This was our first Big Sit at the Morgan Mudflats, held to benefit the Montclair Bird Club and its programs.

As always, the great challenge was placing the circle in such a way that we could take advantage of all the habitats: beach, salt marsh, open bay, and woodland edge. And as always, it was impossible to find a site that let us observe all of those habitats equally well. My original choice, backed up against the trees and with a clear view to the mouth of Morgan Creek, turned out to be the site of a new informal residential development; I don’t know whether anyone was at home in the shacks, but I decided not to test their hospitality, and moved the circle some yards up the beach towards the marsh. The move likely cost as us a few passerines–no palm warbler, no common yellowthroat–but probably affected us not at all otherwise.

By far the most conspicuous birds were Atlantic Brant, a few hundred of which grumbled and growled on the shore most of the day. The only other common waterfowl species was Green-winged Teal; flocks dropped in and dropped out continually, appearing to attract smaller gangs of other waterfowl, among them Greater Scaup, Northern Pintail, Wood Duck, and Surf and a surprise Black Scoter.

Scanning farther offshore was frustrating: the cold air and still warm water made for phenomenal heat waves, and the only “seabirds” we could pick out were Forster’s Terns. Overhead a few hawks were moving south. Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawks had to work hard to outnumber Bald Eagles, and Ospreys were rarely out of sight.

Scoping distant raptors turned up two flocks of Tree Swallows, not especially late but not always easy to find in northern New Jersey in October. Small waves of Myrtle Warblers paused every few minutes in the ailanthus trees that made up our only nearby “forest.” An early flock of about 30 Pine Siskins quickly made itself scarce, but a few stopped in later in the day to feed with American Goldfinches from the phragmites and beach goldenrod.

Perhaps the most exciting passerine of the day was American Pipit. A flock of eleven arrived early in the day to feed on the beach; this is not an uncommon or an unexpected species at this season in that habitat, but it’s always a special pleasure to watch the sturdy little birds from the Arctic picking their way through the rubble.

Our day’s total of 44 species was a bit less than hoped, a bit more than expected, and inspiration enough to repeat the exercise in 2013.

Dave’s handy West Essex Birders site has its own taxonomy for the quality of a birding day, ranging from “outrageous” (positively so) to “dud.”

Our morning wasn’t exactly a dud, but I can’t say that we were subjected to all that many interruptions of a feathered kind, either, as Alison and I birded Verona and Hilltop Parks.

We did come up with 21 species, none of them rare or otherwise notable to anyone who can’t appreciate a Great Blue Heron standing motionless in the shade, a Red-tailed Hawk being blown overhead like a huge rusty leaf, or a curious White-throated Sparrow emerging, silent for once, from the brush to check us out.

We’ve had lots of good CBCs together now over the years. Wonder where next December will find us birding!