The Birds of East Brunswick, New Jersey

EAST BRUNSWICK NATURE NOTES

— Winter Bird Count —

Birds undeniably contribute to our pleasure and standard of living. But they also are sensitive indicators of the environment, a sort of "ecological litmus paper," and hence more meaningful than just chickadees and cardinals to brighten the suburban garden, grouse and ducks to fill the sportsman's bag, or rare warblers and shorebirds to be ticked off on the birder's checklist. The observation of birds leads inevitably to environmental awareness.

-Roger Tory Peterson, 1980

This page contains the summary of the Second Annual East Brunswick Winter Bird Count. With this event, a team of observers scoured as much of East Brunswick Township as possible on an assigned day, and reported on the number of species of bird seen, and the total number of birds of each species observed.

The data from the 2006 count formed a baseline by which the environmental health of our town may be measured, and against which all subsequent counts will be compared. While future events will inevitably vary (often significantly) from year to year, trends that develop will help us to discern areas that require our timely attention (and possible redress) to prevent environmental issues from becoming disasters. This effort will also indicate where our efforts to maintain the environmental health of East Brunswick have succeeded. The goal is to maintain or improve the environment, and the living experience of day-to-day life of our town for future generations.

— There are now 194 birds on the township list. —

There are now 43 video clips below ("V") covering 34 species of bird.

Question: How can I participate in one of your bird counts?

Great question! Here's an answer.

East Brunswick Winter Bird Count 2007 – Summary

    On January 6, 2007, our team of 10 ventured out into a balmy winter day to begin our Second Annual Winter Bird Count. The weather was more like late March or Early April and more fitting to our Big Day Bird Count held during the first week of May.

    We’ve run many route options over the past 2 years and believe we have a best run that begins at Dallenbach Lake in East Brunswick. As we gathered, two team members reported some sightings just before dawn while on the way to meet us at Dallenbach Lake. Tom Smith picked up a Screech Owl near Ireland Brook where it crossed Riva Avenue, and Dave Moskowitz saw Mute Swan at the Giamerese Farm and Blue Jay while driving. So, we began the day with 3 birds already sighted.

    At Dallenbach, we picked up another 23 species including Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser, both Carolina and Black-capped Chickadees (we’re in the range where the two species DO overlap a bit), and Golden-crowned Kinglet (just beautiful). Some common birds, however, were either missing or in very low numbers.

    Our next stop was the Edgeboro Landfill. I know what some of you are thinking, but this is a GREAT place to bird. And, no, it doesn’t smell. There is an unusual range of habitat here which includes the ‘mountain’, ponds, the enormous marsh estuary area for the South River and the Raritan River. We are so fortunate to have been granted access to this unique habitat. Here we picked up another 19 species including Kestrel, Northern Harrier, Tree Sparrow, Horned Lark Savannah Sparrow and Peregrine Falcon. This brought our total for the day to 45 species. What we did notice here was that the totals for many species was way down from last year. With the amazing weather we considered that many species may simply not have (yet) made their way as far south as our portion of New Jersey. In fact, the weather was so unusual that we saw two Sulfur Butterflies on the mountain. Unprecedented!

    After Edgeboro, we were on our way to Keystone Park, a little known park at the southeast corner of the town. This is a part of our count area that can run from an amazing variety of birds that we might not see elsewhere, to almost nothing at all. It just depends on the luck of good timing. On the way to Keystone Park we saw Rock Dove (common pigeons). Oddly, there weren’t many to be seen this day. At Keystone there was only Red-bellied Woodpecker and nothing else new. The South River estuary was virtually (and unusually) empty.

    The next obvious spot was Duhernal Lake, a good portion of which is in East Brunswick. Well, this year the lake was only sparsely populated but a Northern Harrier gave us a run for the money as it played hide-and-seek with us while sitting low in tall grass on a small island in the lake. It was extremely difficult to “key out” (identify with certainty) this bird in a very unusual place for the species. Much of the time, we were hoping was a Short-eared Owl. No such luck.

    We were hoping a change of habitat would perk things up a bit and we headed to was used to be known as the Pig Farm, but what is now just the western end of Ireland Brook County Park just at the East Brunswick border with South Brunswick at Riva Avenue. It’s hard to believe that only here, in the mid-afternoon did we finally see House Finch, Northern Mockingbird and White-throated Sparrow. Amazing. This is what we were referring to when we mentioned that there were some very common birds missing or in very low numbers. Fortunately, here we also saw Eastern Towhee and 3 beautiful Black Vultures soaring overhead.

    The very last place we might go for something new was the Elks Club White Pine Forest on the shore of Farrington lake. We knew that there must be a Great-horned Owl here and we’ve seen evidence in the past. But, we had never actually seen it. Well, this day he did make a very brief appearance for 2 of our group, enough for a confirmed sighting.

    A brief trip back to Dallenbach after saying goodbye to the rest of the team at late afternoon produced nothing new. But, an e-mail from birder extraordinaire Bob Dodelson reported a Hermit Thrush in his backyard that afternoon. And, Dave Moskowitz reported our first Robin of the day while driving home. That was it! We had a total of 55 species for the day. Over the next 3 1/2 weeks, I received reports from several birders who had been counting in their backyards. Their numbers added to our total count but no new species for the day. All in all, not too bad but there were only 10,351 individual birds counted, with the extras that came in via e-mail. This was less than half of our number last year. Only when we have sufficient data in the future will we be able to know what is statistically within our normal count range. We are hoping that this year will be the low number and that subsequent counts will have greater numbers and diversity.

    This was a most enjoyable day with some really great people. If many more people become involved, perhaps we will field two teams each of which might cover East Brunswick differently, giving us a much better chance to snag additional species. We would encourage anyone who has even a passing interest to participate from home or from a town park. Your numbers are important and provide additional date for this “real” scientific survey. Teachers, parents and scout group leaders may contact us about how to get started. Our next event is the Great Backyard Bird Count (Feb. 16-19) and our Big Day Bird Count (first week of May). Get involved and have a great time.

    For a full, and much more detailed report, click here.

Team members:
Ray Deeney, Tom Gillen, Bob Krutzel, Elaine Long, Donald Lorey, Jan Lorey, Elizabeth Melhorn, Dave Moskowitz, Tom Smith, Justin Whitehurst, Rich Wolfert

Additional sightings were reported by:
Steve Albert, Bob, Dodelson, Jennifer Kurdyla, Diana Toto

Time in field: 9 hours 00 minutes
Distance Traveled: 43 miles

Rich Wolfert
February 4, 2007

Winter Bird Count Data

Common Name		Breeding			* Field Guide & Page #
Year			2006	2007
Red-throated Loon					PE 26
Common Loon					PE 26
Red-necked Grebe					PE 28
Pied-billed Grebe			1	5	PE 28
Horned Grebe					PE 28
Double-crested Cormorant	V				PE 42
Great Cormorant					PE 42
Great-blue Heron	V		3	3	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		2	4	PE 60
Snow Goose					PE 60
Canada Goose				370	PE 62
Brant					PE 62
American Black Duck			9	9	PE 66
Gadwall					PE 66
Mallard		Y	56	13	PE 66
Northern Pintail		Y			PE 68
American Wigeon					PE 68
Northern (Common) Pintail					PE 68
Wood Duck					PE 68
Northern Shoveler					PE 70
Blue-winged Teal					PE 70
Green-winged Teal			1		PE 70
Ring-necked Duck				2	PE 70
Lesser Scaup			1		PE 76
Greater Scaup					PE 76
Common Goldeneye					PE 78
Bufflehead			50	2	PE 78
Ruddy Duck			40		PE 78
Common Merganser			9	2	PE 80
Red-breasted Merganser					PE 80
Hooded Merganser			2	19	PE 80
Turkey Vulture		Y	27	7	PE 92
Black Vulture			2	3	PE 92
Sharp-shinned Hawk			3		PE 98
Cooper's Hawk			3		PE 98
Northern Goshawk					PE 98
Red-Tailed Hawk		Y	22	15	PE 100
Rough-legged Hawk					PE 102
Red-shouldered Hawk					PE 102
Broad-winged Hawk					PE 102
Northern Harrier			1	1	PE 108
Bald Eagle					PE 112
Osprey	V V				PE 112
American Kestrel				1	PE 116
Peregrine Falcon				1	PE 116
Wild Turkey	V	Y			PE 120
Ring-necked Pheasant					PE 120
Northern Bobwhite					PE 124
Common Snipe					PE 124
American Coot			60	35	PE 126
Killdeer	V V	Y			PE 134
Woodcock					PE 140
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			6150	1217	PE 178
Greater Black-backed Gull			2030	1000	PE 178
Lesser Black-backed Gull			3		PE 178
Ring-billed Gull			560	4300	PE 178
Laughing Gull					PE 180
Bonaparte's Gull					PE 180
Rock Dove		Y	200	6	PE 196
Mourning Dove		Y	34	21	PE 196
Yellow-billed Cuckoo					PE 200
Black-billed Cuckoo	V				PE 200
Eastern Screech Owl				1	PE 202
Great-horned Owl				2	PE 202
Barred Owl					PE 204
Whip-poor-will					PE 208
Common Nighthawk					PE 210
Ruby-throated Hummingbird					PE 212
Belted Kingfisher			2		PE 214
Northern (Common) Flicker		Y	6	3	PE 218
Red-bellied Woodpecker	V	Y	5	5	PE 218
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker					PE 218
Downy Woodpecker		Y	6	3	PE 220
Hairy Woodpecker			2		PE 220
Eastern Kingbird	V				PE 222
Great-crested Flycatcher					PE 222
Eastern Phoebe		Y			PE 224
Eastern Wood Peewee					PE 224
Olive-sided Flycatcher					PE 224
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher					PE 226
Willow Flycatcher					PE 226
Horned Lark			50	80	PE 230
Purple Martin					PE 232
Cliff Swallow					PE 232
Barn Swallow		Y			PE 232
Tree Swallow		Y			PE 234
North. Rough-winged Swallow					PE 234
Bank Swallow					PE 234
Chimney Swift		Y			PE 234
Black-capped Chickadee		Y	6	6	PE 236
Carolina-Chickadee		Y	12	40	PE 236
Tufted Titmouse	V	Y	10	29	PE 236
White-breasted Nuthatch	V	Y	3	8	PE 238
Red-breasted Nuthatch			1		PE 238
Brown Creeper				1	PE 238
House Wren					PE 240
Winter Wren					PE 240
Marsh Wren					PE 240
Carolina Wren		Y	1	14	PE 240
Ruby-crowned Kinglet					PE 242
Golden-crowned Kinglet				4	PE 242
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	V				PE 242
Eastern Bluebird					PE 244
American Robin	V	Y	5230	16	PE 244
Gray-cheeked Thrush					PE 246
Wood Thrush					PE 246
Hermit Thrush			1	1	PE 246
Veery					PE 246
Swainson's Thrush					PE 246
Northern Mockingbird		Y	15	1	PE 248
Gray Catbird	V V V	Y			PE 248
Brown Thrasher	V				PE 248
Blue Jay	V	Y	29	15	PE 250
American Crow		Y	11	22	PE 252
Fish Crow			152	311	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
American Redstart					PE 266
Pine Warbler					PE 268
Prairie Warbler					PE 268
Palm Warbler					PE 268
Blue-winged Warbler					PE 268
Yellow Warbler					PE 268
Worm-eating Warbler					PE 270
Tennessee Warbler					PE 270
Wilson's Warbler					PE 272
Nashville Warbler					PE 274
Connecticut Warbler					PE 274
Mourning Warbler					PE 274
Common Yellowthroat		Y			PE 276
Yellow-breasted Chat					PE 276
Northern Waterthrush					PE 276
Louisiana Waterthrush					PE 276
Ovenbird					PE 276
Scarlet Tanager					PE 282
Northern Cardinal		Y	3	17	PE 284
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	V				PE 286
Eastern (Rufous-sided) Towhee	V		1	1	PE 286
Indigo Bunting					PE 288
American Goldfinch	V	Y	3	2	PE 290
Common Redpoll					PE 292
House Finch		Y	7	22	PE 292
Purple Finch					PE 292
White-throated Sparrow			29	51	PE 294
White-crowned Sparrow					PE 294
American Tree Sparrow			6	4	PE 296
Chipping Sparrow	V	Y	6		PE 296
Field Sparrow					PE 296
Swamp Sparrow					PE 296
Fox Sparrow					PE 300
Song Sparrow		Y	4	11	PE 300
Savannah Sparrow				20	PE 302
Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco			15	35	PE 306
Rusty Blackbird					PE 310
Common Grackle		Y	5	12	PE 310
Red-winged Blackbird	V	Y	110	82	PE 312
Yellow-headed Blackbird					PE 312
European Starling		Y	7000	1002	PE 314
Bobolink					PE 314
Brown-headed Cowbird		Y	200	1500	PE 314
Orchard Oriole					PE 316
Northern (Baltimore) Oriole	V V	Y			PE 316
House Sparrow		Y	25	6	PE 318
		Breeding			* Field Guide & Page #

Species Total Observed			57	55
Total # of birds observed			22615	10351
Year			2006	2007

* The field guide referred to is "A Field Guide to the Birds" by Roger Tory Peterson. PE refers to the appropriate page number in that guide for each bird listed.

How to participate in one of our bird count events.

There are several ways to help with our bird counts.

You can join us in the field on the count day…be a member of our team. You don't have to be an expert, just willing to spend the day (or part of the day) out, walk a lot, see beautiful birds, and spend the day in pretty areas with lots of nice people.
You might bird from home, in an East Brunswick park, lake front, river edge, anywhere in town, either alone or part of a team (family, friends, your class, another group). Such teams can spend all or part of the day helping add to our tally.

OK, what would I need?

For a start, binoculars,
and a field guide (the Peterson Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America is a great guide).
Appropriate weather gear (boots included if its going to be muddy). Don't forget that we go to areas that are sometimes very windy. In the winter, that can make it feel 20° colder than the air temperature. And layer your clothing. It's much more comfortable to take off or add a layer or two to match the weather and your level of exertion.
If it's the right season, insect repellent.
A hat can help, and maybe some sunscreen, even in winter.
A good lunch and plenty of water.

What if I don't know much about birds but want to learn?

Just tag along…ask questions, enjoy everything you see. We'll take you to beautiful places you didn't even know existed here. Everyone is always very willing to help new birders. We've all been there and appreciated the help and mentoring of those who's skills were above our own. When I was first starting out, one man tagged along with me for several weeks. He said he wouldn't be much trouble. Now, he's one of the foremost birders in the country and his photography is world renowned. I can't say he learned much from me as now he's the teacher and I will be attending one of his courses this summer.

There is nothing to lose in being part of our field team, or adding to a count by yourself, or with your own team. After all, you'll be outdoors, in nice places, seeing pretty things. Actually, it's really a great thing to do.

Just for students:

If you're a student, write up a report about your experience, including what you saw and how many of each species, and also mention why such events are important (even though you're having fun). If you took some pictures, include them with the report. Teachers love it! You'll probably earn easy extra credit for it, too.

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