The vernal equinox occurs, Thursday, March 20 at 12:57 p.m. EDT. For anyone who ventured into the miserable afternoon weather today, the equinox cannot come soon enough.

Budd Lake remains entirely frozen but at least a small sampling of gulls this afternoon in pouring rain included a Lesser Black-backed Gull among the Herring and Ring-billed Gulls. Spring begins tomorrow, but it is anyone’s guess when the northern lakes will thaw.

Lesser Black-backed Gull, Budd Lake, NJ, Mar. 19, 2014 (ID photo by Jonathan Klizas).

The Red-necked Grebe of Mendham spent day number 26 at Clyde Potts Reservoir (Alan Boyd).

Red-necked Grebe, Mendham Twp., NJ, Mar. 19, 2014 (photo by Alan Boyd).

2 Redhead drakes continue at the Van Cleef Road ponds in Franklin Township (J. Klizas). Jim Mulvey eBirded the continuing drake Redhead at Osborn Pond in Harding Twp. Jim also saw a Red-headed Woodpecker from the overlook on Pleasant Plains Rd. in the Great Swamp NWR.

75 Common Goldeneye, 28 Bufflehead and Hooded, Common and Red-breasted Mergansers were seen on the Raritan River via the Delaware and Raritan Canal Towpath (Jeff Ellerbusch). A Northern Rough-winged Swallow was seen foraging with Tree Swallows. Scaup numbers have dropped to 1 Lesser Scaup. It is a noteworthy season for Greater Scaup in the mocosocoBirds region.

Lake Musconetcong had 79 Mute swans, 3 Wood Duck, 66 Ring-necked Ducks, 4 Greater Scaup, 42 Bufflehead, 10 Hooded Mergansers, 93 Common Mergansers and 2 Bald Eagles, probably the local pair (eBirded by Alan Boyd).

2 Blue-winged Teal were on Opie Road in Branchburg Twp. Please respect the local property owners. All property on Opie Road is privately owned (J. Klizas).

25 Ring-necked Ducks were in the flooded field at the Wagner’s Arboretum section of Glenhurst Meadows (David Bernstein).

There are no reports of Greater White-fronted Geese today in North Plainfield or Duke Island Park.