If one Least Sandpiper on a rocky section of the Raritan River near Duke Island Park signals the beginning of the summer shorebird season in the land of mocosocoBirds, then so be it. Yes, coastal areas are getting them in the hundreds, if not more, but every single calidrid, tringa and their relatives is a precious commodity to the birders of Morris and Somerset Counties. Three Killdeer and two adult Spotted Sandpipers joined the migrant Least in the Raritan River.

The number of Ring-billed Gulls at Boonton Reservoir is growing with at least 40 tallied this afternoon. Double-crested Cormorants rule the waters of the reservoir with 180 counted. Curiously, the Cliff Swallows were not seen near their nesting location on the Route 202 bridge.

The Wild Indigo Duskywing pictured below was on Crown Vetch at the north end of Boonton Reservoir.

Wild Indigo Duskywing, Boonton Reservoir, MJ, July 9, 2013 (photo by Jonathan Klizas).