With most of my tasks down here finally accomplished, I was able to go farther afield and visit one of my very favorite birding locales – Sandy Hook. I met up with my friend Scott for a full morning of ‘Hook birding.

And we had a pretty good day! It was sweltering hot and humid, but luckily the light breeze off the water prevented me from completely melting away! We ended up with 60 species on the Hook today, plus three more (Rock Pigeon, Turkey Vulture, and Black Vulture) during or after lunch at “Off the Hook,” which as you may of guessed, is just off of the hook.

Much to my surprise, I even added a bird to my NJ list – one of the really BIG holes: Wilson’s Storm-Petrel. Three were offshore on the ocean side. This was one of the odd holes on my state list, likely due to my lack of time in NJ in the summer (I haven’t been birding in the state in mid-summer in 7-8 years). Also, there are not usually many Storm-Petrels off of the Jersey shore (most are either well offshore, where they can only be seen by pelagic trips; or they spend the summer – their winter – farther north, such as in the Gulf of Maine). Furthermore, when I was birding in the state in the summers, it wasn’[t really well known that Storm-Petrels could be seen just offshore in mid-summer at a place like Sandy Hook – there just wasn’t anyone looking!

So, adding the state tick was a nice treat, but so were many of the other birds that we saw. As shorebird migration is underway, we had a smattering of newly arriving shorebirds (Lest Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, and Lesser Yellowlegs). Furthermore, while enjoying a Black Skimmer over the salt pond on the north end, 2 Greater Yellowlegs and 4 more Lessers, flew in, presumably just having flown across the bay: migration in action!)

Seeing 6 Americans Oystercatcher all together was a treat, and we were surprised to see a total of 3 Forster’s Terns – not expected at Sandy Hook in mid-summer. A flock of 19 Wood Ducks launched out of North Pond, and a single Glossy Ibis was flushed from a grassy field. The highlight of the day, from a rarity perspective anyway, was a first-cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull that was loafing on North Beach.

So, it was a very productive day, catching up with a good friend, at one of my most favorite birding locations – and finishing off with a beer and a burger at my old watering hole (when I worked at Sandy Hook one spring counting migrant raptors). What could have been better - other than being home in Maine of course!