From Budd Lake today, Dave Harrison reports a Red-breasted Merganser, at least 11 Redheads and about 75 Scaup. The 20 or so Scaup he could ID were Lesser. The others were too distant.
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Boonton Reservoir is one of the more intriguing birding locations in Morris County and also the most impenetrable. Protected by high fences and No Trespassing Signs (We will prosecute) the Reservoir offers a fantasy of what might be in there if one could see. The north end does have the walk way on Reservoir Rd. This is the old Rt. 202 bridge where one can view where the Rockaway River enters the reservoir and also scan a large part of the northern end. A drake Common Goldeneye and the usual Buffleheads were seen at this spot today. Cliff Swallows nest on the new Rt. 202 bridge. The southern part of the reservoir is another matter entirely. Your only legal recourse is to park in the lot of the Waterview Plaza on Rt. 46 East, get to the highest part of the lot where you can view the reservoir and hope that you are tall enough to see over the wall on top of the berm. Your scope will only show you a fraction of the reservoir, a distant fraction at that, but you will be able to observe the southern part of the island in the reservoir. A heronry is there. It is difficult to count the actual number of nests but at least 15-20+ Great Blue Herons are visible as of today. What is curious is how they get along with the growing number of Double-crested Cormorants. I conservatively counted 30 this morning. They just started arriving this week. Keep in mind that 300 were counted there last July 15.
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Both Morris County Pacific Loons were viewed in the late afternoon. The Lake Parsippany loon is best viewed from the east shore. This will give the observer the length of the lake to scan. You will need it. This loon uses the entire lake. Below are low quality photos of the Pacific Loon among the snowflakes.