Yellow-headed Blackbird in Somerset County

Yellow-headed Blackbird, Hillsborough Twp., NJ, Mar. 30, 2015 (photo by Frank Sencher, Jr.)

(Click on the photo for a larger image.)

An adult male Yellow-headed Blackbird (YHBL), in a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds, put in an appearance at Opie Road, Hillsborough Twp. this morning (Frank Sencher, Jr.) and again later in the afternoon after hours of searching (Jeff Ellerbusch).

Iceland Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull at Lake Parsippany

Yesterday’s post, here, describes growing gull activity at Lake Parsippany as the ice finally begins to melt. Today, a large section of the lake is ice-free. The hundreds of gulls present used the remaining ice as roosts and dining areas.

Iceland Gull, Lake Parsippany, Mar. 30, 2015 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)

Besides the approximately 200 Herring and 100 Ring-billed Gulls, at least 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Great Black-backed Gull were in attendance. The star of the day is a first cycle Iceland Gull that was active most of the time this observer was present.

Iceland Gull, Lake Parsippany, Mar. 30, 2015 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)

The dynamics of the lake were in a constant state of change. Two immature Bald Eagles kept the gulls in motion at 4:00 PM. Only one Bald Eagle was reported by Julie Buechner and Marc Chelemer earlier in the afternoon. Chris Williams reports 4 at nearby Boonton Reservoir.

Bald Eagles, Lake Parsippany, Mar. 30, 2015 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)

Two Common Loons in alternate plumage joined the 85+ and growing number of Common Mergansers.

Common Loon, Lake Parsippany, Mar. 30, 2015 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)

eBird Checklists for the mocosocoBirds region may be viewed via eBird’s Region Explorer. Use the following links:

• Morris County
• Somerset County

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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