These birds include the alder flycatcher.
Caspian tern WHAT WE'VE SPOTTED
* Sandhill crane, Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge* Fork-tailed flycatcher, Assunpink Wildlife Management Area
* Curlew sandpiper, Heislerville Wildlife Management Area
* Red-headed woodpecker, Garwood
* Caspian tern, Morgan
THE LAST 10 DAYS of May are the best time of year to see some of New Jersey's most difficult-to-find passerine species.
Passerine means "perching bird," which is what most of our backyard birds are, as well as being neotropic migrants, traveling from their winter homes in the tropics to nest here in North America.
Neotropic migrants include swifts, flycatchers, vireos, swallows, wrens, thrushes, warblers, tanagers, buntings, grosbeaks and orioles. All will spend a few months here nesting, after a journey of thousands of miles that well worth it since there is great habitat and plenty of food to provide for their new families. Many will begin departing to the south in July, but some will remain and be present well into October.
These most difficult-to-find passerine species include alder, olive-sided and yellow-bellied flycatchers, Swainson's, gray-cheeked and Bicknell's thrushes, and mourning, Cape May and bay-breasted warblers. The gray-cheeked and Bicknell's thrushes can only be identified by song and they don't sing all that often. If you get a look at one, it is most likely a gray-cheeked thrush; Bicknell's is a federally
endangered species, with a dwindling population. Learning the habits and behavior of these birds will aid in knowing where to look for them.
The best locations to find these avian gems are, of course, Sandy Hook and Garret Mountain Reservation in Woodland Park. Information on where to bird at Sandy Hook is available at njaudubon.org. Almost anywhere in Garret Mountain Reservation will be great for birding in May, with the path around Barber Pond often most productive. Just outside the park, off Mountain Avenue, is Wilson Avenue -- another a great place to try to spot these birds.
Enjoy.
This column is compiled and written by Pete Bacinski, longtime New Jersey birder and retired NJ Audubon All Things Birds program director. Questions or comments should be directed to him by emailing petebacinski@comcast.net.
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