King Rail at Great Swamp NWR

A King Rail was heard calling from the overlook this afternoon on Pleasant Plains Road, Great Swamp NWR (Simon Lane, et al). From Simon’s eBird comments: “Gave six or seven ‘kek’ call sequences over a 90 minute period from the overlook. Water levels very high and quite windy. Heard by a few visitors.”

Blue Grosbeak at the Tourne Sparrow Fields

Blue Grosbeak, The Tourne, Denville Twp., May 25, 2013 (digiscoped by Jonathan Klizas).

From Tim Vogel:
The Tourne Sparrow fields
Blue Grosbeak 1 possibly 2 (singing)
In tree line between 2 fields on left.

Cedar Lake, Denville
Common loons 3 (2 in breeding plumage)

Tim Vogel
Denville

From the editor: I visited the Tourne Sparrow fields this evening after 7 p.m. A distant burst of Blue Grosbeak song was heard once but the singer could not be located. Finally, the subject of the above photo sat obligingly next to Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird in the same tree. As Tim says, there may well be a second Blue Grosbeak at this location. I may have seen it being chased by an Indigo Bunting but it was in silhouette only. This is a great find for Morris County. Tim has birded the sparrow fields for decades and this is a prize sighting.

Photos

The following photos are by Robert Gallucci taken today at Glenhurst Meadows, Warren Township.

Cedar Waxwing, Glenhurst Meadows, NJ, May 25, 2013 (photo by Robert Gallucci).

Indigo Bunting, Glenhurst Meadows, NJ, May 25, 2013 (photo by Robert Gallucci).