Rough-legged Hawks
Let’s face it. Without the bevy of Rough-legged Hawks recently, there isn’t much to write about the bird life in Morris and Somerset Counties. Snow, ice and frigid cold dominate the landscape. Bird feeders are the main source of bird reports.
A Rough-legged Hawk visited the Great Swamp NWR today in the vicinity of the Bluebird Lot on Pleasant Plains Road (Jim Gilbert, Chuck Hantis, et al). This represents the only legitimate report of the species in Morris County.
Rough-legged Hawk, Negri-Nepote Grasslands, NJ, Feb. 16, 2015 (Chris Duffek)
Somerset County has a virtual glut of sightings. Up to 5 Rough-legged Hawks are reported from Negri-Nepote Native Grassland Preserve (Chris Duffek, Steven Kuitems). 3 were sighted at Duke Farms (Anna Mindel via eBird). There is much suitable habitat in Hillsborough, Franklin and Montgomery Townships. Who knows how many Rough-legged Hawks are actually in the area this month.
Rough-legged Hawk, Negri-Nepote Grasslands, NJ, Feb. 16, 2015 (Chris Duffek)
Other Bird Notes
Pine Siskins continue to be fairly wide spread with reports today from Long Valley (Ken Hart), Brookside (Debbie Replogle), Lincoln Park area (Garry Annibal), yesterday from White Meadow Lake in Rockaway Twp. (Tom Justesen), etc., and several reports from Somerset County.
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.
Finis
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