Spring Migration Finally Arrives

     For the past couple of weeks my daily walks at Island Beach State Park were a slog.  Trying to find new year birds was becoming a chore.  It seemed as if the spring birds were way behind schedule, since the trees were already leafing out, and the tree snot (technically the catkins) on the oaks were hanging silently waiting to be gleaned by warblers, tanagers, orioles, vireos and the likes.  I had to keep reminding myself that the crazy warm days we had back in February and March actually put the trees ahead of schedule.  This migration thing has been going on for quite a long time, and Mother Nature always seems to get things right.
Tree snot, properly known as catkins.  © S. Weiss

Things started showing up last week…finally.  Last Thursday, after unsuccessfully trying to relocate New Jersey’s first Black-whiskered Vireo that only two fortunate birders were able to see and photograph, I was one of a handful of birders to see a Kentucky Warbler foraging along the roadside late in the day at Island Beach.  Kentucky Warbler is a rare bird for Island Beach and Ocean County.  It was my 282nd species for the park and my 329th for Ocean County.
Kentucky Warbler.  © S. Weiss

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Scarlet Tanagers and Baltimore Orioles were turning up, along with more and more warblers.  Unfortunately, I came across a deceased Summer Tanager on the roadway.  This is not an uncommon sight during migration as exhausted birds land wherever and most vehicle operators don’t pay them much attention.
Left, Scarlet Tanager on roadway.  Right, Summer Tanager deceased on roadway.  © S. Weiss

The winds Saturday night apparently were pleasing to the birds.  Birders across the county experienced an incredible flight of birds as the sun rose Sunday morning.  I arrived at Island Beach around 6:30 and the volume of birds streaming through the trees and sky was too overwhelming for a single birder to manage.  I met up with a couple of friends and we just walked the bayside trails.  We tallied 100 species, but what impressed us more were the numbers of the species we tallied.  For example:  well over 50 Eastern Kingbirds; over a dozen Blue-headed Vireos; well over 100 Gray Catbirds; dozens and dozens of Baltimore Orioles and Black-and-White Warblers; hundreds of Yellow-rumped Warblers, and 20 Scarlet Tanagers.  
Left, Wood Thrush.  Right, Scarlet Tanager.  © S. Weiss

Today, I took a more leisurely approach.  I arrived at the park two hours later and had to skip Reeds Road (the top birding spot in the park) because the state decided that it was okay to use that particular parking lot for construction work staging.  Even though it seemed less birdy, I still managed over 90 species for the day.  The 90-plus species were highlighted by a Yellow-breasted Chat that my friends Scott and Doug and I heard singing, then got eyes on at Johnny Allen’s Cove Trail.  Once grouped with warblers, Chats are in their own taxonomic family for now.  They are skulkers, and when present are more often heard and less often seen.  Another difficult species for Ocean County, this was my first for Island Beach and my 283rd overall there.
Yellow-breasted Chat.  © S. Weiss

New birds will continue to arrive, and soon I’ll be on the beach side searching for shearwaters and other pelagic favorites.



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