Common Redpolls at Great Swamp NWR

Common Redpoll flyovers were heard this morning at the Friends Blind of the Wildlife Observation center, Great Swamp NWR (Jeff Ellerbusch, Simon Lane). Common Redpolls are forecast to move south this winter according to Ron Pittaway’s 2014-15 Winter Finch Forecast.

Snow Buntings in Hanover Township

Snow Buntings, Hanover Twp., NJ, Nov. 30, 2014 (photo by Chuck Hantis)

There are years when no Snow Buntings are reported in the Morris/Somerset region. This year is not one of them. Three Snow Buntings spent most of a week at Budd Lake earlier this month (see one of those posts here).

This morning Tom Gorman found 49 Snow Buntings at the mound (“Mt. Melanie” – assumed to be a grassed-over landfill) at Melanie Lane Wetlands. The Vesper Sparrow found yesterday by Chuck Hantis was present the edge of the driveway. See Tom’s Flickr photostream for photos of the Vesper Sparrow and Snow Buntings.

Thousands of European Starlings roosted in the neighboring trees. The following photograph shows a Northern Harrier “Gray Ghost” stirring up a small fraction of the E. Starlings in atendance.

European Starlings and Northern Harrier, Hanover Twp., NJ, Nov. 30, 2014 (photo by Chuck Hantis)

Other Field Notes

4 Sandhill Cranes were seen today at Randolph Road, Franklin Township (eBirded by Vicki Schwartz, Anthony Chodan).

Boonton Reservoir had a surface as smooth as glass this afternoon. Here are today’s numbers: 13 Gadwall, 6 American Black Ducks, 14 Mallards, 110 Ring-necked Ducks, 2 Bufflehead, 50 Hooded and 25 Common Mergansers, 1 Common Loon, 1 Pied-billed Grebe, 3 Horned Grebes. American Pipits, present on the east shore for the entire month of November, are dwindled to 3.

View eBird checklists and other data at the following links.
Click on the Checklists tab of the BirdTrax applet to display the most recent checklists. Click on this icon,  ,to view the contents of the checklist:

• Morris
• Somerset

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