Morning after the rain – from Troy Meadows Road, Parsippany, NJ, Oct. 20. 2012 (Photo by Jonathan Klizas)

Is anyone missing a Mandarin Duck? A drake was found this morning in Troy Brook accessed from the Troy Meadows Road entrance to Troy Meadows in Parsippany. The escapee flushed before a photo was taken.

Sparrows are plentiful in Troy Meadows. An Ammodramus sp. must be here somewhere but it was elusive today if present at all. Song, Swamp and White-throated Sparrows dominate. Here are the numbers from a relatively small sampling:
Song Sparrow – 60
Lincoln’s Sparrow – 2
Swamp – 30 (probably 100s more in the cattail marsh)
White-throated Sparrows – 40
White-crowned Sparrows – 2 juveniles

3 Dark-eyed Juncos worked the dirt road. Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers and one Pine Warbler were active. A Northern Harrier hunted the marsh. Two American Kestrels perched on snags. Golden and Ruby-crowned Kinglets and at least one Rusty Blackbird were present. This area is a major Starling/Blackbird/Grackle roost in the evening as witnessed on Wednesday when over 1,000 of these birds were congregating.

At least 5 Purple Finches were in the area. I came upon Dave Hall leading a New Jersey Audubon Society field trip who said they had more Purple Finches in a different section.

Rusty Blackbird, Troy Meadows, NJ, Oct. 20, 2012 (Photo by Jonathan Klizas)

Pine Warbler, Troy Meadows, NJ, Oct. 20, 2012 (Photo by Jonathan Klizas)