N.J. migrants will begin returning to the Garden State over the next two weeks.
Olive-sided flycatcher WHAT WE'VE SPOTTED
* Mississippi kite, Waretown
* Ruff, New Jersey Meadowlands, North Arlington
* Black tern, Forsythe (Brig) National Wildlife
Refuge
* Olive-Sided flycatcher, Sandy Hook
* Stilt sandpiper, Forsythe (Brig) National Wildlife Refuge
BIRDING IN EARLY AUGUST can offer lots of numbers of individual shorebirds -- but much less species diversity, which greatly increases later in the month.
New Jersey migrants, such as Baird's sandpiper and the buff-breasted sandpiper, are visitors only in fall and will begin returning to the Garden State over the next two weeks. These birds migrate up through the center of the United States in spring and are actively sought-after by birders in summer.
Forsythe (Brigantine) National Wildlife Refuge is one of the best shorebird migration locations in America, but there are others, too. To find the Baird's and buff-breasted sandpiper, seek them out at sod farms. You're also likely to find the American golden-plover there and, during the next week or so, the upland sandpiper as well.
Ruff and curlew sandpipers, both Eurasian wanderers that show up in New Jersey annually in small numbers, have been a bit more common this year. They were seen side-by-side at the Heislerville Impoundments in late April -- quite a treat for many birders, including me.
A ruff has been present in the New Jersey Meadowlands lately and another was spotted by many at Brig in late July. A beautiful male curlew sandpiper was just observed and photographed here on private property in New Jersey, though the location could not be revealed.
Shorebirding also can be done at the Meadowlands, in Lyndhurst and North Arlington; Island Beach State Park; Stone Harbor; Tuckerton; and Cape May Point.
A good place to check out are the cranberry bogs in Whitesbog, on the border of Ocean and Burlington counties. Many species of shorebirds have been observed in there over the summer in recent years. These birds include the pectoral and Baird's sandpipers, as well as several other common species. (If you go, follow the directions closely as it is very easy to get lost.)
This week, Cape May had an American avocet, and roseate and black terns (neither a shorebird) in the South Cape May Meadows Nature Preserve.
There are great sod farms to check near Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, in Upper Freehold Township, Monmouth County; some in Hunterdon County; and others in Salem County, especially one known as Johnson's Sod Farm, which is south of Pole Tavern.
A REMINDER: Please do not trespass on these properties when observing birds.
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.