Barnacle Goose and Friends
Be aware that Somerset County’s first record Barnacle Goose now frequents North Branch Park which is approximately 2 miles and 5 minutes from Duke Island Park.
It is very doable to see the Greater White-fronted Goose and Cackling Goose (or geese) at Duke Island Park, hop in your car, take Old York Road west to Milltown Road, travel north, cross over Rt. 202 and you are there. Simple. You can pick the Barnacle Goose out of 1,200 Canada Geese.
Today, the Greater White-fronted Goose was at Duke Island Park in the late morning; the Barnacle Goose was at North Branch Park at noon (Vicki Schwartz).
Sandhill Cranes
The 8 Sandhill Cranes of Franklin Township were, once again, seen in the corn fields along Randolph Road (many observers). If not there, they may be in the fields west of the intersection of nearby Mettlers Road and Weston Road. To get there from Randolph Rd., take Randolph south to Schoolhouse; turn right on Schoolhouse and then left on Mettlers; right on Weston. The fields are on your left (south side of the road).
Other Field Notes
2 Pine Siskins were noted this morning at Loantaka Brook Reservation (Simon Lane).
A Common Loon was reported from Boonton Reservoir (Kevin Browne).
I C U
People walked, jogged and rode bicycles on the Columbia Trail in Long Valley in close proximity, but this “stealthy” Great Blue Heron did not budge.
Great Blue Heron, Long Valley, NJ, Jan. 2, 2015 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)
(Click on the photo for a larger image.)
eBird Checklists for the mocosocoBirds region may be viewed via eBird’s Region Explorer. Use the following links:
The eBird Hotspot Primer is here and can also be accessed via the Hotspot menu item on the mocosocoBirds.com website.
@mocosocoBirds at Twitter is another communications stream. Instant field reports and links of interest are tweeted throughout the day. The latest tweets appear on the sidebar of this page. One can follow mocosocoBirds at Twitter or link to @mocosocoBirds.
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