Registrar: Alice Deutsch
Participants: 9
Weather: sunny calm, 60’s F
Bird Species: 65
It was a sunny day in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic when we went on a birding trip to Sandy Hook led by Rick Wright. All of us wore masks and observed the social distancing rules laid down by the Linnaean Society. We started out in Parking Lot M and ended up staying in the area for several hours thanks to the many birds that came through. The habitat is characterized by scattered low trees, including pines, some shrubs, and grasses, in sandy soil. We enjoyed great looks at sparrows, warblers, and other migrants. Some of the highlights included Savannah Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, a cooperative Field Sparrow and a Lincoln’s Sparrow. Another highlight was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo that appeared well but briefly. Eastern Phoebes seemed to be everywhere. For lunch we went to an area closer to the ocean. The habitats were shoreline and dunes with grasses and low shrubs. We observed gulls and Royal Terns. Rick did a great job of getting each of us on the bird and describing the identifying field marks.
Species Lists
Birds
Canada Goose
American Black Duck
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Chimney Swift
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Royal Tern
Double-crested Cormorant
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Peregrine Falcon
Eastern Phoebe
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren
Carolina Wren
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Swainson’s Thrush
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
House Finch
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Cape May Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
