Had enough of winter?
Great Blue Heron, Branchburg Twp., NJ, Jan. 28, 2015 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)
(Click on the photo for a larger image.)
Snow Bunting, Horned Larks and Falcons in Hillsborough Twp.
(Merlin, Branchburg Twp., NJ, Jan. 30, 2015 – photo by Jeff Ellerbusch)
Horned Larks, Hillsborough Twp., NJ, Jan. 30, 2015 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)
Manure and the decaying remains of last summer’s pumpkin patch is drawing birds to River Road, south of South Branch Rd. in Hillsborough Twp. Highlights this afternoon were one Snow Bunting with 258 Horned Larks, meticulously counted by Jeff Ellerbusch.
(Heavily cropped photo of Snow Bunting at River Rd., Hillsborough, NJ, Jan. 30, 3015 by Jeff Ellerbusch)
American and Fish Crows are in abundance. Savannah Sparrows are working the road’s edge. All three regularly occurring falcon species were in the area today: American Kestrel, Merlin and Peregrine Falcon.
Savannah Sparrow, Hillsborough Twp., NJ, Jan. 30, 2015 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)
Many roads in this part of Somerset County have numerous sparrow-type birds finding sustenance on the road’s edge. The following White-crowned Sparrow on Opie Road in Branchburg, Twp. can be found with a feeding group of Song, Savannah, American Tree, and White-throated Sparrows along the roadside.
White-crowned Sparrow, Branchburg Twp., NJ, Jan. 30, 2015 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)
Redheads at Clyde Potts Reservoir
Clyde Potts Reservoir in Mendham Twp. remains a reliably open, albeit partially, body of water in Morris County. A Red-necked Grebe spent a month here during the frigid winter of 2014. Canada Geese are the main inhabitants as usual. A handful of Common Mergansers and a Ruddy Duck are also regulars. Today, three Redheads were found by Alan Boyd. They were still there late in the afternoon as group after group of Canada Geese flew in for their night roost.
Pine Siskin
Julie Buechner found the Pine Siskin pictured below with American Goldfinches, in Parsippany today.
(Pine Siskin and Am. Goldfinches, Parsippany, NJ, Jan. 30, 2015, photo by Julie Buechner)
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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