Salem County, March 18, 2026
Salem County in spring can offer very interesting birding; it has early migrants and arrivals, but also can hold on to winter birds.
Salem County in spring can offer very interesting birding; it has early migrants and arrivals, but also can hold on to winter birds.
Arriving at the hawkwatch about 10:15, we found a moderate flight of accipiters underway, with constant Cooper’s and Sharpshinned Hawks in the air…. On our way home we found and identified a couple of interesting caterpillars.
Two trips in one – a scouting run and a fall field trip, in shorebird season.
A great day of bird photography at the rookery.
The ML Birders headed out to Belleplain State Forest on a gray and blustery day hoping to see some early arriving warblers. The birding gods were conspiring against them!
Mannington Marsh, the tidal estuary of the Salem River, is a beautiful place to look for waterfowl and early spring migrants.
A beautiful day, with thousands of Myrtle (Yellow-rumped) Warblers and plenty of hawks to watch.
The ML Birders visited two county parks on a lovely sunny day and saw and/or heard 40 species. Interestingly, Jennifer Bulava and a group were doing a Spring Bird Census at Boundary Creek on the day of our visit. The birds were plentiful and we got excellent views of Baltimore Orioles, Orchard Orioles, Yellow Warblers and Cedar Waxwings.
The ML Birders visited the Taylor Preserve in Cinnaminson and were guided through the trails by Mike Zickler who is a frequent guest on our trips and very active in the programs of the Preserve.
The John Heinz NWR located in Tinicum by the Philly airport is the first (1972) wildlife refuge established in an urban environment. The ML Birders visited the refuge on a nice, sunny day and saw 34 species of birds. We were a little too early for the warbler Spring migration but we did get nice looks at Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers. We also saw Osprey, Bald Eagle and an immature Red-tail Hawk.
Six ML Birders and three guests visited the flooded cranberry bogs at Whitesbog on a crisp but sunny day and drove the sandy dike roads hoping to spot the waterfowl that inhabit the ponds. We expected to see the Tundra Swans and we saw 88 of them (yes they were counted) as well as a large flock of Ring-necked Ducks, a few Buffleheads, Mallards and Hooded Mergansers. The surprise of the day was two Horned Larks who “entertained” us as they ran back and forth across the sandy dike road.
It was a new experience for the ML Birders to visit the inlet at Barnegat Light on a mild, sunny and windless day in winter.
The ML Birders’ trip to the Shark River Inlet netted 36 species on a partly sunny and almost windless day. We got to see a variety of birds but water fowl and related species were the dominant birds of the trip. Brant geese were by far the most common.
Almost a year to the day the ML Birders returned to view the greatest concentration of Bald Eagles on the East Coast at the Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River in MD. They were there in abundance soaring, fishing, giving us some aerial displays and just “loafing” on rocks and sitting in trees and man made structures around the dam. The big surprise was the large number of Black Vultures present (100’s).
The ML Birders were greeted at the Cape May Point observation platform by a dense fog that limited what could be seen in the immediate area and especially the migrating raptors. However, we quickly put Plan B into action and headed over to Higbee Beach which gave us access to broad, open fields and vegetative borders and clear viewing as the fog abated.
Our Pathways trip to the Delaware refuge enjoyed perfect weather and interesting birds.
We enjoyed a very pretty walk through historic Batsto village to the lake, which was mirror-calm. Later, we looked for a Red-headed Woodpecker along a sand road near Chatsworth, but instead found the Pine Barrens endemic plant “Pyxie” in full bloom.
The rain date of Sept. 27 was a lucky, sunny, 65-degree day in between two days of clouds due to Tropical Storm Ophelia. Despite a shortage of migrants, there were some surprises.
A mild spring day with high clouds made for good birding at Assunpink. We made a side trip to Roosevelt, a town with a fascinating history.
For the second year in a row we visited Bombay Hook in November, for a transitional season look at departing shorebirds and arriving waterfowl.
The PPA’s Rancocas Creek Farm was our second short trip of the year, and we combined it with a visit to the Eagles’ Walk Green Acres trail in Vincentown. The weather was delightful with starting temperatures in the mid 60’s into the mid 70’s at Eagles’ Walk Green Acres.
The ML Birders took our first short trip of the year to Boundary Creek Park on a mostly overcast day with temperatures in the low 60’s. The bird of the day based on numbers was the Gray Catbird. We observed a total of 30 species for the morning.
Combined notes from two trips, April 8 and April 27 2022. April 8 was a fine early spring day, while April 27 was very windy, with less bird activity.