Wild New Jersey Exclusive: Raritan Estuary CBC tallies 112 species
A golden eagle was spotted on the Cheesequake State Park count, one of 58 species sighted
at Cheesequake on this year's Christmas Bird Count. Photo submitted by Nancy Morin.
The December 28 Raritan Estuary Christmas Bird Count tallied at least 112 species on this Christmas Bird Count, besting last year's record 109 species. According to count leader Tom Ostrand, a golden eagle was spotted at Cheesequake State Park, while a sora and three warblers - common yellowthroat, ovenbird, and Nashville warbler - were all sighted far north of their usual winter range.
"The groups reported a total of over 41,000 individual birds," said Ostrand. "On the low side, only 9 common grackles and 192 house finches were spotted."
Abnormally high temperatures and relatively strong winds may have kept some numbers down, but the day was productive nonetheless.
"Every area covered in the count produced very good numbers," said Ostrand, "The areas that found the most species were Sayreville/Old Bridge (including the south bank of the Raritan, and the upper part of Raritan Bay (65 species); East Brunswick area, including the Rutgers Display garden and the Edgeboro landfill (60), and Cheesequake Park/Raritan Bay from Cheesequake Creek south to Whale Creek (the Monmouth County line) (58)."
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