Conference Birding day 2 - Tuesday - Sandy Hook and drive to Point Pleasant

Because of the long day yesterday, the stress of multiple turn rounds and driving in a new country I was asleep by 9.30 and didn’t wake up until 7.00 surfacing briefly at around 3.00. Looking out of the window there were Blue Jays and Grackles in the tree tops but the light wasn’t very good and breakfast called. Choosing eggs, bacon and fried potatoes with tea, we were soon packed and heading out. 

We packed the car and then started to look round the parking lot. The next couple of hours were really great with birds feeding along the tree line and flocks of American Robins, Grackles and Brown-headed Cowbirds chattering in the trees. We spent a little time checking the flocks which turned out to be Blue Jays and Grackles with some Brown-headed Cowbirds mixed in. There were also flocks of Starlings dropping in. A bright red Cardinal was the first to catch our eye in the bushes and as we checked this out several Tufted Titmouses and Black-capped Chickadees were feeding in the leaves. American Robins gave brilliant views as they dropped into the berry bushes to feed. On the ground we saw a couple of Grey squirrels feeding.

Moving along the parking area a small bird caught my eye which turned out to be a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Joining the Kinglet were lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers which seemed to be moving through. A huge flock of Cedar waxwings flew over as we were photographing the Kinglet. A sudden movement among the leaf litter revealed a chipmunk burrowing through the debris, looking up regularly but almost impossible to photograph. 

The activity slowed down so we decided to head off back to Sandy Hook for a few hours before working our way south. We entered the park and decided to drive to the top end and then work our way back. Fort Hancock is an amazing place that was built between 1857 & 1895 to defend the Atlantic coast and the entrance to New York harbour. The construction was simplified and then cannibalised to build the Sandy Hook proving grounds and a new system of gun batteries and forts were started in 1890. Named after Major General Winfield Scott Hancock this was one of the first forts to be built. Following WW1 things changed and by 1946 it was deemed to be obsolete so the guns were scrapped and the fort de-activated in 1950. It was re-activated as a Nike missile base in 1956 until 1974 when it was abandoned for good. There is a museum which has one of the largest collections of Endicott batteries anywhere. There are masses of concrete remains, gun emplacements and houses slowly deteriorating, although there is a preservation society who are trying to get the houses etc. restored and used.

Sandy Hook also has a lighthouse that was closed because of renovations.

We explored some of the sandy beaches including the only nude beach in New Jersey where there were several people enjoying themselves and flying a kite. There were a few gulls and waders and more scoter flew past.

Most of the 'parking lots' were huge and had a variety of visitor centres with fresh water, toilets, drinks cabinets and observation platforms with closed storage areas underneath. We found a skulking Catbird in the bushes and a Sharp-shinned Hawk in a dead tree.

We explored the proving grounds finding several Yellow-rumped Warblers moving through with one or two White-throated Sparrows and a Common buckeye butterfly.

The weather was showery and the rain definitely brought down groups of birds. As we returned to the car we found a very obliging Mockingbird. There was also quite a passage of Monarch butterflies with something like 150 counted through the day.

We stopped off in various car parks on the way south and revisted the Horseshoe Cove where the Brent goose flock were still pottering on the sand and bobbing about in the waves.

We then drove out of the Sandy Hook reserve and made our way further south stopping for lunch at Seaside Heights for a dish of clams and pasta. We thought we had ordered one each but ended up with one between us, which was fine as we really only wanted a snack. We continued with a few stops along the way. At one pond we found a pair of Northern Water-thrushes which flicked about on the further shore, some Black Duck and Mallard, some Song Sparrows and a couple of Mourning Doves which were feeding on the grassy edge by the car.

The weather hadn't been very good all day and it started to really bucket down. Driving through Point Pleasant we found Point Pleasant Manor which had rooms so we stopped there, booked in and then went off to find somewhere to eat. After a bit of a run round the town we managed to find the Ocean Bay Diner which was friendly and welcoming. 

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Conference Birding day 1 - Monday - Sandy Hook

The second International Bird Observatories Conference was being held in Cape May this year so we decided to go a few days early and get a bit of birding in. We travelled by Aer Lingus to JFK via Dublin. We arrived so early at Heathrow that they booked us onto an earlier flight in case of delays.

The extra time in Dublin was spent in enjoying an Irish Full Breakfast before proceeding to Pre-clearance where all the necessary checks were made prior to entering the USA. My Homeland Officer actually lives in Georgia and looks forward to hearing Sandhill Cranes migrating over his house.

The flight was uneventful and entry into the USA was straightforward as we’d already gone through vetting. Getting the car was another matter. JFK is so huge that they concentrate all the hire companies in one area. This entailed a long, unsigned walk to the Skytrain, a three stop ride and then an elevator down to the offices. Everything went smoothly until we tried to add a second driver. Apparently, Thrifty no longer recognise the cherished UK paper driving licence. As I would have had to update anyway in December, I had already replaced mine with the plastic card, which was very lucky as otherwise we would have been stuck in New York with no means of hiring transport. Nowhere, on any website I looked, has there been any mention of this recent change. We chose to pay for an Eazypass system which provided prepaid access to various tolls, especially as most didn’t take cash and Thrifty charge $5 extra for each toll passed.

We packed the car, acquired a map from the rental staff and headed south towards the Parkway. It wasn’t horrendous and we managed to negotiate the various roads, drove over Queens and Staten Island, crossed the Verranazi bridge and turned onto the Parkway.

We turned off towards the coast and managed to find the Sandy Hook Reserve. Normally there is a charge but it is free after Labour Day which was good. 

Sandy Hook is part of a huge, offshore barrier island system created from sand dunes with a series of lagoons the length of the state. It was never very wide and is very vulnerable to a rise in sea level. There are large car parks from Car Park A-J, all the way along, some with a capacity of 900+ cars which, we were told, fill up in the summer causing the park to be closed on occasion. We drove along and parked in several of the car parks, but it was very windy and not many birds were about. Offshore there were several flocks of Scoter, which included White-winged scoter. 

As we drove round the lighthouse and derelict Fort Hancock we saw a small group of White-tailed Deer and a pair of racoons were wandering round the rubbish bins. The fort is an amazing place with some really lovely looking houses that were built for the officers but, following the withdrawal, they have deteriorated and some are in a parlous state, although there is now a preservation society that are trying ti save and preserve them. There are a few houses and buildings in good condition so hopefully it will be saved. 

 At the car park for camp site E there was a path to Horseshoe Cove on the inner shore with an inlet and reeds, where a small flock of Brent Geese were feeding close to shore. We spent some time identifying the sparrows and found a few Horseshoe crab shells but not much else.
As it began to get dark we headed off to find some accommodation, which we thought would be easy but resulted in quite a drive to Red Bank. We found a nice looking hotel but the price was $150 plus tax for one night so we moved on and found the Courtyard Marriot which was marginally cheaper so we settled in. We found somewhere for dinner which we thought was going to be hamburger with chips but turned out to be crisps. Then we returned and turned in.

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Away Day to Belgium

Sunday afternoon brought news of a Long-tailed Shrike caught and ringed at Knokke in Belgium. As it was still there on Monday morning we decided to book a crossing with Eurotunnel and go twitching in Belgium. We booked onto the 11.50 train and were on our way through France by 12.30pm. The drive was pretty straightforward to Bruges and then we headed for Knokke-Heist, slightly confused by all the new motorways that didn't appear on the Satnav. We followed directions on Lee's phone and arrived at the parking area by 2.00pm passing 4 storks feeding in a field as we went. A friendly local gave us detailed instructions and explained that access to the forest had been allowed as the Rangers had got permission for birders to enter. About a 500 meter walk and we found the white Ranger's car, so we turned right, climbed the gate and walked towards a group of birders who were watching the bushes.

The shrike was feeding in a large area of bushes and shrubs and showed regularly and well but a bit distant for photographs. Over the afternoon the bird flitted back and forth along the bush line, often sitting up high or a hawthorn bush at the left. It was always fairly distant but great views through the telescope.

The crowd were extremely well behaved and quiet, including many of the well known belgium birders. We were also visited by a couple of ponies who ignored the crowds completely and continued to feed around our feet, even trying out my tripod leg as a snack. The ranger eventually shooed them away and they carried on munching.

In one of the breaks a Great White Egret flew towards us but pitched down out of sight behind the bushes only to reappear shortly after and fly over giving great views.

Eventually the sun dropped lower in the sky and it was time to start making our way back to the train. The walk back was pleasant and we found some Fly Agaric, Black fungi and Jersey Cudweed before packing the car, turning it round and heading back looking for a Friterie for chips and mayo.

Having worked our way through the streets and round the roundabouts, we came across a small funfair, with Dodgems, Burst the Balloon, Switchback ride etc. and a mobile Frites van. Parking up we joined the queue, ordered four large Frites and Mayo and spent a very pleasant 10 minutes eating some of the best frites ever, before the realisation hit that we needed to get going back to the tunnel if we weren't going to miss the train. The drive back was straightforward and we arrived with 10 minutes to spare after a really enjoyable trip.