a good start this weekend with our trip to Rye. The original plan was to just go to Odiorne Point State Park, but we actually went to 4 different locations. The main reason for the change in plans was the wind. It was relatively warm today (about 45 degrees…that’s pretty warm for us right now haha!) but the winds were at least 25+ miles per hour. 2022 is our son’s (“Baby Birder”) first GBBC, but we didn’t want him out in the wind too long, so we did multiple locations with shorter watching times. Besides it being his first count, we had another interesting first, plus it was a 3 merganser day.
Odiorne Point State Park
Of course gulls and sea ducks don’t care about the wind, so we spotted a few species. Surprisingly, we didn’t see any Common Eiders today. Since moving to New England we constantly see them, so it was kind of refreshing to see other ducks instead (nothing again CEs, but they were more of a novelty in NJ…).
10 Canada Geese
2 Common Goldeneye
8 Red-breasted Merganser
4 Ring-billed Gull
1 Common Loon
1 Blue Jay
2 Black-capped Chickadees
1 Northern Mockingbird
3 Eastern Bluebirds
Site Total: 9 species, 32 individuals
Northern Mockingbird trying to avoid the wind (Photo by BirdNation)
We had an interesting GBBC “first” today…a dead bird on the beach. It looks like an alcid. Our guess is that it’s a nonbreeding Common Murre, but it’s a little difficult to tell. Anyone have any guesses? (Let me know what you think in the comments). It obviously doesn’t count on our life list since it’s dead, but if it is a Murre at least we got a good look at it for when we see a live one. RIP little guy.
Mystery Alcid? (Photos by David Horowitz)
Coves south of Odiorne and Parsons Creek Saltmarsh
Since the winds were harsh and unforgiving it made sense that many birds were further inland. We spotted some birds in the coves south of Odiorne Point SP and at Parsons Creek Saltmarsh across from Wallis Sands Beach.
35 Canada Geese
36 Mallards
4 Hooded Mergansers
6 Ring-billed Gulls
1 American Crow
5 American Black Ducks
Site Total: 6 species, 87 individuals
Rye Harbor State Park
25 Surf Scoters
1 Long-tailed Duck
6 Ring-billed Gulls
10 Herring Gulls
Site Total: 4 species, 48 Individuals
Other Highlights
On our way to and from Rye we observed a few incidental species. We saw multiple Red-tailed Hawks, many groups of Rock Pigeons, and Common Mergansers. Therefore we saw all 3 North American merganser species today (Common, Red-breasted, and Hooded). This count was also special for me because like I mentioned earlier, it’s Baby Birder’s first bird count. He doesn’t notice most of the bird yet since he’s so little but I’m glad that he can join us. He loves going on adventures and especially loves sitting in his backpack carrier. It was windy, but he still had a smile on his face :-).
So between our incidental sightings and the 4 Rye locations, we saw a total of 18species. I’m looking forward to the next few days of the count.
Did you go birding on day 1 of the Great Backyard Bird Count? Tell me what yousaw in the comments!
Hi everyone! I took a little break from blogging since the move to New Hampshire. The transition has been a little rough, but it’ll get easier over time. Since I last wrote we went back to Chincoteague, VA, added Maine to our birding map, and added a few lifers to our list. I’ll catch you up on all of that soon, but this past weekend we visited family back in New Jersey and of course made some time for birding. I was able to visit some of my old stomping grounds: Palmyra Cove Nature Park and Haddon Lake Park.
Palmyra Cove Nature Park, Palmyra, NJ
I really missed Palmyra. Even in the heat of the day, we still observed 34 species. Highlights included a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, American Redstarts, Chimney Swifts, 2 Ospreys, and Wild Turkeys. We also saw a nice variety of butterflies and dragonflies, some turtles, and a groundhog.
Haddon lake park, audubon, nj
The ducks at Haddon Lake are now in eclipse plumage. Waterfowl undergo a simultaneous wing molt, meaning they are rendered flightless for about 20-40 days. Therefore, males, who are usually much more colorful than the females, molt their head plumage in order to blend in. I also learned (thanks to a helpful person on Instagram) that there was an American Black Duck amid the Mallards. We also saw a Red-winged Blackbird fledgling being fed by its parent.
Green Heron (Image by BirdNation)Red-winged Blackbird juvenile
Dave and I made our way out to the Jersey Shore today for the Great Backyard Bird Count. We went birding at two locations: Barnegat Lighthouse State Park on LBI and Cloverdale Farm Park in Barnegat. We added a new bird to our life list: the Red-breasted Nuthatch. I went to Cloverdale last week with my mom and sister to look for the Red-breasted Nuthatch, but we didn’t find it (however, we did see Pine Siskins, a lifer for us!)
Barnegat Lighthouse State Park, Barnegat Light, NJ (20 species, 461 individual birds)
42 Brant
3 Greater Scaup (1 male, 2 females)
3 Common Eiders
15 Harlequin Ducks (mostly male)
30 Black Scoters
45 Long-tailed Ducks
10 Bufflehead
13 Red-breasted Mergansers
3 Ruddy Turnstones
1 Sanderling
85 Dunlin
25 Ring-billed Gulls
136 Herring Gulls
26 Great Black-backed Gulls
1 Red-throated Loon
14 Common Loons
6 Double-crested Cormorants
1 Merlin
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 Savannah Sparrow
Bonus find: 6 Seals!
Greater Scaup (Image by David Horowitz)
Black Scoter (Image by BirdNation)
Common Eider (image by BirdNation)
Ruddy Turnstone (Image by BirdNation)
Savannah Sparrow (Image by BirdNation)
Cloverdale Farm County Park, Barnegat, NJ (16 species,45 individual birds)
2 Mallards (male/female)
1 Bufflehead
1 Belted Kingfisher
3 Carolina Chickadee
3 Tufted Titmouse
2 Red-breasted Nuthatch
4 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Brown Creeper
5 Eastern Bluebird
1 Northern Mockingbird
1 House Finch
1 American Goldfinch
16 Dark-eyed Junco
2 White-throated Sparrows
1 Pine Warbler
1 Northern Cardinal
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Image by David Horowitz)
It’s always a pleasure visiting the Jersey Shore. Tomorrow is the last day of the 2019 GBBC. Stay tuned!
On Sunday January 27, Dave and I went to 4 birding locations in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. I was inspired to find some Canvasbacks, so we drove out to the Jersey Shore to see what we could find. Overall, we saw 15 different waterfowl species between the 4 locations. Here are the highlights.
Manasquan Reservoir IBA, Howell, NJ
This was around the time of the polar vortex, so it was pretty cold and most of the reservoir was frozen over. Despite the cold, we observed 20 species.
Waterfowl: Canvasbacks (life list #2 for 2019, read about life list #1, the Razorbill, here), huge flocks of Common Mergansers and Canada Geese, Hooded Mergansers, Bufflehead, Ring-billed Ducks, female Common Goldeneye, Ruddy Ducks, Mallards, Mute Swans
Others: 3 Bald Eagles (breeding pair and juvenile), watched an adult and juvenile eating prey on the ice. American Coots, gulls.
Ice Skating Canada Geese (Video by BirdNation)
Common Goldeneye female in flight (Image by BirdNation)
Other: Turkey Vultures, tons of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, Common Loons
Manasquan Inlet, Manasquan, NJ
Manasquan Inlet is where the Manasquan River meets the Atlantic Ocean. There were a lot of Common Loons that day, and we learned after we got home that there was a Pacific Loon among them, a NJ rarity. I didn’t think to pay close attention to each individual loon since I just assumed they were our normal Common Loons. Lesson learned!
Waterfowl: Long-tailed Ducks
Other: Common Loons, Rock Pigeons, Ring-billed Gulls, Dunlin
Common Loon (Image by BirdNation)
Lake of the Lilies, Pt. Pleasant, NJ
Our first visit to Lake of the Lilies was last year for the Great Backyard Bird Count. We saw 13 species of waterfowl that day in February, including a large raft of Redheads and a rare Tufted Duck. This visit was quieter, but we got an amazing views of some Wood Ducks.
BirdNation 
