The dearth of Icterids in the northern counties of New Jersey has been a subject of interest amongst local birders throughout the mild winter of 2011-12. Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds were practically absent from some northern Christmas counts. In the previous week, there are increasing reports of Common Grackles from the Great Swamp and other locales in the MoCoSoCo region in numbers of 25, 50, 100, 200.

Today the dam burst. Two impressive flocks of Grackles were seen on Beekman Lane in Hillsborough at sunrise. One cloud of black was over the farm fields north of New Center Road and the other was at the southern end of Beekman at its intersection with Amwell Road possible emanating from an overnight roost in the Cedars of the Belle Mead Depot. There were thousands of birds in each group.

Later in the afternoon at Opie Road in Neshanic Station, Jeff Ellerbusch reported finding what was undoubtedly the same group. He estimated 10-12,000 Grackles and another 500 Red-winged Blackbirds.

Submitted by Jonathan Klizas.