Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
Leader: Mike Anderson
Leader: Mike Anderson
For the second year in a row, the New Jersey Young Birders Club led by Mike Anderson went to the Great Swamp NWR in central New Jersey for some early migrants in the last week in April. We started at the Wildlife Observation Center, more simply known as the WOC, which is really just a series of boardwalks that run through part of the swamp, where a few calling Eastern Towhees and a nesting Eastern Bluebird were enjoyed by the group. We began to take the boardwalks into the heart of the swamp where we ran into a few Black-and-white Warblers and the seemingly ubiquitous White-throated Sparrows. Out into the marsh there were many ducks and waterbirds including Wood Ducks, a Ring-necked Duck, two Green-winged Teal, and even two surprise Northern Pintails which aren't normally found this far inland. Most of these would then be spooked by a Bald Eagle, the dominant predator of the marshes of the swamp. Yellow Warblers were also singing in various locations, the first of these birds of the year for me. We continued back around the marsh, where we heard many of the woodpeckers of the swamp, and went back to the parking lot to drive down Pleasant Plains Road. We made many stops along this road to see birds like an early Northern Parula, a few migrant Purple Finches, and an American Kestrel hunting over the fields. We would eventually finish at the Overlook on Pleasant Plains Road, one of the most productive points of the trip. We had an inland Purple Martin flying over our heads with a few other swallows, an Osprey and a Cooper's Hawk migrating over the swamp, a Field Sparrow, and an early Yellow-throated Vireo that most people got to see as well as hear. We finished with a solid 53 species, marking another productive trip to the Great Swamp. Thanks to Mike Anderson for yet again being an awesome leader, and to the parents of the young birders who drove us out into the middle of nowhere on bad roads so we could bird!
-Andrew Marden
Species List: 53 Species
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Wild Turkey
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Cooper's Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Eastern Phoebe
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
American Crow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Black-and-white Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Purple Finch
American Goldfinch