The Pits

Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers, Lincoln Park, NJ, Aug. 28, 2014 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)

The heavily cropped photo above illustrates a clear difference between a dark-legged, light-colored, straight-billed juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper (uncommon in Morris and Somerset Counties) and a brown, greenish-legged, slightly decurved-billed juvenile Least Sandpiper (the default peep in Morris and Somerset) . They were part of the shorebird gallery today at the Lincoln Park Gravel Pits (a.k.a. The Pits).

A Glossy Ibis and Pectoral Sandpiper were seen at The Pits in the morning (Roger Johnson). Glossy Ibis is another species, along with Little Blue Heron and Snowy Egret, reported much more than usual in 2014 in the mocosocoBirds region. Shorebirds at The Pits include 25 Killdeer, 1 Greater and 8 Lesser Yellowlegs, 12 Least Sandpipers, 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper, 1 Pectoral Sandpiper and 2 Spotted Sandpipers. 4 Little Blue Herons and the usual Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons and Green Herons were scattered about.  Frogs in the invasive Water Chestnut mat have little chance for longevity with the many Green Herons and Little Blue Herons eating them up.

Chimney Rock

Favorable overnight conditions created a gentle migration push early this morning. Chimney Rock reported Least and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, Ovenbird, 8 Black-and white Warblers, Tennessee Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, 20 American Redstarts, 10 Magnolia Warblers, Bay-breasted Warbler, 6 Blackburnian Warblers, 10 Chestnut-sided Warblers, 1 Black-throated Blue Warbler, 3 Black-throated Green Warblers and 2 Canada Warblers (Jeff Ellerbusch).

Radar

Use this link, tempest.aos.wisc.edu/radar/uscompjs.html, to monitor reflectivity radar and see where the birds are at dawn.

An FAQ section on reading the radar is presented at the new director of Cape May Bird Observatory, Dave La Puma’s, venerable Woodcreeper.com web site and can be found here.