The Birds of East Brunswick, New Jersey

EAST BRUNSWICK NATURE NOTES

— The Great Backyard Bird Count —

I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.

Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)

Here are the results of the most recent Great Backyard Bird Counts. Like other surveys, the numbers that you collected create a snapshot of the current state of birds in a region at a given time. Each of you who participate contributes a small amount to a great wealth of knowledge that will enable better monitoring of the environment and the state of birds in your area. Now, it's up to the folks at Audubon and Cornell to crunch the numbers. Don't forget to look over the results. Their website is extremely easy to navigate and provides a painless way to understand the trends that are developing.

This is a very easy event in which to participate, and, with parental assistance, is even fine for children in the early elementary grades.

Much more information can be found on the Great Backyard Bird Count website (here). This site can help you get started and will show you how to report your findings. It's really easy and fun. Enjoy the experience.

The Great Backyard Bird Count

The first list below represents only those species that I compiled at my home in East Brunswick. Please help by submitting your totals. Thanks.

—A total of 54 species were reported in East Brunswick for the 2007 GBBC. —

* To make the process easier for participants, I have provided a complete New Jersey Checklist for you to print out on which you may check off species seen enter species total. Get the checklist list here. The list is in .pdf format and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader (which is usually included on every computer).

GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT
Final Results for 2007

For the 2007 Great Backyard Bird Count, East Brunswick made a more than respectable showing. In terms of checklists submitted, we came in second with 46, only 2 behind Highland Park. Initially, I had a suspicion that was borne out by an e-mail from Arnold Henderson of Highland Park. Each of my e-mails to our entire list of over 270 people was forwarded, by him, to all his contacts in Highland Park. So, in essence, these e-mails were responsible for this very friendly rivalry bringing our two towns to the top in the state by a significant margin. I really can't be upset by this because, in the end, science wins, and if this data is used to help us environmentally, we all win. Also, our species count of 54 was excellent with several species being identified in East Brunswick that were considered difficult to find.

This was a really GREAT Backyard Bird Count, and I thank all of you who participated. The goal for 2008 is to have even more people involved. Ultimately, your time spent watching birds (what could be bad about that???) will help develop new and more effective environmental initiatives to help our region. Thanks for helping a real science project…and having a good time doing it.

Rich Wolfert
March 11, 2007

Read the article covering our effort, from the Sentinel.

Personal Count for 2007 (Richard Wolfert), 08816-East Brunswick, New Jersey. This is provided to give you a good idea of what is reported.

The second table below contains more complete information and totals for all participants in East Brunswick whose data appears on the birdsource website.

The list contains ALL birds seen on Great Backyard Bird Counts for the past 3 years.

¹ It is presumed that "Black-capped Chickadee/Carolina Chickadee" birds spotted were the more common Carolina Chickadee (in East Brunswick). The actual, somewhat blurred dividing line is somewhere at or just south of the Raritan River in our region. Individals of either species can be found on the other side from time to time. This would, in effect, drop our total from 54 species (on birdsource.com) to 53 species.

Daily Totals Species	Fri, Feb, 16, 2007 Day 1	Sat, Feb, 17, 2007 Day 2	Sun, Feb, 18, 2007 Day 3	Mon, Feb, 19, 2007 Day 4
Carolina Chickadee	1	2	2	2
Canada Goose	-	-	30	15
Ring-billed Gull	-	104	-	3
Tufted Titmouse	3	2	1	1
American Goldfinch	1	-	2	2
Carolina Wren	1	1	1	1
Downy Woodpecker	2	2	2	2
Dark-eyed Junco	30	40	25	15
Mourning Dove	1	3	3	3
Herring Gull	-	-	1	1
Blue Jay	2	6	3	2
Song Sparrow	1	1	1	1
White-throated Sparrow	20	20	15	15
House Finch	3	2	3	3
White-breasted Nuthatch	1	2	1	2
Northern Mockingbird	-	-	1	-
American Robin	-	2	2	1
Fox Sparrow	-	-	-	-
Red-bellied Woodpecker	1	2	1	1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	1	-	-	1
Northern Cardinal	1	2	2	2
Turkey Vulture	-	-	-	-
Northern Harrier	-	-	-	-
Red-tailed Hawk	-	1	-	1
Brown Creeper	-	-	-	-
Red-Winged Blackbird	-	-	1	3
Rusty Blackbird	10	-	1	-
Common Grackle	160	250	100	275
Brown-headed Cowbird	1	2	3	4
House Sparrow	1	1	-	1
Total # of birds for day:	241	445	201	357
Total # of species for day:	19	19	22	24
Habitats: deciduous woods, coniferous woods, scrub, grassland, suburban, freshwater	Same	Same	Same	Same
Weather:	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
Snow Depth:	Less than 2"	Less than 2"	Less than 2"	Less than 2"
Start Time:	9:30 AM	10:00 AM	8:00 AM	9:45 AM
Total Birding Time:	7h 45m	5h 15 m	9h 45m	9h 00m
Weather:	Mid 20s most of the day, clear and windy.	Low to mid 30s most of the day and partly cloudy with light wind.
	Fri, Feb, 16, 2007 Day 1	Sat, Feb, 17, 2007 Day 2	Sun, Feb, 18, 2007 Day 3	Mon, Feb, 19, 2007 Day 4

Aggregate data for multiple years for all of East Brunswick (08816).

Common Name		2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	Field Guide & Page #
Red-throated Loon										PE 26
Common Loon										PE 26
Red-necked Grebe										PE 28
Pied-billed Grebe										PE 28
Horned Grebe										PE 28
Double-crested Cormorant	V									PE 42
Great Cormorant										PE 42
Great-blue Heron	V			1						PE 46
Great Egret	V									PE 48
Snowy Egret										PE 48
Cattle Egret										PE 48
Green Heron										PE 50
Glossy Ibis										PE 52
Mute Swan	V									PE 60
Snow Goose		X		60						PE 60
Canada Goose		X	10	245						PE 62
Brant										PE 62
American Black Duck										PE 66
Gadwall										PE 66
Mallard				20						PE 66
Northern Pintail										PE 68
American Wigeon										PE 68
Northern (Common) Pintail										PE 68
Wood Duck		X								PE 68
Northern Shoveler										PE 70
Blue-winged Teal										PE 70
Green-winged Teal										PE 70
Ring-necked Duck		X		15						PE 70
Lesser Scaup										PE 76
Greater Scaup										PE 76
Common Goldeneye										PE 78
Bufflehead										PE 78
Ruddy Duck		X								PE 78
Common Merganser				6						PE 80
Red-breasted Merganser		X		4						PE 80
Hooded Merganser										PE 80
Turkey Vulture		X	7	13						PE 92
Black Vulture										PE 92
Northern Harrier			1	1						PE 98
Sharp-shinned Hawk										PE 98
Cooper's Hawk			1	1						PE 98
Northern Goshawk										PE 98
Red-Tailed Hawk			7	12						PE 100
Northern Harrier										PE 108
Rough-legged Hawk										PE 102
Red-shouldered Hawk										PE 102
Broad-winged Hawk										PE 102
Bald Eagle				3						PE 112
Osprey	V V									PE 112
American Kestrel										PE 116
Peregrine Falcon										PE 116
Wild Turkey	V									PE 120
Ring-necked Pheasant										PE 120
Northern Bobwhite										PE 124
Common Snipe										PE 124
American Coot										PE 126
Killdeer	V V									PE 134
Woodcock										PE 140
Spotted Sandpiper	V									PE 134
Greater Yellowlegs	V									PE 148
Lesser Yellowlegs										PE 148
Solitary Sandpiper	V V									PE 148
Spotted Sandpiper	V V									PE 152
Least Sandpiper										PE 158
Iceland Gull										PE 176
Herring Gull			96	3						PE 178
Greater Black-backed Gull		X	5							PE 178
Lesser Black-backed Gull		X								PE 178
Ring-billed Gull		X	45	152						PE 178
Laughing Gull										PE 180
Bonaparte's Gull										PE 180
Rock Pigeon (Dove)			26	35						PE 196
Mourning Dove	V	X	47	191						PE 196
Black-billed Cuckoo										PE 200
Yellow-billed Cuckoo										PE 200
Eastern Screech Owl										PE 202
Great-horned Owl										PE 202
Barred Owl										PE 204
Whip-poor-will										PE 208
Common Nighthawk										PE 210
Ruby-throated Hummingbird										PE 212
Belted Kingfisher										PE 214
Red-headed Woodpecker				2						PE 216
Northern (Common) Flicker			1							PE 218
Red-bellied Woodpecker	V	X	11	25						PE 218
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker				2						PE 218
Downy Woodpecker		X	22	44						PE 220
Hairy Woodpecker				1						PE 220
Eastern Kingbird	V									PE 222
Great-crested Flycatcher										PE 222
Eastern Phoebe										PE 224
Eastern Wood Peewee										PE 224
Olive-sided Flycatcher										PE 224
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher										PE 226
Willow Flycatcher										PE 226
Barn Swallow										PE 232
Purple Martin										PE 232
Tree Swallow										PE 234
North. Rough-winged Swallow										PE 234
Bank Swallow										PE 234
Chimney Swift										PE 234
Black-capped Chickadee		X	8	39						PE 236
Carolina-Chickadee ¹		X	18	38						PE 236
Red-breasted Nuthatch										PE 238
Marsh Wren										PE 240
Tufted-titmouse	V	X	23	66						PE 236
White-breasted Nuthatch	V	X	16	35						PE 238
Red-breasted Nuthatch										PE 238
Brown Creeper			3	1						PE 238
House Wren										PE 240
Winter Wren				2						PE 240
Marsh Wren										PE 240
Carolina Wren		X	7	16						PE 240
Ruby-crowned Kinglet										PE 242
Golden-crowned Kinglet										PE 242
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	V									PE 242
Eastern Bluebird										PE 244
American Robin	V	X	6	21						PE 244
Gray-cheeked Thrush										PE 246
Wood Thrush										PE 246
Hermit Thrush										PE 246
Veery										PE 246
Swainson's Thrush										PE 246
Northern Mockingbird			2	7						PE 248
Gray Catbird	V V V			4						PE 248
Brown Thrasher	V									PE 248
Blue Jay	V		10	79						PE 250
American Crow			13	203						PE 252
Fish Crow			4							PE 252
Common Raven				4						PE 252
Cedar Waxwing										PE 254
Philadelphia Vireo										PE 256
Red-eyed Vireo	V									PE 256
White-eyed Vireo										PE 258
Warbling Vireo	V									PE 258
Blue-headed Vireo										PE 258
Northern Parula Warbler										PE 260
Black-throated Green Warbler										PE 260
Yellow-throated Vireo										PE 260
Prothonotary Warbler										PE 260
Black and White Warbler										PE 262
Blackpoll Warbler										PE 262
Black-throated Blue Warbler										PE 262
Magnolia Warbler	V V V									PE 264
Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler	V									PE 264
Canada Warbler										PE 264
Cape May Warbler	V									PE 266
Chestnut-sided Warbler										PE 266
Bay-breasted Warbler										PE 266
Blackburnian Warbler										PE 266
Palm Warbler										PE 268
Blue-winged Warbler										PE 268
Yellow Warbler										PE 268
Pine Warbler										PE 268
Prairie Warbler										PE 168
Tennessee Warbler										PE 270
Wilson's Warbler										PE 272
Mourning Warbler	V									PE 274
Overbird										PE 276
Blackburnian Warbler										PE 266
American Redstart										PE 266
Worm-eating Warbler										PE 270
Wilson's Warbler										PE 274
Nashville Warbler										PE 274
Connecticut Warbler										PE 274
Common Yellowthroat										PE 276
Yellow-breasted Chat										PE 276
Northern Waterthrush										PE 276
Louisiana Waterthrush										PE 276
Scarlet Tanager										PE 282
Northern Cardinal		X	36	95						PE 284
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	V									PE 286
Eastern Towhee	V									PE 286
Indigo Bunting										PE 288
American Goldfinch	V	X	33	47						PE 290
Pine Siskin				1						PE 290
House Finch		X	38	107						PE 292
Common Redpoll										PE 292
Purple Finch				13						PE 292
White-throated Sparrow			74	161						PE 294
White-crowned Sparrow			30	3						PE 294
American Tree Sparrow				8						PE 296
Chipping Sparrow	V			3						PE 296
Field Sparrow				9						PE 296
Swamp Sparrow										PE 296
Fox Sparrow			3							PE 300
Song Sparrow		X	20	27						PE 300
Savannah Sparrow				3						PE 302
Dark-eyed Junco		X	167	437						PE 306
Rusty Blackbird				20						PE 310
Common Grackle			197	3056						PE 310
Red-winged Blackbird	V		60	54						PE 312
Yellow-headed Blackbird										PE 312
European Starling			70	85						PE 314
Bobolink										PE 314
Brown-headed Cowbird			6	46						PE 314
Orchard Oriole										PE 316
Northern (Baltimore) Oriole	V V									PE 316
House Sparrow		X	132	123						PE 318
Total # birds for the count for 08816		507	1259	5649
Total # species reported for the year for 08816		*25	37	53
Total # of checklists submitted for 08816		8	16
Common Name		2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	Field Guide & Page #

* Note: Some of the 2005 data appears corrupt and we included only that which did not deviate greatly from past years. As a result, we simply marked the species and did not include the count for each species.

When you report at the end of the 4 day count, your data is compiled with thousands of other observers and you will receive your results in 4 separate e-mails. They will look something like this…

Observation Date: FEB 21, 2005
Start Time: 9:30 AM
Total Birding Time: 9 hours
Party Size: 1
Skill: excellent
Weather: good
Habitat(s):
    deciduous woods
    suburban
Number of Species: 13
All Reported: yes
Checklist:
    Ring-billed Gull - 1
    Mourning Dove - 16
    Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
    Downy Woodpecker - 1
    Black-capped Chickadee - 4
    Tufted Titmouse - 1
    White-breasted Nuthatch - 2
    Song Sparrow - 2
    White-throated Sparrow - 4
    Dark-eyed Junco - 12
    Northern Cardinal - 6
    House Finch - 1
    American Goldfinch - 3

The website makes it very easy to put this information together.
————
By the way, the Total Birding Time does NOT necessarily represent the total amount of time I spent looking. My observations occurred in many smaller periods of observation throughout the day. You don't have to stay glued to the window for this count. You do what you can to contribute.