Brigantine NWR

Ruddy turnstone   

      In southern New Jersey lie two of the premier birding locations on the east coast.....Cape May and the Brigantine unit of the Forsythe National Wildlife Reserve in Galloway Twp.  While it's a bit of a trip for those of us in the Hudson Valley, it is well worth the effort and time to travel down to these gems.  This past weekend, 10 members of the Mearns Bird Club made the trek to "Brig" as it is affectionately know to local birders in search of shore birds.  At this time of year, the birds are all adorned with their finest plumage as the breeding season is now well under way.  Birds which can appear dull and drab during the dull and drab days of winter now are alive with bright hues.  Seeing birds joined as pairs is another plus for us during the rites of Spring, and Brigantine produced as promised.

Herring gulls

      Rails are always a major bonus for birders as the birds may be present, but they are not always prominent.  You may hear an occasional Clapper rail at the Brig during other times of the year, but during May, they seem to be all around us and their distinctive tapping call was heard throughout the journey around the impoundments.  Not only were they heard, but they were easily seen as well and made for great subjects for those of us with our cameras ready.

Clapper rail

     Next is the numbers of birds present during spring.  Without a doubt, there were hundreds of Semi-palmated sandpipers on every available mudflat....literally thousands when all were taken into account.  Black-bellied plovers in breeding plumage are a sight to behold and when you see one, you feel that you've seen something quite special.  So you can imagine how I felt when I sighted a sand bar with 296 of these handsome birds standing "shoulder to shoulder".  When we returned the next day to the same spot, the tide had changed and the huge numbers of plovers were no longer present.  Another case if being in the right place at the right time.  

Black-bellied plovers (Click on the image to enlarge)

      Finally, there are the "rarities".  As often as I bird, I can count on one hand the number of times that I've had good looks at the Gull-billed tern.  Every time that I have seen it, it has been here at Brig.  Today was not going to break my string of good fortune.  Our first stop gave us great views of a Gull-bill flying in close proximity with ample chances for good photos.
     And so it goes.....we travel around the state, the country and this entire world and there will always be a few special locations where it is almost magical.  Brigantine is surely on my list of those sites.

Gull-billed tern

Spring

      One reason we leave Florida and head back to our home in New York is that we like to follow the birds as they migrate north.  May in NY is magical with so many of the most beautiful (and handsome) birds, the wood warblers among others, working their way through the state.  The combination of brilliant "definitive" plumage, vibrant song, and sparse foliage on the trees make May the premier birding season in this state.  So far, we have not been disappointed.

Rose-breasted grosbeak

     Even the birds at our feeders prove to something special in spring.  When the Kentucky Derby weekend approaches, we can always count on the radiant Rose-breasted grosbeak (photo above) to be a guest at our fruit and nut feeder.  Like clockwork, three days before the derby, there they were.....a fine pair of grosbeaks.  We watch and appreciate the sight while we can, for they will only linger for a few days before moving on. As I write this, the grosbeaks are no longer to be found here.

Chestnut-sided warbler

     Moving into the forest, the warblers are obviously the main attraction.  Listen for their songs and chip notes, watch for the movement of the leaves in the trees and train the bins on some of the most spectacular avian art you could ever imagine.  The bright yellows, blues, greens, and black and white hues are some of Mother Nature's finest work.  In trying to attract a mate or stake out some top real estate for a nest, the warblers make a spectacle of themselves.

Prairie warbler

      Look and listen closely now, however, for within the month, many of these birds will have moved on to their nesting grounds in the north.  Those which have remained behind will no longer be singing and will try to stay out of sight as they sit on their nests and try to keep their whereabouts and the location of their nests difficult for would-be predators to ascertain.

     But for now, we will seize the moment and spend each day watching and listening for this truly entertaining annual display.  And, don't forget....it's not all about warblers.  Many of the other birds will also be more vocal and more conspicuous as they enter into the rites of spring.  Normally, the Virginia rail is fairly reclusive....a tough bird to see, let alone photograph.  But several day ago, while out on the Bashakill Marsh, this fine little specimen paraded right past me as if daring me to take its picture, but more likely searching for a mate.  Spring is indeed a magical time here in the Empire State.

Virginia rail

Heading North

     Our time in Florida for the winter of 2011 has drawn to a close and it's time we begin our own migration north.  Leaving the sunshine state at the end of April assures us of a wonderful seasonal journey....two springs each year.  We have watched as the first waves of warblers....Yellow-rumps, Black-throated blues, Yellows, Parulas, and others....have pushed through the south and now we will catch up to them and see the rest of the songsters as they arrive in the north.  On our way back to our New York home, we made two side-trips to a couple of our favorite birding locales on the east coast....Santee NWR in South Carolina and then Bombay Hook in Delaware.  The first day was a day of playing cat and mouse with some severe storms moving up the coast.  We tried to move slowly enough to just stay behind what turned out to be some of the most damaging tornadoes in US history.  Our plan worked well as we arrived in Santee just in time for the skies to start clearing and the birds to start singing.

Blue grosbeak

Orchard oriole - First summer male

     We added a couple of "year-birds", the Blue grosbeak and the Orchard oriole, to our list as we totaled over 40 species in several hours.  Believing that we had given the storms plenty of time to get far ahead of us, we then made our way further north up to Fayetteville where we stayed for the evening.  The next day we headed up to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel so that we could stop and visit the Eastern Shore of Virginia NWR.  Had our first Chipping sparrows of the year as we ate our lunch on the grounds.  From there, it was up to Bombay Hook where we were able to spend a couple of hours of twilight getting great views of such elusive reed dwellers as the Clapper rail and Marsh wren.  As we left in the waning hours of daylight, we were treated to a brief spotting of a Red fox peering out from a field to our left.  After seeing us, however, he darted back into the grass and I could not get a shot off from the Nikon.  In the morning, we returned to see what he early daylight would conjure up for us.  It was a chorus of birdsong awaiting us as we checked off Purple martins, White-crowned sparrows, another Blue grosbeak, Yellow warblers, and splendidly hued Goldfinches before ever getting out of the parking lot of the Visitors Center.

     The rest of the morning was equally productive, but the sighting of the day was not avian, but rather another beautiful Red fox which had come out behind our vehicle to watch us drive down the dirt road.  Had I not glanced into the rear view mirror, I'd never had seen him.  As I exited the vehicle, he paid me little mind and allowed me to watch and photograph for several minutes before he trotted off across the field.

  Bombay is well know for its fox population as well as its birds and today we were not disappointed.  We are home now and preparing for what the rest of the spring migration may bring.  We are most assuredly looking forward to our "second spring" of 2011.